Trees are life

Readers, please note this important story from EAPPI, the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel.  The post can also be read at the EAPPI "eyewitness reports."

`Trees for me are life'

Yusef Ali Kados is 77 years old. His family have been in Burin for generations. He worked as a primary school teacher for thirty years and has raised ten children with his wife. Israeli settlers have set fire to his olive trees on three occasions by Israeli settlers in the ten years since the attacks began.

Yusef is now left with only the 45-50 trees that are planted in front of his house. His olive trees, planted east of the private road to the Yizhar settlement, were amongst those burned two weeks ago by settlers. He lost all 350 of his olive trees and 50 almond trees, these were the last surviving trees of his on this land.

"For ten years now we have been suffering from the settlers burning the trees. We have also been attacked when we try to harvest the olives. When the trouble started ten years ago we went to harvest the olives and we were told by the settlement security not to come there anymore. When the olive trees were burned this last time, I sent my son to see because I am too old. I was in the mosque praying and he told me afterwards that everything was gone, destroyed."

"The army support and provide cover for the settlers. We want them to arrest the settlers. They see the settlers and know what they are doing. If one of us hits a settler then we will be arrested, if a settler hits one of us nothing is done. To defend yourself you must stay silent. I have not made any official complaints. The village council has taken the names of all of those who lost trees and report this to the agricultural ministry in Nablus with hope of compensation."

"These trees provided an extra income for the family. We could produce 40-50 jerry cans (18L a piece) of oil, which we could then sell some of. Every year there is less oil produced as more and more trees are burnt every year. These trees took 60 years to grow, if we plant new ones it would take 10 to 15 years to have them mature enough for harvesting. But we cannot plant again because the land is so near the private settlement road."

"Trees for me are life. I am 77 years old. I planted these trees myself in 1952. After school I would go straight to the olive trees before I would go home. It is paining us in our hearts to see the trees destroyed. The earth is the life of the farmer. My blood is burning with anger because I see my land burning and I can do nothing."

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Thanks to the EAPPI team at Yanoun for this report.

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ELCA Assembly starts Monday: How to be involved NOW

To my friends in the ELCA, it is a privilege to work with you.

Our Churchwide Assembly is about to begin, offering a primary opportunity for the ELCA to reinforce its commitment to ending the illegal and unjust Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and to contribute to the goals of two states and normalized relations (and recognition) of Israel with its Arab neighbors — goals favored by the majority of Israeli and Palestinian peoples and by the world community.

Several synod assembly memorials have moved through the process toward the upcoming Churchwide Assembly, filtered and organized by the churchwide Memorials Committee.

See Pre-Assembly Report, Memorial Committee Section VI, pages 39-43

Category A7: Investment for Positive Change in Palestine – at this link.   

Now is the time for you all to inform yourselves about the ways the issues are likely to be presented to voting members next week. We can all contribute to constructive and accurate deliberation. Your synod office can put you in touch with your voting members. Ask for phone numbers or emails, since people are already en route to Orlando and won’t receive postal mail. 

We can take part in at least three important ways:

• advise our voting members to read carefully the excellent background material (and footnotes) in the Memorials Report. The memorials document is huge. It’s very common for voting members to skip around and read only the “resolved” portions, often at the last minute. Even if this step is the only one you take, it’s very valuable.    
• encourage voting members to affirm recommendations 1, 2, 3, on Kairos Palestine, nonviolence, and positive economic investments

• encourage removal of the clause about "boycotts, divestments, or sanctions."     

An excellent resource at the assembly will be Bishop Bruce Burnside from Madison, Wisconsin. He chairs the bishops' Middle East Ready Bench. He can be found with all the other bishops in their section up front.

Here are some background points: 

The synod resolutions are reproduced and bundled in the online report of the Memorials Committee.  

Note that the Northeastern Pennsylvania and Lower Susquehanna Synods include this clause in the RESOLVED:   “…while at the same time opposing any movement toward boycott, divestment and/or economic sanctions against Israel.”

The Metro Washington DC Synod omits this last clause of the RESOLVED.  The Memorials Committee has combined elements of the pertinent Middle East peace memorials from these three synods.  

However, the bundled recommendation of the Memorials Committee appears to ignore pertinent information in the Background report, which notes that the 2007 CWA action already excludes divestment as an ELCA option and in footnote 12 explains that “The ELCA has a specific and restrictive procedure concerning any possible boycott.”  

