Ecumenical accompaniers use firsthand experiences in the Middle East to enhance advocacy on Capitol Hill and beyond
World Council of Churches program brings attention to need for peace and humanitarian aid for the Israel-Palestine region
LOUISVILLE — A special delegation from the World Council of Churches recently visited Capitol Hill to speak out against injustices in Palestine and Israel and to call for the reinstatement of funding to an agency that provides humanitarian relief to Palestinian refugees.
The delegation consisted of former participants in the WCC’s Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), which was founded in 2002 in response to a call from the local heads of churches in Jerusalem.
EAPPI participants, known as Ecumenical Accompaniers (EAs), spend three months observing life in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and making reports on what they see and taking part in advocacy work once they get home.
“After extensive preparation and learning, Ecumenical Accompaniers live in Palestinian communities to provide a protective presence in those communities alongside a team of people from other countries,” said Karin Brown, program manager for the EAPPI-US program. “When EAs return home … they share their firsthand experiences to inform people of the realities of the occupation and campaign for a just and peaceful resolution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict based on international law and U.N. resolutions.”
The time spent in Palestinian communities and engaging both Palestinian and Israeli civil society enhances the ability of EAs to be advocates.
Having been there, “I can witness to how people are living and what they're going through in a more powerful way,” said the Rev. Christine Cowan, a pastor with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), who served as an EA in 2011. “I don't just talk about statistics or trends or anything like that. I'm more connected to the story of human suffering and resilience that you experience firsthand when you're there.”
The experience is an eye-opener since “historically, we (Americans) only get an Israeli narrative,” said Susan Brogden, a former EA who lives near Cincinnati, Ohio.
“It's been one of the handful of most impactful experiences of my lifetime,” said Brogden, whose denominational affiliation is Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
Iskandar Majlaton, program coordinator of EAPPI in Palestine and Israel, would like to see more Americans become EAs.
“For U.S. residents, (serving) with EAPPI is not only an act of compassion — it’s a strategic contribution to global justice,” Majlaton said. “Their presence lends international legitimacy to grassroots voices and transforms foreign policy from the ground up through lived testimony.”
During an April visit to Capitol Hill, seven former EAs visited members of the House and Senate.
“The EAs asked their members of Congress to oppose any efforts — either de facto or de jure — by the Israeli government to annex the West Bank, including East Jerusalem,” Brown said. “In addition, they addressed the rise in attacks on Christians and Muslims in East Jerusalem and called for the reinstatement of the sanctions against Israeli settler groups that are involved in violent attacks on Palestinians. The EAs asked members of Congress to support efforts to reinstate funding to [the United Nations Relief and Works Agency]. UNRWA provides critical services to Palestinian refugees, including those living in East Jerusalem.”
The exercise was positive, opening the door to future discussion. “Participants left Washington, D.C., energized by these initial successes and committed to sustained advocacy,” Majlaton noted in a WCC feature story.
Former EAs who took part in the congressional dialogue included Brogden, who served three months with EAPPI’s Bethlehem team in 2018.
Brogden’s roles included observing how Palestinians were treated while passing through Israel Defense Forces (IDF) checkpoints. She also observed near schools to monitor that kids have safe access to education.
“We saw many a confrontation, varying in degree of severity, between schoolboys and IDF,” she said.
Also, “we met with local mayors, village councils, (and) women's groups to learn about the occupation, the effects of the occupation, and what it means to live under it,” she said. “We did checkpoint duty twice a week.”
One of Cowan’s most memorable experiences was helping to bring attention to the plight of a remote village in the southern part of the West Bank that may have helped to save the village’s solar array from demolition. Losing that power source would have affected a health clinic, a school and homes. After Cowan and others helped to bring the situation to light, Israel agreed to allow the village to establish a master plan that would include the solar array.
Along with being able to work for positive change, Cowan enjoyed collaborating with people from around the world.
“It was really nice for me to have that broad experience of people of goodwill working together for common good,” she said.
For more information about the EAPPI-US program and how to get involved, go here.
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