Conference lgp30::christian-perspective

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 31 August 1995

ISRAELI SOLDIERS DEMOLISH PALESTINIAN HOME

HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Israeli soldiers destroyed the home of
Mohammed Ribhi Mustafa Sultan on August 25 and arrested two of
his sons.  The soldiers have forbidden Mr. Sultan to rebuild his
home pending a government order to confiscate the land.  He has
heard nothing of his sons who were taken to prison.

For the past 38 years Mr. Sultan, 57, has been a headmaster at a
boys school.  On August 25 at approximately 4am, Mr. Sultan went
to the local mosque for morning prayers.  While he was away and
his wife, three sons, and two daughters were asleep, two men
allegedly responsible for the August 25 bus bombing in Jerusalem
entered his home.  Mr. Sultan went back to bed upon his return
from prayers.  At approximately 6am, one of his daughters
awakened to around 300 Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers
surrounding the house.

A soldier in charge asked Mr. Sultan who was in his  home.  He
responded that only his family was at home.  The  soldier told
Mr. Sultan to get his family out of the house.   After they were
out of the house, the soldiers called for the two men to come
out.  They came out of the house unarmed.  When the  two men were
approximately 2 meters away, the soldiers opened fire.  The men
were killed instantly.  The soldier told Mr. Sultan to drag the
bodies approximately 50 meters to the end of the road.

The soldiers began to interrogate Mr. Sultan, who denied he knew
the men, swearing by his Koran.  As the soldiers questioned him
further, the two oldest sons, 27 year old Ihad and 23 year old
Nordeen, were blindfolded and handcuffed.  Soldiers kicked at
their legs as they guided the two sons to the jeep until they
could no longer walk, then dragged them the rest of the way.  The
soldiers drove off, leaving the dead bodies by the roadside in
the hot sun.

Within three hours the soldiers returned to question Mr. Sultan
again about his relationship with the two men.  Unsatisfied with
his answers, the soldiers told Mr. Sultan to remove his family
from the house and open all the doors and windows.  Then two
bulldozers demolished the home and a nearby car, destroying all
of the family's belongings - their clothes, furniture, heirlooms
and money.  Within twenty minutes there was nothing left.  "All
my life savings were in that house.  For the past 20 years, I put
everything I had into building this house for my family.  Now
everything is gone," said Mr Sultan later to CPT members Carmen
Pauls and Tony Asta.

Within days sympathetic family members, neighbors and friends
donated materials to rebuild the house but soldiers presented a
government order forbidding its construction.  Now Mr. Sultan and
his family live in tents donated by the Red Crescent (the Islamic
counterpart to the Red Cross) and UNRWA, hoping that the
military order can be appealed.  Beside the tents, building
materials lie idle.  Three times a day, Israeli soldiers drive
onto the Sultan property and inspect the site, making sure no
progress has been made on the reconstruction of the home.  Says
Mr. Sultan, "All I have is my faith.  I will be happy when my
two sons return home safe."

Christian Peacemaker Teams has maintained a violence-reducing
presence in Hebron since June.  Early in the project, the team
documented similar destruction of homes by the IDF and helped the
Palestinian community rebuild them.  CPT is a project of
Mennonite and Church of the Brethren congregations.

    The ironic thing here is that Hebron is listed as one of the cities of
    refuge in the book of Joshua.  Under the Mosaic law, anybody in this
    city was free from the avenger of blood until guilt could be
    determined.
    
    The Mosaic law was broken here on a few counts for sure!
    
    -Jack

September 4, 1995

Chechnya Prepares to Celebrate Independence Day: Sept. 4, 1995

Grozny, Chechnya - The one million residents of Chechnya are
sprucing up their devastated capital city, Grozny, in
preparations to celebrate their fourth Independence Day.  Chechen
member of Parliament Mate Gi called the anniversary the hardest
independence date yet because of the memory of an estimated
65,000 Chechen people who have died since the Russian invasion of
this land locked republic.  The attempted pacification of
Chechnya began December 30, 1994 and culminated in the
destruction of vast areas of Grozny, a North Caucasian oil and
industrial center with a population of some 400,000.  

A Russian force of upwards of 200,000 troops is still attempting
to eliminate citizens' resistance that includes native fighters
and community based citizens groups who confront the occupation
with words and guns.  An estimated 15,000 Russian soldiers have
died since January 1, 1995 according to the Mothers of Soldiers,
a Russian group working to retrieve their sons from the fighting.

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) representatives Otto Driedger,
Regina, SK, Canada and Gene Stoltzfus, Chicago, IL, USA departed
Grozny by bus yesterday after spending nearly a week in the
region.  On the outskirts of Grozny traffic was interrupted by
two rows of fresh tree branches strung across the road and
forcing a detour of passing vehicles.  The branches were placed
there by Chechen women's groups to protest Russian army check
points.  

Women's groups estimate that every 10th car is stopped at Russian
checkpoints strategically placed throughout the city.  If there
is a young Chechen male in the car he is captured and placed in a
filtration camp (holding area) and later used as part of
negotiated prisoner exchanges.  Drivers and riders talked
enthusiastically about the women's road block.

Driedger and Stoltzfus were in Chechnya to explore ways in which
Chechens, one of more than 25 ethnic groups in the region of the
Caucuses, make use of traditional means of conflict resolution
and to study the possible placement of a peacemaker team in the
area.  Despite resistance of all kinds and fifteen years of
deportation to Central Asia (1944 - 1959) Chechen citizens are
involved in a vigorous armed and unarmed struggle to secure
independence or meaningful autonomy within the Russian
Federation.  

The debacle of the Russian army in the loss of men, equipment,
and complete lack of success in gaining the support of local
people is unmatched in modern warfare except perhaps in the Viet
Nam conflict.   Bodies of Russian soldiers killed in combat are
left to decay sometimes for weeks by Russian units.  Desertion
among soldiers is at crisis levels.  

Despite regular bombings in certain villages and gunfire in the
city, Chechen fighters and Russian soldiers are within visual
range of each other at sites throughout the city.  Armed combat
may break out at any moment as tensions rise during the approach
of Independence Day celebrations.

Kryss Chupp
CPT

Sept. 5, 1995

Chechnya:  Shudin Chilaev State Farm

Although Russian news portrays the Chechen people as bandits, a
visitor to their homes will find hospitality, prosperity, and a
native-born energy waiting to burst out.  Despite a war now into its
ni nth month, carefully laid brick designs decorate the exteriors of
private homes.  The buildings shout a contrast to mile after mile of
bland and graying state-sponsored apartment complexes found in R
ussian cities that remind foreigners of the U.S. government's own
public housing projects.  One host told our team, "We are builders
from childhood to old age."  Now with the end of the Soviet hold,
Chechen natural habits of hard work are finding new expression.

