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PALESTINE & ISRAEL


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KAIROS seeks to promote a peace that is just for both Palestinians and Israelis and for people of all religions, particularly Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the three main religions rooted in the Middle East. KAIROS welcomes dialogue on its work, which is strongly informed by partners in the region and by our common focus on peace-building.

Please take some time to explore the analysis and voices you'll find in these pages. Most of our materials are found on our resources page. Three KAIROS documents spelling out our beliefs in the urgent need for a peaceful and viable two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians:

1) Our Continuing Hope for a Just Peace in the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict. KAIROS policy, 17 September 2002 (See A summary of KAIROS' position on Israel-Palestine for a shorter version of this policy.)

2) Economic Advocacy Measures: Options for KAIROS Members for the Promotion of Peace in Palestine and Israel , 7 January 2008

3) KAIROS Works for Peace in Israel and Palestine: FAQ, March 4, 2011



Resources and Statements

Our Continuing Hope for a Just Peace in the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict. KAIROS policy,
17 September 2002
(See A summary of KAIROS' position on Israel-Palestine for a shorter version of this policy.)

Economic Advocacy Measures: Options for KAIROS Members for the Promotion of Peace in Palestine and Israel KAIROS document, 7 January 2008

The Occupation: Background and Impacts

Palestine NGOs Environmental Network: Wall Fact Sheet

Beyond Road Maps and Walls: The Link newsletter
January-March 2004

Abdullah’s Spring: Water use in Israel and Palestine
KAIROS resource, September 2006

Economic Advocacy Measures

Statement from KAIROS partner Sabeel:
A non-violent response to the Occupation-- a call for morally responsible investment
Palm Sunday, 2005

Action and advocacy

World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel
29 May - 4 June 2011
Visit here for general information

Worship, education, and advocacy resources are found here >>

Partner and Church Statements

Sabeel International Young Adult Conference: Statement
July 2007

A Wake-Up Call! Sabeel’s Statement on the New Realities in Palestine (election commentary, 4 February 2006)

The Human Right to Peace in the Middle East, Feb 2005. Address By Hon. David Kilgour, M.P. Edmonton-Mill Woods-Beaumont: Opening Ceremony for the MacEwan Model UN Assembly

Sabeel statement on the Road Map to Peace (23 May 2003 )

World Council of Churches statement on the ecumenical response to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Holy Land, 2 September 2002

Theological Reflection and Worship Materials

Worship service created for World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel 2010

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity January 18 to 25, 2011
Resources available from The World Council of Churches(PDF)

Resources adapted by The Canadian Council of Churches for use in Canada (PDF)

Bulletin insert (PDF) and supplementary prayers and resources (PDF)

End 40 Years Of Illegal Occupation. Negotiate A Just Peace Now! Church action for justice in Israel-Palestine, June 2007

An Historical Account of Christian Zionism (Don Wagner)

The 5th International Sabeel Conference Statement: "Challenging Christian Zionism" (18 April 2004, PDF format)

Sitting Under the Vine: A Theology of Exile and Return (Alain Epp Weaver)

General Background

Alternative tours
Bat Shalom (KAIROS partner)
Canadian Government Official Position on the Middle East
Jerusalem Center For Women website & Facebook group (KAIROS partner)
Middle Eastern Council of Churches
The Parent’s Circle - Families Forum
Palestine Fair Trade Association
Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center (KAIROS partner)
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Zatoun: fair trade olive oil

Advocacy and Peace Organizations:

B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights and the Occupied Territories
Ecumenical Accompaniment Program (World Council of Churches)
European Jews for a Just Peace
Israel Coalition against House Demolition
Jewish Voice for Peace resources on selective divestmenthttp://www.icahd.org/
Women in Black

Economic Advocacy Measures

Episcopal Church in the United States of America
Not in My Name Statement in support of Selective Divestment
New Profile: Movement for the Civilization of Israeli Society
Presbyterian Church (USA) Statements on Ending the Occupation and Divestment





PALESTINE & ISRAEL NEWS

KAIROS Partner Voices speak on UN Statehood for Palestine

September 26, 2011 By
CC-IP-UNAssembly

At the UN General Assembly, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is seeking to upgrade Palestinians' status from non-state observer to full UN membership. Given the United States’ proposed exercise of its veto, there is concern that Palestinian hopes may once again dashed and there could be increased levels of violence as a result. The more likely outcome is an upgrade of the Palestinian territories to become a non-member state from its current status as an observer. That would not need Security Council approval and would elevate the Palestinians' UN status to equal that of the Vatican, for example. The KAIROS holds a position not on the strategy, but on the outcome. It has been a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Feature 1, Palestine & Israel Tagged With: , , ,

Cross-Canada tour of Israeli journalist Amira Hass: dates and locations September-October 2011

August 24, 2011 By
Amira Hass

KAIROS is proud to co-sponsor with Canadians for Just Peace in the Middle East a cross-Canada lecture tour by renowned Israeli journalist Amira Hass: Palestine / Israel: Fear of the Future Click here to read more about Ms Hass and the tour co-sponsorship. We encourage all KAIROS supporters and church members to take advantage of this unique opportunity and to spread the word in your worshipping community. Come out to hear Ms Hass, an award winning writer and the only Israeli journalist living in the Occupied Palestinian Territories; bring an open mind and your questions.  KAIROS believes that a just peace for Israelis and Palestinians is possible, and that all Canadians … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Feature 2, Palestine & Israel

