This message regarding the demolition of a Palestinian home on the Mount of Olives came to me from the Rev. Mark Brown, Regional Representative in Jerusalem for the Lutheran World Federation - www.lwfjerusalem.org
See my blog page for a photo: http://voicesforpeace.blogspot.com/
May 21, 2008
Dear Colleagues:
This morning Israeli authorities demolished a house adjacent to the East side of the LWF campus on the Mount of Olives. It is hard to describe how very sad and depressing it is to watch a home being destroyed and to see the anguish on the faces of the mother, father, and children who were going about their daily routine together a couple of hours earlier. Such demolitions and family traumas are repeated dozens of times a year in East Jerusalem alone.
Here are a few websites to help you sort out the rationale behind house demolitions and the political forces that are driving us away from a "shared Jerusalem" between Jews, Christians, and Muslims, and between Palestinians and Israelis.
B'Tselem, the Israeli Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, provides useful statistics and background information on house demolitions:
http://www.btselem.org/english/Planning_and_Building/East_Jerusalem_Statistics.asp
The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions has an "FAQ" on house demolitions that you may find helpful:http://www.icahd.org/eng/faq.asp?menu=9&submenu=1
Another peace group, Ir Amim, seeks to render Jerusalem a more viable and equitable city:http://www.ir-amim.org.il/eng/
Peace, Mark
Rev. Mark B. Brown
Regional Representative
The Lutheran World Federation
P.O. Box 19178, Jerusalem 91191
Website: www.lwfjerusalem.org
"Uphold the Rights of the Poor and Oppressed"
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