ELCA member Tammie Danielsen leads students from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago on a tour of Hebron. Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel vol- unteers like Danielsen help with com- munity safety by walking children to school, accompanying people through Israeli checkpoints and more.
CARMEN RETZLAFF They keep watch
Accompaniers walk with those who seek peace, not walls, in
Palestine By Ann Hafften
T
ammie Danielsen spent a cold 2012 winter in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, keeping watch. She is the 36th ELCA mem- ber to serve the Ecumenical Accom- paniment Programme in Palestine and Israel, which began 10 years ago (
www.eappi-us.org). Danielsen, a member of Geth- semane Lutheran Church, Austin, Texas, and three other volunteers kept watch at checkpoints Palestin- ians must pass through to get to work or their neighborhoods that are near
Hafften is the U.S. coordinator for the Ecumen- ical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Isarel and a member of Messiah Lutheran Church, Weatherford, Texas.
32 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
Israeli settlements—or even to pray at Hebron’s Mosque of Abraham. On a regular basis, Danielsen and the other volunteers walked with the children, who show identity cards before passing through X-ray secu- rity at checkpoints on their way to and from school. As EAPPI vol- unteers, they wore vests printed with the image of the dove of peace and
the cross transcending barriers. After one “checkpoint watch,” Danielsen said, “I wondered how humiliated these workers must feel, going through this process day after day. … And yet they are somehow able to keep their dignity and their faith.”
Hebron has been divided into two zones since 1997. The area under the control of the civilian Palestinian Authority is populated by some 120,000 Palestinians. The zone under Israeli military control is home to 30,000 Palestinians and 500 Israeli settlers.
Some 1,830 shops in the city cen- ter have closed due to restrictions on Palestinian movement, curfews and the sealing off of entire streets by the Israeli military. Many Palestinians have moved away, and the area has become a ghost town.
Ten years of EAPPI EAPPI began with a call for help. In 2002, the Heads of Churches in Jeru- salem called for Christians to come and stand with Palestinians. EAPPI
was the World Council of Churches’ response. Participants—more than 900 in all—have come from churches in Europe and other parts of the world. The EAPPI’s goal is to work with Palestinians and Israelis to end the occupation of the Palestinian territo- ries. Its strategy is accompaniment followed by advocacy. Accompani- ment means walking with people through their struggle. The EAPPI provides a protective presence to vulnerable communities, monitors and reports alleged human rights abuses, and supports Palestinians and Israelis working together for justice and peace. The ELCA reportedly has pro- vided more accompaniers than any other U.S. denomination. The South- western Texas Synod has sent four of those, including Danielsen. In 2005, Danielsen first trav-
eled to the Holy Land as part of an ELCA group that visited holy sites, Palestinian Lutherans, Lutheran ministries, human rights groups and a refugee camp. After that experi- ence, “I dreamed of returning one day to work and live amid such his- tory and rich culture ...,” she said. “I also wanted to learn what it is like for those living under occupation and how I might become a better, more effective partner in peace and advocate for them.” She invited her pastor, Karl Gron-
berg, to join her at a conference held by the Southwestern Texas Synod’s “Peace Not Walls” task force. Peace Not Walls is an ELCA cam- paign that calls for efforts toward a viable, contiguous Palestinian state; a secure Israel at peace with its neighbors; and a shared Jerusa- lem with equal access and rights for Jews, Christians and Muslims (
www.elca.org/peacenotwalls). The campaign is a result of the Middle East strategy adopted by the 2005
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52