Two Resolutions of The United Methodist Church on the Middle East

Jerusalem

Jerusalem is sacred to all the children of Abraham: Jews, Muslims, and Christians. We have a vision of Jerusalem as a city of peace and reconciliation, where indigenous Palestinians and Israelis can live as neighbors and, along with visitors and tourists, have access to holy sites and exercise freedom of religious expression. The peaceful resolution of the Jerusalem issue is crucial to the success of the whole process of making peace between Palestinians and Israelis.

International consensus and law, in accordance with United Nations Resolution 242, support the view that the Jerusalem issue is unresolved and that East Jerusalem is occupied territory. However, the prospects for a just resolution in accordance with Resolution 242 are of increasing amounts of Palestinian land, expansion of the borders of Jerusalem to include more and more Palestinian villages and lands (thus forming what is now known as "Greater Jerusalem", the building of settlements for Jewish families on these lands, closures that prevent Palestinians from traveling to or through Jerusalem, the withholding of basic services from tax-paying Palestinian neighborhoods, the denial of Jerusalem identity cards to Palestinian citizens, and the departure of Palestinian residents from Jerusalem).

Therefore, The United Methodist Church requests that the government of the United States, and other nations as well, urge the State of Israel to:

1) Cease the confiscation of Palestinian lands;
2) Cease the building of new, or expansion of existing, settlements in the occupied territory and Gaza;
3) Lift the closure of Jerusalem to Palestinians;
4) Issue Jerusalem building permits to Palestinians so that they can build and maintain their buildings;
5) Halt the practice of denying Jerusalem identity cards to Palestinian citizens; and
6) Address the problem of homelessness, severe overcrowding, and substandard housing among the Palestinian residents of Jerusalem.

Governments, by their silence and through financial assistance, contribution to the creation of these "facts on the ground," which impede peace and may preclude any hope of Jerusalem ever becoming the City of Peace and Reconciliation for which we pray. Therefore, we urge our governments to:

1) Reject efforts to move embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem;
2) Deduct annually from any Israeli loan guarantees an amount equal to all Israeli settlement spending in that year, including spending for settlements in and around Jerusalem; and
3) Affirm that the status of Jerusalem is unresolved, and that East Jerusalem is, indeed, occupied territory.

A Resolution from the General Board of Global Ministries Adopted by the 1996 General Conference of The United Methodist Church. From The Book of Resolutions, 1996. Copyright © by the United Methodist Publishing House. Used by permission.

The Building of Settlements in the Occupied Territories

Whereas, the continuing efforts by the State of Israel to build settlements in the occupied territories violates both international law and the spirit of the Declaration of Principles, that such efforts are based upon a vision of superiority of Jewish claims to land over the long-standing and recognized claims to the land by indigenous Palestinian people, and that such efforts have a devastating effect on Palestinian communities; and

Whereas, the continuing confiscation of private land for the construction of settlements stands as an impediment to peace because it violates both international law and the Declaration of Principles; it destroys the capacity of people in Palestinian communities to work and earn a livelihood; it, along with the restrictions on building placed on the Palestinian communities, forces the emigration of Palestinian people from the occupied territories; and it demoralizes the indigenous Palestinian population; and

Whereas, the prophet Isaiah cautioned against coveting the lands and homes of one's neighbors..."Woe to you who add house to house and field to field until no space is left and you live alone in the land" (Isaiah 5:8); and

Whereas, the continuing confiscation of privately held land for construction of settlements violates basic understandings of human rights, perverts the peace process, destroys the hope of people who are working for and longing for peace, both Israelis and Palestinians, and fosters a sense of desperation which can only lead to further violence; and

Whereas, we in the United States are providing financial assistance to the State of Israel which allows for the building of these settlements;

Be it resolved, that The United Methodist Church opposes continuing confiscation of Palestinian land, the continued building of Jewish settlements, and any vision of a greater Israel which includes the Occupied Territories and/or the whole of Jerusalem and its surroundings.

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