EAPPI May Newsletter
In this issue:
- New Local Programme Coordinator joins EAPPI
- Seventeenth Group of Ecumenical Accompaniers arrives in Jerusalem
- WCC warns that peace must come soon
In this issue:
- New Local Programme Coordinator joins EAPPI
- Seventeenth Group of Ecumenical Accompaniers arrives in Jerusalem
- WCC warns that peace must come soon
New Local Programme Coordinator starts in Jerusalem
EAPPI would like to welcome Valentina Magguilli who commenced her work as Local Programme Coordinator for EAPPI in Jerusalem on 23rd May. Valentina, from Switzerland, has a wealth of experience in advocacy work and management, and has previously served as an Ecumenical Accompanier, as well as working for the Swiss coordinating body. Valentina studied law at the Universityof Zurich, focusing on international and humanitarian law. Most recently she headed up the Zurich branch of the children’s relief organization Terre des Hommes.
The programme is sorry to say goodbye to Hermina Damons, who has served since December 2004 as Local Programme Coordinator and who now returns to South Africa.
Rifat Kassis, International Programme Coordinator said on the appointment:
“I would like to welcome Valentina to the programme; she joins the programme at a tense time when the political and humanitarian situation is deteriorating, at a time when the EAPPI is becoming more and more relevant and when our accompaniment is needed more than ever before. I would also like to thank Hermina Damons for her work and commitment and wish her a successful future”.
The time is right…..
In a statement entitled “The time is ripe to do what is right”, issued at its 16-19 May meeting in Bossey, near Geneva, the WCC governing body warns that “Peace must come soon or it may not come to either people for a long time”.
For peace to be achieved, both parties to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be held to identical standards on ending violence, respecting agreements, and recognizing the other, the committee stated.
The statement says that any unilateral setting of borders must be excluded and urges the international community to engage with all elected Palestinian leaders.
For the full statement, please go to: www.wcc-coe.org
New group of EAs begin three month term
The 17th Group of Ecumenical Accompaniers (EAs) arrived in Israel/Palestine at the beginning of the month. Having completed their induction training, they were handed over to their placements by the previous team of EAs. The new team includes eleven men and nine women from the following countries: USA, Canada, Norway, Sweden, UK, South Africa, Kenya, Finland and Switzerland.
The group includes the first EA from Kenya, as well as the first EA from the Orthodox tradition, who is the second person to have joined the programme from Finland. The teams have been placed in six locations: Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jayyous, Tulkarem, Hebron and Yanoun.
For more information go to: www.eappi.org (‘Overview’). For individual profiles on the EAs, go to ‘Accompaniers Reports’
EAPPI Publications
EA Jan Sutch Pickard (who served in Group 14 in Jayyous) has written a collection of poems titled ‘Odd Shoes’. A wonderful collection of poems, this booklet addresses Jan’s experiences in Jayyous and Yanoun, among others. To order a copy, please contact: jansutchpickard@gmail.com. (£2.30 for post and packing). All proceeds go to EAPPI.
For copies of our magazine, ChainReaction, EAPPI leaflets, or the EAPPI DVD, please contact: eappi-co@wcc-coe.org or to view our magazine online, go to: www.eappi.org (‘Documents’)
For copies of ‘Living with Settlers’, a new booklet on the issue of settlers in Yanoun in the northern West Bank, please contact: anne.veiteberg@nca.no
The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) supports Palestinians and Israelis working for peace by monitoring and reporting violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, offering protection by accompanying local communities in daily activities, and by advocating with churches for a peaceful end to the Occupation. The programme, which began in 2002, is coordinated by the World Council of Churches (WCC). The WCC is a fellowship of 347 churches, in more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian traditions. Its office is in Geneva, Switzerland.
For more information on the WCC: www.wcc-coe.org