Two American Christian organizations recently called on Israel to reopen Jerusalem to the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Israel sealed the territories and barred entry to Palestinians living there on March 30 in response to a spate of attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers.
Churches for Middle East Peace, a consortium of 14 Protestant and Catholic agencies, and the General Synod of the United Church of Christ, have now issued separate calls protesting the policy and asking the Clinton administration to condemn it.
Churches for Middle East Peace issued a statement July 16 “protesting the inclusion of East Jerusalem in the closed area.
“This action of the Israeli government is widely perceived as a unilateral pre-determination of the status of Jerusalem in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions and stated U.S. policy,” the church group said.
The organization’s member groups include: American Baptist Churches; American Friends Service Committee; Episcopal Church; Mennonite Central Committee; National Council of Churches; Roman Catholic Conference of Major Superiors of Men; United Church of Christ and United Methodist Church.
In addition, the General Synod of the United Church of Christ, the denomination’s leadership, passed a resolution while meeting in St. Louis earlier this month, asking the administration to request that Israel reopen the city to all Palestinians.
CATHOLIC BISHOPS PROTEST TOO
“Just as Jerusalem is of central importance to the Jewish people, so is East Jerusalem the cultural, economic and religious center of the people of Palestine, both Christian and Muslim,” the resolution said.
The United Church of Christ has 1.6 million members in 6,300 congregations.
The resolution stated that the travel ban is causing the Palestinians an economic loss of $3 million a day.
The two groups join the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in condemning Israel’s policy. That group’s president, Archbishop William Keeler, has written to Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres asking him to lift the restriction.
Avi Granot, counselor for church affairs at the Israeli Embassy, said, “We realize the closure has created some difficulties for the residents of the West Bank and we have tried to alleviate whatever difficulty they had so they could participate and worship at all the holy sites of Jerusalem.
“We have provided passes and transportation to make it easier for Palestinians to enter Jerusalem and go and pray.
“The fact that so many Muslims have participated in Friday prayers shows this has made an impact,” he said.
Granot also said that the territories were closed off not to punish the Palestinians, but to try to end the wave of violence preceding it.
“The tremendous rise in violence has all but ended since the closure, so it has proven to be very effective,” he said.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