World Week of Peace for Palestine and Israel 2011 resource available

May 6, 2011 By

Every year, the World Council of Churches hosts a Week of Peace for Palestine and Israel. They offer liturgical resources and background material, this time with a focus on Jerusalem. The WCC calls on us to remember the struggle of Palestinian Christians under military occupation, to support all who struggle for a just peace, and to raise awareness in our own churches. In 2011 KAIROS is again contributing a Canadian bulletin insert, available as a free PDF. We urge Canadian churches and religious communities to share this insert at Sunday worship, and to include in your liturgy May 29 or June 5 the prayer from the heads of churches in Jerusalem. Consider including in your service or … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dignity & Rights, Palestine & Israel

KAIROS calls for an end to attacks on civilians and the start of a meaningful peace process between Israelis and Palestinians

April 8, 2011 By
Butterfly dance BLanket train 2001

KAIROS is deeply concerned about civilian casualties in a series of attacks that have taken place in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories over the last number of weeks. These include the murder of Israeli settlers by unknown persons, and related retaliatory violence against Arabs in Israel; the death and injuries inflicted by a bombing in central Jerusalem; the continued deaths and injuries caused by  Israel’s enforcement of the land and sea blockade of Gaza; and renewed hostilities between  Gaza militants and the Israeli military. The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem states that 151 Palestinians and 13 Israelis have been killed from January 2009 through … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Palestine & Israel

KAIROS solidarity letter to Israeli human rights group B’Tselem

January 26, 2011 By

On January 5 2011, Members of the Israeli Knesset voted for a parliamentary inquiry to investigate the funding of Israeli human rights groups allegedly helping to build war crimes cases abroad against Israeli military personnel. The scope and details of the inquiry await definition in the Knesset's House Committee. Among those targeted is the respected Israeli human rights organization, B’Tselem. The Knesset established a panel of inquiry into specific organizations, including B’Tselem, ACRI (The Association for Civil Rights in Israel), Physicians for Human Rights, Breaking the Silence and the Public Committee Against Torture. B’Tselem has responded to the Israeli … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Palestine & Israel Tagged With: , ,

Partner Profile: Constantine Dabbagh

December 7, 2010 By

From time to time, the Canadian mainstream media turns its attention to the Gaza Strip, and very little of its reporting carries good news. The western-most part of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Gaza is surrounded by an Israeli military blockade that covers the land, sea, and air. One of the most densely populated areas in the world, Gaza was bombed heavily in December 2008 and January 2009, and over 1400 people were killed. Since that time, militants within the Gaza Strip have continued to fire homemade rockets at nearby Israeli towns and the Israeli government and armed forces have fired their own rockets at targets in the Gaza Strip, while maintaining the blockade and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Global Partners, Palestine & Israel Tagged With: ,

KAIROS Canada condemns the assault and killing of people aboard the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza

June 2, 2010 By

KAIROS joins churches and concerned people from around world in condemning the assault and killing of innocent people aboard the humanitarian convoy headed to the Gaza Strip. On May 31st, the Israeli Navy boarded a ship in international waters that was attempting to deliver humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza, who have been under a crippling Israeli blockade since 2007. At least 9 civilians were killed in the subsequent assault. All on board the four ships were arrested and detained. KAIROS urges our government to join the international community in condemning the attack and to support an independent investigation into Israel's deadly commando raid and an end to the Gaza … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dignity & Rights, Media Room, Palestine & Israel

World Week for Peace in Israel-Palestine, May 29 to June 4 2010

May 7, 2010 By

World Council of Churches calls on us to work for peace For more than 40 years, Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem have been suffering under the Israeli occupation. Day-to-day life is interrupted by the separation wall, checkpoints, house demolitions, ever-expanding settlements, land seizures and inequitable water use policies. Human rights are denied through arbitrary arrests and an intricate web of bureaucratic rules and regulations limiting the most basic of freedoms. Israeli military actions and Palestinian attacks have caused far too many deaths and both sides live in uncertainty and fear. In a time when hope seems all but gone, KAIROS joins the World … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dignity & Rights, Dignity & Rights Archive, Palestine & Israel

Grave concern with military order threatening thousands of Palestinians with deportation or imprisonment

March 11, 2010 By

11 May 2010 The Israeli military has issued two orders that categorize thousands of Palestinians living in the West Bank as "infiltrators" subject to deportation or imprisonment. Please write to Canadian and Israeli officials asking for an immediate reversal of these military orders. (Update from May 2010: This report from the World Council of Churches' Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in the West Bank details the impact of one such order on a family: http://www.eappi.org/en/news/blog-its-time-to-speak-out.html?tx_wecdiscussion[single]=2138 ) Background The Israeli military has issued an amendment to military orders 1649 and 1650 effective April 13, 2010; these orders categorize tens … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dignity & Rights, Dignity & Rights Archive, Media Room, Palestine & Israel