Transcript Slide 1

OGHS Live!
Presents…
Rev. Eric Fistler
Ecumenical
Accompaniment
Program in Palestine
and Israel
A program of the
World Council of Churches
Conference Schedule
Gathering & Connecting to call
OGHS Live! Begins
Welcome & Introduction
Opening Prayer & Scripture
Reflection by Speaker
Interaction with Speaker – Q & A
Partnership Prayer
Commissioning & Benediction
OGHS Live! Ends
Accompaniment
Even though I walk through
the
valley of the shadow of
death,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—
they comfort me.
~Psalm 23:4
An Introduction
Responding to the 2001
call from
the Heads of Churches in
Jerusalem, EAPPI was
launched in 2002 as an
initiative of the World
Council of Churches under
the Ecumenical Campaign
to End the Illegal
Occupation of Palestine:
Support a Just Peace in the
Middle East.
An Introduction
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EAPPI has functioned fully and
continuously since then
Over 14 countries participate in EAPPI
Over 500 EAs have been sent for three
months to stand in solidarity with the
churches and people in Palestine
EAPPI’s Vision
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EAPPI seeks to support local
and international efforts to end
the Israeli occupation and
bring a resolution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict with
a just peace, based on
international law and relevant
United Nations resolutions.
Tasks of Ecumenical
Accompaniers
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Being present in
local communities
Ensure that
children safely
travel to and from
school
Provide a
protective
presence by
monitoring
checkpoints
Assist Palestinian
and Israeli human
rights, peace,
information and
ecumenical nongovernmental
organizations
Tasks of Ecumenical
Accompaniers
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Accompany farmers cut off from regular
access to their fields
Accompany health teams crossing
military checkpoints as well as
ambulances on their emergency rounds
to West Bank clinics
Engage in advocacy efforts to end the
occupation and support a just peace
Share their experience and knowledge of
the situation back home
Please wait while
Areas A and B
(Oslo Accords)
slide is loading
149 Israeli
settlements,
96 outposts
Israeli military
closed areas and
27 military bases
Nature Reserves
West Bank Barrier
and Areas between
the Barrier and the
Green Line
Roads used by the
settlers
Closures
The effect of the
closures
Fragmentation of
the West Bank
Permanent
Checkpoints
Partial
Checkpoints
!Ǭ
Tunnels
(As of March 2007)
Note:
Permits
Settlements
are
required
Interimis
Nature
Roads
Roadblocks
Roads,
Areas
Israeli
A
military
primarily
reserves
agreement
settlements,
and
and
Bbasesfor
mostly
Effect
a
series
ofof to
Green Line (1949
Checkpoints
straddle
growing
access
areas
at
5.5%
behind
a year
1994 Oslo
Settler
checkpoints
other
(Palestinian
off-limits
infrastructure
use
to
for
process
Palestinian
control)
physically
corridors
for
settler
Armistice)
settler
roads
Barrier
entry fragmentation.
prevent
fragment
mirror
Palestinians
West Bank
traffic,
Illegal
under
Areas
Palestinian
A
andvehicles
access
Bfor
(40% of
but obstacles
international
Permit
difficult
law
to obtain
area)
No
banned
accessing
Palestinian
grazing
under
or settler
restricted
or
movement
Palestinian
roads
on
Palestinian
movement
(except
Etzion)
authority
development
majority
from
oneGush
ofenclave
roads
to another via
Area C underorIsraeli
checkpoints
tunnels
authority
under
settler roads
Effectiveness of EAPPI
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Evaluation Report conducted
May 2008 by Palestinian
Counseling Centre, Beit Hanina
De-escalate, reduce and prevent threats,
incidents of violence and human rights
violation in areas of tensions (checkpoints
and agricultural gates)
number of people
Chart 2 - Main problem faced at checkpoints and gates
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Series1
Delays
76.8%
Psychological Physical
harassment harassment
64.8%
34.7%
problems
Chages in
passing
regulations
76.1%
When EAs are present
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73.2% - report decreased
incidents of Israeli solder’s
harassment of Palestinians
70.5% report that they pass
more quickly
Reduce Fear Among
Palestinian Communities
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73.8% fear being delayed
68.3% feel reluctant to go to
their destination
71% feel afraid and unsafe to
cross
72.8% fear not
being able to
return home
When EAs are Present
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77.4% feel
safer
77.7 % of
those
crossing
checkpoints
feel
empowered
and more
confident in
facing the
soldiers
83.5%
state that the EA’s
presence reduces their
suffering at
checkpoints and
agricultural gates
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“…with our friends around us,
we don’t feel alone anymore.”
~villager from Yanoun
“Had the EAs not been here
the situation would have been
much worse”
~villager from Sousya
EAPPI-US
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EAPPI-US, The United States
coordination, is administrated
through Church World Service
EAPPI-US falls under the
management of the Mission
Relationships and Witness Program
of Church World Service
Primary Reasons for a
Lack of US Participation
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Financial support for EAs
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EAs from the US must raise their
own funds
$6800 + airfare
(to Washington DC for orientation
and to Israel-Palestine for the
program)
One Great Hour of
Sharing
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Thank you, thank you , thank you!
Almost half of EAPPI-US budget is
provided by OGHS
Thank you for the opportunity to
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Work for peace with our ecumenical
partners
Work to repair the broken
relationships which we are at least
partly responsible for
Walk with Palestinian and Israeli
brothers and sisters
Thank you for
participating with…
EAPPI-US
With the Rev. Eric C Fistler
[email protected]
Ann Hafften, National
Coordinator
EAPPI-US
204 S. Lamar St.
Weatherford, TX 76086
[email protected]
www.eappi-us.org
Partnership Prayer
One: God of mercy and compassion, of
grace and reconciliation, pour your
power upon all your children in the
Middle East.
People: Let hatred be turned into
love, fear to trust, despair to hope,
oppression to freedom, occupation to
liberation,
All: That violent encounters may be
replaced by loving embraces, And
peace and justice could be experienced
by all. Amen
Said Ailabouni, “Imagine Peace” Imagine Peace: Bible Meditations and
Worship Resources for Advent - World Council of Churches October
2008, p. 21. WCC http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wccmain/2008pdfs/imagine_peace.pdf
Thank you
for your support of
One Great Hour of Sharing
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Three ways to give:
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Receive the offering at your local UCC
church, forwarding them on to your
UCC Conference Office.

Make a secure online donation at
www.ucc.org/oghs
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Send gifts made payable to
One Great Hour of Sharing to the
national setting of the UCC at:
United Church of Christ
700 Prospect Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44115
Commissioning and
Benediction
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The End