Overture 04-33. On Calling for an End to the Construction of a Wall by the State of Israel—From the Presbytery of Chicago.

The Presbytery of Chicago respectfully overtures the 216th General Assembly (2004) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to request that the Stated Clerk make known to the president of the United States, the members of Congress of the United States, and the State of Israel its opposition to the construction of a wall and other barriers by the State of Israel and further to make known the desire of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that the United States of America make no monetary contribution to the 1.3 billion dollar cost of the construction of this wall, construction of which has already begun and will continue for several years.

Rationale

For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your ancestors forever and ever. (Jer., 7:5-7)

President George W. Bush has called for an end to Israel’s construction of the wall that separates Israel from the Palestinian Territories (November 2003) and United Nations Secretary Kofi Annan has condemned the building of the wall as a “deeply counterproductive act” that “could damage the longer term prospects for peace.”

The wall adversely affects the economy, education, social relationships, and medical care of Palestinians.

The wall devastates the Palestinian economy, which is based on agriculture, because it separates Palestinian farmers from their land making crop cultivation an impossibility. It renders previously productive land unproductive because the wall separates land from the waters that are necessary for irrigation. And, those farmers who are able to access their land and raise crops are now unable to sell their produce because the wall isolates them from their markets.

Since many farmers are unable to reach and cultivate their land because of the construction of the wall, their land is in effect confiscated by the order of the Israeli High Court, which states that land that is uncultivated for three years is subject to seizure by the Israeli government and lost to its owners. Moreover, Palestinian farmers typically are notified of the confiscation of their land only by military orders that are nailed to a tree or dropped on their inaccessible land.

Village life is imperiled. Because of the wall, some villages no longer have access to their wells and are therefore unable to sustain human life. Homes, schools, and shops are being destroyed to make way for construction equipment and the wall itself. Palestinian villagers are being confined to their communities by the wall and an accompanying system of permit requirements that control their movement and isolate them in areas defined by the State of Israel. The wall and its accompanying depth barriers (trenches 25 meters wide filled with barbed wire) and checkpoints create sealed Palestinian communities that over time will be unable to sustain their populations.

The wall extends well beyond the Green Line and makes significant incursions into traditional Palestinian territories as defined in 1967. On at least one occasion, Prime Minister Sharon stated his intention to treat the wall as the new territorial border.

The construction of the wall and the wall itself cause the destruction of homes, schools, medical facilities, markets, trees, and infrastructure. The social structure of the Palestinian communities is shredded and ultimately its residents are banished from their land.

The wall humiliates, demoralizes, frustrates, and angers the Palestinian people and ultimately decreases the security of Israel and its citizens fostering a sense of hopelessness and despair.