Tell Secretary Clinton to say "No" to legalizing settlements

Israeli Report Rejects Occupation and Outpost Illegality
On Monday a panel commissioned by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released its final report on the status of settlements in the West Bank. The group decided that Israel’s presence in the West Bank does not constitute an “occupation” and therefore settlement activity does not violate international law.

The results are only recommendations at this stage, but nevertheless, they received harsh criticism from Israeli peace groups and much of the international community.
Churches for Middle East Peace provided an Action Alert that allows us to register our criticism with Secretary of State Clinton's office.

Tell Secretary Clinton to Say “No” to Legalizing Settlements
An Israeli Commission wants to make all settlements and outposts legal under Israeli Law.

Your action is needed to make sure U.S. opposition is strong and bold.

On Monday the U.S. State Department came out against the Levy Committee Report which, among other things, states there is no “occupation” by Israel of Palestinian Territories and recommends legalizing all existing settlements and outposts under Israeli law.

Acceptance of the report as policy by the Government of Israel would undermine years of international effort, including your’s and your church’s efforts, promote and secure a just, lasting, and comprehensive resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

As people of hope we cannot stand by while some people within the Israeli government attempt to legitimize activities that stand in the way of peace.

Please click the link and tell our Secretary of State to repudiate the Levy Report. You can modify the prepared message. I did, pointing out that American policy for eight administrations - under Democrats and Republicans - has been clear: Israeli settlement beyond the Green Line is illegal or illegitimate.

God bless you all.

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NPR reporting and settler violence

Friends, two interesting reports on NPR this week deserve a listen. After that, see an urgent appeal from EAPPI.

Yesterday morning Lourdes Garcia Navarro reported on Mitt Romney's upcoming trip to Israel courting American votes and using promotion of settlement expansion to do it.  See GOP Courts Republicans Living in Israel.

Later in the day Garcia Navarro reported on settler violence, quoting B'Tselem and shedding light on some of the violence we have heard about from accompaniers and other witnesses on the ground.  Listen to Violence Against West Bank Palestinians is Up.

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Here is an urgent appeal from the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI):

On Saturday, 7 July 2012 at approximately 3:00PM (GMT+2) Israeli settlers from the illegal settlement of Itamar approached three Palestinian farmers in Yanoun who were harvesting their wheat and grazing their sheep. The settlers were armed with knives and killed three of the farmers’ sheep.

A clash then ensued, in which the settlers and farmers began throwing stones at one-another. When EAs arrived to the scene, three fires were ablaze in the fields, but it was unknown whether the flames were intentionally lit by the settlers or were started by teargas canisters that the Israeli military fired at the farmers. Nonetheless, two wheat fields and one olive grove were burnt, and when other Palestinian farmers arrived at the scene to turn out the flames, Israeli soldiers and police prevented them from reaching the fields by firing more teargas at them.

In total six Palestinians were injured, and five were hospitalized:
•       Jawdat Bani Jaber (Hospitalized): was beaten and stabbed multiple times by settlers, then shot in the face and foot by Israeli soldiers. He was then handcuffed by Israeli soldiers and attacked again by the settlers while the soldiers pursued other Palestinian farmers. After being attacked, the military did not allow a present ambulance take him to a hospital or care for him for approximately 3-hours.
•       Ibrahim Bani Jaber (Hospitalized): was beaten by a soldier on his head with the butt-stock of an M16 rifle, causing damage to his eye, and was later beaten by settlers while handcuffed.
•       Hakimun Bani Jaber (Hospitalized): was shot in the arm at close range by a soldier.
•       Adwan Bani Jaber (Hospitalized): was beaten by settlers with clubs.
•       Ashraf Bani Jaber: was beaten by a soldier with a club.
•       Jawdat Ibrahim (Hospitalized): was handcuffed, beaten by Israeli soldiers and then released for the settlers to attack as they watched. He was then tied up by the settlers and left on his land; he was found the next morning (Sunday, 8 July 2012).
 
Rashid, Mayor of Yanoun and long-time EAPPI local contact, expressed fear that settlers initiated the clash to enforce new invisible boundaries, which would defacto confiscate much of the area’s wheat fields to the Itamar Settlement.

ADDITTIONAL INFORMATION:
Yanoun is a small village in Area C of the West Bank, just southeast of Nablus. It has about 65 inhabitants who are dependent upon farming and animal husbandry as their main source of livelihood. The village is surrounded by the illegal Israeli settlement of Itamar and since 1996 the residents of Yanoun have consistently experienced settler harassment and violence, as well as property damage and confiscation.

