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for the content of external links
Flash News about Palestine from IMEMC
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Remember
These Children
|
Pax Christi
is not responsible
for the content of external links |
Flash News about Palestine from IMEMC
Click here for the latest >> |
Remember These Children |
| Israel / Palestine |
Pax Christi UK visit to Palestine/Israel: the General Secretary's report (needs Acrobat Reader) plus a Special Edition of JustPeace April 2009 |
what they say about GAZA... what you can do about Gaza... |
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Methodist Church Support for Israel-Palestine Report Palestinian Christians call for a - Kairos Time A Moment of Truth - a word of faith, hope and love from the heart of Palestinian suffering. Full text here. Read more from Kairos Palestine here Bethlehem checkpoint - 4:00 AM ... any day!
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Reports & Action Consider planning a Pilgrimge to the Holy Land. Palestine Pilgrimage will work with you to plan a trip for a group Regular eye-witness reports from Ecumenical Accompaniers New website launched: Failing Gaza: No rebuilding, no recovery, no more excuses Government call Read more here from Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility (ECCR)
on Israeli settlement goods Denied Dignity: Troubled Waters Palestinians denied fair access to water. Report by Amnesty International UN fact finding mission on Gaza conflict ( Goldstone) World Council of Churches UN Human Rights Report Amnesty details Gaza Report on medical ethics during war on Gaza
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New pamphlet from Pax Christi Pax Christi, in solidarity with peacemakers in Palestine & Israel, Offers:
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what they say about GAZA...
Prayers Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre in Jerusalem will hold a day of fasting and prayer on Monday, June 7, for the members of the flotilla, the people of Gaza, and for peace in Palestine and Israel. This litany is offered as a resource for individuals and congregations to adapt and use, in part or in whole. We encourage pastors to use the litany in their Sunday services. Eternal God, arbiter of justice and champion of peace, reach into the deep pit of violence, despair, and ruthlessness that shapes the lives of so many in Palestine and Israel. The nations are in an uproar, kingdoms totter, people cry out. You, O God, are our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Grant, O God, healing to the men and women injured during the Israeli military assault. Bring grace and consolation to those who mourn the dead. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be filled. God who has proclaimed release to the captives and freedom to the oppressed, may all who have been taken prisoner for their involvement in the flotilla return safely home. We remember these and others who are unjustly detained. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, who has sent me to proclaim release to the captives.and to let the oppressed go free. Lord of all, make known to all in Palestine and Israel that your love extends to all people, that might is not right, that fear begets fear, that love conquers all. Give hope to the many who, in love, speak and act boldly for justice. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. God of Justice, we pray that the nations of the world will no longer stand idly by, but uphold the rights of the oppressed in Gaza, the West Bank, and around the globe . We, the peoples of many lands, "reaffirm [our] faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small." [UN Charter: Preamble] Your judgements are just, O Lord, you will hold all nations accountable for what they have done, and also for what they have left undone. God who offers life in abundance, break the chains of injustice that shackle the people of Gaza. May the blockade that limits food and medicine, toys and cement, culture and trade, friendships and families be swiftly ended. May the people of Gaza and of the West Bank be brought together in unity. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. For like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. [Isaiah 65] God of equity, who knows no distinction between race or creed or colour, help us to be ever impatient in our encounter with injustice and abuse. As ambassadors for Christ, do not allow our hearts to be hardened, but let us live your message of justice, peace and reconciliation. We remember the words of your prophet: "The effect of justice will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places." [Isaiah 32:16-18] God, in your grace, transform the world. |
Prayer for the Week for Peace in Palestine Israel For our Muslim brothers and sisters in Palestine/Israel, For our Jewish brothers and sisters in Palestine/Israel For our Christian brothers and sisters, the Living Stones in Palestine Israel, this day, we pray may peace be with you. For those who seek togetherness,
Actions Action up-dates from Palestine Solidarity Campaign Read the reports from Physicians for Human Rights and Amnesty International. Send these to your MP expressing in your own words the necessity for the Israeli government to be accountable for its actions in Gaza. Keep informed: read articles and comments from Church and other sources in our what they say about Gaza box. B'Tselem: background on the Gaza siege
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"Stop Arming Israel" petition One practical way for Pax Christi members and supporters to help reduce violence in the Middle East is to challenge the on-going trade in arms to the region and to Israel in particular. Pax Christi is supporting the "Stop Arming Israel" petition. You can sign on-line or download a petition for use in your local church, community, street-stall or wherever you have opportunity. |
Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) |
The mission of the EAPPI is to accompany Palestinians and Israelis in their nonviolent actions and concerted advocacy efforts to end the occupation. It is a response to a call made to the World Council of Churches by the Heads of Churches in Jerusalem. It is supported by Pax Christi International. In Britain and Ireland the EAPPI is supported by the Churches' Commission on Mission of the Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, Pax Christi, and is managed by Quaker Peace & Social Witness.
