THE INTERFAITH COMMUNITY FOR PALESTINIAN RIGHTS
All photos copyrights remain with original owners.
Courtesy of Justin McIntosh, www.electronicpeace.org
and www.icahd.org
2005
In February, with Friends of Sabeel – North America and Pax Christi USA,
we presented our 2nd conference:
“…to loose the chains of Injustice…
American Churches
and the Palestinians”. The focus was on the work
of churches for a just peace in Israel / Palestine. Representatives of the
national
offices of the Presbyterian, United Methodist, Evangelical Lutheran,
Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches described the history, strategy,
and
future directions of the American mainline churches involvement in this issue.
Keynote speakers were Rev. Naim Ateek, Director
of the Sabeel Ecumenical
Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem (www.sabeel.org) and the Rev.
Donald Wagner, Director of the Center
for Middle East Studies at North Park
University in Chicago. Special guests included Craig & Cindy Corrie, parents
of Rachel
Corrie and founders of Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice.
Rachel was a 23 year old peace activist with the International
Solidarity
Movement and was crushed to death in Gaza, in 2003, by an American made
Caterpillar bulldozer operated by the
Israeli army, as she tried to prevent the
demolition of a Palestinian home.
ICPR and Westminster Presbyterian of Austin hosted
a talk and power point presentation by Stav Advi , board member and current Program Liaison for the Israeli Committee Against House
Demolition (www.icahd.org/eng/). ICAHD is a non-violent, direct-action organization established to resist the Israeli policy
of demolishing Palestinian homes in the Occupied Territories.
Members mailed out information packets
to over 100 churches in the Mission
Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church USA. Included was the Sabeel Special Issue of Cornerstone
#37 Summer 2005, that was dedicated to the whole question of morally responsible investment. In 2004, when the 216th General Assembly
of the Presbyterian Church USA adopted a resolution calling for “a process of phased selective divestment” from multinational corporations
involved in Israel’s illegal occupation, it began a growing movement among churches to review their investments and to study a nonviolent
response to the Israeli Occupation through investment responsibility.
To close out the year, ICPR joined with the Palestinian
Solidarity Committee (UT-Austin) in welcoming The Ibdaa Dance Troupe to Austin. This internationally acclaimed Palestinian youth dance
troupe from Dheisheh refugee camp, located near Bethlehem in the Occupied West Bank, has performed in Palestine and in 15 other countries
around the world. With traditional folkloric dance and theatrical choreography, the troupe of 26 girls and boys depict Palestinian
refugees’ history and aspirations. Dheisheh’s 11,000 residents, 6000 of whom are children, live on less than one square kilometer
of land. Five million Palestinian refugees remain displaced around the world today.
2004
“Thorns of Anguish
Seeds of Hope” A conference on Peace in Palestine and Israel was sponsored by ICPR and the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
Held in December, this was the organization’s first major undertaking. We had additional support from the Episcopal Seminary. Our
lecturers included The Rev Naim Ateek, and Dr. Elaine C. Hagopian.
Rev. Ateek is a Palestinian Christian and Episcopal priest. The
former Canon
of St. George’s Cathedral in Jerusalem, he is the founder and director of the
Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology
Center in Jerusalem.
Dr. Hagopian is Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Simmons College Boston
and a principal founder of the Trans-Arab Research Institute.
She was the
major organizer of the first conference on the “Right of Return: Palestinian
Refugees and a Durable Peace”
held at Boston University, 2000.
Our workshops included such topics as: “The Land in Christianity, Judaism,
And Islam: Views From Three
Religions”, “History 101: Roots of the Arab-
Israeli Conflict”, and “Making Sense of the News: Decoding the Media”.
This conference
presented an opportunity for people of faith to think about the
Holy Land, its anguish, its significance to us and to others,
its prospects, and
our own roles in its future.