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A PALESTINIAN CHRISTIAN CALL TO END THE OCCUPATION
A group of Palestinian Christians representing a variety of churches and
church-related organizations have issued an animated and prayerful call for an
end to occupation of Palestine by Israel. The call, issued at an 11 December
meeting in Bethlehem, comes at a time when many Palestinians believe they have
reached a dead end. It raises questions to the international community,
political leaders in the region, and the churches worldwide about their
contribution to the Palestinian people's pursuit of freedom. Even in the midst
of "our catastrophe" the call is described as a word of faith, hope
and love.
Referred to as "The Kairos Palestine Document" the call echoes a
similar summons issued by South African churches in the mid-1980s at the height
of repression under the apartheid regime. That call served to galvanize
churches and the wider public in a concerted effort that eventually brought the
end of apartheid.
The authors of the Kairos Palestine Document, among them Patriarch Emeritus
Michel Sabbah from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Lutheran Bishop of
Jerusalem Munib Younan, and Archbishop Theodosios Atallah Hanna of Sebastia
from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, have raised the challenge of
the urgency for peace with justice to religious and political leaders in
Palestinian and the Israeli society, international community, and to "our
Christian brothers and sisters in the churches" around the world. They
believe that current efforts in the Middle East are confined to managing the
crisis rather than finding pertinent and long term solutions to the crisis.
Decrying empty promises
Expressing their pain, the signatories of the call decry the emptiness of the
promises and pronouncements about peace in the region. They remind the world
about the separation wall erected on Palestinian territory, the blockade of
Gaza, how Israeli settlements ravage their land, the humiliation at military
checkpoints, the restrictions of religious liberty and controlled access to
holy places, the plight of refugees awaiting their right of return, prisoners
languishing in Israeli prisons and Israel's blatant disregard of international
law, as well as the paralysis of the international community in the face of
this tragedy.
Rejecting Israeli justifications for their actions as being in self-defence,
they unambiguously state that if there were no occupation, "there would be
no resistance, no fear and no insecurity."
They argue: "God created us not to engage in strife and conflict but
together build up the land in love and mutual respect. Our land has a universal
mission, and the promise of the land has never been a political programme, but
rather the prelude to complete universal salvation. Our connectedness to this
land is a natural right. It is not an ideological or a theological question
only." They reject any use of the Bible to legitimize or support political
options and positions that are based upon injustice.
Declaring the occupation of Palestinian land as a sin against God and humanity,
they steadfastly adhere to the signs of hope such as "local centres of
theology" and "numerous meetings for inter-religious dialogue",
recognizing that these signs provide hope to the resistance of the occupation.
Through the logic of peaceful resistance, resistance is as much a right as it
is a duty as it has the potential to hasten the time of reconciliation.
Asserting that this is a moment demanding repentance for past actions, either
for using hatred as an instrument of resistance or the willingness to be indifferent
and absorbed by faulty theological positions, the group calls on the
international community and Palestinians for steadfastness in this time of
trial. "Come and see [so we can make known to you] the truth of our
reality", they appeal.
Poignantly, they conclude, "in the absence of all hope, we cry out our cry
of hope. We believe in God, good and just. We believe that God's goodness will
finally triumph over the evil of hate and of death that still persist in our
land. We will see here 'a new land' and 'a new human being', capable of rising
up in the spirit to love each one of his or her brothers and sisters."
The authors are:
• Patriarch Michel Sabbah
• Bishop Dr Munib Younan
• Archbishop Theodosios Atallah Hanna
• Rev. Dr Jamal Khader
• Rev. Dr Rafiq Khoury
• Rev. Dr Mitri Raheb
• Rev. Dr Naim Ateek
• Rev. Dr Yohana Katanacho
• Rev. Fr Fadi Diab
• Dr Jiries Khoury
• Ms Sider Daibes
• Ms Nora Kort
• Ms Lucy Thaljieh
• Mr Nidal Abu Zulof
• Mr Yusef Daher
• Mr Rifat Kassis - coordinator of the initiative
Media contact in Jerusalem: Ranjan Solomon +972-54-733-7857
Full text of the Kairos Palestine Document:
In English
http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/2009pdfs/Kairos
Palestine_En.pdf
In Arabic
http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/2009pdfs/Kairos
Palestine_Ar.pdf
Auf Deutsch
http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/2009pdfs/Kairos
Palestine_Ger.pdf
En français
http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/2009pdfs/Kairos
Palestine_Fr.pdf
For the list of signatories:
http://kairospalestine.ps/?q=node/2
Churches in the Middle East: solidarity and witness for peace:
http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=3113
Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and
service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches
founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, Orthodox,
Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in
over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The
WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from the Methodist Church in
Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
=====================
And From Ecumenical News International (Switzerland); www.eni.chIsraeli occupation a 'sin against God', say Palestinian Christian leaders
Jerusalem (ENI). Palestinian Christian leaders have issued a
call for an end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory, which they
described as, "a sin against God and against humanity," and have
appealed for support from the world's churches.