It is not explicit in the Background, but it’s important to remind voting members that the ELCA churchwide staff and synod leaders have encouraged individuals to consider not purchasing goods manufactured in Israeli settlements. This modest version of boycott is consistent with the 2005 Churchwide Strategy for Engagement in Israel and Palestine in the Stewarding Economic Resources section. (For more about this see the Selective Purchasing Policy Guide.)   

Despite all this history, the Memorials Committee, in its Recommendation for Assembly Actions (p. 43), has painted with a very wide brush and presents this adaptation of the RESOLVED from the NE Penn and Lower Susquehanna synods:  "To discourage boycotts, divestments, or sanctions and commend the policy, “ELCA Economic Social Criteria Investment Screens” to the members, congregations, synods, and agencies of this church;"

While readers of my blog may have varied opinions of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) as an overall strategy, I hope we can agree that we would oppose any move to lead the ELCA Churchwide Assembly to shut off the possibility for individuals, congregations and synods to make their own choices about use of these tactics.

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CMEP reports about water issues

This excerpt from Churches for Middle East Peace's July 29 Bulletin is crucial.  To see the entire news bulletin, go to this link at the CMEP website.

Seeking Water

Cisterns, large containers built to catch and hold water, have been essential for Bedouins’ livelihood for centuries. However, the Israeli government has demolished 20 rain collection cisterns in the West Bank so far this year [see this link], further limiting Palestinians access to water resource. Israeli officials claim that a few of the demolished cisterns were located in military training zones, which would make accessing them dangerous. There is a constant water shortage in the West Bank, and there are extensive restrictions and permits required to build new water infrastructure. Without the cisterns, the Bedouin community is reliant upon expensive tanks of water that they must buy from Israel. Some Bedouins accuse the Israelis of trying to force them to move by destroying their water sources. Israel denies the claims, but does not deny that they are trying to resettle Bedouins in built communities. Israeli civil administration spokesman said, “They can't keep moving from place to place and land is limited.”

Water resources in Gaza are also scarce and susceptible to destruction.  Last week a water well and water tanks were reportedly destroyed by an Israeli airstrike that also injured seven people. According to Oxfam’s weekly report, the water source served 60 people in the neighborhood. Israel denies that there was an IDF airstrike on the night that the destruction occurred. The arial attack closely followed the launch of three Qassam rockets from Gaza.  Water infrastructure in Gaza has been a previous target of Israeli attacks in the coastal enclave. During Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli military destroyed more than 18 miles of water networks.

Contact info for CMEP: Churches for Middle East Peace | info@cmep.org | 202-543-1222 | 110 Maryland Avenue NE | Suite 311 | Washington, DC 20002

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Naim Ateek: Who commands our allegiance, God or Caesar?

Recycling last winter's piles of magazines I came across Sabeel's Cornerstone newsletter and realized that I had not shared with you Naim Ateek's editorial, "Who Commands our Allegiance, God or Caesar?" Here it is for you now. Find the entire publication at this Friends of Sabeel - North America link: Cornerstone

Who commands our allegiance, God or Caesar?

The Rev. Naim Ateek  

The Middle East has seen the presence of many empires. Once the art of war began to be refined, the movement towards empire was inevitable. Empires are built on military power. They are created and maintained by the power of arms until the empire grows weak and decadent and is replaced by another empire, more superior in military power.  

There is no benevolent empire. When it is threatened or opposed, empire crushes its opponents with vicious force. Some of its citizens might be economically prosperous, but its victims suffer terribly. In essence such is the nature of ancient as well as modern empires.  

Israel is a small country that was created by the victorious western powers of WWII after the disastrous tragedy that befell their European Jewish compatriots under the Nazis. Its greatest champion and sponsor at the time was the British Empire that forty years before gave a promise to the Jewish Zionist leadership to help them set up a home for Jews in Palestine. This promise was fulfilled in 1948 at a catastrophic loss for the Palestinians.  

As the British Empire waned, the Zionist state cleverly and shrewdly connected itself with the rising American Empire and gradually was able to occupy strategic positions within all of its governing branches – the Congress, Pentagon, State Department, and the White House. Furthermore, the state was able to create links with church groups, such as evangelicals and more particularly Christian Zionists, that, due to their interpretation of the Bible, have become staunch supporters of the state of Israel.  