"Our Muslim faith has given us direction in our struggle to resist
the Russian empire," says Chechen community leader Chilaev Aslan. 
"Our strength is built on the teachings of Imams, local prophets,
teachers, our traditional elders and the Koran.  We are resolved to
end the Russian hold and we are unified."  Muslim teachers had
already arrived to teach the principles of Islam when Russians firs t
began to conquer the Chechen people in the 16th century.

Chilaev Aslan manages Shudin Chilaev State Farm, located outside the
village of Sverdlovsk twenty miles west of Grozny, Chechnya's
devastated industrial center.  The eldest of four brothers, Aslan jo
ined the Communist Party after completing his education as a
veterinarian and rose to his present position of farm manager by age
30, just as the Soviet system was ending.

The Chilaev family house is the center of bustling activity.  Behind
an already extensive interconnected house and barn, another huge new
house awaits electrical work for completion.  Construction has been
set back by the war as able-bodied men and women become independence
fighters or rebuild some of the thousands of houses destroyed by
Russian attacks.  A dozen sheep lounge about in the unfini shed
house, and two cows supply milk and processed milk products for the
extended family and for needy people in the community.

Under the Soviet system, explains Chilaev Aslan, each family was
allowed to have one cow and several sheep.  Sheep and cows have been
an important source of nutrition for Chechens for centuries.  Now
many families have several cows and as many as 2500 sheep hidden in
the mountains far away from the fighting.

Since the end of Soviet times the State farm that Aslan manages has
given away 2000 cows to its workers in lieu of salaries.  The 600
remaining milk cows are milked twice a day, half of them by hand by
women workers, half at another site where the milking is mechanized.
 Says Aslan, "We want to keep the state farm going as a source of
employment and support for older people, because those with f ew
resources have nowhere to turn now that pensions are worthless." 
Most younger workers have drifted off to other work.  One hundred
and twenty five workers tend the farm that includes 2000 hectare s
(3500 acres) for cultivation in addition to the dairy operation.

The Chilaev household has entertained a stream of foreign visitors
since the Chechen emergency began.  "Hospitality and care for guests
is a very high priority for us,"  Mrs. Chilaev told Christian Peacemaker
Teams (CPT) representatives Otto Driedger, Regina, SK, Canada 
and Gene Stoltzfus, Chicago, IL in early September.  In March
the family entertained more than 60 international visitors, including
Buddhist monks, Quakers, Russian members of the peace group Mothers
of Soldiers and others who joined together in a Walk for Peace that
began in Moscow and ended in Grozny.  Thousands of people from the
village of Sverdlovsk joined the walk for several kilometers when it
passed through.

CPT representatives spent a week in Chechnya to explore the
establishment of a peacemaker team.
    

8 September 1995
"Israeli settlers attack Islamic Waqf building"
by Wendy Lehman and Carmen Pauls

HEBRON, WEST BANK -- On September 7, during Christian Peacemaker Team's daily
walk through the city center, a local Palestinian sheikh (Muslim religious
leader) who is familiar with the work of CPT approached them.  He told them
Israeli settlers had stoned and fire-bombed the Islamic Waqf building in
Hebron on September 6 and 7.  The sheikh then took them to the site. 

The Islamic Waqf building houses the offices of religious leaders in Hebron
and the surrounding communities.  It is located near the Israeli settlement
of Avraham Avinu in the city center.

Due to the devastation to the Palestinian community in the city center over
the past year and a half, the Palestinian National Authority under Yasser
Arafat ordered that an additional Waqf headquarters be moved into the area.
The move took place on September 6, and according to witnesses the settlers
attacked the older, more accessible Waqf on the same day. 

Settlers stoned the older building several times during the course of the
day, Sheikh Selah Natsche said.  Natsche is the head of the Waqf department
for Hebron and its surrounding villages.  Settlers also put stickers on the
door which state, in Hebrew, "Hebron is a Jewish city."  Natsche added that
Israeli soldiers sprayed-painted graffiti on the door. 

During the early hours of September 7, settlers fire-bombed the roof of the
building, said witnesses.  In addition, settlers crawled onto the roof from
within Avraham Avinu settlement.  They took a Palestinian flag from the roof
of the Waqf building and burned it.  Israeli military officers also removed a
flag from in front of the Waqf building door on the morning of September 7.

Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of the Church of the  
Brethren,  Mennonite congregations of North America.

September 10, 1995

POLICE VIOLENCE AT IPPERWASH

Christian Peacemaker Teams was alerted about the shooting death
of a 38-year-old Native man by Ontario Provincial Police on
Thursday, September 7.  Around fifty Ipperwash have been
peacefully occupying a provincial park which contains sacred
buriel grounds since Monday.  Police abuse has been mounting,
including the beating of two women occupiers.  Tensions climaxed
Thursday with the slaying of Anthony (Dudley) George.  Two other
men were also wounded and were hospitalized in serious condition.

A military base adjacent to the park has been occupied by the
Ipperwash for over 2 years.  The land was appropriated by the
government for use as a training camp during  WWII with the
promise that it would be returned after the war.

CPT supporters will participate in a Mennonite Central Committee
observer presence at George's funeral scheduled for 11:00 am
Monday, September 11.  The mission will continue to accompany the
Ipperwash throughout the day.  Tensions may rise again as the
court issued injuction to clear the park approaches a 12:00 noon
deadline.

The Provincial Premier has attempted to wash his hands of the
issue claiming it is a police matter.  The Ipperwash disagree and
want to enter into dialogue with the provincial government.
Letters or calls encouraging the Premier to meet with the
Ipperwash leaders can be directed to:

The Honorable Michael Harris
Premier of Ontario
Legislative Building
Queen's Park
Toronto, ON M7A 1A1
Tel: 416-325-1941
Fax: 416-325-7887

CPT is a program of Mennonite and Church of the Brethren 
congregations.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
10 September 1995
"Israeli settlers attack Palestinian elementary school; ten girls injured"
by Wendy Lehman, 

	HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Approximately five Israeli settlers attacked a
Palestinian elementary girls' school at 8:30 am September 10.  The school
stands across the street from Beit Hadassah settlement and an Israeli
military checkpoint.
	Beit Hadassah resident Anat Cohen, with several other adult male and
female settlers, removed a Palestinian flag from the school grounds and
burned it, said witnesses.  They then attacked the school headmistress
Fariel Abu Haikel, striking her in the chest.
	At 9 am, several teachers, Abu Haikel and the approximately 150
students of the school decided to march to the Palestinian Education
Department in Hebron.  They wished to make an official complaint because
the school has been attacked a number of times in the past.  
	As they passed Beit Hadassah, the settlers again attacked the group.
One adult male settler took a Palestinian flag the girls were carrying and began
swinging it around at them.  He ran at the girls screaming, said witnesses.
	An adult female settler threw approximately five glass liter bottles
at the girls; the bottles broke around their feet.  "The girls were running
around, shouting and crying," said journalist Na'el Sheyokhi who accompanied the
group.  Ten of the girls were taken to Al Alia hospital in Hebron with minor
injuries.
	Palestinian residents in the area, many from Deboyya Street, ran out
to help the teachers calm and gather the girls together -- one was a member
of the Hebron Defense Committee and a contact person for Christian Peacemaker
Teams (CPT) in Hebron.
	Several military jeeps arrived at the site, but no settlers were arrested,
according to witnesses.  The soldiers arrested four Palestinians and told
Palestinian journalists filming at the site to leave.
	The group then continued to the Education Department and to the Hebron
Municipality (i.e. city hall) to make complaints. 

	Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) has been maintaining a violence-deterring
presence on Deboyya Street every Saturday since July 22.  A four to six
person team has been present in Hebron since the beginning of June.  Current
members are Kathleen Kern (Rochester, NY), Wendy Lehman (Kidron, OH), Carmen
Pauls (Henderson, NE) and Hedy Sawadsky (Vineland, Ontario, CANADA).

11 September 1995
CPT delayed at Israeli military checkpoint
by Wendy Lehman

	HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Palestinian residents near the military-guarded
Israeli settlement of Beit Hadassah have complained to Christian Peacemaker Team
(CPT) members about near-nightly harassment and arbitrary searches by Israeli
soldiers.  On September 7 at 7:45 pm, four of us CPTers went to visit a
Palestinian family who reported similar harassment to us.  We were
temporarily held back from our visit by soldiers at a checkpoint near the
settlement.
	As we neared the checkpoint and began to go up a hill to visit, two
soldiers told us we were forbidden from continuing.  We told the soldiers that
we were invited to visit a family, and we didn't want to be late.  They said
that there were many soldiers up the hill and that it was dangerous.  
	As we talked with the soldiers, several Palestinian women passed us; one
carried a baby.  We asked if we could go up as well but the soldiers said we
would need a military escort.
	"We're pacifists.  It's against our religion to be accompanied by people
with guns," said CPTer Kathleen Kern.  
	One soldier responded by saying, "It's against my religion to let you
go up.  If I let you go, I will go to jail."
	"Oh, well, we wouldn't want that," Kern said.
	After waiting a few more minutes, CPTer Hedy Sawadsky asked, "This is
a free country, a democracy, right?"
	The soldier nodded and said, "Yes."
	"Then people here are free to go where they are invited," said Sawadsky.
	"No," replied the soldier.
	About this time, a Palestinian man approached this first soldier.  He
showed the soldier his bandaged left shoulder and wrist.  He had bruises on his
face.  It appeared he was asking the soldier for help and that he may have
been developmentally disabled.
	The soldier kept telling him to go away; we were trying to find out
what was wrong.  Both soldiers became more and more agitated.  The first was
gesturing dramatically and yelling at the Palestinian to leave.  The
Palestinian showed us and the soldier what appeared to be a doctor's
prescription written in Arabic.
	"I can't read Arabic, go!" the soldier yelled at him in Arabic.
	Meanwhile, Pauls, the CPTer who can understand the most Arabic, was
trying to ask the man what was wrong.  The second soldier held her by the arm
and repeated over and over, "No! Go! Leave!"  Both soldiers kept telling us to
leave and to not ask the Palestinian man any questions.
	Sawadsky told the soldiers that when we see someone hurting, we want to
help.  The first soldier indicated to us that the Palestinian was "crazy."
 Sawadsky said that it didn't matter, he was still hurting.
	The first soldier eventually pushed the Palestinian away.  He shoved him
several times and the Palestinian winced and pointed to his wounded shoulder,
 against which the soldier had pushed.  He eventually wandered down the road
away from the checkpoint.
	At about five or ten minutes after 8 pm, an Israeli military jeep
drove up and a soldier got out.  At that time, Kern and I had our portable
phone out in the open and were talking about calling the police or a captain
in the military.  This seemed to make the newly-arrived soldier nervous.  He
asked us if we wanted to go up the stairs, and we said yes.
	"Are you angry?" he asked.
	"No," said Pauls, "We just want to go up to visit our friends."
	"First of all," said the soldier, "I want to apologize that you are late for
your visit."  He then waved us up the hill.
	We visited our friends without a military escort.
	When we returned down the rough steps about an hour or so later, I saw
the first soldier.  I laughed and told him, "Now that's what's dangerous --
those steps."
	He didn't seem amused and told us that it was, in fact, dangerous up the
hill.  He said the Israeli soldiers who were stationed on top of the hill
might not know who we were and might shoot us.  He told us, "If the soldiers
told you to stop in Arabic, you might not understand."
	
Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of the Church of the  
Brethren,  Mennonite congregations of North America.

12 September 1995
"Israeli soldiers remove Palestinian flag from elementary school, one
Palestinian detained"
by Wendy Lehman

	HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian elementary
girl's school, called Kortuba, on September 10.  Ten students were taken to
the hospital with minor injuries.  At the invitation of some of the students'
parents, Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) members went to the school at 7:15
am on September 11 to accompany the children as they arrived.  At
approximately 8:30 am, Israeli soldiers and police removed a Palestinian flag
from in front of the school, and arrested one Palestinian man.
	The school stands on a hill across the road from the Israeli
settlement of Beit Hadassah and an Israeli military checkpoint.  On September
10, according to witnesses, several Israeli settlers attacked Kortuba school.
Beit Hadassah resident Anat Cohen removed a Palestinian flag from in front of
the school and burned it.  She also struck school headmistress Fariel Abu Haikel
in the chest.  Settler Elie Galbo took a Palestinian flag from the children
and ran at them swinging it.  An unidentified adult female settler threw
glass bottles at the children. 
	On September 11, Kortuba headmistress Abu Haikel replaced the
Palestinian flag in front of the school while Cohen and Galbo looked on from
in front of Beit Hadassah, approximately 100 yards downhill.  Five to seven
Israeli soldiers stood near the foot of the stairs leading to the school.
	At 7:30 am, the girls began school with a song.  Following their
singing, Beit Hadassah residents played loud music in Hebrew.  Cohen began
photographing the flag from the bottom of the school's steps, about 50 yards
away, at 8:15 am.  She then climbed the steps toward the school, followed by
approximately six soldiers, and reached the front door of the school's
outside gate.  Although the soldiers would not allow her inside the gate, she
was able to photograph the students, teachers, parents and CPT members from
outside. 
	A few minutes later, approximately 15 more soldiers arrived with five
Israeli police officers.  As the police officers conversed with Abu Haikel
and parents of the children, a soldier removed the newly-placed Palestinian
flag.  He wrapped it up and headed toward the outside gate of the school, at
which point Abu Haikel grabbed a hold of the flag and tried to retrieve it.
They struggled over it, along with a police officer, and Abu Haikel was
pushed into the door.  She let go of the flag and the soldier took it
outside.
	A father of one Kortuba student, Khalid Al Khateeb, argued with the
soldiers and officers concerning the removal of the flag.  As he gestured
toward the flag, the soldiers and police officers pushed him back several
times.  He was taken outside the gate to talk with the officers.  Al Khateeb
is a contact for CPT on Deboyya Street, near Beit Hadassah.
	When asked why the flag was removed, one soldier reported that it was
against the law, since the signing of the Peace Accords in 1993, to fly a
flag in a public place.  Other contacts report that this is not the case.
All Palestinian schools fly flags on their premises, said witnesses.  Why
Kortuba school was targeted is unclear.
	At 8:30 am, the soldiers and police departed, taking Al Khateeb with
them in a police van.  CPTers stayed until 9 am, at which time Cohen left in
a car and Galbo entered Beit Hadassah. CPTers left their phone number at the
school in case further problems arose. The CPT team checked the school again
at 11 am and 12:30 pm (when school ends for the day).  Two CPT members stood
in the street outside the school to make sure the girls were able to leave
safely.

Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of the Church of the  
Brethren,  Mennonite congregations of North America.

    Sept. 14, 1995
    Letter to Children from Duane Ediger in Haiti for use in classes or
    Children's meetings.

    Dear Seventh and Eighth Graders:

    Greetings to y'all from Haiti's Artibonite (that's pronounced ah tee bo
    neat) Valley.  I came back to Haiti at the end of May, right after the
    Oklahoma City bombing, and have been living here in Ti Rivye for the
    past 3 1/2 months.

    How are y'all doing?  I understand the summer was hotter than usual up
    there.  It's been hot here, too, but so far my Canadian teammate Lena
    and I have been holding up okay.

    Pope Paul VI said, "If you want peace, work for justice."  We have been
    working for peace and justice in a number of different ways.  Since we
    came there have been two elections here--one in June and another in
    August in a few places where, for different reasons, the vote couldn't
    happen in June.  All in all they went pretty well.  There was a problem
    in the Ti Rivye voting office, though.  The President of the office
    changed the numbers to make a candidate win who really didn't even
    come close to getting the most votes.  A lot of people say the candi-
    date gave him money to make it look like he won.  

    Since Lena, myself and some other friends had been in some of the voting
    places watching the voting as well as the counting of the ballots, we
    were able to show national voting officials what had happened, and they
    changed the announced winner so the people got who they voted for after all.

    About a month ago we presented a workshop to a group of ten young
    people (18-24 years old) to get them to start thinking about some
    different ways to handle con flicts--how to communicate better and
    cooperate with someone you disagree with to find a solution.

    This week tension is building.  For about two months we have been
    working with the Beris family.  Last year they were kicked off their
    land up in the mountains by a neighboring family.  It's way up high far
    away from the nearest town.  To "call the police" you would have to
    walk about 4-5 hours, then go to court even f urther away to get an
    arrest warrant.  The Berises don't have enough to eat.  They certainly
    can't afford to pay legal costs and transportation to the court in
    Saint Mark.  Even if they could, the officials in the court are used to
    taking bribes to make a decision in someone's favor, rather than
    deciding based on fairness and the law.  This means the poor almost
    always lose out in court.  
    
    But when Lena and I go with the Berises to court, the officials know it
    won't be so easy to cheat.  We have been doing that since July.  This
    Monday their case is scheduled to go to trial.  I don't know if the
    judge will make a decision then or say everybody will have to come back
    again.  I will let you know what happens.

    Please pray--especially on Monday the 18th--for the Berises, the Sonson
    family who took their land and the court officials, that justice may be
    served.

    I look forward to seeing and talking with you again (some of you for
    the first time) when I come back after Christmas.

    Peace to you all, in the name of our leader Jesus,

    Duane,  CPT 

    Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of the Church of the  
    Brethren,  Mennonite congregations of North America.

Sept. 14, 1995
Violations Threaten Chechnya Peace Agreement

by Chris Hunter, Quaker Peace and Service, Moscow

CHECHNYA, RUSSIA -- On September 5, Chechen fighter Ramzan Eldarov,
aged 30, was shot by Russian soldiers passing through the village of
Tsa Vedeno.  Eldarov had returned home from the mountains on S
eptember 4, his safety guaranteed by the peace agreement signed in
Grozny July 30, 1995 by Chechen and Russian representatives.  He
leaves behind his pregnant wife and their two children.

According to eyewitnesses, including a mother and two children who
were standing with Eldarov shortly before his execution, an armored
personnel carrier stopped beside Eldarov, who was in uniform, an d a
colonel accompanied by two soldiers demanded to see his passport.
Eldarov replied that he did not have it with him.  When the soldiers
tried to arrest him, Eldarov ran.  The colonel ordered them to shoot
him.

The mother pleaded with the soldiers not to shoot and tried to stand
in the way.  Eldarov was shot in the head, but staggered on to a
nearby courtyard.  The soldiers caught up with him and fired cons
ecutive rounds into his back.  Eldarov was dead on arriving at the
hospital.  The colonel confiscated Eldarov's pistol and documents.

Khasan Khisriev, head of the Tsa Vedeno village administration, also
witnessed the killing and followed the armored personnel carrier to
the Russian checkpoint outside the village.  Khisriev and othe r
local people, including Shirvani Bassayev, member of the
Chechen-Russian special observing commission, and Suleiman
Khadzhimuratov, prefect of the Vedeno region, asked the colonel why
he had ordere d Eldarov's execution.  The colonel accused Eldarov of
having shot at them first.  When an examination of Eldarov's pistol
revealed that no round had been fired, reported Bassayev, the
colonel had no further response.

The shooting occurred twelve days after the disarming of Chechen
fighters in the Vedeno region began.  The process is far from
finished, though according to Bassayev, representative for the
disarmame nt of the Vedeno region, it could have been completed in 10
days.  64 million rubles were paid to the Chechens on the first day
in exchange for weapons handed over.  However, the Russian side was
una ble to continue due to lack of money.  "They do not wish to
complete the disarmament process," remarked Bassayev, "They have no
intention to fulfill the peace agreement and withdraw their troops."

"We will continue to use all means at our disposal to ensure the
success of the peace process, even in the face of such violations by
the Russian side," Bassayev continued.  He added, however, that h e
was unable to guarantee that the people would remain calm in the
face of such provocations.

"The fate of the Chechen people has already been decided," said
Bassayev. 100,000 of our people have been killed and our Republic is
in ruins.  We have nothing more to lose.  Now the fate of the Russ
ian people is being decided.  If the war begins again in earnest, it
will take place not on Chechen soil.

"The crisis in Chechnya can no longer be seen as an internal problem
of the Russian Federation.  It is now an international problem. 
Every type of weapon has been used against us other than nuclear
weapons.  If the world remains unmoved, I don't know how to relate
to the world."

On September 6, 1995, the fourth anniversary of Chechnya's declared
independence, demonstrations took place throughout the Republic.  In
Grozny, ten thousand jubilant demonstrators toured the capital with
flags and banners, filling "Freedom Square" in front of the ruined
Presidential palace.  The crowd demanded independence and the
withdrawal of Russian troops.  The event passed without violence ,
though 3 people were killed at a Russian checkpoint on trying to
enter the city, reported Mikhail Roshchin, an independent Russian
observer for the human rights organization Omega.  Bombing attacks on
Chechen villages continue in the west of the Republic, and Chechens
and Russian troops continue to fight at night in Grozny. 

