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As the latest set of World Council of Churches (WCC) ecumenical accompaniers left Palestine and Israel, ushering in a new set who will take the mantle, a handover ceremony brought heartfelt prayers for a just peace in the region. 

Mount Zion, located just outside the current walls of the Old City, via Zion Gate, is of great importance to Christians because this is the area of Dormition Abbey, the Cenacle (the traditional spot for remembering the Last Supper and washing of the Apostles’ feet), and where the Holy Spirit descended upon them in the event of Pentecost.

Die Zeit seit dem 7. Oktober 2023 ist mit vielen verschiedenen Worten beschrieben worden – Robi Damelin nennt sie „eine echte Prüfung für unsere Glaubenssysteme“.

„Wir werden Gaza nicht verlassen, so lange dort noch eine Kirche steht.“

„Wir werden nicht die letzten Christen sein, die in Gaza leben.“

„Wir haben alles verloren, aber wir können unsere Mission und unsere Zugehörigkeit zu diesem Ort, der uns so sehr am Herzen liegt, niemals aufgeben.“

„Das Christentum ist hier entstanden, und es wird auch hier bleiben.“  

Diese Worte hört Nader Abu Amsha, Direktor der Abteilung für Soziale Dienste für Palästinensische Geflüchtete des Rates der Kirchen im Nahen Osten (DSPR-MECC), von den Menschen, die er in ihrem Überlebenskampf zu unterstützen versucht.

The stretch of time since 7 October 2023 has been described in many ways—and Robi Damelin’s words are “a real test of your belief systems.”

“We won’t leave Gaza as long as there is a standing church.” 

“We will not be the last Christians living in Gaza.” “

“We lost everything, but we can’t lose our mission and our belonging to this place dear to our hearts.”

“Christianity started here and will continue to be here.”  

These are the words people are uttering as Nader Abu Amsha, executive director of Department of Services to Palestinian Refugees of the Middle East Council of Churches (DSPR-MECC), tries to help them simply survive the next day. 

Pater Frans Bouwen, ein Priester der katholischen Kirche, der seit 1969 für die Ökumene in Jerusalem lebt und arbeitet, beschreibt die aktuelle Situation in Palästina und Israel mit klaren Worten.

Father Frans Bouwen, a priest in the Catholic church who has been living and working for ecumenism in Jerusalem since 1969, has a stark description of the situation in Palestine and Israel today. 

Women and children in Gaza are bearing the heavy brunt of the ongoing war, according to reports from the United Nations, with close to a million women and girls displaced and 12,882 women and children already perished in a war that has now raged for more than 100 days.

Despite the war, security concerns, and travel restrictions, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme for Palestine and Israel and the WCC Jerusalem Office continue to operate. Ecumenical accompaniers have observed increasing violence against Palestinians in the West Bank since October 7. 

With olive picking about to begin in earnest for Palestinian farmers, they are sharing joy in their deep tradition of the harvest—and deep apprehension about harassment and aggression that seems to have already set in.

The latest group of ecumenical accompaniers from the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (WCC-EAPPI) have reported growing incidents of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

The latest group of World Council of Churches (WCC) ecumenical accompaniers reported incidents between 14 April and 22 May that ranged from violence to displacement, from harassment to intimidation in the West Bank. 

Marking 75 years since Al-Nakba—the Arabic term for the events of 1948, when many Palestinians were displaced from their homeland by the creation of the new state of Israel—religious leaders reflected on what Al-Nakba means today.

„Die Soldatinnen und Soldaten gingen weg, weil ihr hingesehen habt.“

„Ich kann meine Schafherde nahe der Militärbasis weiden, weil ich mich in Anwesenheit der ökumenischen Begleitpersonen sicher fühle und die Schikanierung durch Siedlerinnen und Siedler viel weniger ist, wenn ihr da seid.“

„Wir fühlen uns sicher, wenn die ökumenischen Begleitpersonen da sind.“

"The soldiers went away because you were watching.”

“I am able to herd my sheep near the military base because I feel safe in the presence of ecumenical accompaniers, and settler harassment is much less when you are around.”

“We feel safe when the ecumenical accompaniers are present.”