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Church Network
for
Education
on Palestine
United Methodist Resolution
on Peace in the Middle East
We join with Palestinian Christians as well as our
Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters in feeling a deep sense of rootedness to the land which has special meaning for our
three religious traditions. We celebrate the diversity of religious customs
and traditions throughout the Middle East.
Jerusalem is sacred to all the children of Abraham: Jews, Muslims, and
Christians. We have a vision of a shared Jerusalem as a city of peace and
reconciliation, where indigenous Palestinians and Israelis can live as
neighbors and, along with visitors and tourists, have access to holy sites
and exercise freedom of religious expression. The peaceful resolution of
Jerusalem's status is crucial to the success of the whole process of making a
just and lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis.
We seek for all people in the region an end to military occupation, freedom
from violence, and full respect for the human rights of all under
international law.
WHEREAS, the prophet Isaiah cautioned against coveting the lands and homes of
one's neighbors: Ah, you who join house to house, who add field to field,
until there is room for no one but you, and you are left to live alone in the
midst of the land! (Isaiah 5:8); and
WHEREAS, the continuing confiscation of Palestinian land for construction of
settlements and the building of a separation wall violates basic
understanding of human rights, subverts the peace process, destroys the hope
of both Israelis and Palestinians who are working for and longing for peace,
both Israelis and Palestinians, and fosters a sense of desperation that can
only lead to further violence; and
WHEREAS, continued and often intensified closures, curfews, dehumanizing
check points, home demolitions, uprooted trees, bulldozed fields, and
confiscation of Palestinian land and water by the government of Israel have
devastated economic infrastructure and development in the West Bank and Gaza,
have caused a massive deterioration of the living standards of all
Palestinians... and an increasing sense of hopelessness and frustration; and
WHEREAS, targeted assassinations, suicide bombings and attacks against
civilians by both Israelis and Palestinians heighten the fear and suffering
of all; and
WHEREAS, people in the United States, through their taxes, provide several
billion dollars in economic and military assistance to the State of Israel
each year, which allows for the building of bypass roads and settlements
which are illegal according to the Fourth Geneva Convention;
WHEREAS, the church continues to work with ecumenical and interfaith bodies
to advocate for Palestinian self-determination and an end to Israeli
occupation; to affirm Israel's right to exist within secure borders; to
affirm the right of return for Palestinian refugees under international law;
to call for region-wide disarmament; to urge Israelis and Palestinians to
stop human rights violations and attacks on civilians, such as targeted
assassinations and suicide bombings; and to urge the U.S. government to
initiate an arms embargo on the entire Middle East region;
Therefore, be it resolved,
That The United Methodist Church opposes continued military occupation of the
West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, the confiscation of Palestinian land and
water resources, the destruction of Palestinian homes, the
continued building of illegal Jewish settlements, and any vision of a
"Greater Israel" that includes the occupied territories and the
whole of Jerusalem and its surroundings.
Be it further resolved, that we urge the U.S. government to end all military
aid to the region, and second to redistribute the large amount of aid now
given to Israel and Egypt; to support economic development efforts of
nongovernmental organizations throughout the region, including religious
institutions, human rights groups, labor unions, and professional groups
within Palestinian communities.
The United Methodist Church requests that the government of the United
States, working in cooperation with the United Nations and other nations,
urge the state of Israel to:
(1)
Cease the confiscation of Palestinian lands and water for any reason.
(2) Cease the building of new, or expansion of existing, settlements and/or
bypass roads in the occupied territories including East Jerusalem.
(3) Lift the closures and curfews on all Palestinian towns by completely
withdrawing Israeli military forces to the Green Line (the 1948 ceasefire
line between Israel and the West Bank).
(4)
dismantle that segment of the Wall of Separation constructed since May 2002
that is not being built on the Green Line but on Palestinian land which is
separating Palestinian farmers from their fields.
We also urge the Palestinian Authority and all Palestinian Religious Leaders
to continue to publicly condemn violence against Israeli civilians and to use
non-violent acts of disobedience to resist the Occupation and the illegal
settlements.
We
urge all United Methodists in the U.S. to:
(1)
Advocate with the U.S. administration and Congress to implement the above
steps.
(2) Encourage members of each congregation to study the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict from all perspectives by inviting speakers to church events, reading
books, using audio visual resources in educational forums, and getting
information from websites.
(3) Provide financial support to the Palestinian people through contributions
to the General Board of Global Ministries;
support, and participate in, the work of international peace and human rights
organizations to provide protection for Palestinians and Israelis seeking
nonviolently to end the occupation; and
(4)
Reach out to local synagogues, mosques and Christian faith groups by engaging
in interfaith and ecumenical dialogue on how to promote justice and peace in
the Holy Land; and
That the General Board
of Global Ministries, working together with the General Board of Church &
Society and interfaith organizations, develop advocacy packets for use in
local congregations to promote a just and lasting peace and human rights for
all in the region.
Send mail to nic-eto@yahoogroups.com
with questions or comments about
Northern-Illinois-Conference End-The-Occupation
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