The following text issued by, according to Maan News Agency, a dozen leaders
of the region's Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican and Baptist
traditions follows:

www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245868

Full text: 'A moment of truth'
Published today (updated) 11/12/2009 13:41

A moment of truth:
A word of faith, hope and love from the heart of Palestinian suffering

Introduction
We, a group of Christian Palestinians, after prayer, reflection and an
exchange of opinion, cry out from within the suffering in our country, under
the Israeli occupation, with a cry of hope in the absence of all hope, a cry
full of prayer and faith in a God ever vigilant, in God's divine providence
for all the inhabitants of this land. Inspired by the mystery of God's love
for all, the mystery of God's divine presence in the history of all peoples
and, in a particular way, in the history of our country, we proclaim our
word based on our Christian faith and our sense of Palestinian belonging - a
word of faith, hope and love.

Why now? Because today we have reached a dead end in the tragedy of the
Palestinian people. The decision-makers content themselves with managing the
crisis rather than committing themselves to the serious task of finding a
way to resolve it. The hearts of the faithful are filled with pain and with
questioning: What is the international community doing? What are the
political leaders in Palestine, in Israel and in the Arab world doing? What
is the Church doing? The problem is not just a political one. It is a policy
in which human beings are destroyed, and this must be of concern to the
Church.

We address ourselves to our brothers and sisters, members of our Churches in
this land. We call out as Christians and as Palestinians to our religious
and political leaders, to our Palestinian society and to the Israeli
society, to the international community, and to our Christian brothers and
sisters in the Churches around the world.

1. The reality on the ground

1.1 "They say: 'Peace, peace' when there is no peace" (Jer. 6:14). These
days, everyone is speaking about peace in the Middle East and the peace
process. So far, however, these are simply words; the reality is one of
Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, deprivation of our freedom
and all that results from this situation:

1.1.1 The separation wall erected on Palestinian territory, a large part of
which has been confiscated for this purpose, has turned our towns and
villages into prisons, separating them from one another, making them
dispersed and divided cantons. Gaza, especially after the cruel war Israel
launched against it during December 2008 and January 2009, continues to live
in inhuman conditions, under permanent blockade and cut off from the other
Palestinian territories.

1.1.2 Israeli settlements ravage our land in the name of God and in the name
of force, controlling our natural resources, including water and
agricultural land, thus depriving hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and
constituting an obstacle to any political solution.

1.1.3 Reality is the daily humiliation to which we are subjected at the
military checkpoints, as we make our way to jobs, schools or hospitals.

1.1.4 Reality is the separation between members of the same family, making
family life impossible for thousands of Palestinians, especially where one
of the spouses does not have an Israeli identity card.

1.1.5 Religious liberty is severely restricted; the freedom of access to the
holy places is denied under the pretext of security. Jerusalem and its holy
places are out of bounds for many Christians and Muslims from the West Bank
and the Gaza Strip. Even Jerusalemites face restrictions during the
religious feasts. Some of our Arab clergy are regularly barred from entering
Jerusalem.

1.1.6 Refugees are also part of our reality. Most of them are still living
in camps under difficult circumstances. They have been waiting for their
right of return, generation after generation. What will be their fate?

1.1.7 And the prisoners? The thousands of prisoners languishing in Israeli
prisons are part of our reality. The Israelis move heaven and earth to gain
the release of one prisoner, and those thousands of Palestinian prisoners,
when will they have their freedom?

1.1.8 Jerusalem is the heart of our reality. It is, at the same time, symbol
of peace and sign of conflict. While the separation wall divides Palestinian
neighbourhoods, Jerusalem continues to be emptied of its Palestinian
citizens, Christians and Muslims. Their identity cards are confiscated,
which means the loss of their right to reside in Jerusalem. Their homes are
demolished or expropriated. Jerusalem, city of reconciliation, has become a
city of discrimination and exclusion, a source of struggle rather than
peace.

1.2 Also part of this reality is the Israeli disregard of international law
and international resolutions, as well as the paralysis of the Arab world
and the international community in the face of this contempt. Human rights
are violated and despite the various reports of local and international
human rights' organizations, the injustice continues.

1.2.1 Palestinians within the State of Israel, who have also suffered a
historical injustice, although they are citizens and have the rights and
obligations of citizenship, still suffer from discriminatory policies. They
too are waiting to enjoy full rights and equality like all other citizens in
the state.

