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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.

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.

On 15 March, a group of Ecumenical accompaniers from the WCC were invited to share Shabbat dinner with the Kol HaNeshama congregation in Jerusalem.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel has made the decision to remove Ecumenical Accompaniers from the Hebron area due to security concerns.

On 22 October, church leaders in the Holy Land organized an ecumenical visit to the threatened Bedouin community of Khan El Ahmar. They shared Biblical prayers including references to the beatitudes from the sermon on the mount as a response to injustice, and as words of comfort to the people under threat of displacement.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has expressed deep regret over the decision by the government of the USA to withdraw all funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian Refugees.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is calling for global prayers tomorrow for just peace in the Holy Land, and for all barriers to places of worship to be removed.

As a student back in the seventies, it took a while for Rifat Kassis to come to terms with being both a good Christian, and a Palestinian living under occupation. His call to become a reverend in the Lutheran Church in Palestine brought him to Germany to study theology 40 years ago.

Profiles of peacemakers and cries for justice for all the peoples in Israel and Palestine are featured in a World Council of Churches (WCC) campaign, Seek #JusticeAndPeace in the Holy Land, launched online today.

A water crisis for Palestinian people was highlighted by the general secretary of the WCC, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, at the launch of the Seven Weeks for Water campaign in Jerusalem.

When Dr Ulysses Burley III visited Palestine and Israel six months ago, he came away with an even stronger determination to work for social justice, wherever and however he can.

By Naveen Qayyum (*)