[Boycott - Other News]

Christian leaders call for 'permits' boycott

Ma'an News Agency (maannews.net)
8 April 2010

Bethlehem – Ma'an – Leaders of the Christian community in Palestine called on church officials to begin a boycott of the Israeli permission system, requiring leaders to request permits for their faithful to access the holy city of Jerusalem.

Under international law and conventions, he added, "Jerusalem is part of the 1967 lands and we Muslims and Christians should be able to reach it without permits," and called on Christians to support their church leaders in a campaign to halt the permit system.

"We should have one clear and consistent position about permits, for permits offend the dignity of humanity, we must not give in to the occupation’s policy," Salman said.

The editor agreed that Christian patriarchs should take a firm position on the permissions policy, saying "freedom of worship is a sacred right and people should not have to request this right from anyone."

President of Global Movement for Defense of Children and coordinator of the Kairos Palestine initiative, Rif’at Qassis, further backed up the position, calling on church leaders to shut the doors of churches and forbid all pilgrims from entering if Palestinians are not granted free access to the religious sites.

"The Kairos Palestine document assures the rights of worship and freedom for all the religions in the holy places and demands that individuals should not struggle in order to pray in a church," Qassis said of an initiative by Christian Palestinians to end the occupation of Palestine.

According to organizers of the initiative, "Palestinian Christians declare that the military occupation of our land is a sin against God and humanity, and that any theology that legitimizes the occupation is far from Christian teachings because true Christian theology is a theology of love and solidarity with the oppressed, a call to justice and equality among peoples."

Qassis said that the world and the heads of churches should refuse the idea of permits and that everyone should go to the military checkpoints and demand for their natural right to enter Jerusalem to pray in Al-Aqsa mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Source: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=274758

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