1.3 Emigration is another element in our reality. The absence of any vision
or spark of hope for peace and freedom pushes young people, both Muslim and
Christian, to emigrate. Thus the land is deprived of its most important and
richest resource - educated youth. The shrinking number of Christians,
particularly in Palestine, is one of the dangerous consequences, both of
this conflict, and of the local and international paralysis and failure to
find a comprehensive solution to the problem.

1.4 In the face of this reality, Israel justifies its actions as
self-defence, including occupation, collective punishment and all other
forms of reprisals against the Palestinians. In our opinion, this vision is
a reversal of reality. Yes, there is Palestinian resistance to the
occupation. However, if there were no occupation, there would be no
resistance, no fear and no insecurity. This is our understanding of the
situation. Therefore, we call on the Israelis to end the occupation. Then
they will see a new world in which there is no fear, no threat but rather
security, justice and peace.

1.5 The Palestinian response to this reality was diverse. Some responded
through negotiations: that was the official position of the Palestinian
Authority, but it did not advance the peace process. Some political parties
followed the way of armed resistance. Israel used this as a pretext to
accuse the Palestinians of being terrorists and was able to distort the real
nature of the conflict, presenting it as an Israeli war against terror,
rather than an Israeli occupation faced by Palestinian legal resistance
aiming at ending it.

1.5.1 The tragedy worsened with the internal conflict among Palestinians
themselves, and with the separation of Gaza from the rest of the Palestinian
territory. It is noteworthy that, even though the division is among
Palestinians themselves, the international community bears an important
responsibility for it since it refused to deal positively with the will of
the Palestinian people expressed in the outcome of democratic and legal
elections in 2006.

Again, we repeat and proclaim that our Christian word in the midst of all
this, in the midst of our catastrophe, is a word of faith, hope and love.

2. A word of faith
We believe in one God, a good and just God

2.1 We believe in God, one God, Creator of the universe and of humanity. We
believe in a good and just God, who loves each one of his creatures. We
believe that every human being is created in God's image and likeness and
that every one's dignity is derived from the dignity of the Almighty One. We
believe that this dignity is one and the same in each and all of us. This
means for us, here and now, in this land in particular, that God created us
not so that we might engage in strife and conflict but rather that we might
come and know and love one another, and together build up the land in love
and mutual respect.

2.1.1 We also believe in God's eternal Word, His only Son, our Lord Jesus
Christ, whom God sent as the Saviour of the world.

2.1.2 We believe in the Holy Spirit, who accompanies the Church and all
humanity on its journey. It is the Spirit that helps us to understand Holy
Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, showing their unity, here and now.
The Spirit makes manifest the revelation of God to humanity, past, present
and future.

How do we understand the word of God?

2.2 We believe that God has spoken to humanity, here in our country: "Long
ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but
in these last days God has spoken to us by a Son, whom God appointed heir of
all things, through whom he also created the worlds" (Heb. 1:1-2).

2.2.1 We, Christian Palestinians, believe, like all Christians throughout
the world, that Jesus Christ came in order to fulfill the Law and the
Prophets. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, and in
his light and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we read the Holy
Scriptures. We meditate upon and interpret Scripture just as Jesus Christ
did with the two disciples on their way to Emmaus. As it is written in the
Gospel according to Saint Luke: "Then beginning with Moses and all the
prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the
scriptures" (Lk 24:27).

2.2.2 Our Lord Jesus Christ came, proclaiming that the Kingdom of God was
near. He provoked a revolution in the life and faith of all humanity. He
came with "a new teaching" (Mk 1:27), casting a new light on the Old
Testament, on the themes that relate to our Christian faith and our daily
lives, themes such as the promises, the election, the people of God and the
land. We believe that the Word of God is a living Word, casting a particular
light on each period of history, manifesting to Christian believers what God
is saying to us here and now. For this reason, it is unacceptable to
transform the Word of God into letters of stone that pervert the love of God
and His providence in the life of both peoples and individuals. This is
precisely the error in fundamentalist Biblical interpretation that brings us
death and destruction when the word of God is petrified and transmitted from
generation to generation as a dead letter. This dead letter is used as a
weapon in our present history in order to deprive us of our rights in our
own land.

Our land has a universal mission

2.3 We believe that our land has a universal mission. In this universality,
the meaning of the promises, of the land, of the election, of the people of
God open up to include all of humanity, starting from all the peoples of
this land. In light of the teachings of the Holy Bible, the promise of the
land has never been a political programme, but rather the prelude to
complete universal salvation. It was the initiation of the fulfilment of the
Kingdom of God on earth.