In October of 2002 the settlers of Itimar forcibly evacuated Yanoun of its inhabitants. International humanitarian agencies and Israeli human rights organizations then came to Yanoun to provide a protective presence with the aim of facilitating the return of the community. These left Yanoun within weeks of the community’s return; however, the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) has remained in Yanoun since October 2002. Based in Yanoun Ecumenical Accompaniers (EAs) provide a protective presence, monitor, and report on human rights violations in the community, as well as the entire Nablus Governorate and Jordan Valley.

INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW:
The International Court of Justice has stated that the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention for the Protection of Civilian persons in Times of War applies to the occupied Palestinian territory.

All Israeli settlements are illegal according to Article 49 the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states, “The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies."

Article 4
of the Fourth Geneva Convention states, “Persons protected by the Convention are those who, at a given moment and in any manner whatsoever, find themselves, in case of a conflict or occupation, in the hands of a Party to the conflict or Occupying Power of which they are not nationals.” Thus, according to International Humanitarian Law, Israel has the duty as an occupying power to protect Palestinians from settler attacks.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE:
We encourage you to:
•       Forward this email to your networks.
•       Inform your representative in parliament about what is happened in Yanoun.
•       Update news/media agencies (radio, TV & print) in your countries about this incident.
•       Contact (Preferably fax) the following officials and call on them to condemn this attack and hold Israeli settlers accountable for the human rights violations that they commit against Palestinian civilians:  
Your Ambassador and/or Consul General in Israel   http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Sherut/ForeignInIsrael/Continents   
The Israeli Ambassador in your country   http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/Diplomatic+missions/Web+Sites+of+Israeli+Missions+Abroad.htm

You may use the sample letter below or draft your own:

Dear Ambassador,

I call upon you to condemn Israeli settler violence against Palestinian civilians and to call for all those who violate human rights in the oPt to be held legally accountable for their actions.

On Saturday, 7 July 2012 at approximately 3:00PM (GMT+2) Israeli settlers from the illegal settlement of Itamar approached three Palestinian farmers in Yanoun who were harvesting their wheat and grazing their sheep. The settlers were armed with knives and killed three of the farmers’ sheep.

A clash then ensued, in which the settlers and farmers began throwing stones at one-another. Israeli soldiers and police arrived to the scene only to support the settlers’ attack on a defenseless community.

In total six Palestinians were injured, and five were hospitalized:
•       Jawdat Bani Jaber (Hospitalized): was beaten and stabbed multiple times by settlers, then shot in the face and foot by Israeli soldiers. He was then handcuffed by Israeli soldiers and attacked again by the settlers while the soldiers pursued other Palestinian farmers. After being attacked, the military did not allow a present ambulance take him to a hospital or care for him for approximately 3-hours.
•       Ibrahim Bani Jaber (Hospitalized): was beaten by a soldier on his head with the butt-stock of an M16 rifle, causing damage to his eye, and was later beaten by settlers while handcuffed.
•       Hakimun Bani Jaber (Hospitalized): was shot in the arm at close range by a soldier.
•       Adwan Bani Jaber (Hospitalized): was beaten by settlers with clubs.
•       Ashraf Bani Jaber: was beaten by a soldier with a club.
•       Jawdat Ibrahim (Hospitalized): was handcuffed, beaten by Israeli soldiers and then released for the settlers to attack as they watched. He was then tied up by the settlers and left on his land; he was found the next morning (Sunday, 8 July 2012).

Though the settlers were the attackers in this clash, the Israeli Military and Police provided them with protection to carry out the attack. The soldiers and officers attacked Palestinians who defended themselves from the settlers, did not attempt to put out the fires that blazed through Palestinians’ fields - nor let anyone else do so, and delayed medical attention for the victims of the attack.

Like the many Israeli settler attacks that take place on an on-going basis across the occupied Palestinian territory, no Israeli settlers were arrested during this attack.

Sincerely,
YOUR NAME 

--
[urgent appeal from]
Nader Hanna
Advocacy Officer
Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine & Israel (EAPPI)
P.O. Box 741
Jerusalem 91000
Tel: +972 2 628 9402
Fax: +972 2 627 4499
Mobile: +972 54 815 7652
E-mail: eappi.advocacy@alqudsnet.com
Skype: eappi.advocacy
Website: www.eappi.org

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Welcome Kairos USA

Dear readers,

I have taken a little break from posting to attend to some home renovations.

Earlier this spring I was involved in the preliminary stages of development of the Kairos USA statement in response to the 2009 Kairos Palestine statement. Others crafted the final statement and an organization  has been established in support of Kairos USA.

