Posted Thursday 05 June 2008
Church leaders from Scottish churches and Members of the Scottish Parliament, together with representatives from Jews for a Just Peace and the Scottish Islamic Foundation, joined their voices to those in 23 other countries around the world on Tuesday night, 3 June, supporting the World Council of Churches call for a just peace in Israel/Palestine.
At the launch of the week-long 'International Church Action for Peace in Palestine and Israel' (4 - 10 June) at the Scottish Parliament, participants, which included many faith groups, learned about the week of advocacy and action by churches around the world in the hopes of sending a clear signal to policy-makers, their congregations and parishes, as well as the general public about the urgent need for a peace settlement in Israel/Palestine that secures the legitimate rights and futures of both peoples.
Pauline McNeil, MSP and Convener of the Cross Party Group on Palestine welcomed over 70 participants. She noted Archbishop Desmond Tutu's recent denunciation of the blockade of the Gaza Strip calling it an "abomination" and spoke of her recent fact finding trip to Gaza where they encountered such a desperate humanitarian situation that has seriously challenged any remaining hope amongst the people there that the international community will ever respond to their constant plea for help.
Nancy Adams, member of the Action of Churches Together Church and Society Network, explained what the week of action was about and read out a personal message from Dr Manuel Hassassian, the Palestinian Ambassador to the UK. He noted that "The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a humanitarian conflict that needs a humanitarian solution and it is not an economic conflict that needs an economic solution, it is a political conflict that needs a political solution." He called on the group to put pressure on governments urging them to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law and address the current abuse of human rights in the Palestinian territories.
The Most Rev Dr Idris Jones, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, quoting Robert Frost’s "Mending Wall" said that the separation wall between Israel and Palestine is "inappropriate" and urged people in Scotland, who are fortunate to "be free to denounce injustice" to actively support those in both Palestine and Israel that are working tirelessly for peace with justice, sometimes at "considerable cost" to themselves and their loved ones.
Dr. Alison Elliot, former Moderator of the Church of Scotland, had just returned from Palestine and quoted Mitri Raheb, Lutheran pastor in Bethlehem, who makes the distinction between "pestimism" – the more passive optimism and pessimism which relies on the actions of others – and real hope, which is something we construct ourselves. She called on the group to do what they could to "actively construct facts of hope on the ground."
Gerry Hughes, SJ, member of the Jesuit Community and representing the Roman Catholic Church, told of his walk to Jerusalem in 1987 during which encountered the "kindness and generosity of complete strangers". He reminded the group that the "roots of violence are within each of us" and yet often our violence is masked by calling it ‘nationalism’ or ‘patriotism’. He suggested that one way to overcome this tendency is to "ask God’s help to enjoy life - by so doing one is less able or likely to exploit or harm others."
Kathy Galloway, Leader of the Iona Community, noted the desperate need for people living under occupation to "live an ordinary life with the dignity of being a human being" and read out a moving letter from a friend who is living in the occupied West Bank as an "ecumenical accompanier" – a member of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine an Israel (EAPIPI). He wrote of the attempt by the people living under the harsh conditions of occupation to try to live normal lives, when there is nothing normal about their everyday movements which are constantly obstructed by walls, fences, and hundreds of roadblocks.
Barrie Levine, representing the Scottish Jews for a Just Peace, supported the WCC initiative and noted with deep sadness Edward Said’s concept of the "chain of victimization" whereby the Palestinians have become the victims’ victim in a cycle of violence that has become so difficult to break.
Humza Yousaf, Director of Public Affairs of the Scottish Islamic Foundation, praised the churches for making this effort to be more actively involved in challenging the silence and complicity of the international community in not doing more to ensure that United Nations resolutions are respected and that the human rights and human dignity of all of the people in Israel/Palestine are upheld. He called for more collective efforts among the faith groups in Scotland and around the world to work for peace with justice in that troubled land.
Category: Boards & Committees