2.3.1 God sent the patriarchs, the prophets and the apostles to this land so
that they might carry forth a universal mission to the world. Today we
constitute three religions in this land, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Our land is God's land, as is the case with all countries in the world. It
is holy inasmuch as God is present in it, for God alone is holy and
sanctifier. It is the duty of those of us who live here, to respect the will
of God for this land. It is our duty to liberate it from the evil of
injustice and war. It is God's land and therefore it must be a land of
reconciliation, peace and love. This is indeed possible. God has put us here
as two peoples, and God gives us the capacity, if we have the will, to live
together and establish in it justice and peace, making it in reality God's
land: "The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, the world, and those
who live in it" (Ps. 24:1).

2.3.2 Our presence in this land, as Christian and Muslim Palestinians, is
not accidental but rather deeply rooted in the history and geography of this
land, resonant with the connectedness of any other people to the land it
lives in. It was an injustice when we were driven out. The West sought to
make amends for what Jews had endured in the countries of Europe, but it
made amends on our account and in our land. They tried to correct an
injustice and the result was a new injustice.

2.3.3 Furthermore, we know that certain theologians in the West try to
attach a biblical and theological legitimacy to the infringement of our
rights. Thus, the promises, according to their interpretation, have become a
menace to our very existence. The "good news" in the Gospel itself has
become "a harbinger of death" for us. We call on these theologians to deepen
their reflection on the Word of God and to rectify their interpretations so
that they might see in the Word of God a source of life for all peoples.

2.3.4 Our connectedness to this land is a natural right. It is not an
ideological or a theological question only. It is a matter of life and
death. There are those who do not agree with us, even defining us as enemies
only because we declare that we want to live as free people in our land. We
suffer from the occupation of our land because we are Palestinians. And as
Christian Palestinians we suffer from the wrong interpretation of some
theologians. Faced with this, our task is to safeguard the Word of God as a
source of life and not of death, so that "the good news" remains what it is,
"good news" for us and for all. In face of those who use the Bible to
threaten our existence as Christian and Muslim Palestinians, we renew our
faith in God because we know that the word of God can not be the source of
our destruction.

2.4 Therefore, we declare that any use of the Bible to legitimize or support
political options and positions that are based upon injustice, imposed by
one person on another, or by one people on another, transform religion into
human ideology and strip the Word of God of its holiness, its universality
and truth.

2.5 We also declare that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land is a sin
against God and humanity because it deprives the Palestinians of their basic
human rights, bestowed by God. It distorts the image of God in the Israeli
who has become an occupier just as it distorts this image in the Palestinian
living under occupation. We declare that any theology, seemingly based on
the Bible or on faith or on history, that legitimizes the occupation, is far
from Christian teachings, because it calls for violence and holy war in the
name of God Almighty, subordinating God to temporary human interests, and
distorting the divine image in the human beings living under both political
and theological injustice.

3. Hope

3.1 Despite the lack of even a glimmer of positive expectation, our hope
remains strong. The present situation does not promise any quick solution or
the end of the occupation that is imposed on us. Yes, the initiatives, the
conferences, visits and negotiations have multiplied, but they have not been
followed up by any change in our situation and suffering. Even the new US
position that has been announced by President Obama, with a manifest desire
to put an end to the tragedy, has not been able to make a change in our
reality. The clear Israeli response, refusing any solution, leaves no room
for positive expectation. Despite this, our hope remains strong, because it
is from God. God alone is good, almighty and loving and His goodness will
one day be victorious over the evil in which we find ourselves. As Saint
Paul said: "If God is for us, who is against us? (.) Who will separate us
from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or
famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake
we are being killed all day long" (.) For I am convinced that (nothing) in
all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God" (Rom. 8:31,
35, 36, 39).

What is the meaning of hope?

3.2 Hope within us means first and foremost our faith in God and secondly
our expectation, despite everything, for a better future. Thirdly, it means
not chasing after illusions - we realize that release is not close at hand.
Hope is the capacity to see God in the midst of trouble, and to be
co-workers with the Holy Spirit who is dwelling in us. From this vision
derives the strength to be steadfast, remain firm and work to change the
reality in which we find ourselves. Hope means not giving in to evil but
rather standing up to it and continuing to resist it. We see nothing in the
present or future except ruin and destruction. We see the upper hand of the
strong, the growing orientation towards racist separation and the imposition
of laws that deny our existence and our dignity. We see confusion and
division in the Palestinian position. If, despite all this, we do resist
this reality today and work hard, perhaps the destruction that looms on the
horizon may not come upon us.

