24 Feb 2008 

The ongoing humanitarian tragedy in Gaza is only the latest in a series of disasters to have befallen the Holy Land. With the ongoing realities of the "apartheid wall" and a brutal military occupation, suicide bombings and home-made rockets, a possible "two-state solution" and a so-called "peace process," how can Jews, Christians and Muslims work together to achieve peace and justice for all?

"I have seen the Caterpillar bulldozers and the orchards of oranges uprooted by them. I saw an apartment building where forty families were given forty minutes to leave before it was demolished into a pile of rubble. I have heard the concern of the Director of our Al-Ahli Arab Hospital regarding medical supplies, staffing shortages, and lack of fuel to run the generators essential to critical care. And, I have seen children playing near mountains of garbage which are the breeding ground to rats and the threat of cholera, a disease that I watched devastate India when I lived there.

"We must not become complacent or be desensitized by the images of this human tragedy ... We must find an end to this madness. Killing and the destruction of the environment is not a war against nations, but it is a war against God.

"... These compromised and pasted-together plans are not strategies for enduring peace. We must pray for, and world leaders must envision, a peace plan that is comprehensive and not simply a beginning for future negotiations.

"I deplore war and the abhorrent act of killing innocent women and children by any army for any reason. People are being killed daily on every continent in battles over borders, economic power, racism, and doctrine. I believe that the strongest and most powerful nations have the responsibility and the opportunity to lead by example and to promote an environment in which a peace process will be conceived where all nations and people are treated with respect, equality, and justice. This and only this will bring an enduring and lasting peace to the world.

"... In the world at large we need to build a global community with the same foundation. There is a need for leaders of the world, religious and political, to be careful with their words. I am reminded of a saying that: 'Words are like eggs, for once words are spoken, and once eggs are broken, they are not the easiest things to repair.' All of us belong to one world, and we all need to join hands and make this world a piece of heaven. There is hard work to be done and there are difficult challenges before us. Through the efforts of all believers who trust in God, we can find and do His will. We can bring the peace that He so deeply desires for us."

Bishop Riah, Summer 2006