The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF) received, with sadness and grief, the shocking news of the shooting that occurred in the Jerusalem seminary on March 6, 2008.

The Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF) received, with sadness and grief, the shocking news of the shooting that occurred in the Jerusalem seminary on March 6, 2008. HCEF President/CEO Rateb Y. Rabie, on behalf of HCEF’s Board of Directors, Advisory Board, Staff, and supporters has expressed his deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims. At the same time, he extends heartfelt condolences to the loved ones of the more than one hundred Palestinians who have been killed by bombs and rockets in these first days of March.

HCEF does not support or condone violence of any sort; the foundation holds that violence cannot be justified by earlier violence, and that violence simply begets more violence.

HCEF seeks, and worked for, the establishment of peace and justice in the Holy Land, beginning with immediate steps to end the Israeli military occupation. Such steps should include the easing of the deplorable conditions in the Gaza, the cessation of new Israeli settlements, and the suspension of the construction of the separation wall.

Mr. Rabie further states with much prayer, HCEF fervently entreats the political and military authorities in the Holy Land, as well as all parties who might influence them, begin now to take definitive, courageous steps towards developing and building lasting peace in the Holy Land.