Middle East Network
News
July 2,
2009
In This
Issue:
Israeli-Palestinian Peace: Hope for Things
Unseen
World Council of Churches:
Change is in the air, as churches join week for Middle East
peace
Holy Land trip reporting and
engagement
Join the Peace Not
Walls national database
New on the
Peace Not Walls Web site pages
Helpful
articles and resources from other sources
Israeli-Palestinian Peace:
Hope for Things Unseen
Over 170 church advocates
and clergy from around the country gathered in Washington June
7-9 for fellowship, study, prayer and advocacy on behalf of
peace in the Holy Land. "Israeli-Palestinian Peace: Hope
for Things Unseen" was the theme of CMEP's 2009 conference that
sought to build support in Congress for the Obama
Administration's efforts to achieve a two-state solution, while
giving witness to the challenges and struggles on the ground in
the Holy Land.
The conference was buoyed by President Obama's speech to the
Muslim world the preceding Thursday, June 4 and by a Christian
leaders' letter released that same day. Click here to view the letter and signers and
add your name if you have not already done so!
To read the full report from the conference, click here.
World Council of Churches:
Change is in the air, as churches join week for Middle East
peace
June 7 speech by Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Summary of global activities for June 4-10 World
Week for Peace in Palestine Israel
Holy Land trip reporting and
engagement
All ELCA members are urged to send
notices of upcoming Lutheran-sponsored Holy Land trips (whether
synod or congregational) to peacenotwallsinfo@elca.org.
We hope this sharing of information will be beneficial in the
following ways:
1) Peace Not Walls staff can give advice re itinerary and
logistics and can post your trip at
http://www.elca.org/Our-Faith-In-Action/Justice/Peace-Not-Walls/What-We-Do/Travel/Upcoming-Trips.aspx.
2) The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy
Land and Bishop Munib Younan have asked us to maintain a master
list of such trips.
3) Peace Not Walls staff can post reports and photos after
your trip at http://www.elca.org/Our-Faith-In-Action/Justice/Peace-Not-Walls/What-We-Do/Travel/Trip-Reports-and-Advice.aspx
Please make use of all the Holy Land travel resources at http://www.elca.org/Our-Faith-In-Action/Justice/Peace-Not-Walls/What-We-Do/Travel.aspx
and http://www.elcjhl.org/resources/travel/
Join the Peace Not Walls
national database
When you join the database you
will receive periodic updates and have the opportunity to
participate in online conference calls to discuss ELCA Middle
East policies and programs. The database enables us to link
peace workers around the ELCA, to recommend speakers by state
and region, to communicate with synods about new resources, to
increase grassroots advocacy via the media and with members of
Congress, and to provide leadership training. If you are
interested in being part of this database and have not yet
completed the activist survey, please email peacenotwallsinfo@elca.org.
New on the Peace Not Walls Web
site pages
Planning for Holy Land Youth Mission
Situation Update, with resources from the
United Nations and others
Selective Purchasing Policy Guide
Links to the June Lutheran magazine articles on Christian Zionism
Video of Minn. Congressman Keith Ellison and
Ambassador (Ret.) Warren Clark, executive director of Churches
for Middle East Peace, speaking on "Building Holy Land Peace:
Will Americans Play a New Role?"
Helpful articles and resources from
other resources
New Hope For Peace: What America Must Do To End
the Israel-Palestine Conflict; new DVD available without
charge from Foundation for Middle East Peace; produced by
Landrum Bolling and featuring Jimmy Carter, James A. Baker,
Brent Scowcroft, and Zbigniew Brzezinski.
Lift the
closure - give life a chance, new online video from Israeli
human rights organizations to mark two years of Israeli closure
on the Gaza Strip.
Peace Now Settlements in Focus
Obama Reaches Out to Palestinian Christians by
Daoud Kuttab
Reform rabbis back Obama on settlements
[From time to time the Peace Not Walls campaign shares
materials that you may find informative or useful in
understanding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The views
expressed in these materials represent the positions of the
outside organizations and may not necessarily reflect an
official position of the ELCA.]
To read
previous issues of Middle East Network News (MENET), click
here.
