Christian peacemakers under threat in Hebron
Palestine, Local, 1/22/1998

A Christian volunteer team operating in Hebron on the West Bank said it has recently received threats from active members of the ultra right-wing Kach movement for their role in support of the Palestinian struggle.

The team, Christian Nonviolence Team, has been serving in the city since June 1995 upon an invitation of the Hebron municipal council. Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who support violence reduction teams around the world. Its mandate, according to its members, is to stand with the oppressed in the work for peace with justice and to inform interested persons worldwide of the current local situation.

The team said its offices in Chicago, Illinois, received a phone call from an anonymous caller on Sunday night, who presented himself as member of the "Jewish Self Defense" calling from Israel. "Three of your members, Cliff Kindy, Pierre Shantz, and Sara Reschly staying in Hebron assisted Hamas terrorists in smuggling explosives into Hebron last week. Lots of accusing fingers are pointed at them and people are very angry at them. As a humanitarian effort to save their lives, we ask you to evacuate them from Israel before Wednesday. After Wednesday their lives will be in jeopardy. This is a warning. This is a last warning," said the message.

Almost simultaneously, CPT member Kathleen Kern retrieved a message sent both to her home electronic mail address in the USA and to CPT's e-mail with the subject heading "swift punishment." CPT's director, Gene Stoltzfus, retrieved a similar message from the answering machine at the CPT's Chicago office. "We are taking precautions and we plan to continue our work," said Stoltzfus. "The only explosive force we believe in is the power of love, which is stronger than hatred, fear, or the enmities they create," he added.

In a statement issued after the threats were received, the CPT called on their supporters to pray for them and for their co-workers, as well as for those who "spread false information about CPT."

"While we take this threat very seriously, we also understand that Palestinians in Hebron live with threats to their personal safety every day," the statement said and blamed the Israeli military checkpoints and house demolitions by the Israeli army in the Hebron district for "perpetuating a climate of fear" in the city.

Kach, a former political party founded by the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, who was also the head of the Jewish Defense League in the US, has been classified by both the United States and Israeli governments as a terrorist organization.

Back 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 Jewish terrorist group KACH.

"We reject all forms of violence. If it happens, 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," the statement said. It added: "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," read the statement, "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," the statement read.

Previous Stories:
  15 year sentences for 2 Hamas members   (1/19/1998)
  Shooting Israeli military vehicle in Gaza strip   (1/15/1998)
  Will Jewish settlers shoot Palestinian police in Hebron   (1/12/1998)

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