06236
April 26, 2006

PC(USA) group is getting
first-hand look at Israel/Palestine

Presbytery teams will look for
future ministry opportunities

by the Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE — The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is sponsoring a travel study seminar in Israel and Palestine.

        A group of more than 100 Presbyterians left on Wednesday (April 26) and is expected to return to the United States on May 5.

        The event is the culmination of three years of planning by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, the PC(USA)’s Office of the Middle East and Europe, and the International Center in Bethlehem. 

        The purpose of the trip, which will involve teams from PC(USA) presbyteries, is to give participants a first-hand understanding of the situation in the region. It will include meetings with a variety of Israeli and Palestinian individuals and organizations and invite participants to plan ministries to be implemented upon the group’s return to the United States.

        Ninety-five participants represent 27 of the church’s 173 presbyteries, in three- to seven-person teams.

        The PC(USA) has held to a consistent position on Israel and Palestine, rooted in a vision of justice and peace for both peoples, for nearly 60 years.  The church:

• supports the right of Israel to exist as a sovereign state within secure, legitimate, internationally recognized borders
  
  
• calls for an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and affirms the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, including the right to establish a viable, independent and sovereign state within secure, legitimate, internationally recognized borders
  
  
• affirms Israel’s needs for security, but opposes its construction of the “separation barrier”
  
  
• denounces all acts of violence and human-rights violations
  
  
• supports Christian partners in the region, promoting positive interfaith relations and cooperation, and standing in solidarity with Christians, Jews, and Muslims who are committed to non-violent solutions and work for justice, peace, reconciliation and healthy neighborly relations between Israelis and Palestinians, and between Israel and its neighbors
  

        Reports by participants in the travel/study seminar will be available at the Web site of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program at  http://www.pcusa.org/peacemaking/tripreport.htm

        The Presbyterian News Service also will be providing regular reports about the trip.