Signs of hope

3.3 The Church in our land, her leaders and her faithful, despite her
weakness and her divisions, does show certain signs of hope. Our parish
communities are vibrant and most of our young people are active apostles for
justice and peace. In addition to the individual commitment, our various
Church institutions make our faith active and present in service, love and
prayer.

3.3.1 Among the signs of hope are the local centres of theology, with a
religious and social character. They are numerous in our different Churches.
The ecumenical spirit, even if still hesitant, shows itself more and more in
the meetings of our different Church families.

3.3.2 We can add to this the numerous meetings for inter-religious dialogue,
Christian-Muslim dialogue, which includes the religious leaders and a part
of the people. Admittedly, dialogue is a long process and is perfected
through a daily effort as we undergo the same sufferings and have the same
expectations. There is also dialogue among the three religions, Judaism,
Christianity and Islam, as well as different dialogue meetings on the
academic or social level. They all try to breach the walls imposed by the
occupation and oppose the distorted perception of human beings in the heart
of their brothers or sisters.

3.3.3 One of the most important signs of hope is the steadfastness of the
generations, the belief in the justice of their cause and the continuity of
memory, which does not forget the "Nakba" (catastrophe) and its
significance. Likewise significant is the developing awareness among many
Churches throughout the world and their desire to know the truth about what
is going on here.

3.3.4 In addition to that, we see a determination among many to overcome the
resentments of the past and to be ready for reconciliation once justice has
been restored. Public awareness of the need to restore political rights to
the Palestinians is increasing, and Jewish and Israeli voices, advocating
peace and justice, are raised in support of this with the approval of the
international community. True, these forces for justice and reconciliation
have not yet been able to transform the situation of injustice, but they
have their influence and may shorten the time of suffering and hasten the
time of reconciliation.

The mission of the Church

3.4 Our Church is a Church of people who pray and serve. This prayer and
service is prophetic, bearing the voice of God in the present and future.
Everything that happens in our land, everyone who lives there, all the pains
and hopes, all the injustice and all the efforts to stop this injustice, are
part and parcel of the prayer of our Church and the service of all her
institutions. Thanks be to God that our Church raises her voice against
injustice despite the fact that some desire her to remain silent, closed in
her religious devotions.

3.4.1 The mission of the Church is prophetic, to speak the Word of God
courageously, honestly and lovingly in the local context and in the midst of
daily events. If she does take sides, it is with the oppressed, to stand
alongside them, just as Christ our Lord stood by the side of each poor
person and each sinner, calling them to repentance, life, and the
restoration of the dignity bestowed on them by God and that no one has the
right to strip away.

3.4.2 The mission of the Church is to proclaim the Kingdom of God, a kingdom
of justice, peace and dignity. Our vocation as a living Church is to bear
witness to the goodness of God and the dignity of human beings. We are
called to pray and to make our voice heard when we announce a new society
where human beings believe in their own dignity and the dignity of their
adversaries.

3.4.3 Our Church points to the Kingdom, which cannot be tied to any earthly
kingdom. Jesus said before Pilate that he was indeed a king but "my kingdom
is not from this world" (Jn 18:36). Saint Paul says: "The Kingdom of God is
not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit"
(Rom. 14:17). Therefore, religion cannot favour or support any unjust
political regime, but must rather promote justice, truth and human dignity.
It must exert every effort to purify regimes where human beings suffer
injustice and human dignity is violated. The Kingdom of God on earth is not
dependent on any political orientation, for it is greater and more inclusive
than any particular political system.

3.4.4 Jesus Christ said: "The Kingdom of God is among you" (Luke 17:21).
This Kingdom that is present among us and in us is the extension of the
mystery of salvation. It is the presence of God among us and our sense of
that presence in everything we do and say. It is in this divine presence
that we shall do what we can until justice is achieved in this land.

3.4.5 The cruel circumstances in which the Palestinian Church has lived and
continues to live have required the Church to clarify her faith and to
identify her vocation better. We have studied our vocation and have come to
know it better in the midst of suffering and pain: today, we bear the
strength of love rather than that of revenge, a culture of life rather than
a culture of death. This is a source of hope for us, for the Church and for
the world.