Download EAPPI Newsletter - for full list of NEWS & UPDATES & RESOURCES go to EAPPI
The links listed in the column to the right offer excellent analysis, images, stories and
prayers to help you tell the story of life in Bethlehem this Christmas.
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This Christmas 2008, Pax Christi International again invites you to send messages of peace and solidarity to our peacemaking partners and local contacts in Bethlehem. Why not send a message of peace and hope to the people of Palestine? Please, make sure your messages are delivered before 25 December, 2009 (Western Christmas) and/or 7 January 2009 (Eastern Christmas) Messages can be sent to aei@p-ol.com English is the preferred language. All messages can be read at www.aeicenter.org and www.paxchristi.net To read more about a new project called "Open Bethlehem" go to www.openbethlehem.org/ |
Support Materials Advent Reflections: for use with young children /families. Produced by Nottingham Diocesan Primary School team in cooperation with Pax Christi. Weekly Advent Reflections from the World Council of Churches Download |
Remaining Steadfast for Peace - Pax Christi Delegation to Palestine/Israel |
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Members of a Pax Christi delegation returned to the UK on 19 February following an 8 day visit to Palestine and Israel. The focus of the visit was to make contact with teachers and those working with young people, to encounter life and occupation in the West Bank and Jerusalem and to meet with Pax Christi partners- women, teachers, peace and human rights NGOs - to learn from them and share approaches to teaching and presenting issues of conflict and violence. An overarching concern, expressed by nearly all those whom the delegation met, was the war with Gaza. Many Christian and Muslim Palestinians articulated their fear that the West Bank would be 'next' and their frustrations that in spite of so many words of concern about the impact of occupation by the international community, nothing on the ground has improved. Teachers spoke of how their pupils had appeared absent minded in class during the war and how they had to struggle to prevent the burden of Gaza from overwhelming their students. The delegation also experienced some of the practical realities of occupation that Palestinians face on a daily basis. They joined Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) volunteers at the Bethlehem checkpoint at 5.00 am in the morning to witness the humiliation of hundreds of Palestinian workers who queue daily, some from as early at 2.00 am, to pass through turnstiles and security searches in order to work in Jerusalem. In Hebron the delegation joined Accompaniers who walk daily with teachers and pupils of the Cordoba school to protect them from harassment from Israeli settlers who live in the centre of the old city and from members of the Israeli Defence Forces who staff checkpoints.
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Members of the delegation - all Pax Christi members: John Harkin, Vice-Principal, Oakgrove Integrated School, Derry, Northern Ireland; Ann Farr, Pax Christi Executive Committee member, Coventry; Mary Boley, Christian Education Centre, Tooting, London; John Williams, Adviser Catholic Education - secondary support team, Westminster Diocese, London; Hilary Topp, Peace Education Worker, Pax Christi; Pat Gaffney, General Secretary, Pax Christi. |
In spite of the hardships and mis-treatment of people the delegation were aware of a great spirit of steadfastness or Sumud (the Arabic word) in the lives of those they met. Israeli and Arab teachers who bravely challenge acts of violence and stereotyping of the 'other'; mothers who talk of their pain 'giving them power' to overcome obstacles; young people who choose to stay and make a life for themselves in a situation that seems totally hopeless; Israeli and Palestinian NGOs, some working to monitor human rights while others work to restore the culture and traditions of Palestine that are threatened by occupation. On 14 February the delegation joined with their partner organisation the Arab Educational Institute near the separation wall at Rachel's Tomb at the entrance to Bethlehem for a candle-lit vigil for peace in Israel and Palestine. Prayers for peace and texts from holy scriptures were read during the vigil. The delegation will work to produce a range of reports and resources based on their visit and make these available through Pax Christi's networks and website. Download Pat Gaffney's diary of the visit Download leaflet about candle-lit vigil for peace in Israel-Palestine Watch video of candle-lit vigil for peace in Israel-Palestine |
Pax Christi is not responsible for the content of external links
News about the "Walled-in"
Some Good News!
