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The Oct. 12 bombing of the USS Cole, which killed 17 American soldiers and wounded more than 30 others, prompted a message of "deepest sympathy to the families and friends of those sailors who were killed or injured." The board called for an end to all hostilities in the Middle East.
Board directors also expressed dismay and deep sadness over the escalation of violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories, which has claimed the lives of nearly 100 people since Sept. 28. Israeli and Palestinian leaders were scheduled to meet Oct. 16 with President Clinton in Egypt to seek a truce.
"Our hearts grieve as we learn from our missionaries and mission partners the number of persons killed and wounded in this round of violence, exemplified in the death of 12-year-old Muhammad Rami al-Dura crouching in fear next to his father at Netzarim Junction in Gaza," the board statement said.
The board's directors issued the statements during their Oct. 9-13 annual meeting.
In e-mail messages to board staff, Sandra Olewine, a United Methodist missionary based in Jerusalem, described the difficulties faced by all who live in the areas besieged by conflict, as well as the fear and anger it has generated. "We stand on an important edge," she wrote on Oct. 10. "There is no going back to what was before. Relationships and trust have been destroyed. New actions and resolutions are necessary."
Teddy Crum, a member of Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church in Marietta, Ga., has been serving in the Jerusalem area through the Board of Global Ministries' mission intern program. He reported that he was not able to return to the place where he had been living in Bethlehem because of the violence.
"The theme for my mission intern class is restorative justice, and I was sent here to work with a program which focuses on aggression prevention and not using religion as a motivator for violence," he wrote. "It seems as though it will be difficult for all involved to be able to sit down together and talk about such things, knowing that provocation has been a part of the problem here for so long."
Board directors said they recognized the current demonstrations as "an expression of deep Palestinian frustration over the ongoing disrespect, dehumanization and denial of their basic human and national rights by an unjust political situation."
The statement expressed concern about the excessive use of force by Israeli military and police forces, especially against children and youth; by the participation of children and youth in the fighting; and reports of Palestinian police or security forces using weapons, particularly with unarmed civilian protesters.
"We are deeply disturbed that Israeli forces have directly and willfully impeded the work of medical personnel and refused to allow persons, including children and youth, to gain access to emergency treatment," the statement continued. "Medical rescue teams and their ambulances clearly marked by internationally recognized symbols of the Red Cross and Red Crescent have been repeatedly fired upon, with three paramedics being killed during the course of their duties."
The Board of Global Ministries statement called upon Israel to respect international law by immediately ordering its forces to stop indiscriminate and disproportionate force. The board called upon the Palestinians to refrain from small-arms fire and to use nonviolent protest and demonstration.
Both parties should support the establishment of an independent international commission to investigate the recent tragic events, the board declared, and the U.S. government should call for an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution mandating Israel to halt further military action. The United States also should support a call for a special session of the U.N. Human Rights Commission.
The Board of Global Ministries is urging the U.S. government to halt the sale of new arms to Israel, and it is calling for the international community to take steps to reduce the potential for conflict in the Middle East, including the removal of Israeli forces from the occupied Palestinian territories.
"My prayer is that all of the men, women and children here will not have died in vain," Crum
wrote, "but that a just peace will be established and the international community will understand
that the struggle and controversy runs much deeper than the dividing line between two states."
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, New York, and Washington.