3.5 The Resurrection is the source of our hope. Just as Christ rose in
victory over death and evil, so too we are able, as each inhabitant of this
land is able, to vanquish the evil of war. We will remain a witnessing,
steadfast and active Church in the land of the Resurrection.

4. Love
The commandment of love

4.1 Christ our Lord said: "Just as I have loved you, you also should love
one another" (Jn 13:34). He has already showed us how to love and how to
treat our enemies. He said: "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall
love your neighbour and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of
your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the
good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous (.) Be perfect,
therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt. 5:45-47).

Saint Paul also said: "Do not repay anyone evil for evil" (Rom. 12:17). And
Saint Peter said: "Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but on the
contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called" (1
Pet. 3:9).

Resistance

4.2 This word is clear. Love is the commandment of Christ our Lord to us and
it includes both friends and enemies. This must be clear when we find
ourselves in circumstances where we must resist evil of whatever kind.

4.2.1 Love is seeing the face of God in every human being. Every person is
my brother or my sister. However, seeing the face of God in everyone does
not mean accepting evil or aggression on their part. Rather, this love seeks
to correct the evil and stop the aggression.

The aggression against the Palestinian people which is the Israeli
occupation, is an evil that must be resisted. It is an evil and a sin that
must be resisted and removed. Primary responsibility for this rests with the
Palestinians themselves suffering occupation. Christian love invites us to
resist it. However, love puts an end to evil by walking in the ways of
justice. Responsibility lies also with the international community, because
international law regulates relations between peoples today.

Finally responsibility lies with the perpetrators of the injustice; they
must liberate themselves from the evil that is in them and the injustice
they have imposed on others.

4.2.2 When we review the history of the nations, we see many wars and much
resistance to war by war, to violence by violence. The Palestinian people
has gone the way of the peoples, particularly in the first stages of its
struggle with the Israeli occupation. However, it also engaged in peaceful
struggle, especially during the first Intifada. We recognize that all
peoples must find a new way in their relations with each other and the
resolution of their conflicts. The ways of force must give way to the ways
of justice. This applies above all to the peoples that are militarily
strong, mighty enough to impose their injustice on the weaker.

4.2.3 We say that our option as Christians in the face of the Israeli
occupation is to resist. Resistance is a right and a duty for the Christian.
But it is resistance with love as its logic. It is thus a creative
resistance for it must find human ways that engage the humanity of the
enemy. Seeing the image of God in the face of the enemy means taking up
positions in the light of this vision of active resistance to stop the
injustice and oblige the perpetrator to end his aggression and thus achieve
the desired goal, which is getting back the land, freedom, dignity and
independence.

4.2.4 Christ our Lord has left us an example we must imitate. We must resist
evil but he taught us that we cannot resist evil with evil. This is a
difficult commandment, particularly when the enemy is determined to impose
himself and deny our right to remain here in our land. It is a difficult
commandment yet it alone can stand firm in the face of the clear
declarations of the occupation authorities that refuse our existence and the
many excuses these authorities use to continue imposing occupation upon us.

4.2.5 Resistance to the evil of occupation is integrated, then, within this
Christian love that refuses evil and corrects it. It resists evil in all its
forms with methods that enter into the logic of love and draw on all
energies to make peace. We can resist through civil disobedience. We do not
resist with death but rather through respect of life. We respect and have a
high esteem for all those who have given their life for our nation. And we
affirm that every citizen must be ready to defend his or her life, freedom
and land.

4.2.6 Palestinian civil organizations, as well as international
organizations, NGOs and certain religious institutions call on individuals,
companies and states to engage in divestment and in an economic and
commercial boycott of everything produced by the occupation. We understand
this to integrate the logic of peaceful resistance. These advocacy campaigns
must be carried out with courage, openly sincerely proclaiming that their
object is not revenge but rather to put an end to the existing evil,
liberating both the perpetrators and the victims of injustice. The aim is to
free both peoples from extremist positions of the different Israeli
governments, bringing both to justice and reconciliation. In this spirit and
with this dedication we will eventually reach the longed-for resolution to
our problems, as indeed happened in South Africa and with many other
liberation movements in the world.