Over the years, the state of Israel has become an integral part of American Empire. In fact, there seems to be an unbreakable bond on the economic, military, and political levels. “As of 2005, direct United States’ economic and military assistance to Israel amounted to nearly $154 billion (in 2005 dollars), the bulk of it comprising direct grants rather than loans.”1 Politically, the United States has consistently protected Israel in the UN Security Council. 

Between 1972 and 2006 the United States vetoed forty-two resolutions that were critical of Israel.2  Due to American military help, Israel has become one of the strongest military countries in the world today, and definitely the strongest in the Middle East. Moreover, Israel has itself been manufacturing and exporting arms to various countries of the world; consistently it is rated one of the top five countries in the world in regards to arms exports.  

Due to this special relationship between the United States and Israel, it has become impossible for the United States to be an honest broker in the Middle East peace process. At a time when it is in the interest of the United States to find a just solution to the conflict over Palestine, this favoritism of Israel has been one of the great hindrances to that peace. Israel has become indistinguishable and inseparable from American Empire regardless of whether the President is Republican or Democrat.   

It is interesting to point out that when I was researching speakers for Sabeel’s 8^th International Conference, ChallengingEmpire: God, Faithfulness and Resistance, I discovered that most of the scholars who have published on empire are American. For over twenty years, one biblical scholar after another has written on various biblical themes relating to empire. It is an amazing group of first rate scholars who recognize the hegemony of an American Empire today and are seeking to address it.  

As Palestinians living under the Israeli occupation, we have come to realize that Israel in its laws, policies, actions, and treatment of Palestinians, conducts itself like an empire because of its link with American Empire. In fact, its special relationship with the United States allows it to do what it deems necessary for its own interest with little regard to international law because it knows it can get away with it. To a large extent, Israel guides and dictates American foreign policy in the Middle East. It is important to point out that although President Obama has tried repeatedly to make the Government of Israel stop settlement building, he has not been successful. At the same time, the United States’ Administration is unwilling to support a UN Security Council resolution that censures the Israeli Government for repeated violations of international law. On the one hand, the United States admits that the settlements are an obstacle to peace and violate international law; on the other hand, the United States is unwilling to condemn them in the UN Security Council. What contradiction and what hypocrisy! Is the United States so weak that it cannot take a stand for what it knows is just and right?  

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Jesus lived all his life under the occupation of the Roman Empire and was killed by the occupation forces. From the beginning of his ministry, he preached about a different empire -- the kingdom of God. Jesus recognized that the empires of the world are built on the ideology of military and economic power. Such an ideology fills leaders with hubris, arrogance, and brutality. Empire might preach peace and prosperity but in reality it suppresses and enslaves its enemies. Empire’s power is shown through domination and exploitation while God’s power is shown through love and mercy, justice and peace.  

Like in the time of Jesus, we stand before the presence of two empires – God’s and Caesar’s. The first is built on the power of justice while the second is built on the justice of power. The first preaches peace through justice while the second imposes “peace” through the power of the gun. We know that we live under an empire that dominates, exploits, and oppresses. Can we, though living under this empire, remain faithful to God and continue to challenge and resist the lure and snares of empire – not only for our own sake, but for the sake of our brothers and sisters in the world that are crying out for justice, peace, and freedom? May we all keep high before us the vision of God’s Kingdom and continue to work and pray for its realization.

The Rev. Naim Ateek is the Director of Sabeel

1 Mearsheimer, John J. and Walt,

Stephen (2007). The Israel Lobby and

U.S. Foreign Policy. New York: Farrar,

Straus and Giroux. p. 24.

2 Ibid. p. 40.

Letter to President Obama Urging Bold, Concrete, and Immediate Action for Peace

Religious leaders urge President Obama
to take bold action for peace in Middle East

Washington, June 30 -- National Council of Churches officers and heads of NCC member communions have joined other faith leaders in calling on President Obama to take bold action for peace between Israel and Palestine.

The Rev. Peg Chemberlin, NCC president, and the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, NCC general secretary, signed onto a message that points out that "time is not on the side of peace."

The letter, drafted by Churches for Middle East Peace, urges the president to issue a comprehensive statement prior to the convening of the United Nations General Assembly this fall "that addresses all final status issues, including the need for Jerusalem in the future to be the shared capital of both states, a just resolution on the issue of all refugees, and assured access for all faiths to their holy places."

The letter to the president comes at a time when the path to peace is strewn with hurdles and both Israeli and Palestinian leaders face unprecedented domestic political challenges.

