The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme

No. 23 of 47. First published 8 Dec 2007. One of the most impressive church-based initiatives in Israel and the Palestinian Territories is EAPPI, the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel, associated with the World Council of Churches. Valentina Maggiulli, the EAPPI coordinator here in Jerusalem, joined us on some of our visits this …

Visit to the al-Arroub Refugee Camp

No. 22 of 47. First published 8 Dec 2007. From Hebron we made our way back toward Jerusalem, stopping for lunch at a pleasant restaurant, and at theย al-Arroub refugee camp, established in 1950 to house Palestinians who had been forced to leave their land when the new Israeli state occupied it.ย  We often think of …

Christian Peacemaker Teams in Hebron

No. 21 of 47. First published 8 Dec 2007. From the Al Ibrahimi Mosque our delegation walked through narrow lanes filled with small shops selling snacks, produce, clothing and crafts to the office of Christian Peacemaker Teams in Hebron. This was in an "H2" area of Hebron, a district that has seen a high level of …

Meeting with Israeli human rights activists

No. 19 of 47. First published 7 Dec 2007. On the evening of 5 December 2007, our delegation from Australia visited the Swedish Christian Studies Center, located about 200 metres from our hotel, where we listened to three presentations on human rights in Israel and Palestine. What made these talks compelling was that each speaker …

Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions

No. 18 of 47. First published 6 Dec 2007. After lunch at the Notre Dame Guesthouse on 5 December 2007, our delegation received a briefing by Angela Godfrey-Goldstein on a little-known aspect of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Angela is an Israeli citizen who is passionate (and I mean passionate) about justice and peace, along with several other …