In the final act of business at the 25th General Synod, delegates gave overwhelming approval to a resolution urging Israel to remove the separation barrier being constructed on Palestinian territory in the occupied West Bank.
In the final act of business at the 25th General Synod, delegates gave overwhelming approval to a resolution urging Israel to remove the separation barrier being constructed on Palestinian territory in the occupied West Bank.
During debate, delegates rejected an amendment that would have suggested that Israel move the wall to its own territory. Though acknowledging that Israelis have a right to protect themselves from terror, the nearly 1000 Synod delegates felt that Biblical teaching in Ephesians 2 describes God’s spirit of reconciliation: dividing walls – and the hostility between people – are to be broken down.
The delegates began their resolution with a recognition that ongoing violence in the region has “deeply wounded” both Israel and Palestine and that the effects have been political, economic, physical, spiritual, social and psychological.
Delegates also supported Israel’s right “to protect itself within secure and internationally recognized borders” simultaneously “asserting the same right to national sovereignty in a secure, recognized and viable state” for Palestinians ?who would control their own borders.”
The Synod called upon the UCC, in all its settings, to talk about the barrier with Jewish friends and government officials. Prayer and study were linked with dialogue as appropriate tasks of church members.
As approved, the resolution also urged the United States “to engage actively, fully and fairly” in a peace process that will lead to “the coexistence of two states.” The resolution specifically warned that construction of the barrier has rendered the Bush Administration’s “Road
Map for Peace” unachievable, along with other proposals for a negotiated two-state solution.
Delegates who met in Atlanta reaffirmed earlier resolutions supporting the right of the State of Israel to exist and added an affirmation of the “two-state solution.” The latter affirmation was added by committee after hearing testimony from representatives of American Jewish groups.
The resolution tied the creation of the separation barrier to the construction of settlements by Israel. Nearly 400 miles of walls, razor wire fences and fortified roadways, built at a cost of $1.6 million a mile, loop into Palestinian territory providing the burgeoning housing developments in the West Bank direct access to major cities in Israel. That fact is the basis for claims that the creation of the barrier is a bold attempt by Israel to gain territory prior to peace negotiations.
The resolution called for reparations to those who have lost homes, fields, property and in some cases their lives or health because the separation barrier has cut through their property and disrupted their lives.
The Synod cited data indicating that the barrier changes an international border without direct negotiations. Following its present route, the barrier would “effectively annex” nearly 50 percent of the West Bank, destroying “the contiguity of Palestinian life and land, rendering a Palestinian state unviable.”
In their action, Synod delegates agreed to press the United States government “to persuade Israel to abide by international law and withdraw from Palestinian territories.”