Christian Peacemaker Teams, publisher CPTNET, is a program of the
Church of the  Brethren,  Mennonite congregations of North America.

Sept. 15, 1995
The Light Shines in the Darkness
by Cole Arendt

Washington, DC -- On September 11 at 10:45 pm, Darnell "Diamond"
Williams and a woman friend were shot from a passing car while
sitting on the porch stoop of an apartment on the corner of 11th and
Lamont Streets, N.W.  Williams died shortly thereafter at nearby
Washington Hospital Center, and his friend was listed in critical
condition.

"Diamond" Williams was in his early twenties.  He had been involved
with the drug trade, though community people felt that he had
recently made a turn for the better with a new job.  Neighbors felt
that his killing was an accident, and that the shooters were after
other men who had been with him.

Mennonite Board of Missions (MBM) volunteer Matt Sears, a
participant in neighborhood "Orange Hat" patrols, heard the shots
from his home one block away and learned the next day what had
happened.  Sears invited other neighborhood residents and members of
CPT's team in Washington to gather publicly to ensure that this
tragedy would not pass unnoticed by the community.

At 8:30 pm on September 12, over 50 people from the area gathered at
the corner where the slaying took place.  They did not all know each
other and came from divergent experiences.  Some knew Darnell
Williams and grieved for him as a relative or friend.  Others knew
him only as another victim of rampant violence.  But all had one
common thought: the killing must stop.  Prayers were offered, sile
nce shared, and the vigil ended with "Amazing Grace."  Candles held
high pierced the darkness.

At the vigil, a pastor from the nearby Faith Moravian Church, Rev.
Leslie McCoy, offered his church as a meeting place for people
wishing to organize their community to combat the violence.  Several
community residents have expressed their willingness to set up a
citizen patrol.  The CPT team and its allies will seek to support
the resolve that was evident that evening by sharing energy, faith
and hope with this neighborhood.

CPT's team in Washington D.C. currently consists of Cole Arendt
(Washington, DC) Rey Lopez (Chicago, IL), Tammy Krause (Phoenix,
AZ), Wes Hare (Richmond, VA), and David Siff (Hanover, NH).  Matt
Sear s (Tiskilwa, IL) will join the team later this month.  CPT may
be reached in Washington at the following address: B201, 2620 13th
St. NW, Washington, DC, 20009, phone: (202)234-4260.  For more
inform ation on the vigil, contact Wes Hare at the above number. 
Photos available on request

Christian Peacemaker Teams, P.O. Box 6508, Chicago, IL, 60680;
tel./FAX (312)455-1199.  Christian Peacemaker Teams is a project of
the Mennonite and Church of the Brethren denominations.

