On 24 November, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas formally received the acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca for a meeting to discuss just peace in Palestine and Israel.

The Palestinian president extended words of gratitude to all the churches for their ongoing support for Palestinian people. “We are one people,” said Abbas. “All churches are all our holy places.”
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In an historic meeting to discuss just peace in the Holy Land, Israeli president Isaac Herzog formally received World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca on 23 November. This marks the first meeting between WCC leadership and an Israeli president.
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Patriarchs and heads of Churches in Jerusalem have expressed their gratitude to Jordan’s King Abdullah II for telling the UN General Assembly about Christians in Jerusalem and his promise to help preserve the city’s Christian identity.

The Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant leaders in a statement said they “express our utmost gratitude and appreciation” to the king “for his true and honest description of the Christian reality” in the Holy Land, especially in Jerusalem and said they applauded him for his “public commitment to protect our communities’ historical and legal status quo, thus preserving our safety and future”.
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The World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly says it is hearing the pleas of the heads of churches in the Holy Land more than ever before in relation to mounting intimidation, violations, limiting access to places of worship, and attacks by radicals.

In a statement from the assembly, the WCC noted that authorities are squeezing the Christian presence in Jerusalem, threatening the Status Quo and the multi-religious and multi-cultural identity of the city, along with displacing Palestinians.
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The United Church of Canada‘s 39th General Council has rejected a proposal calling for divestment from Israel, in favour of what is described as a “pro-peace” investment strategy. The proposal originally presented to the General Council called for the church and its congregations to selectively divest from corporations that support or contribute to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

The General Council is held every three years as the highest decision making body in the United Church of Canada (UCC). The meeting August 13 to 19 was in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Approximately 400 commissioners from across Canada participated in the General Council meeting.
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“Pourquoi une destruction si épouvantable?” C’est la question que les membres d’une délégation pastorale œcuménique n’ont cessé d’entendre à propos des attaques israéliennes contre le Liban.

Chargée par le Conseil œcuménique des Eglises (COE), la Conférence des Eglises européennes (KEK), la Fédération luthérienne mondiale (FLM) et l’Alliance réformée mondiale (ARM) d’exprimer la solidarité du monde œcuménique envers les Eglises et les populations touchées par le conflit au Moyen Orient, la délégation est rentrée avec pour mandat de transmettre à la famille œcuménique internationale les espoirs et les attentes des Eglises du Liban, de Palestine et d’Israël.
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“Why such awful destruction?” was the question heard over and over again by members of an ecumenical pastoral delegation in relation to Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.

Entrusted by the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Conference of European Churches (CEC), the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) with the mission of expressing global ecumenical solidarity with churches and people affected by the conflict in the Middle East, the delegation returned with the task of transmitting the hopes and expectations of the churches in Lebanon, Palestine and Israel to the international ecumenical family.
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The Canadian Centre for Ecumenism and the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism join church leaders and inter-church organizations around the world in urging an immediate cessation of hostilities in the conflict between Israel and Hezbullah. The CCE‘s new Executive Director Anthony Mansour and the Associate Director Adèle Brodeur write: “We call for an immediate implementation of
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Church leaders and inter-church organizations around the world have been speaking out about the current crisis in the Middle East, and despite differences in perspective, are urging an immediate ceasefire.
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Un rapport de voyage par Dr. Stuart Brown, Centre canadien d’oecuménisme. Le but de ce voyage était d’assister à un colloque international sur les investissements responsables : « Une Réponse non violente à l’occupation israélienne? » Notre Centre s’est inscrit parmi les soixante agences qui ont parrainé le colloque, qui était organisé par les Amis canadiens du Sabeel.
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A trip report by Stuart Brown, Canadian Centre for Ecumenism. The purpose of this trip was to attend an international meeting on responsible investment: "A Non-Violent Response to the Israeli Occupation?" Our Centre was one of the sixty sponsors of this conference, which was organized by the Canadian Friends of Sabeel.

In April 2005 the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre in Jerusalem issued A Call for Morally Responsible Investment: A Non-Violent Response to the Israeli Occupation [PDF]. An international conference under the same title will be held in Toronto from 26-29 October 2005. This international conference for CROs (Church Related Organizations) and NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) seeks
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