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Dear Brothers and
Sisters,
Salaam and grace in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ and
blessed greetings to you from
Jerusalem.
We in the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem are desperately concerned
as the situation in
the Land of the Holy One
continues to deteriorate almost by the hour, bringing with it tragic
loss of life,
innumerable injustices and the damage and destruction of
infrastructure,
hospitals, schools and
the homes of innocent people, among them our own people. We
call upon all our
partners and friends to do all that is in their power, to bringing
an end to
this pain and suffering
in our homeland. The recent hostilities as well as the reoccupation
of liberated Palestinian
towns and villages has proved catastrophic and tragic for both
parties. No one with
common sense believes that a whole nation can be controlled with
the power of the gun.
Justice is the only possible way. The root cause of all of this is
the
occupation and the
Israeli occupation must come to an end.
At present we are faced with a total disregard for the suffering of
so many of our people.
The recent incursion of
tanks and military personnel into many of the Palestinian towns and
cities has caused an
enormous amount of suffering. In Bethlehem, 3000 people recently
gathered in Manger
Square from neighboring refugee camps. Local organizations were
being asked to help feed
them. A Lutheran school was occupied and missiles hit
Bethlehem University,
which is a Roman Catholic institution, causing its closure. All
electrical power was cut
to two Ramallah hospitals during the height of fighting, leading
many to great harm from
lack of emergency health care.
I have just returned from visiting Ramallah, shortly after the
Israeli tanks pulled out of the city
center. One of my
priests, The Rev. George Al-Kopti, who is in charge of the parish of
St.
Andrew¹s in Ramallah,
reported to me about the situation in the city in the aftermath of
the
Israeli incursion. He
said: ³About 150 tanks entered the city, occupying every
corner
and
preventing movement, even movement of the injured to the
hospitals and
clinics in town.
They occupied houses and apartment buildings, asking families to
congregate in one
house with no regard to their age or their health. Cars that
belong to
families of the parish were destroyed by tanks.²
He adds: ³The children
of the Evangelical
Home lived for a few days of fear and trauma. We had
three days
of severe
imprisonment, without the ability to move or even
provide ourselves
with food.²
It was chilling to see the apartments that the occupying soldiers
had marked with a large
spray painted X,
reminiscent of the markings the Nazi forces used to identify Jewish
families. One of the
apartment buildings that was taken over included the flat of Mrs.
Patricia Rantisi, the
widow of the late Rev. Audeh Rantisi. She is a 70-year-old British
citizen. Kent Wilkens,
a Canadian friend staying with Mrs. Rantisi reports on the situation
after the invasion of
the building by soldiers. He says: ³We have adequate food
supplies.
The Ramallah water
has been cut so we will run out of water in this flat in a day or
so. We still have
electricity. We are not allowed to set foot in the hall. We are 13
adults, including
two elderly, and 10 children from 18 months old to 10 years. Two
of the adults are
physicians who work at Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem.
They are denied
the ability to reach their hospitals, and cannot telephone their
patients, or have
their patients telephone them.² He concludes, ³The
soldiers have
no need to hold 4
families as hostages to accomplish their so called security.²
The ongoing conflict has had a dramatic effect on the work of the
Church in the Land of the
Holy One. Every one of
our institutions and parishes has felt the crushing economic
repercussions of the
situation. When the new century began we looked towards an
increase in our joy.
Unfortunately this has not been the case and we watch as the
quality of
the lives of our friends
and colleagues spirals downward into increasingly more difficult
circumstances.
Our ministry would not be possible without the support and prayers
of our countless friends
throughout the world.
Knowing that you stand with us makes an immense difference in our
lives and our
ministries. We are greatly encouraged by the number of people who
have
written us, to express
their solidarity and offer their players. Let us all come together,
and
join hands and efforts.
I challenge you to speak out on behalf of the people of this Land;
to
your families, your
friends, your coworkers and neighbors, your politicians and your
government leaders. We
pray for peace with justice, justice with truth and truth with
righteousness, as well
as for the safety and protection of all people. Peace is the only
alternative left. This
can only be a peace established in truth and justice, in accordance
with
the United Nations
resolutions 242, 338 and 194. The best security comes from
reconciled neighbors.
Know that this comes with our prayers and our gratitude for all you
have been doing to help
us stand firm in our
commitment to His calling. May you be richly blessed.
In Christ,
+ The Rt. Rev. Riah Abu El-As
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