EAPPI News March-April 2009
EAPPI is proud to present you with the first issue of our new web-based newsletter! It gives you an overview of the issues with which EAs have been involved in the past two months and directs you to EAs' eyewitness reports where you can find further information.
31st group of Ecumenical Accompaniers
In mid-April, a new group of 24 Ecumenical Accompaniers (EAs) began their three months working with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). The new arrivals bring the total number of EAs to have participated in the programme to 541.
The 31st group of Ecumenical Accompaniers comprises 16 women and 8 men, from eight different countries (Finland, Germany, Ireland, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK). Among other professions, the EAPPI welcomes seven students, four teachers, two social pedagogues, an Anglican priest, a Catholic sister, an international hockey player and a journalist. Five EAs are returning for a second term. Profiles of the current EAs are posted on the EAPPI website.
EAs from the group are based in six placements: Bethlehem, Hebron, Jayyous, Tulkarem, Yanoun, and Jerusalem. Ecumenical Accompaniers, who serve a minimum of three months, work in various capacities with local churches, Palestinian and Israeli NGOs, as well as Palestinian communities to try to reduce the brutality of the Occupation and improve the daily lives of both peoples. The WCC would like to welcome the new group to Israel/Palestine.
Easter in the Holy Land
This year, the holy week coincided with the Jewish holiday of Passover, during which Israeli authorities imposed a general closure on the West Bank from 7 April through midnight on 18 April. This meant that all Palestinians with permits, with a few exceptions, were barred from entering East Jerusalem and Israel. Read a Jerusalem EA's reflections on the holy week here.
Unfortunately, Israeli authorities prevented most local Jerusalemite Christians and many pilgrims from freely accessing the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Old City of Jerusalem to participate in the Orthodox Holy Fire celebrations on 18 April. Barring local Christians from normally performing their prayers and blocking the movement to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher effectively challenges the Status Quo which has been the norm of governing and arranging the celebrations since the 1700s. Obstructing these celebrations also violates the freedom "to worship or assemble in connection with a religion or belief" enshrined in the 1981 Declaration of the UN General Assembly.
Occupation of East Jerusalem neighbourhoods
- Boy standing on his Silwan home after its demolition on 2 March 2009. Photo: EA Scott Thams.
The uncertainty for many Palestinians living in East Jerusalem prevails. As Bishop Munib Younan says, "We are now struggling to retain Jerusalem. If we lose Jerusalem, we may as well forget about Palestine." Houses are being demolished, families are being evicted and homes are being taken over by Israeli settlers.
The Jerusalem EAs respond quickly to home demolition and eviction alerts, providing a presence on site and following-up with the families in distress. According to OCHA, 44 Palestinians were displaced as a result of ten home demolitions in March. However, hundreds of others continue to face the threat of displacement due to demolition and eviction orders delivered during the month.
On 5 March, two families living in Sheikh Jarrah received eviction orders, which would displace up to 70 people. The buildings in Sheikh Jarrah are located in an area that is subject to a long legal battle contesting the ownership of the land on which the buildings are located. The Al Kurd family was already evicted in November 2008 and there are another 27 houses that are similarly threatened, leaving some 500 Palestinians at risk of displacement. EAPPI has been showing presence in Sheikh Jarrah since the Al Kurds were given the eviction order in July 2008 and you can view related EA reports on the website.
In addition to home demolitions and evictions, Palestinian home-owners in Jerusalem are also threatened by the occupation of Israeli settlers. In the early morning of 2 April, Israeli settlers moved into a Palestinian home in the Old City. Since then, the neighbourhood has been the site of several clashes and tensions. An EA report can be viewed here.
West Bank separation wall continues to expand
- Bulldozer uprooting olive trees in Ras at Tira on 15 March 2009. Photo: EA Cindy Zahnd.
In the past two months, a number of developments related to the separation wall were observed. In Salfit and Hebron governorates, Israeli contractors started leveling land around two Israeli settlements for the construction of new sections of the wall. In Qalqiliya, Israeli contractors started leveling land and uprooting trees belonging to Palestinians for the re-routing of two sections of the wall. The Jayyous EAs were on site and you can read their eyewitness report here.
Also in Qalqiliya governorate, the Israeli army has recently installed an 'inner fence or secondary Barrier' (OCHA) around 'Azzun 'Atma village. The Jayyous EAs visited Hani who has to enter a special pedestrian gate through the wall to be able to enter his own house. The EAs wrote this eyewitness report.
World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel, 4-10 June 2009
The World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel is drawing near. During the week, churches and people of other faiths in different countries send a clear signal to policy-makers, interested publics and their own parishes about the urgent need for a peace settlement that secures the legimitate rights and future of both peoples.
Visit www.worldweekforpeace.org to see how groups in your country are preparing to be involved and get ideas of how to Pray with the people living under occupation; Educate about actions that make for peace and about facts on the ground that do not; and Advocate with political leaders using ecumenical policies that promote peace with justice.
In the weeks leading up to the World Week, the current EAs are blogging to share their experiences and give insights into the realities they have to deal with on a daily basis in communities where they work. It also includes first-person stories by local residents about living with settlers. You can view the blog here.
Visiting delegations
- EA guiding a Swedish group through Bethlehem checkpoint in March 2009.
Receiving and guiding individuals and delegations in the different placements continues to be an important task of the serving EAs. During the months of March and April, the EAs have guided 43 delegations totalling 436 individuals. Notable examples include the WCC's Living Letters group, the WCC's church media delegation, a delegation from the United Church of Christ, representatives from Norwegian Church Aid and Finn Church Aid, a group of Swedish ministerial candidates, Swedish and American university students, a Norwegian journalist, and pilgrims from the Netherlands, Germany, France, Sweden and Korea. Click here to read a reflection by an EA in Hebron on the importance of receiving visitors.
EAs' advocacy work continues at home
There are now 522 EAs in the 16 sending countries who are ready to share their experiences. We thank the 25 EAs from Canada, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the USA who completed their mission and returned to their home countries in mid-April. They are available to speak to groups and mobilise local communities to work together to seek to realise the aims of the programme: an end to the occupation and a just peace for Israeli and Palestinian alike. Make contact with the National Coordinator in your country and have an EA speak to you. And then act on what you hear.
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