World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel, May 2012

I'm not very good at thinking ahead, but this memo from the World Council of Churches' calls for some advance planning. Please give it your attention and make some creative plans!

World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel

The Rev. John Calhoun, convener of the World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel (WWPPI) shares plans (below) for the observation May 28 to June 3, 2012. The focus is on the growing dispossession and displacement of Palestinians.

In 2012, Palestinians will have been through 64 years of displacement and dispossession. Israel persists with policies of house demolitions, forced evictions, and multiple counts of displacement close to settlements and the wall. Israel’s actions have resulted in failing standards of food security and livelihood access for Palestinians. Palestinians in East Jerusalem whose residency rights have been revoked have reached unprecedented numbers. Refugees now into the fourth generation are gloomy about their prospects of ever returning to their homes.

Everyone is urged to initiate actions around the World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel, actions that unite the ecumenical family in asserting the dignity and rights of the dispossessed and displaced Palestinians.

World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel
28 May - 3 June 2012
“Pray, educate, and advocate for justice in Palestine”
An initiative of the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF) of the World Council of Churches

The World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel invites WCC member churches, faith-based communities, civil society organizations and other agencies working for justice to join a week of prayer, education, and advocacy for an end to the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine and a just end to the conflict. This year our common focus is on the displacement and dispossession suffered by Palestinians under the continuing occupation.

What for? Our aim is to promote an end to the illegal Israeli occupation and a just peace in Palestine. During one week, churches in different countries will send a clear signal to policy-makers, community groups, and local parishes about the urgent need for justice for the Palestinians. The week inaugurates a year-round effort to rally churches, communities, and individuals to work for justice in Palestine.

Who are you joining? Churches, community organizations, specialized ministries, and local parishes on six continents will join together to speak out and act for a just peace. Leadership for this initiative is being provided by:

• Jerusalem’s churches and related church and peace organizations in Palestine
• Volunteers and veterans of the WCC’s Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel
• The Pax Christi International network and church aid agencies in Europe and North America
• Ecumenical networks and civil society groups in South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia

How? Participants are requested to plan their activities around these points:
Pray with churches living under occupation, using a special prayer from Jerusalem and contemporary liturgies to be issued in early 2012.

Educate others, and be further educated, about the crippling effects of the illegal occupation, including displacement, family separation, land confiscation, and denial of basic human rights.

Advocate with political and church leaders, encouraging them to support and enact public policies that will lead to a just end to the occupation.

For further information about World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel 2012, please visit www.worldweekforpeace.org. To share details about your plans for the Week, please contact the Rev. John Calhoun, the convenor of World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel 2012, at calhoun.wwppi@gmail.com.

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