The entire statement and how to sign on, along with ways to be further engaged, are at the website: http://www.kairosusa.org/
I encourage you to look at it carefully. I have signed. I consider it a faithful, ecumenical, loving response to the call from Christian sisters and brothers in Palestine.

Here is a portion of the introduction, just to give you a sample.  Please do read the complete text at the website: http://www.kairosusa.org/

"The mission of Kairos USA is to mobilize the churches in the United States to respond faithfully and boldly to the situation in Israel and Palestine. In December 2009, the Christians of Palestine brought forth “A Moment of Truth: A Word of Faith, Hope and Love from the Heart of Palestinian Suffering.” In 2011 and again in 2012, U.S. clergy, theologians and laypersons gathered to write this response to the Palestinian document. In gratitude for the courageous witness and call to action issued by our Palestinian sisters and brothers, and inspired by the prophetic church movements of southern Africa, Central and South America, Asia and Europe that have responded to the call of our sisters and brothers in Palestine, we have prayed for the guidance of the Spirit so that we might also respond with integrity, love and wisdom."

I want to share some thoughts from a longtime friend and colleague, Pastor Russ Siler, on Kairos USA. Russ says most everything I'd like to say myself:

"Dear Friends,

"Perhaps most if not all of you have by now read, or at least have heard of the document from Kairos USA, Call to Action: U.S. Response to the Kairos Palestine Document.

"I have read the document and signed it. I urge you to consider doing the same.

"I was involved in a very small way in the initial stage of formulating just how this document would take shape. I became aware of the host of disparate voices, all seeking the common goal of peace with justice for the people of the Holy Land, but with a multitude of slants, perspectives, and strong opinions about the path we Americans should follow. What has resulted is a powerful and faithful response to our Palestinian sisters and brothers as well as a challenge to ourselves to stand ever more firmly beside them--as well as the people of their neighbor Israel--on peace's path.

"The document that is now out there for the world to see is far from a perfect treatise; in many ways it walks a middle road between powerful proponents on both sides of all the major arguments and approaches. It will please no one fully, but it will ring true with everyone who genuinely hopes and prays for a just end to the conflict which has devastated so many lives for so long. In no way do I mean these few sentences to diminish what the framers have accomplished. It is a strong, Gospel-based, courageous appeal for the quest for peace with justice to begin with each of us.

"I ask no more than that you read it http://www.kairosusa.org/ with open mind and open heart and consider adding your endorsement.

"Now really is `the time.'"

For Peace with Justice,

Russ Siler
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WORLD WEEK FOR PEACE IN PALESTINE/ISRAEL

"PRAY, EDUCATE & ADVOCATE FOR JUSTICE IN PALESTINE"
World Week for Peace in Palestine/Israel
28 May - 3 June 2012
THEME: Displacement
Visit and share: www.worldweekforpeace.org.

In just a few days the WORLD WEEK FOR PEACE IN PALESTINE/ISRAEL will get underway.  Are there ways that you can bring the message to your communities in a special effort next week? Social networking is crucial. There is a Facebook page dedicated to the World Week for Peace; it needs more focused participation, I think. You can be part of it.
There are a number of pages linked from the World Week for Peace home page. I think the most helpful is this one devoted to What you can do: http://www.oikoumene.org/en/programmes/public-witness-addressing-power-affirming-peace/churches-in-the-middle-east/pief/world-week/what-you-can-do.html

Here is information provided by the World Council of Churches.

The Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF) of the World Council of Churches invites member churches, faith-based communities, and civil society organizations to join together in 2012 for a week of advocacy and action in support of an end to the illegal occupation of Palestine and a just peace for all in Palestine and Israel.

Congregations and individuals around the globe who share the hope of justice shall unite during the week to take peaceful actions, together, to create a common international public witness. 

GET INVOLVED:
During World Week for Peace 2012, from 28 May to 3 June, participants are encouraged to plan their activities around the following three principles: 
1. Praying with churches living under occupation, using a special prayer from Jerusalem and other worship resources prepared for the week. 
2. Educating about actions that make for peace, and about facts on the ground that do not create peace, especially issues related to displacement. 
3. Advocating with political leaders using ecumenical policies that promote peace with justice.  

WHY:
This annual observance of a week of prayer, education, and advocacy calls participants to work for an end to the illegal occupation of Palestine, so that Palestinians and Israelis can finally live in peace. It has been more than 63 years since the partition of Palestine hardened into a permanent nightmare for Palestinians. It is now more than 44 years since the occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza overwhelmed the peaceful vision of one land, two peoples. 

