Letter - Call to the Vatican

Letter - Call to the Vatican
National Coalition of Christian Organizations in Palestine

Jerusalem June 10th, 2012

To His Eminence
Tarcisio Card. Bertoni
Vatican City
Fax: 0039 06 69885255

c/o
H.E. Msgr Antonio Franco
Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine

Your Eminence

We, representatives of the Christian-related organizations in Palestine, have learned of the possible agreement to be signed between the Holy See and the State of Israel with respect to legal and financial issues, following the Fundamental Agreement of 1993. We write you today with a serious concern regarding this prospect, and we sincerely hope that Your Eminence will hear our voice.

We are grateful for all what the Holy See is doing for the benefit of the Christians in this Holy Land, as well as for the benefit and the peace of all those who are in this Land.

Our concerns about the agreement are two:

  1. The timing: in this time Israel is doing all in its capacity to exclusively control the occupied city of Jerusalem and jeopardize any possibility of a lasting peace settlement -- by building more illegal settlements around and within occupied East Jerusalem; by demolishing Jerusalemite houses; by forcing the indigenous Palestinians out of the city through residency revocations and limitations on family unification; by putting institutions at the mercy of its bureaucracy through granting privileges and taking taxes; by closing Jerusalem to Christians from Bethlehem, Gaza, and other cities and Arab countries; by systematically working to put all of Jerusalem under its full control and thus transforming the multi-religious, multi-cultural identity of this historic divine city into an exclusively Jewish city, an exclusive capital for Israel; by demanding recognition as a Jewish state as an instrument of legitimizing its exclusion of "the other”" -- at a time of such aggressive injustice and continuous loss, we fear that the agreement between the Holy See and Israel will be used as another pillar along the same path.
  2. As Palestinian Christians, we see that this new agreement is not merely a fiscal or technical agreement. It has also a political character and it could have an impact on the alteration of the "human and historic" status of the city. The point is: the agreement covers Israel (within the pre-1967 borders) and Arab East Jerusalem that is Occupied Territory, according to the international law and the constant standing position of the Holy See.

If East Jerusalem goes unmentioned in the agreement, this will serve as an implicit acknowledgment of its annexation by Israel: a dangerous precedent that will be understood as a change in the constant position of the Holy See and would pose a serious setback with respect to political and human rights for all Palestinians, both Christians and non-Christians.

We urge Your Eminence, while asking for the blessings of His Holiness Pope Benedict, to do your best to put on hold the coming agreement until its wording is clearly differentiating between Israel proper and occupied territories under Israeli administration and control such as and in particular East Jerusalem. This we ask in the name of Justice and peace and for the benefit of Christians and others in this Holy Land.

With all our best regards and high appreciation to your leadership

With God's Blessing

Faithfully Yours

The National Coalition of Christian Organizations in Palestine NCCOP

(cc. Msgr. D. Mamberti ; Secretary for Relations of states Fax : 0039 06 69885364)

Jerusalem:

  • Arab Catholic Scouts Group
  • Arab Orthodox Society – Jerusalem
  • Caritas- Jerusalem
  • Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees- Middle East Council of Churches
  • Greek Catholic Sayedat AlBishara Association
  • International Christian Committee
  • Laity Committee in the Holy Land
  • National Christian Association
  • Pontifical Mission Palestine
  • SABEEL – Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center
  • Union of Arab Orthodox Club - Jerusalem
  • Young Men’s Christian Association –YMCA
  • Young Women’s Christian Association –YWCA

Gaza:
NECC office

Bethlehem:
Network of Christian Organizations in Bethlehem (NCOB):

  • The East Jerusalem YMCA /Beit Sahour Branch
  • The Arab Educational Institute,
  • Holy Land Trust, Bethlehem
  • Wi’am Center, Bethlehem
  • Saint Afram Assyrian Society,
  • Ain Karem Society, Bethlehem
  • Al-Ihsan Arab Orthodox Society, Beit Jala
  • Arab Orthodox Club, Beit Sahour
  • Arab Orthodox Club, Beit Jala
  • Arab Orthodox Club, Bethlehem
  • The Arab Orthodox Charitable Society, Beit Sahour
  • Bethlehem Bible College
  • Siraj Center for Holy Land Studies
  • Arab Orthodox Housing Society, Beit Sahour
  • Alternative Tourism Group, ATG, Beit Sahour
  • Senior Citizen Charitable Society
  • Environmental educational Center, Beit Jala
  • Saint Vincent Charitable Society, Beit Jala
  • Shepherds' Children Society, Beit Sahour
  • KAIROS PALESTINE

National Coalition of Christian Organizations in Palestine, Fax: 00972 2 6274499