"The injustice against the Palestinian people, which is the Israeli
occupation, is an evil that must be resisted," the Christian leaders said
in a document that was almost two years in the making. "Resistance is a
right and a duty for the Christian. But it is resistance with love as its
logic," they said. "It is thus a creative resistance, for it must
find human ways that engage the humanity of the enemy."
The initiators of the statement, made public at an 11 December meeting in
Bethlehem, have referred to the text as the "Kairos Palestine"
document. "Kairos" is a Greek word used in the Bible for a God-given
time of challenge, grace and opportunity.
The organizers said that their statement echoes the Kairos document that South
African churches issued in the mid-1980s, and which helped galvanise churches
and the wider public in a concerted effort that eventually led to the end of
apartheid.
"It is a call to the international community worldwide to look at the
plight of the Palestinians and put pressure on Israel to conform to
international law," spokesperson and coordinator Rifat Kassis told
Ecumenical News International.
"Despite the talk about peace and the peace process conducted for 17
years, nothing has happened and the situation continues deteriorating,"
Kassis said. "It is the right time for a more ethical perspective on the
conflict, and that should come from religious leaders."
The full title of the document is, "A moment of truth: A word of faith,
hope and love from the heart of Palestinian suffering".
Signatories include the former leader of the Roman Catholic Church in the
region, Latin Patriarch emeritus Michel Sabbah; the Lutheran bishop of
Jerusalem Munib Younan; and Archbishop Theodosios Atallah Hanna of Sebastia
from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
"The aim is to free both peoples [Israelis and Palestinians] from
extremist positions of the different Israeli governments, bringing both to
justice and reconciliation," the Palestinian Christian leaders stated.
"In this spirit and with this dedication, we will eventually reach the
longed-for resolution to our problems, as indeed happened in South Africa and
with many other liberation movements in the world."
The signatories accused Israel of "disregard of international law and
international resolutions". Issues faced by Palestinians, they said,
included the "separation wall" that cuts through Palestinian
territories, Israeli settlements and "daily humiliation" at military
checkpoints.
Rejecting Israeli justification for Israel's actions being in self-defence, the
Palestinian Christian leaders said, "There would be no resistance, no fear
and no insecurity" if there were no occupation.
"The Israeli occupation of Palestinian land is a sin against God and
humanity," the Palestinian Christian leaders stated, "because it
deprives the Palestinians of their basic human rights, bestowed by God. It
distorts the image of God in the Israeli who has become an occupier, just as it
distorts this image in the Palestinian living under occupation."
The initiative brought together leaders of most Palestinian Christian
denominations and prominent Christian theologians, said Kassis.
The Geneva-based World Council of Churches helped facilitate the formation of
the document, which also addresses churches worldwide including WCC members who
may have differing views of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The signatories, acknowledging that they are small in number, said their
message was, "great and important" not only to Christians but also to
Muslims and Jews. To their Muslim neighbours, they sent a "message of love
and of living together," while at the same time urging them to reject
fanaticism and extremism. They also called on the world to reject uninformed
views of Muslims so that they were not, "stereotyped as the enemy nor
caricatured as terrorists". To their Jewish neighbours, the signatories
affirmed the possibility of a shared life despite past struggles.
The Christian leaders condemned all forms of racism including anti-Semitism and
Islamophobia, and called on Christians world wide to, "say a word of truth
and to take a position of truth with regard to Israel's occupation of
Palestinian land".
The writers also urged churches around the world, "not to offer a
theological cover up for the injustice we suffer, for the sin of the occupation
imposed on us".
Kairos Palestine document: www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/2009pdfs/Kairos%20Palestine_En.pdf
Kairos Palestine website: www.kairospalestine.ps
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