4.3 Through our love, we will overcome injustices and establish foundations
for a new society both for us and for our opponents. Our future and their
future are one. Either the cycle of violence that destroys both of us or
peace that will benefit both. We call on Israel to give up its injustice
towards us, not to twist the truth of reality of the occupation by
pretending that it is a battle against terrorism. The roots of "terrorism"
are in the human injustice committed and in the evil of the occupation.
These must be removed if there be a sincere intention to remove "terrorism".
We call on the people of Israel to be our partners in peace and not in the
cycle of interminable violence. Let us resist evil together, the evil of
occupation and the infernal cycle of violence.

5. Our word to our brothers and sisters

5.1 We all face, today, a way that is blocked and a future that promises
only woe. Our word to all our Christian brothers and sisters is a word of
hope, patience, steadfastness and new action for a better future. Our word
is that we, as Christians we carry a message, and we will continue to carry
it despite the thorns, despite blood and daily difficulties. We place our
hope in God, who will grant us relief in His own time. At the same time, we
continue to act in concord with God and God's will, building, resisting evil
and bringing closer the day of justice and peace.

5.2 We say to our Christian brothers and sisters: This is a time for
repentance. Repentance brings us back into the communion of love with
everyone who suffers, the prisoners, the wounded, those afflicted with
temporary or permanent handicaps, the children who cannot live their
childhood and each one who mourns a dear one. The communion of love says to
every believer in spirit and in truth: if my brother is a prisoner I am a
prisoner; if his home is destroyed, my home is destroyed; when my brother is
killed, then I too am killed. We face the same challenges and share in all
that has happened and will happen. Perhaps, as individuals or as heads of
Churches, we were silent when we should have raised our voices to condemn
the injustice and share in the suffering. This is a time of repentance for
our silence, indifference, lack of communion, either because we did not
persevere in our mission in this land and abandoned it, or because we did
not think and do enough to reach a new and integrated vision and remained
divided, contradicting our witness and weakening our word. Repentance for
our concern with our institutions, sometimes at the expense of our mission,
thus silencing the prophetic voice given by the Spirit to the Churches.

5.3 We call on Christians to remain steadfast in this time of trial, just as
we have throughout the centuries, through the changing succession of states
and governments. Be patient, steadfast and full of hope so that you might
fill the heart of every one of your brothers or sisters who shares in this
same trial with hope. "Always be ready to make your defence to anyone who
demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you" (1 Pet. 3:15).
Be active and, provided this conforms to love, participate in any sacrifice
that resistance asks of you to overcome our present travail.

5.4 Our numbers are few but our message is great and important. Our land is
in urgent need of love. Our love is a message to the Muslim and to the Jew,
as well as to the world.

5.4.1 Our message to the Muslims is a message of love and of living together
and a call to reject fanaticism and extremism. It is also a message to the
world that Muslims are neither to be stereotyped as the enemy nor
caricatured as terrorists but rather to be lived with in peace and engaged
with in dialogue.

5.4.2 Our message to the Jews tells them: Even though we have fought one
another in the recent past and still struggle today, we are able to love and
live together. We can organize our political life, with all its complexity,
according to the logic of this love and its power, after ending the
occupation and establishing justice.

5.4.3 The word of faith says to anyone engaged in political activity: human
beings were not made for hatred. It is not permitted to hate, neither is it
permitted to kill or to be killed. The culture of love is the culture of
accepting the other. Through it we perfect ourselves and the foundations of
society are established.

6. Our word to the Churches of the world

6.1 Our word to the Churches of the world is firstly a word of gratitude for
the solidarity you have shown toward us in word, deed and presence among us.
It is a word of praise for the many Churches and Christians who support the
right of the Palestinian people for self determination. It is a message of
solidarity with those Christians and Churches who have suffered because of
their advocacy for law and justice.

However, it is also a call to repentance; to revisit fundamentalist
theological positions that support certain unjust political options with
regard to the Palestinian people. It is a call to stand alongside the
oppressed and preserve the word of God as good news for all rather than to
turn it into a weapon with which to slay the oppressed. The word of God is a
word of love for all His creation. God is not the ally of one against the
other, nor the opponent of one in the face of the other. God is the Lord of
all and loves all, demanding justice from all and issuing to all of us the
same commandments. We ask our sister Churches not to offer a theological
cover-up for the injustice we suffer, for the sin of the occupation imposed
upon us. Our question to our brothers and sisters in the Churches today is:
Are you able to help us get our freedom back, for this is the only way you
can help the two peoples attain justice, peace, security and love?