Recent weeks have seen comments by both President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu and a reconciliation agreement between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. Currently, a humanitarian flotilla is about to head to the Gaza strip, and the Palestinian Authority is considering bringing the question of statehood before the United Nations in the fall. There is a growing recognition of the increasingly desperate situation on the ground and that time is not on the side of peace.

“All of these events make it even more pertinent for President Obama to take immediate leadership toward a comprehensive peace agreement,” said Jordan Blevins, Advocacy Officer and Ecumenical Peace Coordinator for the National Council of Churches and Church of the Brethren.

The letter is signed by a wide range of evangelical, Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox leaders. In addition to Chemberlin and Kinnamon, signers representing NCC member communions include:

Father Mark Arey, Ecumenical Officer, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America; Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, NCC past president, Armenian Orthodox Church of North America; Rev. Geoffrey Black, General Minister and President, United Church of Christ; Rev. Paula Clayton Dempsey, Minister for Partnership Relations, Alliance of Baptists; and Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, General Secretary Reformed Church in America.

Also, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; The Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop and Primate, The Episcopal Church; His Beatitude Jonah, Archbishop of Washington, Metropolitan of All America and Canada, Orthodox Church in America; and His Eminence Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of the Syriac Orthodox Church,in the Eastern United States.

Also, the Rev. John L. McCullough, Executive Director and CEO, Church World Service; the Rev. Dr. A. Roy Medley, General Secretary, American Baptist Churches USA; the Rev. Dr. Betsy Miller, President, Provincial Elders' Conference, Moravian Church in America, Northern Province; Stanley J. Noffsinger, General Secretary, Church of the Brethren; and Dr. Harriett Jane Olson, Deputy General Secretary, the Women’s Division of General Board of Global Ministries, The United Methodist Church.

Also, the Rev. Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church, (USA); the Rev. Tyrone Pitts, General Secretary Emeritus, Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.; Bishop Sharon Zimmerman Radar, Ecumenical Officer, Council of Bishops, United Methodist Church; Dr. T. DeWitt Smith Jr., Immediate Former President, Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.; the Rev. Dr. Sharon E. Watkins, General Minister and President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); and Bishop John F. White, Ecumenical and Urban Affairs Officer, African Methodist Episcopal Church.

For the full text of the statement, including the signees, please visit: http://bit.ly/kf1tss

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Increased Demolitions in the Jordan Valley

This is an important Middle East Network Action Alert from the ELCA. Please read this report carefully and take the action steps recommended.

Increased Demolitions in the Jordan Valley
URGENT ACTION NEEDED:
Families Homeless due to Demolitions in the Jordan Valley

[The best way to take action is to go the Action Alert Link and follow the instructions for contacting Members of Congress, Daniel Rubinstein, the U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem, and Dr. Michael B. Oren, Ambassador of Israel to the United States.]

In the first six months of 2011, home demolitions in the occupied Palestinian territories displaced 706 individuals, including 341 minors, the majority of whom reside in the Jordan Valley.

The Palestinian population in the Jordan Valley has consistently faced discriminatory Israeli policies related to planning, building, and access to land and water. Over 94 percent of building permit applications submitted by Palestinians to the Israeli authorities between 2000 and September 2007 were rejected. The Jordan Valley is home to an estimated 150,000 Palestinians, but is classified as part of Area C, one of three zones identified as part of the Oslo Accords, and over which the Israeli government has both civil and security authority.

Much of the Jordan Valley’s land has been declared a "closed military zone" by the Israeli army or has been annexed into Israeli settlements, effectively turning the Jordan Valley into an Israeli-controlled enclave within the occupied Palestinian territories. Attempts by the authorities to remove the Palestinian population from Area C appear to be escalating.*

Summary of Events (June 2011):
On June 21, the Israeli army destroyed 29 homes and other properties in the Bedouin hamlet of Hadidiya in the Jordan Valley, leaving 11 children and 16 adults without homes.

Also on June 21, five structures (two homes, a shared kitchen and two animal shelters) were demolished in Khirbet Yarza, in the northern Jordan Valley, affecting 30 people, of which 8 are children.

On June 14, demolitions were carried out in Al-Fasayal, in the southern Jordan Valley, which, according to Jordan Valley Solidarity, displaced an estimated 103 people, including 64 children.

Earlier this month, the Israeli army destroyed a tent and three animal shelters in Hadidiya, displacing a family of 10 on grounds that they had relocated their home one hundred meters from its original site to a closed military area.