14 September 1995
"Clashes erupt in Hebron for two days in a row"
by Wendy Lehman

	HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Clashes erupted throughout the city September
13 and 14, unparalleled since the days following the Abraham Mosque massacre,
when local Israeli settler Baruch Goldstein shot to death 29 Palestinian
worshippers.  We four members of the Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT)
stationed in Hebron witnessed today's clash.  Locals tell us today and
yesterday remind them of the early days of the intifadeh.
	Tensions have been escalating for the past few weeks while Hebron is
discussed in the peace talks between Israel and the PLO (Palestinian
Liberation Organization).  The situation has become more tense since
September 10 when Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian girls' elementary
school, called Kortuba, near Beit Hadassah settlement in the city center.  On
this date, said witnesses, settler Anat Cohen burned the Palestinian flag in
front of the school and struck headmistress Fariel Abu Haikel in the chest.
 Ten of the students were injured when settler Elie Galbo took a flag from
them and began swinging it at the girls.
	We CPTers, at the invitation of several of the students' parents,
began to come to the school every morning since then to accompany the children
as they arrived.  The school teachers have continued to put up the Palestinian
flag on the mornings since September 10; the flag has then been removed by
Israeli soldiers and police.  On September 13 and 14, the girls arrived to
find trash strewn about in the front of the door and Hebrew graffiti
spray-painted on the school.  "Kahane" was spray-painted on the door.  Kahane
Hai is an extremist Jewish organization outlawed by the Israeli government and
classified by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization  The
organization was named after right-wing extremist Rabbi Meir Kahane who
favored transferring all of the Arabs out of Palestine.
	The CPT team was out of town on September 13, but when we returned in
the evening, we saw black marks on the road from tire burnings.  Rocks and
garbage littered the road and trash cans were still on fire.  We heard later
that that morning at about 10:30 am, a female settler came into Kortuba
school and refused to leave.  An adult male settler approached the school
carrying an Uzi and an Israeli flag.  He was stopped from entering the school
by the IDF (Israel Defense Force).  Mustafa Natsche, Palestinian mayor of
Hebron, was at Kortuba school to learn about the situation and a settler
woman spit in his face.  
	Soldiers eventually cleared the school of settlers.  Thirteen of the
students went to the hospital because they had fainted or were hysterical.
Many were screaming and crying.
	Below the school, which lies on a hill, settlers began chanting
"Goldstein is a hero", said witnesses.  Palestinians shouted words about
Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) back at the settlers.  The IDF pushed
the Palestinians back.  According to witnesses, approximately five to seven
Palestinians and two to three settlers were arrested.   Curfew was imposed
on the area from about 12 noon until 1 pm.
	Clashes had erupted throughout the city, however.  Hundreds of people
were on the streets -- Palestinian boys and teenagers threw stones at passing
Israeli soldier jeeps and foot patrols.  The soldiers fired live ammition in
the air, dropped concussion grenades ("sound bombs") and used tear gas to
break up the crowds, most of whom were onlookers or journalists.  Some gas
was fired near a day school center.  Approximately 25 babies had to be taken
to the hospital because of the gas. 
	On September 14, because of the previous week's actions by settlers, a
nonviolent demonstration and sit-in was held by Palestinians in support of
the students.  CPTers were present as well.  
	The demonstration began at 10 am.  Hundreds of the older female
students, aged about ten to 16, came out to support the younger students. 
	Soon after CPTer Carmen Pauls told me how effective it was for the older
girls to support the younger ones by making a non-violent statement, someone
saw an Israeli soldier pass by.  The girls, misunderstanding what had
happened, began screaming, "Mustautaneen!" (settlers) and ran up the hill
toward where I was standing.  Some were crying and most were terrified.
Soon, the situation calmed down again.
	Other locals began to join the group -- one had a loudspeaker and was
rallying the crowd.   At about 11 am, the word "jesh" (soldiers) began to
pass through the crowd.  The girls were kept up the street away from the IDF
while the rest of the group was near the soldiers.  The IDF  began to
approach the crowd.  
	Several Palestinian youth picked up bottles and stones.  The older
men told them, "La, shabab!" (No, young men!) and some adult males formed a line
between them and the soldiers, linking arms.  But the boys began throwing
objects at the soldies -- bottles, cement, stones, whatever was handy.
Carmen and I found ourselves in front of the group, facing the soldiers who
began running at the crowd.  After taking a few photos, I began to run with
the group that was surging up the street and to the sides of the road.
	Several soldiers ran up the road under a shower of rocks and bottles.
The IDF dropped several concussion grenades on the street and were followed by
a slew of reporters.  I ran up with the journalists toward the jeeps.  Stones
were coming from everywhere -- one hit me in the ankle.  A camera operator
for CNN was hit by a stone in the forehead and fell on the ground.  He was
later taken away by ambulance, but appeared to have only minor injuries.
	I was right next to a side-road at this point, and stones were coming
from its direction.  An Israeli soldier kept aiming his M-16 up the side-road,
clicking the safety catch off on his weapon.  At one point, he rested his gun
to steady his aim on an ambulance.
	Later, a soldier came down the side-road with two Palestinian male
youths, aged about 14.  Each boy had his hand tied to the other with nylon
cuffs.  The soldier pulled them by these cuffs, which tighten around your
wrist when you pull on them or struggle against them.  They were put in a
military jeep as an older woman argued with the soldiers.  The jeep began to
pull out backwards as Palestinians tried to block its path.  The soldiers
pointed their guns at people who got too close.
	The jeep pulled out and more Israeli military officers arrived on the
scene, such as Captain Eyal Ziv (advisor to the military commander on Arab
affairs).  Several stones continued to be thrown, but it seemed the situation
was calming down.  I ran to get more film, and by the time I was back, the clash
was over and the IDF was gone.  It was 11:30 am.
	Soon afterwards, I called CPTer Kathleen Kern who had stayed down by
Kortuba school with CPTer Hedy Sawadsky.  She told me there were problems down
in Babazawiah district about ten minutes down the road from our house.  I found
out later from Kathleen that a group of young female students also marched
down toward Kortuba school.  They were stopped at the Israeli military
checkpoint next to the Israeli settlement of Beit Hadassah.  They tearfully
pleaded with the soldiers to let them pass, but they were turned back.  They
headed, instead, toward Babazawiah.  Kathleen joined them.
	Just down the road, near another military checkpoint, Palestinian boys
began to throw bottles at the soldiers nearby.  Kathleen approached one boy and
took the bottle from him.  Older men nearby agreed with her and told the boy
not to throw anything.
	She then stood in between the soldiers and the bottle-throwers, hoping
to de-escalate the violence.  Palestinian journalist friends kept telling her to
come back to the sidewalk because it was dangerous.  Finally, one of the
reporters, Nizam Jabari, approached her and forceably guided her to the
sidewalk.  He told her that people don't understand what she's doing and they
might think she was a settler.  Another journalist told her, "We need you for
more than just today."
	She rejoined the girls who continued to march and as she rounded the
corner, she passed me.  I then joined the journalists and followed the
soldiers as they went up the street to find stone-throwers.  They were lined
up along the streets in military formation while 20-some reporters and camera
operators filmed in the midst of the action.  Cement blocks were being dropped
on the soldiers from overhead; stones and bottles were thrown.  
	Palestinian mothers carried their children through the area.  Children
stood all around us, some as young as three.  Some of the children threw stones,
some didn't.  Most of the stone throwers were between the ages of about seven
or eight and 15 or so.  
	Eventually, we all reached an area just two minutes from our house, up a
sideroad from the vegetable market near which we CPTers live.  Up another
sideroad was a hospital and boys were throwing stones from that area.
Soldiers lined up along the opposite side of the street, looking for an
opening.  Stones were coming from all directions and occassionally I and the
journalists ran for cover.  About five soldiers ran up the hill toward the
hospital.  The stone-throwers scattered.
	Periodically, we would hear gunshots in the air.  At about 12:30 pm,
curfew was announced by the IDF but it went unheaded.  Everytime a jeep came
by, it was pelted with rocks.  Occasionally, soldiers came bursting through the
group of us reporters and journalists and chased down a stone-thrower.  I saw
three Palestinian boys, aged approximately ten to 15, arrested and taken in
military jeeps.  As journalists took photos of them, the soldiers told the
arrestees to hide their faces.
	One friend, Naji Da'na, who works as a camera operator for french media,
told me, "As soon as the soldiers show up, the kids throw stones.  When the
soldiers leave, they stop."
	Another jeep was parked down the side-road in the vegetable market.
Several Palestinian women were headed in its direction.  One Israeli soldier
got out of the jeep and gestured for the women to come down.  He then made
sexual gestures toward the women.  Several boys threw stones at the jeep, and
the soldier repeated his actions.
	Soon after this incident took place, the situation calmed down.  At
about 2:30 pm, the soldiers were gone and the journalists headed out.
According to some sources, the soldiers used restraint today.  During the
intifadeh, the soldiers were known to fire live ammunition into crowds.  
	People are unsure what will happen in the next couple of days or what
exactly these clashes mean.  Da'na, who covered the intifadeh as a camera
operator, said, "My expectation is that [these clashes] will last for some
days.  If the Israeli settlers commit another act of violence [against
Palestinians], I think we may see a second intifadeh."
	Another contact, Hillel Barak, an Israeli activist and member of the
Jerusalem-based Hebron Solidarity Committee, was present during the clashes
today.  He believes the Israeli authorities must remove the settlers from the
city center.  "I think [Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak] Rabin is using it
[the issue of the settlers] as a bargaining card...If you want a bargaining
card, it must be something you can control.  The settlers here are just too
extreme and unpredictable.  The Israeli authorities are unable to control
or maintain them."

Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of the Church of the  
Brethren,  Mennonite congregations of North America.

