Christians Being Recruited for Peacekeeping in Middle East

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) is recruiting Christians from all over the world for peacekeeping efforts in the Middle East. The World Council of Churches (WCC) sponsors EAPPI, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a member of the WCC.
The WCC is a fellowship of 342 Christian churches in 120 countries, with offices in Geneva, Switzerland.
EAPPI is looking for volunteers to travel to Israel and Palestine to monitor human rights violations and protect Palestinian and Israeli advocates of peace. The Rev. Mark B. Brown, assistant director for international issues, Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs (LOGA), Washington D.C., said the purpose of the program is to support those who are struggling to end the occupation peacefully.
LOGA is the federal public policy advocacy office of the ELCA.
"We hope the presence of international monitors will reduce the violence and encourage everyone to be on their best behavior," said Brown. "Sometimes a spotlight and people writing reports help create a level of confidence for those who want to see nonviolent change."
EAPPI is neither pro-Palestinian nor pro-Israeli, but rather "pro-peace and pro-justice," said Catherine Gordon, associate for international issues, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Washington, D.C., in a June 2002 news release issued by the Presbyterian News Service.
The first group to go consists of 25 Christians from Canada, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and the United States. Their training begins with a five-day course starting Aug. 13 in Washington, D.C., and continues when they arrive in the Middle East a week later. EAPPI plans to send a new team every three months.
Participants will be housed initially in Ramallah, Bethlehem and Gaza. Their job will be to accompany Israelis and Palestinians and make sure they can go about their daily routines without being detained or hassled.
"We want them to be present at major gatherings where conflict could erupt," said Brown. "Accompaniment teams may be present at places like funerals, demonstrations, checkpoints, or at someone's home that is threatened with demolition."
With the current unrest in the Middle East, the program poses possible danger. Participants would face the dangers faced by Palestinian men, women and children everyday, but this has not stopped people from applying, Brown said.
"No one who has made an inquiry [about the danger] has focused too much on the risks," said Brown. "People applying have been to the Middle East before and know the situation."
Participants must be at least 25 years old and must stay in the Middle East for at least three months to one year. Participants need to work with their local, regional and national church bodies to raise enough money for their food, housing, airfare and transportation, plus a donation to WCC to help pay for program administration. The deadline for applications for the first team is July 1.
There are other ways people can help EAPPI other than participating in the accompaniment program, Brown said. Congregations could pray for the participants, raise money for the program, advertise what the participants are doing and engage in advocacy here in the United States by writing letters to government officials when they hear of international injustice, he added. -- -- -- More information and updates on the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme are available at http://www.loga.org on the Web.

*Amy Wineinger is a junior at Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa. This
summer she is an intern with ELCA News and Media Production.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html