Documents
Pax Christi documents on Israel-Palestine
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Audio & Video files
All Jerusalem Christians denied entry to the Holy Sepulcher 18 April 2009- Holy Fire Saturday All Jerusalem Christians were denied entry to the Holy Sepulcher This Holy Fire Saturday 2009 and for the first time Israel prevents all local Jerusalemite Christians from accessing freely the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Old City of Jerusalem. For the fifth year, Israeli forces built up check points around the area surrounding the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and barred local Christians from normally performing their prayers and practicing their ancient traditions. The Israeli authorities is imposing this new arrangement of blocking the movement to the Church in this Holy day which changes the Status Quo, that has been the norm of governing and arranging the celebrations for the past hundreds of years. It is becoming obvious that local Palestinians and especially Christian Palestinian are being singled out. Less than a week ago, thousands of Jewish worshipers flocked in the Old City of Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover - Pesach. Israel has granted full access to all Jewish worshipers wishing to arrive to the Holy City. The Palestinian Christians who arrive to the Old City for Easter ought to be allowed to access freely their Holy Sites that Israel controls by force. Jerusalem should never be left to one party to rule over it. Especially a party that is eager to use brutal power against women and children celebrating the Holy Easter. Today, just like last year, children and elderly people were humiliated and brutally blocked from celebrating this Holy day. The space was never the issue. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher has hosted all of the worshipers (locals, pilgrims, and tourists) without any reported incidents. The lack of coordination between the different Churches in Jerusalem is coming to the advantage of the Israeli authorities, who have for so long acted in a divide and rule manner. The price today is being paid dearly by the indigenous Jerusalem Christians whom are being pushed to leave their home and City and Holy Places. Such violations by the state of Israel should stop. The steps taken against Palestinian Christians are illegal. We call upon the Consulates, Embassies, Christian Churches and organizations, and human rights organizations, to intervene immediately, so that freedom of religion and worship in Jerusalem is granted to all faiths. The Laity Committee in the Holy Land/East Jerusalem |
The Writing on the Wall (2)
A series of interviews with Palestinians who live close to the Wall. Three questions are asked: How is your daily life influenced by the Wall and the checkpoints? What does freedom mean to you? What are your sources of energy? The interviews are made by Toine van Teeffelen for the www.verbindingverbroken.nl [connection lost] website of United Civilians for Peace, an umbrella of Dutch development organizations and peace movements. "BIT BY BIT THE WALL BECAME MORE TANGIBLE..." Interview with Terry Boullata - 8/12/04, Jerusalem I am 38 years old, and I am from Jerusalem. I was born and lived all my life here, and I am proud of that. I married 14 years ago with a man from Abu Dis who carries a West Bank ID card. I am myself carrying a Jerusalem ID. I studied at Jerusalem schools and then at Birzeit University. During the first Intifada I was arrested four times; the last time, while I was working as a fieldworker for a human rights organization, I was released after intervention of the former American president Jimmy Carter and Mme Mitterand. Later on I opened my own private school in Abu Dis, thinking that I should help in the development of the community I'm living in. I started the school in 1999 with loans from agencies and banks and it's still working. Altogether I have 225 children from kindergarten up to the fifth grade elementary. But this year I lost around 77 children due to the building of Wall, which is less than 0,5 km from the school. Due to the loss of income I'm now also working as an advocacy worker for the Palestinian campaign for Freedom and Peace which was initiated with the visit this year of Dr Arun Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. * * * Abu Dis, Azzariyyeh and Sawahreh [villages to the east of Jerusalem] are totally isolated from the Palestinian areas. They are a canton, a ghetto. On the eastern side of the Wall you have now 70.000 people without access to proper health services in Jerusalem nor in areas within the Palestinian Authority. If you cannot go to Jerusalem, the nearest hospital is Jericho, at half an hour drive. And the checkpoint of Jericho is closed after eight in the evening. My house is historically part of Abu Dis. But in 1967 the Israelis annexed my area to Jerusalem, and it became Jerusalem area according to Israeli law. According to international law it is part of the occupied territories. When we married it didn't really matter as the area was still open to the West Bank. The borderline was on the map, not on the ground. But in August 2002, we suddenly woke up to see that the army had shifted the Jerusalem checkpoint towards the entrance of Abu Dis. And they brought cement blocks one meter high. So we started to have quarrels with the soldiers because they sometimes denied us access to Jerusalem and sometimes to the West Bank. Bit by bit the Wall became more tangible. Every day they were bringing more trucks