Peace Not Walls
Learn,
pray and
act for peace with justice in the Holy Land through the ELCA's Peace Not Walls campaign, calling for a viable, contiguous Palestinian state; a secure Israeli state at peace with its Arab neighbors; and a shared Jerusalem with equal access and rights for Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
New Items
The National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East (NILI) Delegation Urges Two-State Solution, End to Occupation, Security for Palestine and Israel
A group of 15 key American Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders from NILI visited leaders and people in Palestine, Israel and Jordan in December to seek common ground in achieving peace with justice in the Holy Land.
The leaders urged the US and others to be catalysts "for achieving an effective, sustainable ceasefire, including international measures to prevent resupplying of rockets; for allowing the flow of urgently needed humanitarian and economic assistance to the people of Gaza; for continuing good efforts to improve the capacity of the Palestinian Authority to increase security and economic development; and for further reducing the number of checkpoints and freezing all settlement expansion in the West Bank and East Jerusalem."
NILI was formed in 2003, when thirty-three of the nation's most prominent Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders announced a new, unprecedented collaborative effort to mobilize broad public support for active, fair and firm U.S. leadership in pursuit of Arab-Israeli-Palestinian peace. NILI was founded on Principles of Cooperation and initially advocated Twelve Steps for Peace.
Links about the NILI Delegation:
NILI news release | ELCA news release | ELCA Bishop Margaret Payne's blog
Christmas Message from Bishop Munib Younan of the ELCJHL in Jerusalem Christmas Message from DIYAR Consortium, Bright Stars of Bethlehem and Pastor Mitri Raheb
Palestinian Christians Issue Kairos Document
An ecumenical group of Palestinian Christians issued The Kairos Palestine Document: A moment of truth - A word of faith, hope and love from the heart of Palestinian suffering from a meeting in Bethlehem Friday, Dec. 11. The document is a word of hope to Palestinian Christians and a challenge for churches to work toward an end of Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands as well as to re-examine theologies that support the Israeli occupation.
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Visit the group's website www.kairospalestine.ps/
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ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson's Response
- ELCA news release
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ELCA staff comments on A moment of truth: A word of faith and hope from the heart of Palestinian suffering
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For more information about the Kairos Document
2009 Resource User Guides - Find separate guides for using Peace Not Walls online resources for adult forum series, youth programs, women's meetings, worship, and travel.
New Palestine map cards - Free cards featuring (on the reverse side) a map of the West Bank; links to Peace Not Walls, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, and Lutheran World Federation Jerusalem websites; and this quotation: “…I define myself as an ardent Zionist that thinks that the best for the Jews in Israel is that we abandon the territories and we dismantle settlements and we try to reach a reasonable settlement with our Palestinian partners.” Shlomo Ben-Ami, Former Israeli Minister of Public Security and Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2006. To order cards, email peacenotwallsinfo@elca.org or call Marlene at 800/638-3522, ext. 6551.
Situation Update Page - This new page offers updates on the situation in Israel-Palestine from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs (OCHA).
Speakers' Bureau - Do you need a Middle East peace-related speaker for an upcoming congregational or synod event? The Peace Not Walls team can assist you by consulting the database of potential speakers in many regions of the ELCA. Please send queries to peacenotwallsinfo@elca.org.
Video - Building Holy Land Peace - MN Congressman Keith Ellison joined Ambassador (Ret.) Warren Clark, executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace, in speaking on “Building Holy Land Peace: Will Americans Play a New Role?”
Middle East Network Newsletter (MENET) - Sign-up to receive a monthly e-newsletter that highlights what the ELCA is doing to work for peace in Israel-Palestine.