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is walled up!
"Take down all walls that divide us!" Pres. B.H.Obama (to be)
42th Anniversary of
Israel's Occupation & Building of the Wall
Washington DC
Protest Rally * Teach-In * Lobby Day
Call Congress -- Tel: 1888-597-0909
End the US taxpayers support of Israel's military, economic, diplomatic, and corporate involvement in the occupation of Palestine: W Bank, Gaza, E Jerusalem. Visit our Congressional Representatives & Senators to urge them to vote for an Arms Embargo of the Holy Land until a sovereign Nation of Palestine exists.
www.EndTheOccupation.org www.UnitedForPeace.org www.umns.UMC.org [below]
Jerusalem Peace
Conference in Washington DC
www.FOSNA.org www.CMEP.org
Mission Travel Study to
the Holy Land
Seeking
Peace & Pursuing Justice:
Mission, Education & Advocacy for Palestine & Israel
General
Board for Global Ministries
The United Methodist Church
http://new.gbgm-umc.org/about/us/me/resources/travelseminars/
www.endtheoccupation.org
www.sabeel.org
Holy Land Arms Embargo Resolution
PEACE IN THE
MIDDLE EAST
Passed 5/07/04
by The UMC, PN 40992
"Jerusalem is sacred to all the children of Abraham: Jews, Christians, Muslims. 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.
UMs seek for all people in the Holy Land an end to military occupation, freedom from violence, and full respect for the human rights of all under international law.
WHEREAS, targeted assassinations, suicide bombings, and attacks against civilians both Israelis and Palestinians heighten the fear and suffering of all; and
WHEREAS, people in the US, through their taxes, provide several billions of 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;
Therefore, be it resolved, that The UMC opposes continued military occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, the confiscation of Palestinian land & water resources, the destruction of Palestinian homes, the continued building of illegal Jewish settlements, ...the Wall of Separation... and any vision of a 'Greater Israel...'
Be it further resolved, that we urge the US government to end all military aid,...to initiate an arms embargo on the entire Mideast region, and 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.
We urge all UMs to support, and participate in, the work of international peace and human rights organizations to use nonviolent acts of disobedience to provide protection for Palestinians and Israelis seeking nonviolently to end the occupation."
Supporting
Statement provided by the UMC New England Conference Resolution
Despite [civil
war] and renewed
talk of peace between Israelis and Palestinians, the hard reality is that
Israel’s actions on the ground in the region, as well as Palestinian militant
attacks on Israelis, place enormous obstacles in the way of progress toward
peace.
The urgency of
the humanitarian crisis in the occupied Palestinian territories cannot be
overstated. Palestinians face soaring unemployment, malnutrition, restrictions
on movement, denial of medical care, denial of access to their agricultural
lands, humiliation at checkpoints, and extended lockdowns called curfews. More
than 4 million Palestinian refugees live in poverty, while Israelis live in
their homes and farm their lands.
Israel continues
to take the land of the Palestinian people for ever-expanding settlements,
Israeli-only roadways, and the construction of a giant wall and fence that is
confiscating a significant portion of the Palestinian land in the West Bank. 83%
of the West Bank’s water has been taken for Israeli use, leaving Palestinians
with desperate water shortages. Israel has destroyed the homes of more than
28,000 Palestinians in four and a half years. Hundreds of thousands of ancient
olive trees and vast tracts of agricultural land have also been destroyed.
Israel has built a ring of Jewish settlements around Arab East Jerusalem,
impeding access to the West Bank for Jerusalem’s Arab residents and ensuring
that Palestinians cannot use East Jerusalem as the capital of a future
Palestinian state, which has been called for by every major peace plan.
In 2004, the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled by 14-1 that Israel should halt and
dismantle the Wall being constructed illegally in occupied Palestinian
territory, and make reparation for the damage arising from its unlawful conduct.