Yet the dream of one nation cannot be fulfilled at the expense of another. 

The message for this week of action is NOW: 
- It's time for Palestinians and Israelis to share a just peace. 
- It's time for freedom from occupation.
- It's time for equal rights. 
- It's time for the healing of wounded souls. 

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

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Watch SIXTY MINUTES, and a note about Sabeel in D.C.

 

Watch `60 Minutes' this Sunday, April 22
The story about the shrinking population of the Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land will be broadcast on “60 Minutes” this Sunday, 22 April 2012, at 7:00 P.M. (EDT).

Lutheran Pastor Mitri Raheb was interviewed as part of production for this news story.(Of course there's no way to know how much, if any, of that interview might be used)

Bob Simon reports on the slow exodus from the Holy Land of Palestinian Christians, who say life in the middle of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has become too difficult. Harry Radliffe is the producer.For those of you who do not have access to CBS News in your area, you can watch the story on their website at http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml.

The story will be posted on Sunday evening after it airs on TV. There will also be an added feature about Taybeh on CBS’s online program called “60 Minutes Overtime” at http://www.cbsnews.com/60minutesovertime?tag=hdr;cnav.

For more about Bethlehem see this from the Diyar Consortium.

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Sabeel Event Tomorrow in Washington, D.C. ....  Saturday, April 21 (9 am - 4:30 pm) - Sabeel-DC Workshop: How Can Our Churches Promote Peace in the Holy Land?  Meet clergy/lay leaders from other churches and learn How to Make Justice and Peace in the Holy Land Part of Your Church's Faith Journey.  Kresge Center (Refectory), Wesley Theological Seminary, 4500 Mass. Ave. NW in DC.   Registration deadline April 16!  Bring  $15.  More info, flyer and directions at  www.sabeeldc.org or 703-751-5646.

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Easter note from an Accompanier, and Israelis

This post includes a message from an EAPPI accompanier and a peek at Israeli views via the country's top reality show.

Ecumenical Accompanier Mary Morris gives us a look at Israeli resources for peace in her blog post: Happy Easter from Bethlehem. Mary serves with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI).

Mary writes:

"Alleluia, Christ is risen.
Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia."

These words echoed throughout Jerusalem this Sunday, and they will echo again next Sunday as Orthodox Easter is celebrated. Spring has arrived after a very cold winter. Flowers are blooming, birds are singing, and the gloom of winter is fading away. The air is warm and the sun almost too hot as we make our way through throngs of pilgrims from all corners of the globe to worship in this, the Holy Land. It was difficult to celebrate the resurrection in a Good Friday world.

While suffering is happening all around, there is good news in the Holy Land. I have had the pleasure in recent months of meeting with strong, humanitarian leaders of NGOs in Israel. The common thread is the desire for Israel to end the occupation peacefully. Most are Jewish Israelis. One is a Christian Israeli. They all believe that continuing the occupation is bringing moral decay to Israel and could lead to its destruction. They all love their country but deplore the violence. They are speaking out.

Hanna Barag leads a group called Machsom Watch. The members are Israeli women, most over 50 years old, who come to the checkpoints to learn and document what they are seeing and hearing from the men who pass through. They have tremendous respect for the Palestinians and their strong faith. The women make our job easier by their presence. http://www.machsomwatch.org./

Avihal Stollar from Breaking the Silence is a former Israeli soldier. His group was formed by soldiers to tell the truth about the military and the occupation. These young men are despised by current enlisted Israels (although one veteran of 15 years told us that they tell the truth), but they continue to spread the word. http://www.shovrimshtika.org/

For Mary's complete message, go Happy Easter from Bethlehem. For lots more from Mary, see her blog: Mary Morris in Palestine

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Israelis discuss the occupation poolside on Big Brother

If you have not yet seen it, take six minutes to view a bit of the Israeli reality show The Big Brother. The crew talks frankly in this segment, "Talking about the Occupation," which aired in prime time. The Big Brother is Israel's highest-rated reality show.

I have spent quite a lot of time in Israel, some of it watching TV, and I would say that the views expressed here are rarely heard in public, in the entertainment sphere, especially in prime time. I wish I could read the reviews that followed the airing of this episode. Fascinating. Ann Hafften

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Pray Today for Peace and Jerusalem Easter statement

This immediate request for prayer comes from Churches for Middle East Peace. Below you'll find the Easter statement of the Jerusalem Heads of Churches.

