Osama Sayegh has a heart for numbers: four in Deir Ghazaleh, 35 in Kufr Kad, 50 in Toubas, 35 in Jalameh, 67 in Burqin, 130 in Jenin.
He counts the number of Christians left in these communities across the northern part of the West Bank. He reaches with his heart for the people behind those numbers: why are young Christian families leaving? How can he convince them to stay?
A World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation led by WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca visited Jerusalem and the West Bank from 14-17 July, meeting with patriarchs and heads of Christian communities as well as local clergy and laity.
After being received by representatives of the churches managing the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem on 15 July, President Joseph Biden was accompanied on a short tour to the site of the birth of Christ, where he was awaited by Patriarch Theophilos III, the Custos Father Patton, and the Armenian Orthodox Patriarch Norahan Manugian, all of whom took Biden on a tour and exchanged discussion with him in the presence of a number of Palestinian officials.
Recent events in Palestine and Israel have, tragically, once again underscored the critical need for a just peace in the region, for both Palestinians and Israelis, said World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca.
As Orthodox institutions and individuals called for unimpeded access to the Holy Sepulcher for Holy Fire Saturday and Easter, the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem rejected restrictions announced by Israeli police.
Easter for Christians, Passover for Jews, and Ramadan for Muslims coincided on the weekend of 15-17 April this year. Still, violence in the holy city of Jerusalem shared by the three faiths was a reminder of the fragility of their relationships.
Following an 11 April statement of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem expressing grave concerns over announced police restrictions on Holy Fire Saturday, the World Council of Churches (WCC) strongly condemned such measures restricting access to places of worship as violations of religious freedom in the Holy Land.
After heads of churches in the Holy Land voiced their objections to a proposal to expand Jerusalem Walls National Park to include property owned by several churches in the city, Israel's Nature and Parks Authority announced on 21 February that it was backing down from the plan.
More than 400 people participated in an olive tree planting and solidarity event in the West Bank village of Burin. The gathering, organized by Rabbis for Human Rights, occurred in the wake of an extremist attack two weeks ago on people planting olive trees.
World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca called on the Palestinian Authority to investigate recent attacks on Christians in the West Bank, and to ensure justice and dignity for all citizens. “The WCC call follows two attacks last week against Christians in the Nablus and Bethlehem areas,” said Sauca.
A recent webinar, “Voices from Bethlehem: Christian Unity in the Birthplace of Jesus,” organized by the Methodist Ecumenical Office Rome and the Methodist Liaison Office Jerusalem, offered a discussion of the importance of Christian unity in contemporary times in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus.
One hundred and thirty Jewish volunteers planted 400 olive trees last week in Palestinian villages, continuing their work even following at least one violent attack.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee, in a public statement, expressed grave concern over recent developments in Palestine and Israel, which indicate “a deteriorating situation in the region, emblematic of the many ways in which the ongoing military occupation of the Palestinian territories obstructs achieving a just peace among the people of the Holy Land, and compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and responses to it which have resulted in further restrictions on the space for civil society action in the region.”
What is it like to face the fear of eviction or demolition of your home, day after day, year after year? Personal testimonies during a 28 October webinar portrayed the reality of living in East Jerusalem today.
On 12 October, representatives from the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (WCC-EAPPI) joined with Rabbis for Human Rights to be a presence of helping hands and hopeful hearts in villages during olive harvest.
The World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel may be officially over for the year but for Fuad Giacaman, it continues week after week, one day at a time, every minute at the grassroots—as it has for decades.
As the 2021 World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel approaches, the World Council of Churches invites people and churches all over the world to pray, advocate, and stand in solidarity with people in the Holy Land.
With families in East Jerusalem facing growing threats of forced evictions and displacement, the World Council of Churches (WCC) will convene a webinar on 20 September to shed light on key issues at stake, currently and historically.
Gathered on 24 June as part of the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee meeting, representatives from churches and ecumenical organizations in the Middle East took stock of old and new challenges in the region where Christianity itself originated, reflecting on the contributions Middle Eastern Christians can make at the upcoming WCC 11th Assembly.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee expressed solidarity and accompaniment in prayer to churches and people in the Holy Land, in a statement published 20 May.