Palestinians continue to alternate between often-futile non-violent protest and
unacceptable violent attacks on Israelis. Israeli soldiers have repeatedly fired
on non-violent protesters, killing and 2 wounding not only Palestinians, but
international peace activists – including Americans – who have stood with
them. In addition, volunteers with the Christian Peacemaker Teams in the West
Bank have been attacked by Israeli settlers while escorting Palestinian children
to school. Settlers have been involved in many acts of violence against
Palestinians.
Palestinian
Christians are being forced to leave the Holy Land. Their land and water has
also been taken by Israel. They now comprise less than 2% of the West Bank’s
population, and there are very real fears that soon there will be no Christian
presence in the land of Christ’s birth. Those who remain are calling on
Christians everywhere to reject the policies that are driving them and their
Muslim neighbors from a region their ancestors have inhabited for more than 2000
years. Many recall a time when Christians, Jews, and Muslims lived in harmony
together in this land, and believe it can happen again when people of all
religions are accepted as equals, with full rights to life, liberty and
property.
Our Christian
faith calls us to reject violence of any kind, and to reject acts of aggression
that provoke violence. As United Methodists, we are committed to work for
justice, and to refuse to be complacent in the face of such monumental human
suffering. We are also called to support other members of the Body of Christ
around the world.
It is not expected that United Methodist divestment activity or that of any
other religious denomination will significantly affect Israel’s economy or the
bottom line of major US companies, but this is not the goal. The goal is to make
all United Methodists and other Americans aware of their relationship to
companies that benefit from the Israeli occupation and give them an opportunity
to withdraw from such relationships, so they are not participants in human
rights violations that violate Christian principles and international law.
Another, equally important goal is to give hope to Palestinians, including our
Christian counterparts in the region, and let them know they are not forgotten.
Christ has called
us to be a light to the nations, to replace darkness and despair with hope
rooted in love for all God’s creation. Refusing to be a part of an illegal
occupation that endangers Israelis as well as Palestinians is an effective way
to show our light to the world.
UMC Divestment of Investments in the Holy Land
Resolution # 23 Passed on 6/24/06
at Cal-Pac Annual Conference, Pasadena CA
Seeking Peace and Pursuing Justice in the Holy Land
"Truly I tell you, just as you did it to the least of these who are the members of my family, you did it to me." Matthew 25:40
Whereas, we affirm Israel's right to exist within permanent, recognized and secure borders, and Palestine's right to self-determination and formation of a viable state,... and
Whereas, by a vote of 877 to 19, the General Conference in 2004 voted to resolve that, "The UMC 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;" [Bk of Res, 2004, #312]; and ...
Whereas, The UMC should not profit from the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land or the destruction of Palestinian homes, orchards, and lives, and
Whereas, we are committed to ensuring that our denomination's finances are used in a manner consistent with Christ's teaching, our beliefs, and international law, and ...
Whereas, The UMC Book of Resolutions
states our policy on "Avoidance by Divestment" to
wit:
"This policy prohibits investment in enterprises that have policies of
practices that are so morally reprehensible that investment in these companies
is not tolerated by the church... Historically many church investors have
refused to invest in major military contractors, companies with nuclear
weapons contracts, or companies when they were doing business in South
Africa under apartheid. In some cases, they have divested from such
companies, making public their action as a moral statement;"
Therefore be it Resolved: that the Cal-Pac An Conf calls upon the local churches, Conf Board of Pensions, the Conf UM Foundation and others who invest UM funds to review and identify companies that profit from sales of products or services that cause harm to Palestinians or Israelis and divest from these companies; and
Be it Further Resolved: that we support other religious partners who are divesting from selected companies such as the July 2004 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the July 2005 General Synod of the United Church of Christ...
California-Pacific Annual Conference, The United Methodist Church
A CALL to REPENTANCE
and PEACE With JUSTICE
As followers of Jesus Christ, who named peacemakers as blessed children of God,
we call upon the United Methodist Church to join in repentance and renewed
commitment to Christ's reign of compassion, justice , reconciliation, and
peace.