From CMEP: Pray Today for Peace
In late April the United Nations Security Council is scheduled to hold its quarterly open debate on the Middle East. The focus of discussion will likely be whether the Quartet—comprised of the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States—has been able to achieve sufficient impetus to have the Israeli-Palestinian peace process move in a positive direction. In preparation for that discussion the Quartet meets today in Washington, DC.  

As people of faith, on this occasion we ask you to pray for peace and for God to make a way where no way has been found.  

CMEP offers the prayer below.

A Prayer for Peace on the Occasion of the April 11, 2012 Quartet Meeting

When your people quarrel and cannot find a way, you become the way.
     God, have mercy on us, your quarrelsome people.
When we fear that all we can do can never be enough, you become enough for us.
     Jesus, give your hope to us, your struggling people.
When we don’t do all that we could do, you call us to move forward.
     God, have mercy on us, your timid people.
When we dare to try once again to be the peacemakers you call us to be, you move among us.
     Jesus, give your strength to us, your tenacious people.  

For people in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank who suffer the shock of past violence and fear future violence,
     Give safety and comfort to your hurting people.
For people who work for peace yet see the increase of sorrow and despair,
     Sustain their perseverance and vision.
For people who generate violence and injury,
     Show them the better way of Your justice, mercy and faithfulness.
For people who sit at tables and talk of things with which others must live,
     Fill their hearts with love of neighbor and compassion for strangers.  

We pray for national and international leaders meeting this day in Washington, D.C.:
     Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,
     Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State,
     General Ban Ki-moon, General-Secretary of the United Nations, and
     Sergei Lavrov, Foreign Minister of Russia.

We pray also for the Israeli and Palestinian national leaders:
     Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian National Authority, and
     Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel.

Generous God, give them persistence, wisdom and vision.
Give them love and compassion for all God's children.  

You, oh God, change hearts of stone into flesh,
     beat weapons into plows,
     give hope in the midst of despair.
May the fulfillment of your justice, mercy and faithfulness come.
May your call for peace be ever apparent in our words and actions.
You, oh God, who create Easter people,
Hear our prayers.
Amen.

May the peace of Christ be with you, and all people, this and every day.   Rev. Doris E. Warrell, CMEP
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The Easter Message of the Heads of Churches of Jerusalem

We, the Heads of Churches in the Holy Land, bring you our Easter greetings from Jerusalem, the City of the Resurrection, hope, and peace. 

Every year The Feast of the Resurrection revisits the church, the holy people of God everywhere. The faithful, through their Lenten journey and pilgrimage, walk in faith toward the empty tomb so that they may be filled with grace through the Risen and Triumphant Lord. The message of Easter speaks through the living church in the here and now; through their hopes and fears, joys and sorrows.  

The people of God, the “Living Stones” of the holy lands, anticipate through prayer and fasting to behold the joys and victories of the Risen and Triumphant Lord Jesus Christ. Christians in the region are continuously walking in the ‘Way of the Cross’. Injustice, oppression, incitement and subjugation are evil powers that require our diligent prayers and intentional advocacy. Our hearts are drawn in intercession for peace based on justice toward the people of Palestine and Israel, respect of human rights in Syria, Egypt, and the rest of the Middle East.

Reconciliation and Peace are the ultimate consequence and fruition of the Resurrection. Peace is no mere Easter greeting, but a call upon the church to strive for justice, equality, and reconciliation among all nations and peoples. We call upon the leaders of the nations to empower the peacemakers within their communities and countries, so that a generation of peace may arise and the light of peace may shine from this region to the whole world.

Our celebration of the Resurrection is the joy of the light that shines on in the darkness, and our hope for the whole world is to be aglow with the radiance of God’s peace and life. As an Easter hymn goes: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life.” Alleluia! Christ is Risen. He is Risen indeed. Alleluia!

+Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch
 +Patriarch Fouad Twal, Latin Patriarch
 +Patriarch Torkom II Manoogian, (Archbishop Nourhan Manoogian, Patriarchal Vicar), Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Patriarch
 +Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, ofm, Custos of the Holy Land
 +Archbishop Anba Abraham, Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, Jerusalem
 +Archbishop Swerios Malki Murad, Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate
 +Archbishop Abouna Matthias, Ethiopian Orthodox Patriarchate
 +Archbishop Joseph-Jules Zerey, Greek-Melkite-Catholic Patriarchate
 +Msgr. George Shehan, Maronite Patriarchal Exarchate
 +Bishop Suheil Dawani, Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East
 +Bishop Munib Younan, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land
 +Bishop Pierre Malki, Syrian Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate
 +Bishop Joseph Kelekian, Armenian Catholic Patriarchal Exarchate

(Easter 2012)

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