Israel and Palestine
Find mission workers in Israel and Palestine
News
Palestinian Christians dwindling in number due to political situation
Peacemaking Conference in Israel/Palestine, April 28–May 10, 2014
Applications available online May 1 through Oct 1, 2013
Preparing for Christmas in Gaza
A message from the Stated Clerk concerning recent General Assembly statements on Israel
PC(USA) stated clerk urges Palestinian leaders to work with each other and Israel
Religious leaders ask Congress to condition Israel military aid on human rights compliance
Signers of the letter include PC(USA) General Assembly stated clerk Gradye Parsons
Palestinian International Peacemaker emphasizes connectedness, awareness
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship gives top award to Jewish Voice for Peace and the Israel/Palestine mission network
The Peaceseeker Award traditionallyrecognizes Presbyterians on the front lines of reducing war and violence
Israel/Palestine Mission Network inaugurates the Hosanna Preaching Prize to recognize preachers who challenge believers re God's urgent call to justice and reconciliation in Palestine and Israel
Partnership at work
Virginia congregation hosts Palestinian partners for fellowship, outreach
The 2012 General Assembly opts for "positive investment" over divestment
Rami Khouri, director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University in Beirut, addressing the Israel/Pallestine Mission Network at G.A.: New Arab democracies doing in a few years what it took the U.S. over 200 to do
Scholar Kenneth Bailey sees Arab Christians as valuable bridge to Middle East peace
Background
The Presbyterian Church has been involved in mission efforts in the Middle East for nearly two centuries. The denomination's long-standing witness in Israel and Palestine has spanned a range of efforts: supporting mission personnel; working with partner churches; contributing to refugee relief and resettlement; combating hunger and poverty; supporting ministries of local churches; sponsoring travel-study seminars; promoting education, health and leadership development; vocational training programs and self-development projects; programs supporting peace, justice and human rights movements; engaging in constituency education; and mobilizing to influence public policy.
Since 1948 General Assemblies have repeatedly addressed the Middle East and particularly Israel and Palestine. The Presbyterian position has consistently been to affirm the right of Israel to exist as a sovereign state within secure, internationally recognized borders and the right of the Palestinians to self-determination, including the right to the establishment of a neighboring independent, sovereign state toward the end of establishing a just and durable peace.
Read actions of Assemblies from 1997 to 2010
Background of the conflict
Students at the Arab Episcopal School, Ramallah, Palestine. Courtesy of the Arab Episcopal School.
Resources for study and engagement
The Israel/Palestine Mission Network's 2012 Advent Devotional
Faith Under Occupation: Palestinian Christians tell their story
B'Tselem's 2011 annual report on human rights in the Occupied Territories
The CBS News television program 60 Minutes aired a report on Christians living in the Middle East on Sunday, 22 April 2012. Included in the report are comments by Mitri Raheb, Palestinian pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem and a key partner of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and a mention of the Kairos Palestine: A Moment of Truth document.
Kairos Palestine document: A Moment of Truth
Kairos Palestine: Congregational Study Plan
Steadfast Hope: The Palestinian Quest for Just Peace
The July 2010 Sojourners magazine (“an evangelical voice for social justice”) contains two articles that illustrate the increasing coverage being given to Palestinian Christians’ perspectives on peace and justice in Israel/Palestine:
• A one-page testimony, “Following Jesus in the West Bank,” by nationally recognized U.S. evangelical leader Lynne Hybels (Willow Creek Community Church) sharing how her position on the Israel/Palestine conflict was transformed by her encounter with Palestinian Christians
• A strongly positive assessment of the Kairos Palestine Document by Sojourners staff writerRyan Rodrick Beiler
Palestine-Israel Ecumenical Forum: Guidelines for Christians Contemplating a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
Download
Arab Evangelical Episcopal School-Ramallah Palestine Caption – Graduates of the Arab Evangelical Episcopal School, Ramallah, Palestine. Courtesy of the Arab Evangelical Episcopal School.
Partner churches and church organizations
Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees of the Middle East Council of Churches
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land
The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem
Ecumenical Accompaniment
ECUMENICAL ACCOMPANIMENT PROGRAMME IN PALESTINE AND ISRAEL
The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) brings internationals to the West Bank to experience life under occupation. Ecumenical Accompaniers (EAs) provide protective presence to vulnerable communities, monitor and report human rights abuses and support Palestinians and Israelis working together for peace. When they return home, EAs campaign for a just and peaceful resolution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict through an end to the occupation, respect for international law and implementation of UN resolutions. Learn more
Presbytery Partnerships
Israel-Palestine Mission Network
For more information contact Amgad Beblaw
The Israel-Palestine Mission Network is among more than 40 networks that connect Presbyterians who share a common mission interest. Most participants are involved in mission partnerships through congregations, presbyteries or synods. Network members come together to coordinate efforts, share best practices and develop strategies.
Learn more about Israel-Palestine
Visit the BBC country profile.
Israel and Palestine, a six-minute animated introduction
Read about Christians in the Middle East (from the BBC)
See 2013 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 302, pp. 304-305
October 26
October 28
October 29