As elected and consecrated bishops of the church, we repent of our complicity in
what we believe to be the unjust and immoral invasion and occupation of
Iraq...
View Entire Statement & Sign It to Stand in Solidarity
A Call to End the US Military
Presence in Iraq
As followers of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, we pray for peace, stability and freedom in Iraq... As people of faith we raise our voices in protest against the tragedy of the unjust war in Iraq. We urge the US government to develop and implement a plan for the withdrawal of its troops...
Thousands of lives have been lost and hundreds of billions of dollars wasted in a war the US initiated and never should have fought. We grieve for all those whose lives have been lost or destroyed in this needless and avoidable tragedy. Military families have suffered undue hardship from the loss of loved ones and prolonged troop rotations in Iraq. It is time to bring them home.
We call upon the US Congress to adopt
legislation such as the 'Homeward Bound Act' (H J Res 55), the first
bipartisan effort to bring home US troops... We call upon the US Government to
fully cooperate with the UN and its envoy and special representative in Iraq to
bring about a peaceful, long-term resolution to the conflict and to rebuild
Iraq. The US is now morally obligated to provide the vast economic resources
needed to aid in the post-war reconstruction of Iraq...
From a statement by the
General Board of
Church and Society, 10/16/05.
Visit,
phone, or write your CongressRep.
The World
Community
National Power and Responsibility
"Some nations possess more military and economic power than do others. Upon the powerful rests responsibility to exercise their wealth and influence with restraint. We affirm the right and duty of people of all nations to determine their own destiny. We urge the major political powers to use their nonviolent power to maximize the political, social, and economic self-determination of other nations rather than to further their own special interests. We applaud international efforts to develop a more just international economic order in which the limited resource of the earth will be used to the maximum benefit of all nations and peoples...
"We believe war is incompatible with the teachings and example of Christ. We therefore reject war as an instrument of national foreign policy, to be employed only as a last resort inthe prevention of such evils as genocide, brutal suppression of human rights, and unprovoked international aggression. We insist that the first moral duty of all nations is to resolve by peaceful means every dispute that arises between or among them; that human values must outweigh military claims as governments determine their priorities; that the militarization of society must be challenged and stopped; that the manufacture, sale, and deployment of armaments must be reduced and controlled; and that the production, possession, or use of nuclear weapons be condemned. Consequently, we endorse general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.
Justice and Law
"...Believing that international
justice requires the participation of all peoples, we endorse the United Nations
and its related bodies and the International Court of Justice as the best
instruments now in existence to achieve a world of justice and law... We urge
the UN to take a more aggressive role inthe development of international
arbitration of disputes and actual conflicts among nations by developing
binding third-party arbitration. Bilateral or multilateral efforts outside of
the UN should work in concert with, and not contrary to, its purposes..."
Social Principles, Book of Discipline, UMC, 2004
BRING THEM HOME for
a free college education
Urge Congress to vote for H J Res 55 "The Homeward Bound
Act".
Our Veterans in Need
One-hundred-eighty thousand of Iraqi and Afghanistani innocent
bystanders have died.
And over 3,600 American soldiers have died in our Iraq war.
Over 12,000 of our troops have returned with
psychiatric injuries. Many are housed in Honolulu, HI in the Dept of
Veterans Affairs' institution with The Syndrome -- PTSD.
"When I Came
Home"
Private contracted counselors are helping to heal our injured soldiers -- UMC
clergy are among them.
www.VeteransForCommonSense.org www.aboutBaghdad.com
www.giRights.org
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4734972
=PTSD soldier
becomes an advocate for peace.
What my church can do for peace with justice:
Become a PWJ
Covenant Congregation with PWJ Committee support.
Do Bible Study on Micah 6 & study UMC Social Principles on war and
peace.
Conduct training in nonviolence in home,
church, and school.
Attend peace conferences, peace
vigils, peace demonstrations.
Receive civil disobedience training to conduct direct
action at Lenten Desert
Experience.
Support conscientious war objectors and war
veterans at home.
Contact Information:
Telephone