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Churches worldwide have been releasing their official reactions to the proposal by US president Trump and Israeli prime minister Netanyahu for dividing up Palestine and Israel.

On 30 January, the Church Council of the Church of Norway appointed World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit as the new presiding bishop for the Church of Norway.

The WCC stands firm in viewing “antisemitism as irreconcilable with the profession and practice of the Christian faith”.

A World Council of Churches webinar held on 25 November with the theme “Racism, Xenophobia and discrimination in the Middle-East Context” drew enthusiastic participants from the broader region inhabited by 411 million people.

As the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel commenced, Nora Carmi offered a morning reflection at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva on 16 September. Carmi is a civil society worker on justice and peace issues who is from the Orthodox community.

Under the theme “Humanity and equality in God’s creation”, people of faith all over the world are encouraged to bear common witness by gathering in prayer and acts of support during the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel. This yearly manifestation of solidarity and hope takes place 15 – 22 September and as usual it includes the International Day of Peace on 21 September.

Born in Nazareth, Galilee, Rev. Dr Saïd Ailabouni moved to the US at the age of 19 to become a physician. But he was so angry at God that he went to study theology instead, becoming a Lutheran pastor. Now he is leading the Middle East & Europe desk of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Since leaving his hometown 50 years ago, he visits his Palestinian family regularly. As the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel approaches, Ailabouni agreed to share some of his lifetime observations with the Word Council of Churches.

In a letter co-addressed to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations special rapporteur on situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory, the World Council of Churches expressed concern over the high rates of human rights violations and violence currently taking place in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has requested correction of an article in the New York Times that listed the WCC among supporters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) against Israel.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel is reporting that nine homes in Wadi-Al-Hummus have been demolished, with at least two families forcibly removed from their homes, as observed by Ecumenical Accompaniers on site. Over 100 families were removed altogether and prior to the demolitions.

Salpy Eskidjian Weiderud, leader of the Religious Track of the Cyprus Peace Process, has received an International Religious Freedom Award from the US Department of State. The awards “honor extraordinary advocates of religious freedom from around the world” and will be presented on 17 July in Washington, D.C.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) made a positive impact at the 41st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, held 24 June through 12 July.

The WCC has a long history of engagement with the United Nations human rights system, in witnessing and advocating for human dignity and justice on behalf of the worldwide ecumenical movement.

WCC News spoke to Rev. Douglas Leonard, coordinator of the Ecumenical United Nations Office and World Council of Churches (WCC) representative to the United Nations in New York, after attending a summit in Washington D.C. that brought together some 45 representatives of churches and faith-based organizations committed to developing an advocacy plan that responds to the current political situation in the Holy Land.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee just concluded its first meeting of the year. The committee reviewed and received the 2018 reports and adopted the 2018 financial report. The Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace with Latin America and the Caribbean; the 70th anniversary of the WCC; the Conference on World Mission and Evangelism; and the visit of Pope Francis, together with many ongoing activities, made 2018 an extraordinary year in the life of the WCC – one that affirmed the vitality and visibility of the fellowship of churches.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee, in a statement, reiterated its call for a just peace in Israel and Palestine. “That commitment is part of the fabric of our faith, and of the heritage of the ecumenical movement,” reads the statement. "We seek to express it by accompanying the churches, interfaith partners and communities of these lands in their witness and work for justice and for peace.”

During a service of remembrance and celebration in the Ecumenical Centre Chapel on 24 May, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee commemorated the lives, witness and ministry of Rev. Robina Winbush and Rev. Norman Tendis.

Restoring human dignity where people suffer most is the ultimate calling for churches in the Middle East and their partners worldwide, stated an annual partners meeting of the Middle East Council of Churches held in Ain el Qassis, Lebanon this week.

“Lead us from despair to hope, from fear to love, and may peace be in our hearts,” said Rev. Gabrielle Zander from the Augusta Victoria Church in an opening word of prayer, as participants in the WCC-EAPPI gathered in Saint Anne’s Basilica in Jerusalem in mid-April.

A group of churches from Germany’s west inspired by the quest for justice and peace presented an ecumenical exhibition showing how “Peace takes a different way” at the World Council of Churches in Geneva.

From 23-25 March, 1,600 young people from 43 countries came together in Beirut, Lebanon with the brothers of the ecumenical, monastic community of Taizé (France). Middle Eastern and Western Christians discovered how fruitful and stimulating an ecumenical exchange can be.