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| Al-Awda New York, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition | |
Action Alert: Reaching out to Christian Churches in the U.S. and Elsewhere
From:
Al-Awda, Palestine Right To Return Coalition
Date: Sat Dec 23, 2000
As Palestinian children in Bethlehem are calling for an end of the bombardment
of their homes, churches, theaters, and rehabilitation center (YMCA), this time
we need to reach out to Christian churches around the world to make them aware
of the plight of the Palestinians in general including Palestinian Christians.
One such way is to ask them to take a few moments of silence during their Christmas
ceremonies.
We
ask you to find contact information for churches in your neighborhood, for example
by going to this
Yahoo site. Please
take a moment to write these churches (see draft letter below). If you can find
Palestinian Christians to speak to the churches, add this in the letter (PRRC/al-awda
can help you do that, just email 
PRRC@mail.com).
Please
cc all your correspondence to
Al-Awda-Alerts@mail.com.
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Dear xxxx.
In this Christmas
season, I am writing to ask your congregation to observe a few moments of silence
and darkness during Christmas services to remember Christian towns under siege
in the Holy Land and to remember all the victims of the recent violence in Palestine/Israel.
The Biblical Shepherd's field (Beit Sahur in Arabic), Beit Jala (where St. Nicholas
was believed to have
been born), and Bethlehem (where Jesus was born) in
the Holy Land are three such towns under siege. Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem
and all Christian communities in the Holy Land were canceled and only religious
ceremonies are observed.
Residents of those places, like all Palestinian
Christians and Muslims will not see "peace on earth" or "good will"
but will be confined to their homes under Israeli siege.
Bethlehem, Beit Jala, and Beit Sahur have been bombed by Israeli occupation forces with hundreds of families having to desert their homes (about 70% of the damaged homes belonging to Christian families). Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and B'Tselem (Israeli Human Rights Organization) have called this "excessive use of force" and "collective punishment" (banned by International law). The United Nations has warned of potential starvation if this siege continues. In some places (e.g. Hebron) curfews are in effect for weeks with no school, no work, and no supplies.
In these times of crisis and Christmas renewal, we reflect on the Palestine of Jesus’ day and how things may have been. Like today, the picture in the Holy Land was less than idyllic 2000 years ago. The similarities are astonishing: a military occupation supported both by resources extracted from the natives and by funding and weaponry from the west, rulers using collective punishment against the inhabitants, grinding poverty of the natives, wealthy overlords using self proclaimed divine authority to do what they please, soldiers killing children, selfish collaborators, parents grieving over the loss of their children, attacks on houses of worship, and an organized public relations campaign to justify it all.
During this season, we should reflect on what Jesus Christ recommended to his followers. Christians today know very little about what is happening to their co-religionists in the Holy Land other than the distorted snippets seen on TV. Sure, the Catholic Bishops issued a statement denouncing the excessive use of force by the Israeli army as did the World Council of Churches. They did this on the heels of similar reports from over six human rights organizations. A small group of Christians working in the occupied territories (called The Christian Peacemaker Teams) sometimes put themselves in front of Israeli bulldozers to prevent the demolishing of Palestinian homes. They have worked in many corners of the world to rectify injustice by non-violent means and mostly by putting their bodies between the oppressor and the oppressed.
This Christmas, the group will be in Bethlehem area and in Hebron. We ask you to pray for them and to pray for the victims (of all religions). If you would like a Palestinian to come to your Church and say a few words, please let me know or email me.
[Your name and address]
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