6.2 In order to understand our reality, we say to the Churches: Come and
see. We will fulfil our role to make known to you the truth of our reality,
receiving you as pilgrims coming to us to pray, carrying a message of peace,
love and reconciliation. You will know the facts and the people of this
land, Palestinians and Israelis alike.

6.3 We condemn all forms of racism, whether religious or ethnic, including
anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, and we call on you to condemn it and oppose
it in all its manifestations. At the same time we call on you to say a word
of truth and to take a position of truth with regard to Israel's occupation
of Palestinian land. As we have already said, we see boycott and
disinvestment as tools of non violence for justice, peace and security for
all.

7. Our word to the international community

7. Our word to the international community is to stop the principle of
"double standards" and insist on the international resolutions regarding the
Palestinian problem with regard to all parties. Selective application of
international law threatens to leave us vulnerable to a law of the jungle.
It legitimizes the claims by certain armed groups and states that the
international community only understands the logic of force.
Therefore, we call for a response to what the civil and religious
institutions have proposed, as mentioned earlier: the beginning of a system
of economic sanctions and boycott to be applied against Israel. We repeat
once again that this is not revenge but rather a serious action in order to
reach a just and definitive peace that will put an end to Israeli occupation
of Palestinian and other Arab territories and will guarantee security and
peace for all.

8. Jewish and Muslim religious leaders

8. Finally, we address an appeal to the religious and spiritual leaders,
Jewish and Muslim, with whom we share the same vision that every human being
is created by God and has been given equal dignity. Hence the obligation for
each of us to defend the oppressed and the dignity God has bestowed on them.
Let us together try to rise up above the political positions that have
failed so far and continue to lead us on the path of failure and suffering.

9. A call to our Palestinian people and to the Israelis

9.1 This is a call to see the face of God in each one of God's creatures and
overcome the barriers of fear or race in order to establish a constructive
dialogue and not remain within the cycle of never-ending manoeuvres that aim
to keep the situation as it is. Our appeal is to reach a common vision,
built on equality and sharing, not on superiority, negation of the other or
aggression, using the pretext of fear and security. We say that love is
possible and mutual trust is possible. Thus, peace is possible and
definitive reconciliation also. Thus, justice and security will be attained
for all.

9.2 Education is important. Educational programs must help us to get to know
the other as he or she is rather than through the prism of conflict,
hostility or religious fanaticism. The educational programs in place today
are infected with this hostility. The time has come to begin a new education
that allows one to see the face of God in the other and declares that we are
capable of loving each other and building our future together in peace and
security.

9.3 Trying to make the state a religious state, Jewish or Islamic,
suffocates the state, confines it within narrow limits, and transforms it
into a state that practices discrimination and exclusion, preferring one
citizen over another. We appeal to both religious Jews and Muslims: let the
state be a state for all its citizens, with a vision constructed on respect
for religion but also equality, justice, liberty and respect for pluralism
and not on domination by a religion or a numerical majority.

9.4 To the leaders of Palestine we say that current divisions weaken all of
us and cause more sufferings. Nothing can justify these divisions. For the
good of the people, which must outweigh that of the political parties, an
end must be put to division. We appeal to the international community to
lend its support towards this union and to respect the will of the
Palestinian people as expressed freely.

9.5 Jerusalem is the foundation of our vision and our entire life. She is
the city to which God gave a particular importance in the history of
humanity. She is the city towards which all people are in movement - and
where they will meet in friendship and love in the presence of the One
Unique God, according to the vision of the prophet Isaiah: "In days to come
the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the
mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream
to it (.) He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many
peoples; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears
into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither
shall they learn war any more" (Is. 2: 2-5). Today, the city is inhabited by
two peoples of three religions; and it is on this prophetic vision and on
the international resolutions concerning the totality of Jerusalem that any
political solution must be based. This is the first issue that should be
negotiated because the recognition of Jerusalem's sanctity and its message
will be a source of inspiration towards finding a solution to the entire
problem, which is largely a problem of mutual trust and ability to set in
place a new land in this land of God.

10. Hope and faith in God

10. In the absence of all hope, we cry out our cry of hope. We believe in
God, good and just. We believe that God's goodness will finally triumph over
the evil of hate and of death that still persist in our land. We will see
here "a new land" and "a new human being", capable of rising up in the
spirit to love each one of his or her brothers and sisters.