with cement blocks that were put in accordance with the Israeli map of Jerusalem. Bit by bit we in the neighborhood became more and more isolated from the center of Abu Dis, from my husband's family, and from my own school. Until January 2004 we were still able to jump over the one-meter high wall that was there at the time. As my house is on a hill, I could more easily jump over the one meter. But during that period I was pregnant twice and I lost twice, because of the jumping. But that was almost the only way to reach my school. My neighborhood was turned overnight from a residential base into a military zone. The lifestyle in the neighborhood changed totally. Men, women, children - everybody was jumping over the wall at the low point near our house. Early morning the children on both sides of the wall were trying to reach their schools on the other side, including the children from the west side who were going to my own school on the east side. You could always find children jumping amidst teargas and sound bombs. On a daily basis. The early morning and afternoon were also exactly the times when the army would come to harass the passers by. The border police had a military camp in front of my house, where they settled down and ate and drank. They came to know us better; in our neighborhood there are only 13 families, and we live on the highest part so that the army or border police always came and sat around our house. But they were still harassing me and asking for my identity card. I told them: "You know me and you know that I'm going to my school and you still want to know my identity card?" My family was renovating the nearby Cliff hotel, which later on was confiscated. They were teasing us: "Why are you renovating the hotel, we're going to take it anyway." "Take money, let us rent it, it is much better for you." I wouldn't allow my children to play in the streets of the neighborhood because the army jeeps, with their teargas, were there all the time. The construction of the Wall, from one meter to nine meter high, and six meters from our house, took place in January 2004. The jumping from our house became impossible of course, and we had to look for other ways to sneak into the village of Abu Dis. My husband is a West Banker, he cannot be in Jerusalem. I as a Jerusalemite was however able to go around the Wall along an Israeli bypass road so as to enter Abu Dis from the other side. It became half an hour drive to my school instead of the normal one-minute drive. Still I could drive at least, but my husband had to look for the lowest parts of the Wall that were still under construction and not yet nine meters, and jump over the hills or go through small openings. However, when sooner or later the Wall is completely finished he will not be able to come back to the house by jumping. Very recently my husband – he is a merchant, he sells stones – was able to get a permit that allowed him to be in Jerusalem from five in the morning until seven in the evening. After seven he is living and sleeping illegally with us. That's one of the things we joke about. My husband is afraid that he can be kicked out any moment from the house. Or that he jumps over the wall to Abu Dis and then can't come back. Other cousins in the neighborhood who own property here but carry West Bank ID cards are living illegally in their own property. If they don't get Jerusalem ID cards or permits to live, they can be kicked out and their properties can be turned into absentee properties [to be confiscated by the Israeli state]. Khaled, our cousin, was three times arrested, literally upon entering his own hotel, the Cliff hotel. And the scary part is that in May 2004 they established a settlement just behind our house. It is called Kidmat Zion, with 250 housing units, which means nothing less than the arrival of 15.000 Israeli settlers. The famous Moskovics [American Jewish philanthropist who sponsors settlement building in East-Jerusalem] is of course the one who started this settlement, and of course with subsidies and Israeli government approval. This settlement is growing on our account and will squeeze our neighborhood. * * * Freedom means for me to be with my husband Salah and children, to have a family life and to move around easily. So that we for instance are able to spend joint time on weekends. I can't easily go with Salah to the West Bank. Jericho is a well-known winter resort. But I can't go to Jericho as a Jerusalemite. I need a permit. It's easier for him as a West Banker to enter Jericho. On the other hand, Salah can't come with me to Jerusalem. Even when he has a permit he is often denied access; for instance when the Israelis announce a general closure. The Wall is depressing us all. No family members can visit us, so we take the effort and visit them. Instead of us and the other members of the family going to a picnic we are just visiting them at home. It becomes boring for your children. Also, my husband lost income. Nobody is building houses and so he doesn't sell stones much. You run, run, run from checkpoints to destinations and at the end of the day you just have enough to pay all the bills. In Jerusalem you have so many taxes to pay. Salah nowadays sometimes says: let's move into the West Bank. He and his own family have a house there that will lessen the expenditures of paying the rent and the taxes and the bills. But I cannot do that because the moment I live in the West Bank I will loose my residency in Jerusalem. I will not get any other residency because the Palestinian Authority is not giving