Head of Churches call for peace in Palestine and Israle

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

During this week of International Church Action for Peace in Palestine and Israel, Australian church leaders have called on the Federal Government to prioritise peacemaking in Palestine and Israel.

An historic event, it is the first time that a group of Australia’s Christian leaders has come together to highlight the suffering in the region and to issue a joint statement on Palestine and Israel.

In a statement to the Government, leaders of the Uniting, Anglican and Catholic churches —among others — have said that, after 60 years of dispossession, military occupation, armed hostilities and violent deaths, it is now time for the Australian Government to give far more attention to working for peace in the Holy Land.

With some 56 signatories to the statement, the group is calling on the Government to lead the international community in working with Palestine and Israel towards a just and lasting peace.

MEDIA OPPORTUNITY

HEADS OF CHURCHES STATEMENT ON PALESTINE AND ISRAEL

Parliament House, Canberra

House of Representatives Alcove

4 June 2008

10.30am

Available for interview

Rev Gregor Henderson, President of the Uniting Church in Australia

Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, Anglican Primate of Australia

Archbishop Mark Coleridge, Catholic Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn

Tim Costello, Chief Executive World Vision Australia

Morning Tea will be served after the launch.

Download the media release – Heads of churches call for peace in Palestine and Israel