The season of Advent is fast approaching and once again our thoughts will turn to ‘The Little Town of Bethlehem,’ still surrounded by 8-meter-high concrete walls and subjected to illegal military occupation by Israel. Sadly, reports from the region point to increased settler violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. The displacement of pastoral communities in Masafa Yatta (South Hebron Hills) by the Israeli army continues. One slight glimmer of good news is that the plan of the former British Prime Minister, Liz Truss, to move the British Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem has been shelved for the time being at least.
Christ at the Check Point – Bethlehem
A meeting in Dunmurry Presbyterian Church
Tuesday 29th November 2022 – starting at 7pm – all are welcome
Presbyterian ministers Corrina Heron and Paul Lutton will reflect on a recent visit to a conference in the Bethlehem Bible College organised by ‘Christ at the Check Point.’ This is an opportunity to hear a first-hand account of Bethlehem today. Appropriately the meeting occurs at the beginning of Advent as once again we prepare to hear the Christmas story and its message of peace and good will. Bethlehem today is surrounded by concrete walls and the life of the city is being strangled by military occupation. Corrina and Paul will report on their engagement with Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem.
A tribute to Eamon McMahon
Eamon was a valued member of the Kairos Ireland Committee and the secretary of the Trade Union Friends of Palestine (TUFP). He was buried in Roselawn Cemetery, Belfast on Monday 12th September 2022. Eamon led many visits to Palestine/Israel by Irish Trade Unionists and in 2019 organised a major conference in Dublin on Palestinian Children. As a Psychotherapist working with children and adolescents, Eamon was particularly incensed by the ill treatment of Palestinian child detainees at the hands of the Israeli army. He quoted from a UNICEF Report of 2013 that the ‘Ill treatment of Palestinian children in the Israeli military detention system appears to be widespread, systematic and institutionalised.’
We pay tribute to Eamon and his life-long commitment to the cause of justice and peace.
European Citizen’s Initiative
A petition to call on the Commission of the European Community to examine trade between EU countries and the illegal Israeli Settlements in the Occupied West Bank is still open for signatures. One million signatures are needed to activate this review. The EU regards the settlements as illegal under international law and are an impediment to peace, but still allows trade with them. This is clearly a contradictory position. Go to stopsettlements.org to sign the petition calling for an end to trade with the illegal settlements.
World Council of Churches Assembly – Germany
The eleventh assembly of the World Council of Churches took place this September in Karlsruhe, Germany. In a statement, Seeking Justice and Peace for All in the Middle East, the WCC refers to the recent displacements of Palestinians taking place in Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank. It points out that the expansion of the Illegal Israeli settlements is an obstacle to a just peace. South African churches, with their own recent experience of apartheid wished to present a strong statement naming the practice of apartheid by Israel. This was resisted by the EKD coalition of German Protestant churches. The official report states – ‘Recently, numerous international, Israeli and Palestinian human rights organisations and legal bodies have published reports describing the policies and actions of Israel as amounting to “apartheid” under international law. Within this assembly, some churches and delegates strongly support the utilization of this term as accurately describing the reality of the people in Palestine/Israel and the position under international law, while others find it inappropriate, unhelpful and painful. We are not of one mind on this matter.’
A critical open letter by the German Kairos Palestine Solidarity Network describes the way that the issue was dealt with in the WCC Assembly. It points out that the voice of Palestinian Christians was effectively muzzled. It also calls on the EKD (German Protestant Churches) to respect international law. The letter reminds the EKD that in 1933 Pastor Bonhoeffer wrote an essay condemning the Hitler regime for depriving Jews of their civil and political rights. The same attitude should apply today when the State of Israel deprives Palestinians of their rights.
Kairos Palestine representing Palestinian Christians have published a helpful Dossier on Apartheid. This provides a useful summary of documents and statements on the matter.
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