ID cards to Jerusalemites who loose their ID cards. They claim that they do not want to encourage Jerusalemites to leave Jerusalem. Moving to Abu Dis would put me in a more brutal life of having no exit at all, just living in Abu Dis, without being able to leave the village. The only time that I can breathe is when I leave for a conference abroad. Although there is harassment on the borderline, you still go out and see the world. That's part of your personal freedom, to go abroad, a freedom which my husband is denied. He cannot travel; the Jordanians do not allow him to travel through Jordan. We want to be free as a family, to live wherever we want and that's not easy. I say to him: I don't want to live in a smaller ghetto. Yes, East-Jerusalem is a ghetto but it is a somewhat bigger ghetto than the Abu Dis ghetto. I want to have more opportunities for my daughters. On the Jerusalem side they can have music or ballet classes. I am a middle class woman, I would like to have some of those opportunities available for my daughter. He says that when they kick him out he wants to stay in the West Bank; he doesn't want the harassment anymore. That would mean that he would have to take the girls a few days with him, and the girls would have to come back and live a few days with me. So the whole family would be affected when the Israelis really impose the expulsion of Salah from the area. So we have to choose between my own family and my husband's family, and even between living together as a family and to divide. * * * At the end of the day I am a mother. As I always say and brag: we created life. So we have to create hope. You don't have another option than surviving for the sake of your children. I better be on a special level of hope and creativity and easiness and fun, in order to survive, and to give a better life for your children. Many Palestinians share that, the only hope is for our children. It's not an easy thing. Now I work in Ramallah. It is so frustrating to stand in line before the checkpoint of Kalandia every day, for 1,5 till 2 hours sometimes, if not more. It used to be half an hour drive but now it's an hour. When I am back home I am totally exhausted. I have no time or energy to spoil my daughters, I have to quickly cook, clean, put them to study, to sleep. It's sometimes becoming so frustrating and tiring. But at the end of the day you still have to go beyond that frustration. Daydreams? No, my only daydream, in fact my nightmare, is when I come back home and Salah is not able to come back. For instance when I am stuck at Kalandia and Salah cannot come home because he is stuck at the other side of the Wall and the children are left home alone. You never know. Or when something happens during the day, and I am stuck on one side and my daughter on the other. * * * I am an activist now. What gives me hope sometimes is that I speak more with the press and with Israeli groups. I am receiving lots of Israeli delegations coming to see the Wall. Sometimes I am more happy to receive Israelis than to receive foreigners. If the Israeli point of view changes it can make our life easier because they can have influence from within their own society. I believe that lobby-wise or campaigning-wise I should work more and more within the Israeli society. Still we as Palestinians have a long way to go to address our issues more strongly but it gives me hope when I see Israelis discussing, listening, especially when they see that the Wall has no sense of security for them. And that it only separates Palestinians from each other. Making us suffer more and more and putting us more and more into the corner is bad also for them. You talk with intellectuals and the young generation. Especially the young give some hope. Sometimes there are a few decision-makers coming like Knesset members, or the Israeli media visit us and they write about us. You see the fear that the Wall is giving them, not just us. When we work together with these Israelis, many of them may cross the line. They have become more active against the occupation and the icon of the occupation, which is the Wall. Very recently, we established Artists without Walls. I am not an artist, but because of the area, Palestinian and Israeli artists approached me and said how can we help you? So in April 2004, Palestinian and Israeli artists came together to make the wall transparent by putting screens, projectors and lights, as in a video conference. The people from both sides were able to see and speak with each other. This gives hope to the people who are living in the ghetto, and who were listening and watching us. These are windows of hope that I can see from time to time. We as victims need to work hard to make the perpetrators aware of what they are doing to us on the human level. On our side not everybody is convinced. Many people are steeped in their own anger and frustration and I can understand that. I don't identify with it especially when it comes to suicide bombings, but I can understand what is happening to those people. And this is what we have to say to the Israelis: Put yourself in our shoes. Would you expect yourselves to accept the daily humiliation at the checkpoints and the Wall, while it has no sense of security? |
In Depth News & Background
BBC journalist Alan Johnston lived in Gaza for three years reporting on its conflict before being kidnapped and held hostage there for almost four months in 2007. Through his many contacts there he has been piecing together the impact that the Israeli military assault is having on Hamas. (09/01/09)