For more information read this article from Maan News Agency or watch this video provided via YouTube by EAPPI.
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TAKE ACTION: Contact the following officials to condemn the acts above and to call for all demolition and eviction orders against Palestinians in the West Bank to be cancelled immediately.

Contact Your Members of Congress at www.senate.gov and www.house.gov or through the "Take Action" link on this e-mail.

Contact Mr. Daniel Rubinstein, U.S. Consul General, Jerusalem:
Mr. Daniel Rubinstein
Consul General
U.S. Consulate
Jerusalem
Via Fax: 011 972 2 624 9462

Contact Dr. Michael B. Oren, Ambassador of Israel to the United States:
Dr. Michael B. Oren
Ambassador of Israel to the United States
3514 International Drive, NW
Washington, D.C. 20008
Email: info@washington.mfa.gov.il
Telephone: 202-364-5500
Fax: 202-364-5423
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For more information on current events in the Jordan Valley, see the May 2011 B'Tselem report: "Dispossession and Exploitation: Israel’s Policy in the Jordan Valley and Northern Dead Sea". Also see "Worrying Increase in home demolitions" [from UNRWA.]
[See also the June 21 B'Tselem report Israel Demolishes...
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* The International Court of Justice has stated that the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Times of War applies to the occupied Palestinian territories. The systematic policy of house demolitions carried out against Palestinian residents contravenes Article 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which forbids "any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons" except where such destruction is rendered "absolutely necessary by military operations."

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Sabeel reiterates a vision for the peace of Jerusalem

Sabeel’s Call for the Peace of Jerusalem
24.05.11 [Find this news at the Sabeel website]

“(41) As (Jesus) came near and saw the city, he wept over it, (42) saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.” (Luke 19: 41-42)

During this World Week for Peace in Palestine-Israel convened by the World Council of Churches as a joint action for a just peace, we, Palestinian Christians want to send a message to all our brothers and sisters in the world that focuses on Jerusalem:

Due to its significance for the whole land, the city of Jerusalem has come to encapsulate the hopes, desires, and dreams of millions of people that are concerned for its well-being and the well-being of all its inhabitants. Jerusalem has been a symbol, model, and paradigm par excellence of peace throughout its history. And today, what happens in and to Jerusalem is an omen for the whole country. It can be an omen for good or bad, for conflict and disaster or for peace and neighborliness.

In its present situation, Jerusalem cannot, in any way, stand for or represent the dreams that its citizens wish for it. Today’s picture of Jerusalem continues to be one of occupation by Israel, discrimination against and oppression of its Palestinian inhabitants and the denial of their human and political rights. Today’s Jerusalem cannot even come close to the hopes, desires, and dreams that its people long for. What the Israeli government is doing through its policies of Judaizing the city and displacing its Palestinian citizens and replacing them with Jewish settlers is a recipe for disaster.

Therefore, we reiterate our vision for the peace of Jerusalem:

1. We call on all the countries and governments in the world to make it abundantly clear that Jerusalem cannot be the possession or monopoly of the state of Israel; it is occupied territory and geographically located between the two states of Palestine and Israel; and so politically speaking, it must be shared equitably by both of them.

2. Religiously speaking, Jerusalem is equally significant to the three religions - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. All attempts by the occupying Israeli forces to give advantage to the rights and privileges of Jews above those of Christians and Muslims must be considered null and void by the international community.

3. We call on all countries and governments in the world to pressure Israel to stop establishing and expanding the illegal settlements in the heart of Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, to remove the wall that envelops the city and all the checkpoints that have isolated Jerusalem and made it inaccessible to its own people – Palestinian Christians and Muslims.

4. We call on all countries and governments to pressure Israel to respect and uphold the human rights of all the people of the land and to work for the end to the Israeli occupation and for the freedom and sovereignty of Palestine through peaceful and nonviolent means.

5. We call on all churches around the world to continue to pray and advocate for the peace of Jerusalem. In faithfulness to Jesus Christ’s message of justice, peace, and reconciliation, we call on all Christians to use their biblical interpretation and theology for the purpose of peacemaking and not as a cover-up for injustice.

It is time for the Palestinian people to be free and to live in dignity and peace. It is time for peace based on justice to be achieved. It is time for the establishment of the Palestinian state in accordance with the demands of international law and UN resolutions. IT IS TIME FOR PALESTINE!

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Sabeel's call for the peace of Jerusalem and other resources can also be found at the website of the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum (World Council of Churches) -

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