CPTnet
January 21, 1998
HEBRON: Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) Statement of Conviction

[ADDENDUM: CPT wishes to thank those who have sent messages of support for
the team since the Kach threats were made public. These messages have come
from all over the globe. We especially appreciate the messages of support
from our Israeli and Palestinian friends and co-workers.

We have contacted the all the appropriate authorities here and in Israel.
The team held a press conference yesterday on Tuesday January 20th at the
Hebron municipality. Mayor Mustafa Natsche and Jonathan Kuttab, friend and
lawyer to the team, made statements about the value of the team's work in
Hebron

The Hebron team expects to carry on its work with more than average
precaution in the near future, but it has no plans to evacuate. It's primary
focus will continue to be on those Palestinian families in the Hebron area
who are facing the threat of home demolition.]

STATEMENT OF CONVICTION

In July 1995 and November 1996, members of the Christian Peacemaker Team in
Hebron issued a statement that detailed what they would like to have happen
should they be injured or killed in the course of their work. The current
team in Hebron has decided to reissue the statement with some revisions
because they have received death threats from the outlawed terrorist group
KACH (founded by the late Rabbi Meir Kahane.)

Should we be injured or killed, it will be the result of policies that
promote contempt for human rights and human dignity. We continue to operate
under the assumption that God's redemptive power is at work here.

Hebron Christian Peacemaker Team's Statement of Conviction

We would like our wishes, as stated below, to be respected in the event such
a crisis occurs, such as injury or death.

We reject the use of force to save our lives should we be caught in the
middle of a conflict situation or taken hostage. In the event that we die as
a result of some violent action, we reject the use of violence to punish the
people who killed us.

Should our deaths come as a result of attacks by soldiers, settlers or other
extremists/militants in Hebron, we ask that our deaths be regarded as no more
tragic than the murders of dozens of Palestinians who have died here in the
last decade. We ask that all legal nonviolent means be taken to ensure that
these deaths do not continue. Should our lives be threatened or harmed, we
ask that the perpetrators be held accountable.

We think it is possible that a collaborator or unstable individual could be
encouraged to harm us, and ask that this possibility be investigated in the
event of our death. We also
ask that the people who care about us look into the root causes of violence
found amongst oppressed peoples struggling for liberation.

All of us who are part of Christian Peacemaker Teams recognize there are
certain risks inherent in this work. We believe that until people committed
to nonviolence are willing to take the same risks for peace that soldiers are
willing to take for war, people will always choose violence as the most
viable solution to their problems. If more blood is shed on our account, then
our deaths will indeed be in vain.

If our deaths promote the sort of soul-searching that leads to a rejection
of armed conflict characteristic of this occupation then our deaths will
indeed have redemptive value. Following the central tenet of our faith, we
do not hate the people who have harmed us (Matthew 5:44-45). We believe that
those best able to love their enemies will ultimately emerge the victors in
this bloody conflict.

Mark Frey (Newton, Kansas)
JoAnne Lingle (Atlanta, Georgia)
Anne Montgomery (Brooklyn, New York)
Sara Reschly (Tucson, Arizona)
Dianne Roe (Corning, NewYork)
Pierre Shantz (Waterloo, Ontario)
Bruce Yoder (Elkhart, Indiana).