World Council of
Churches Developing
Ecumenical Strategy
on Mideast Conflict
by James Solheim
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A high-level consultation at the
headquarters of the World Council of Churches in Geneva has decided to
develop a coordinated ecumenical [strategy] in the search for a
comprehensive peace in the Middle East, based on justice and security for
both the Palestinian and Israeli people.
Bishop Riah Abu El-Assal of the Episcopal Diocese in Jerusalem said in
his sermon at the opening worship, "Peace, as you all know, is neither the
absence of war nor the cessation of hostilities. Peace is that relationship
between the so-called enemies, from which all the causes that made for war
are no more. Making peace requires greater courage than going to war."
The August 6-7 consultation comes in the wake of a visit to the region by
a seven-member ecumenical [delegation] at the end of June with a mandate to
develop a response to the conflict by exploring local ecumenical needs,
strategies and plans of action. The delegation examined the feasibility of
an ecumenical "witness for peace" program that might support non-violent
resistance to the Israeli occupation and a presence for protection,
monitoring and reporting.
The delegation's report said that the church community in Palestine is
caught in deep despair as the result of the escalation of violence but that
the desire of both Palestinians and Israelis for a "just and durable peace"
has deepened.
The Geneva consultation decided to form a small consultative group to
develop realistic proposals for action with local and international partners
in seven areas: coordinating advocacy with governments; boycotting goods
produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied territories; strengthening
the "chain of solidarity" through prayer vigils; resisting the destruction
of property and uprooting of people from their homes; encouraging and
enabling the presence of ecumenical monitoring teams; improving
communication, interpretation and reporting on the conflict and its causes;
and increasing the number of delegations to and from Israel and the occupied
territories.
In response to a recommendation from the June delegation, the WCC
executive committee will be asked at its September meeting to consider a
special focus on "ending the violence of occupation in Palestine" in the
context of the WCC's Decade to Overcome Violence, and perhaps call an
international conference on the subject.
WCC General Secretary Konrad Raiser described continued Israeli
occupation of Palestinian territory as a "clear violation of international
law" in an interview after the consultation. When asked if the WCC might be
regarded as taking sides with the Palestinians in the conflict, he said that
it had been "the consistent position of the WCC not to be drawn into
advocacy of any particular position but to underline the fundamental
importance of agreed norms of international law and agreed norms of human
rights."
Raiser argued that "there is no doubt to all those who share this
ethical, moral and legal approach that Israel's continued occupation,
continued settlements, even the expansion of settlements, is a clear
violation of international law to which Israel is a signatory."
The WCC will consider establishing a permanent presence or office in
Jerusalem to coordinate ecumenical action, in consultation with the churches
in Jerusalem and the Middle East Council of Churches.
James Solheim is director of Episcopal News Service. Reported
by Episcopal News Service, August 15, 2001.
Watch for a review of Bishop Riah Abu El-Assal’s life story, Caught in
Between, on our website in the near future.
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