Episcopal Press and News
Presiding Bishop Criticizes Severity of Israeli Anti-terrorist Moves Against Palestinians
Episcopal News Service. April 19, 1996 [96-1442]
(ENS) In the week following Easter, Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning joined a chorus of Christian voices condemning strict security measures imposed on Palestinians after a series of terrorist bombings in Israel.
A "cycle of violence and reprisal" traps the people of Israel and the Occupied Territories, Browning wrote in a statement dated April 12, adding his prayer that they might overcome that cycle and "celebrate a new peace" at a time when "Christians celebrate the victory of life over death in the resurrection of Jesus Christ."
The road toward peace in the region, he said, "has been broken by terrorist bombings, confiscation of land and blockage of access to work, education, and health care." Browning expressed his deep sorrow at the series of Palestinian suicide bombings in February and March that killed scores in Israel. At the same time, he said, "I cannot understand or condone the collective punishment by the Israeli government against the entire population of Palestinians."
Browning's words followed on the heels of a statement by 12 patriarchs and church leaders in Jerusalem who appealed for an end to violence in the Middle East and criticized the security measures that "are punishing only Palestinians." The church leaders, including heads of Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant communities, said that "our sufferings are many, due to renewed times of violence and reprisals."
Other statements by Al Liqa', the Center for Religious Studies in the Holy Land, the Committee for the Defense of Land in Bethlehem, the Justice and Peace Commission of the Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center, and the rector of Bethlehem University also complained that closures kept Palestinians from celebrating Easter at the holy sites of Jerusalem, and have severely disrupted all aspects of Palestinian life.
Peace "cannot flourish without justice," and justice requires "security measures which protect all, Palestinians and Israelis, without discrimination," the Jerusalem leaders and Browning said.
Browning stressed his solidarity with Bishop Samir Kafity, of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, and the other Christian leaders. "We understand that fighting extremism is not an easy task. We understand the responsibility of governments to protect innocent people from extremism," he said, echoing the language of their statement. "But we understand also that, in this task, our governments should never indulge in the same logic of violence which it condemns itself in extremism."
He singled out the closure of the borders at the West Bank and Gaza Strip which "prevented Palestinian residents from leaving their homes and reaching badly needed medical care, education, food and work." He also condemned the practice of confiscating Palestinian land, particularly around Bethlehem where the construction of a Jewish settlement would "complete a ring of Israeli settlements around Jerusalem, effectively cutting off the city from the West Bank."
The Israeli government is "building settlements available only to Israelis on disputed territory," he said. "This action fuels extremism among Palestinians and greatly weakens the negotiating process" toward peace.