The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI)

Jan. 11, 2005

Members of the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) delivered a series of reports on their observations from the recently concluded Palestinian elections to a gathering in Jerusalem January 10^th that included former United States President Jimmy Carter and the local heads of churches.

The report, entitled “Accompanying Elections under Occupation: Between Ballots and Barbed Wire,” was delivered to a group that also included members of the programme’s local advisory group as well as local Jewish and Muslim partners and U.S. Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-Ca.).  Carter and Capps had been in the region as international election monitors.   

The work of the Church through groups such as the EAPPI was acknowledged as a necessary component in order to bring peace to both Palestinians and Israelis.

“I would like to express my thanks to this group of Christian leaders and volunteers who are here to promote the principles of the Prince of Peace,” Carter said. 

Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah recognized the work of the EAPPI directly.  “Thanks for the period of your life you Ecumenical Accompaniers are sacrificing to bring us this bid for peace,” he said. 

Lutheran Bishop Munib Younan talked about the important service Ecumenical Accompaniers provide once they have left the area and returned to their home countries.  “You have been our eyes and ears here and, when you return home, we hope you will be our mouth, too, and express yourself in your own countries and churches,” he said.

Capps recalled her visit to Jayyous, a village cut off from its land by the “Separation Wall,” one year ago and reiterated her support for justice for the Palestinian people.  But she also praised the role of the Church in showing that justice for the Palestinians does not entail the opposite for the Israeli people.  “You don’t suppress one and lift the other,” she said in referring to the work of the Church.  “You keep both up in harmony.  You are not wishing ill on one side.  A Jewish-American peace supporter in California put it to us this way:  ‘It is the role of the Christians.  You have to make the case for doing both and supporting both Palestinians and Israelis.’

Bishop Younan underlined Capps’ words when he said, “Don’t be pro-Palestinian or pro-Israeli.  Be pro-justice, pro-peace, and pro-reconciliation.”

The Ecumenical Accompaniers presented their observations to the group after being present in various locations throughout the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the election process.  The team from Jayyous and Tulkarem mentioned the case of a Bedouin family which lives on land cut off from the village of Jayyous by the “Separation Fence.”  They live in a no-man’s land, not able to access the village freely to conduct their daily lives.  The eligible voters in the family wanted to exercise their democratic rights but did not wish to cross the gates manned by Israeli soldiers alone.  The Accompaniers, therefore, escorted them across and then back again so that they could vote.

 Brian Shackleton, an Accompanier from Britain, talked about the scene on Election Day in the Bethlehem area, particularly the neighboring town of Beit Sahour, whose population is noted for its political activism.  “I asked the question: Why vote?” Shackleton said.  “I got various answers and it was the younger generation which expected the most.  Because they want peace, not violence.  Because they want to build a community.  Because they want security and to end corruption.  Because they want their children to go to school, not in fear.  Because they want to visit their cousins when they choose.  Because they want to farm their fields which are now on the other side of the Wall.  Abu Mazen, you have quite a challenge.  Let’s hope you get some help.”

 Katja Tolstrup, an Accompanier from Denmark, reported on the unusual ease of traveling through the Kalandia checkpoint, the main barrier between Ramallah and Jerusalem, on Election Day.  One day later, the conditions at Kalandia were significantly different.  “Passing through Kalandia today [January 10^th] showed me that the openness of yesterday was gone,” Tolstrup said.  “The checkpoint was closed for around two hours and, when the huge crowd finally was allowed through, the firing of a sound grenade, deliberate of accidental, in the middle of a line of people immobilized by concrete blocks underlined the truly terrifying and dangerous conflict.”

The Jerusalem area witnessed the difficulty of people voting in territory that Israel has annexed.  Some Jerusalem residents refused to vote because they were afraid the Israeli authorities would use that as an excuse to strip them of their rights in the city.  In fact, voting in East Jerusalem had to be done at Israeli post offices, with ballots having to be filled out in front of Israeli postal workers.  Some other residents tried to vote but found that they could not due to problems with their registrations.  These potential voters could have traveled to a West Bank polling station but they were not always informed of this possibility.  The Accompaniers talked of a husband and wife who have been forced to live apart due to the Wall going through the eastern outskirts of Jerusalem.  The husband has a West Bank I.D. and as such cannot be legally in Jerusalem.  The wife, who carries a Jerusalem I.D., lives in the city with the couple’s children and chose not to vote for fear of losing their Jerusalem status.  The husband, on the other hand, did vote, though he was skeptical the election would change much about the situation.

That same skepticism led some Palestinians to decide against voting.  Lydia Gall, an Accompanier from Sweden, had a conversation with a man who reflected on why he refused to participate in the democratic process.  “His view was that the presidential candidates were not representing the Palestinian people but outsiders,” she said.  “On account of that, the election itself had no merit and to be part of the elections, either by voting for someone or by casting a blank vote on purpose, would be the same as legitimizing an election imposed by outsiders.”

 One man in Nablus, talking about the expected outcome of the election, said “Abu Mazen doesn’t need my vote; he’ll win anyway.” 

But amidst the skepticism and even the refusal by many to vote, there was also a flush of pride in the process of democracy exhibited by the Palestinian people.  In fact, the only democratic elections in the Arab world have been held in Palestine, a point in which the Palestinian people take great pride.  “Abu Mazen will win,” said one resident of Nablus, “and he will get from 60% to 70% of the vote, not 99.99% like in some Arab countries.”  Many Palestinians, even those who expressed skepticism, voted, expressing the importance with which they considered participating in a democratic process.

Capps was particularly impressed with the fact that two-thirds of those eligible voted considering the situation in Palestine.  “This election has made me feel inspired by those who vote,” she said.  “I have never been so inspired by people in an occupied land going across a separation barrier and great obstacles, knowing what the outcome [of the election] would be. …The election was a belief in the power of people to govern themselves – which is something I would call sacred, to see the dignity and new energy they gave to the process of putting an ‘X’ on a ballot.”

With members of the Jewish and Muslim communities present at the meeting, there was also discussion on the work the three faiths can do in conjunction towards the common goal of peace for both peoples.

 Gila Svirsky, a member of the Israeli peace groups Women in Black and Women’s Coalition for Peace, said:  “I take my hat off to the Ecumenical Accompaniers for all the work you do.  I know how important it is for you to return and be ambassadors for peace in the countries you come from. …I believe in the importance of the liberation of Palestine.  It is not only important for Palestinians, but important for the liberation of Israel and for Israel to be the country we always wanted it to be.  Everyone’s success here [with EAPPI] is our success.”

 Mahdi Abdel Hahdi, the director of the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs, issued a challenge to Muslims and Christians to join forces to represent the people of East Jerusalem with legislative elections upcoming this summer.  “I am looking for a priest and a sheikh to run for the legislative elections in East Jerusalem in July,” he said.  “I want the church and the mosque to be visible, to help represent the Muslims and the Christians and all East Jerusalem.”

 The message delivered on this night, despite the obvious problems, was one of hope.  There was pointed criticism of the campaigning process but also admiration for the efficient way the actual election was carried out.  The election of Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) opens a new chapter in Palestinian history and former President Carter saw it as a reason to look forward.

“I don’t doubt the efficacy and ultimate success of our sustained prayers that this dream of ours – for the benefit of Israel, for the benefit of Palestine, and for the benefit of the whole world – can be realized.  It is not an issue that warrants despair, hopelessness, or timidity.  It requires hope, and courage, and confidence, and active support for these goals.”

 For more information on the WCC: www.wcc-coe.org

For more information on EAPPI and photos: www.eappi.org

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