Canadian Friends of Sabeel

301 Red Rock Road, Killaloe, Ontario, Canada. K0J 2A0

E-mail: cfos@ca.inter.net

26 April 2007

The Rt. Rev. Giuliano, Moderator,
The United Church of Canada

Dear Rt. Rev. Giuliano,

From your letter on the Middle East,* we understand you met with Sabeel, of whom we are the support network in Canada. We are greatly encouraged both by your visit to the region, and by your letter to the Prime Minister. We hope that you will follow this up by addressing our government in more detail on both what they have done and what they can further do.

Our government has uniquely taken steps which exacerbate the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. For instance Stockwell Day on the House floor criticized Kairos Canada's, and implicitly Sabeel's, non-violent response to the Occupation. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister last summer was blessing war and Israeli violence as a means of addressing conflict, at the cost of Canadian military and civilian lives. We encourage the Church to be instrumental in confronting these difficult contradictions, particularly as these diminish Canada's historical role and opportunities in brokering peace in the region.

You have spoken thoughtfully to the issue of Canada cutting off contact with the democratically elected government of the Palestinian Authority, the first government to do so. That Palestinian legislature, like our parliament, is composed of several parties, the largest of which was elected on a platform of saying NO to government corruption, and NO to occupation, coincident with Canada's official policy.

Foreign Minister Mackay, at an event we attended recently, boasted of Canada restoring aid in the form of cementing the Karni crossing. The deleterious nature of this action can be adduced from an article this week quoting UN RWA chief Andrew Whitely, which includes how manipulation of Karni plays into the devastation in Gaza.** Our government is in fact boasting of diverting Palestinian aid to Israel, to the building of the Gaza version of the “Separation Wall,” and thus politically supporting the Israeli government's exclusive vision of peace which bespeaks permanent occupation and dispossession.*** Our government's resistance to non-violent conflict resolution while blessing the Israeli bombing of Lebanon only encouraged the logic of military aggression as well as the principalities and powers of domination by military force, against which Sabeel Executive Director Canon Naim Ateek has eloquently spoken.

Canada, yet the gavel-holder in the Middle East Refugee multi-laterals, maintains an effective instrument of promoting a permanent peace with justice for all -- Christians, Jews and Muslims, Palestinians and Israelis. Furthermore, Canada has historically invested in our international reputation of promoting peace, which capital is now being squandered.**** The Prime Minister ought to be continually reminded of the consequences of his actions and positions, and encouraged to take all positive, non-violent means in establishing justice, and to apply our Canadian strengths in peace-building at every opportunity including the many presently available. These include that described by former Ambassador to Israel Michael Bell in his recent Globe and Mail op-ed.

We continue to encourage the United Church of Canada in your pursuit of an authentic peace with justice in the region, in your ecumenical work with Kairos in that regard, and especially in the non-violent pro-active measures of promoting Morally Responsible Investment toward the Occupied Territories.

We would be delighted to meet with you to elaborate on the many ways we believe the Church in Canada can creatively contribute to a just peace, and assist in any other ways you deem helpful.

Blessings and Peace,

The Rev. Robert C. Assaly
Chair
Canadian Friends of Sabeel


*    Rev. Giuliano's letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper
**   UN Official Says Humanitarian Crisis in Palestine
*** Israeli Policy Makes a Two-State Solution Less Likely
****April 4, Arab World Angry with Canada