At a national meeting last week, the National Council of Churches in Australia passed a series of resolutions on the situation in the Holy Land.  It is the first time the Council has taken such a stand.  It follows a visit to the region last year by a delegation of Church leaders, as well as international ecumenical developments, such as the new Palestine-Israel Ecumenical Forum.  By passing these resolutions the Council wants to take a Christian perspective on a land and its peoples who have endured longstanding and intense suffering – on both sides.

 During their 2007 visit the Australian Church leaders spent time with Christian leaders from Jerusalem and the West Bank who are experiencing a mass exodus from their communities.  “People are exhausted by the intimidation and daily restrictions on their personal and commercial activities.  Christians are emigrating in larger numbers, not because of religious persecution, but because life has become intolerable as they are caught between harsh Israeli policies on the one hand and those who engage in terrorist acts on the other,” said the Revd John Henderson, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, and a participant in the visit.  “People have had their fill of violence and threats, and they see no future for themselves or their children, so they leave.  If this trend continues, within a decade or two these communities, which have been there for millennia, will have been driven out of the region.”

“As Christians in Australia, who live comfortable lives some distance away, we are not trying to propose armchair solutions,” said Mr Henderson.  “Collectively, however, the Churches feel that they must respond to the call of their fellow believers who have worshipped in that area since the time of Christ.  They asked us not to be silent, but to speak out when we arrived home.  That is what we are now doing.  We are not choosing ‘sides’ between Israel or the Palestinians, because there is right and wrong on both sides, just as there is in every human situation, especially in such a polarised place as the holy land.  Above all we want to pray and work for a just and lasting peace for everyone, so that this holy place can be a model for the rest of the world, showing us how people can live together in the way God intended.  While the conflict is very complex with many layers, and there is no simple solution, there is hope, and it is important that the international community supports the current peace efforts as much as it can,” said Mr Henderson.

In its adopted resolutions, the National Council of Churches in Australia:

Recognises the special interest of Christians in the Holy Land as the homeland of Jesus Christ and the birthplace of the Church, the special interest of Jews in the Holy Land as the Biblical “promised land”, and the special interest of Muslims in the Holy Land as one of the sacred places visited by the prophet Muhammad.
Affirms the right of the state of Israel to exist, and to exist within secure internationally-recognised borders, without the threat of terrorist attacks from Palestinians or from any others, and without threats to its existence from any other state.
Affirms the right of the people of Palestine to be freed from more than 40 years of military occupation by Israel, to live within secure internationally-recognised borders without harassment or violence perpetrated by any state or by any others, and to determine democratically their own future.
Encourages the Australian Government to:
do all it can to support the current peace negotiations between Palestine and Israel, in the interests of ending the occupation and bringing a just and lasting peace to the peoples of Israel and Palestine;
increase its allocation of aid money to assist community development in Palestinian communities which have been impoverished by years of economic and social disadvantage.
Encourages churches in Australia to pray for a just and lasting peace for the peoples of the Holy Land, and to support initiatives for peace between Palestine and Israel including visits by Australian Christians to the Christians of the Holy Land.
Supports the principle that Jerusalem should be an ‘open city’ for all faiths and all peoples.
Supports a joint visit to Israel and Palestine in 2009 by leaders from the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths in Australia.
 

For further comment, contact

Debra Porter, NCCA Communications Officer – (02) 8259 0802 or 0427 789 410