15 September 1995
"Clashes continue in Hebron"
by Wendy Lehman

	HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Clashes between young Palestinian stone-throwers
and the IDF (Israel Defense Force) continued for the third day in a row on
September 15.  Locals say they have not seen such confrontations since the
days following the Abraham Mosque massacre in February 1994, when local
Israeli settler Baruch Goldstein shot to death 29 Palestinian worshippers.
	While Hebron has been in the peace talks between Israel Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Chair Yasser
Arafat, many Palestinian locals feel their issues and rights are being pushed
aside.  They fear that the Israeli settlers within the city center, viewed as
extreme and violent even by other settlers, will be allowed to stay. 
	 In light of the current frustration among the Hebron populace and recent
escalations of violence by settlers, some locals say these clashes are
inevitable.  Yet not everyone supports the stone-throwing as the best or most
appropriate way to draw attention to the problems of Hebron.  As bottle and
stone-throwing incidents have began, a number of adults have told children
not to participate.  In addition, most of the stone-throwers are young or
teenage males; many boys have not joined in the activities.  But as even
Israeli and Palestinian leaders speak of Hebron as the sticking point in the
peace process, some local youth have turned to stone-throwing as a way of
turning attention to Palestinian rights in Hebron.
	Problems today began at about 9 am and continued until 2 pm, mostly near the
Babazawiah district in the city center.  Earlier in the morning, one
Palestinian woman was hit in the head with a stone and taken to the hospital
with minor injuries.  The situation was calm for about half an hour after
this incident.
	At 10 am, some Palestinian youth lit three tires on fire in the middle of
the road; someone pushed a water tank off a roof.  Down the road, Palestinian
boys as young as five or six began throwing stones and bottles at Israeli
soldiers near a military checkpoint.  They also lit tires and garbage on
fire.  After about 20 minutes, the soldiers chased the boys up the street and
arrested several older boys
	After taking them into custody, the soldiers tied their hands behind their
back with nylon cuffs and held them by the hair as they took them to the
military jeeps.  One Palestinian man argued with the soldiers, asking them,
"Do you believe in what you are doing?" 
	The soldiers seemed to use more force than in the previous two days of
clashes with the arrestees and photo journalists.  Soldiers kicked and pushed
civilians and reporters.  An ABC journalist's camera was damaged by the IDF.
	About 30 minutes after the arrest, the soldiers received a volley of stones
and bottles from a roof.  Several of them entered the PNA (Palestinian
National Authority) building hoping to find the stone-throwers.  Two
journalists locked the door behind them.  After struggling with the door, the
soldiers went up to the roof.  As locals looked on, they illegally took down
the Palestinian flag from the PNA building, waved it around and then put it
down out of sight.  "Unbelievable," said one journalist, "they are
deliberately trying to provoke."
	After this incident, dozens of boys up the road threw rocks and bottles
toward the soldiers.  As the stone-throwing grew more intense, five or six
IDF military jeeps prepared to drive up the road.  The boys lined up small
cement blocks across the road to prevent the passage of cars.  Other boys
prepared similar blocks to drop from rooftops onto the jeeps as they passed.
	As some boys threw stones and shouted, other boys were quiet and simply
watched.  When asked what he thought of the stone-throwing, one boy who was
not participating said it was not good.
	After about 30 to 40 minutes of bottles and stones, the jeeps revved their
engines.  Many boys scattered or went up a hill to Al Alia hospital.  The
jeeps sped up the road while other youth dropped the cement blocks on the
military vehicles or threw bottles.  The soldiers drove through the blockade
and stopped below the hospital.
	After the soldiers got out of the jeeps, about a dozen boys continued with
the stone and bottle-throwing from in front of the hospital.  One soldier
took out a tear gas gun, but then replaced it.  A sound bomb fell from
another jeep and was left lying on the ground, apparently overlooked.  
	Eventually, about a dozen soldiers ran up the hill toward the
stone-throwers.  The boys went inside the hospital.  Because the hospital is
under PNA authority, the Israeli soldiers are not permitted to enter it.
They searched outside instead and eventually left.  After about 15 minutes,
normal city traffic resumed.
	Christian Peacemaker Team members monitored the events of today and
yesterday.

Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of the Church of the  
Brethren,  Mennonite congregations of North America.

17 September 1995
"Tensions escalate while Hebron discussed in peace talks"
by Wendy Lehman

	HEBRON, WEST BANK -- The final deliberations of the Israeli-Palestinian
peace talks concerning Hebron began yesterday, September 16, and continue
today in Taba, Egypt.  Hebron is currently the sticking point in the peace
agreements and tensions have been escalating over the past several weeks on
both sides.  Locals say that if the agreement is not satisfactory to
Palestinians and Israelis living here, clashes which began last week may
continue.
	Approximately 120,000 Palestinians, 250 Israeli settlers and 1,500 IDF
(Israel Defense Force) soldiers populate this West Bank city.  Recent events
show the possibility of what some say is the re-emergence of the extremist
Jewish underground.  In addition, for three days last week, Palestinian youth
and the IDF participated in clashes which remind some of the early days of
the intifadeh -- stone- and bottle-throwing by Palestinians; concussion
grenades ("sound bombs"), rubber bullets and tear gas by the IDF.
	On September 8, men dressed in IDF uniforms -- some wearing gas masks --
entered Hal Hul village north of Hebron at about midnight.  They searched
houses in the village until they reached the home of Palestinian Salman
Hussein Azzama'reh who wasn't home when they arrived.  The men tied up
Salman's father.  When Salman returned home they shot the 24-year-old three
times in the head, killing him.    
	 A new extremist Jewish organization calling itself "Eyal" took credit
for the attack in opposition to the peace process.  They promised more such
killings in the future.  The Palestinian Authority Information Ministry
warned similar attacks could take place due to the recent increase in settler
violence.  Later, an extremist Jewish group calling itself, "The Sword of
David" also took credit for the attack.  The IDF reports that no Israeli
soldiers were in the area at that time and denies any involvement.
	A spokesperson for the outlawed Jewish "Kach" movement, classified by
the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization, said those who killed
Salman are members of Kach who changed their name when Kach was banned.
	Although two groups already claimed the attack, Israeli police arrested
three Palestinian males on September 15 and are looking for a fourth as
suspects in the killing.
	A couple of days following the Hal Hul murder, Israeli settlers began a
series of harassments and assaults at a Palestinian elementary girls' school,
called Kortuba, in Hebron.  The attacks began on September 10, when settlers
from Beit Hadassah settlement, across the road from the school, began
chanting racist slogans and played Hebrew music over their loudspeakers.
	The settlers then took the Palestinian flag from in front of the school and
burned it.  One settler struck Abu Haikel in the chest and another swung a
Palestinian flag at the girls.  Ten students were taken to the hospital with
minor injuries.  According to witnesses, IDF soldiers at a checkpoint in
front of Beit Hadassah did little to stop the attack.
	On September 13, Israeli Knesset (i.e., Parliament) member and local Israeli
settler Shaul Gutman lead another attack on Kortuba.  He carried an Uzi and
an Israeli flag intending to place his flag at the school.  Although he met
with little resistance from Israeli soldiers and was able to enter the area
of Kortuba, the IDF prevented him from following through.  At the same time,
a settler woman walked into the school and refused to leave; she also spit in
the face of Palestinian Hebron Mayor Mustafa Natsche.  About a dozen girls at
the school panicked and fainted.  Five were taken, unconscious, to the
hospital.  Other girls tried to climb into the departing ambulances because
they feared additional violence if they walked past the settlement.
	Soon after these events took place, clashes broke out between settlers
and Palestinians near Kortuba.  Although curfew was imposed on that area for
about an hour, Palestinian youth lit tires on fire and threw stones and
bottles at the IDF at other places in the city.  The Israeli soldiers
responded with tear gas, sound bombs and rubber bullets.  Many, including
babies from a local day school, were taken to the hospital due to gas
inhalation.
	A mass non-violent demonstration took place the following day with
hundreds of local school children protesting the violence.  After the IDF
arrived, the situation turned violent as youth, disregarding the protests of
Palestinian adults, began throwing bottles at the IDF.  The clashes lasted
several hours and began again the following day.
	Locals see little possibility for an easy solution to the problems here.
Because of upcoming summer elections, it is unlikely that Israel Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin will want to evacuate the Israeli settlers in the
center of the city.  In addition, Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)
Chair Yasser Arafat would be likewise committing "political suicide" if he
allows the settlers to remain.  Some settlers here, almost all armed with
Uzis or a side arm and known as extreme and violent even by other West Bank
settlers, have promised they would fight if they are forcibly evacuated by
the Israeli government.  On the other hand, if the settlers, who regularly
harass and sometimes physically attack Palestinian residents, are not
evacuated, locals feel that the clashes will continue and there may be a
second intifadeh in Hebron.  
	Residents are tired of being searched and/or questioned as they pass
through 15 city-center military checkpoints, of having their shops closed, of
facing arbitrary arrest which may include the use of torture.  Most residents
fear this won't change.  According to local Palestinian journalist Khalid
Amayreh, "Yasser Arafat has been telling the Palestinians that the peace process
eventually means the removal of the Israeli occupation.  However what we have
been seeing so far [in Hebron is] that we are talking about a re-organization
of the occupation and not a disappearance of it."
	Yet not everyone approves of the recent clashes.  While some boys were
throwing stone and bottles last week, many others simply watched or stayed
indoors.  One teenage Palestinian boy said he does not approve of the
stone-throwing and it will only make things worse for Hebronites; he fears
increasing harassments by the IDF.  Yet, he added, some Palestinian youth
here see this as their only alternative to standing by and doing nothing.
Hebronites fear they may face a similar fate to that of  Salman Azzama'reh.
One Palestinian whose home is often arbitrarily searched by the IDF said,
"I'm afraid, especially after what happened in Hal Hul."  

Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of the Church of the  
Brethren,  Mennonite congregations of North America.

10 September 1995
"Conversations on Deboyya Street"
by Wendy Lehman
Kathleen Kern

	HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Since July 22, Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) has
been maintaining a violence-deterring presence on Deboyya Street every
Saturday from approximately 1 to 8 pm.  This area stretches between the
Israeli settlements of Beit Hadassah and Tel Rumeida.  Palestinian residents
of Deboyya Street have reported incidents of harassment and physical attacks
by Israeli soldiers and settlers, particularly on the Sabbath (Saturday).
Many Palestinians have moved out of the area because of these problems.
All soldiers are armed with American-made M-16s and most settlers are armed
with at least a sidearm, if not an Uzi.
	On September 9, at approximately 4:15 pm, CPTers Kathleen Kern and
Carmen Pauls were sitting near the military checkpoint outside of Beit
Hadassah with Palestinian friends.  Soldiers near a military jeep were
questioning a Palestinian teenage boy by the checkpoint. According to a
Palestinian teenage boy who knows Hebrew, one soldier said, "Not while
they're watching," pointing to Kern and Pauls.  The soldiers told the boy
he could leave.  The jeep then drove further down the road and picked up
the Palestinian there instead.
	Later, at approximately 5 pm, CPTers Kern and Wendy Lehman were
sitting in the same location and were approached by the two soldiers
guarding the checkpoint.
	The soldier asked one of the Palestinian teenage boys, in Hebrew,
what Kern and Lehman were doing sitting on the sidewalk steps.  The boy told
him we were writing.  The soldier then asked Lehman and Kern what they were
writing.
	"We write what we see here," said Kern.
	"You can't write about soldiers, about what we do," said one.
	Lehman joked that she was writing down Arabic words because she was
trying to learn Arabic.
	"I'm not joking," said the soldier.  "Our commander says you can't write
here."
	Kern asked, "Well, are you doing something you are ashamed of?"
	"No," said the other soldier.  "But you can't write."
	Lehman asked the soldiers, "Well, what would happen if we continue to
write?"
	"I could take your notebook," replied the first soldier.
	"Even if I'm writing Arabic words?" asked Lehman with a smile.
	"No.  That's O.K." he said.  He then asked to see Lehman's notebook.
She hesitated.
	"See," he said, "you know I'm right.  That's why you won't show me your
notebook."
	"I don't want to you take my notebook," she told him.  He said he just
wanted to look.  She got her notebook out and showed him the words she was
writing down.  He looked at it for awhile, nodded and handed it back.
	Kern and Lehman then asked the soldiers who their commander was --
who had issued the order that they couldn't write.
	"You want to see our commander?" the second soldier asked.
	"No, we just want his name," said Kern.
	The soldiers returned to the checkpoint.
	At approximately 5:20 pm, a military jeep arrived and the two checkpoint
soldiers talked to the officer sitting in the passenger's seat.  A
Palestinian friend overheard the soldier saying, in Hebrew, that the CPTers
just, "write, write, write."  The two soldiers then told the CPTers that
their commander wished to talk with them.  They approached him as he stayed
in the jeep.
	The commander asked them what they were doing on this street.
	"Oh, visiting, trying to understand the situation here," said Kern.
	"Are you journalists?" he asked.
	"Not exactly," Lehman replied.
	"We are writing about what we see here for the churches back home," said
Kern.  "We're from the Mennonite church.  Have you heard of the Mennonites?"
	"Well," he said, "you can't write about the soldiers."
	"Can you be more specific?" asked Kern.
	The commander hesitated, answered a few calls over the radio, but never
really answered.  The jeep pulled away and the CPTers returned to their
seats.
	At approximately 5:45 pm, Kern and Lehman were joined by CPTers Pauls
and Hedy Sawadsky.  A male settler, aged approximately mid-30s and with an Uzi
slung over his back, approached the group.  He told them, "If you sit here
too long, someone will shoot you."
	After he left, a Palestinian teenage boy who was with the CPTers told
them, "That man belongs to Kahane [Hai]."  Kahane Hai is a right-wing extremist
Jewish organization outlawed by the Israeli government.  Is is also
classified by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization.  
	The young Palestinian was nervous about the threat and mentioned that he
thought there might be "problems."  The CPTers decided to stay on the street
longer than usual.  They gave their Palestinian friend their phone number to
call in case there were problems after they left.
	At 5:50 pm, another Israeli military commander drove up in a jeep and
talked with the soldiers at the checkpoint.  He then approached the group and
asked the CPTers, more sternly than the first commander, what they were doing
there.  Kern told him what she had told the previous officer.  He also said
they couldn't write about the soldiers.  A few minutes later, he told a
Palestinian friend that the CPTers were allowed to stay on the steps.
	At 6 pm, Kern and Sawadsky went up the road to visit Palestinian Hanni
Abu Haikel who lives near Tel Rumeida settlement.  Pauls and Lehman stayed near
the checkpoint.
	Abu Haikel told Kern and Sawadsky that about a week earlier, Israeli
settler Baruch Marzel told him, "We will never leave Tel Rumeida without
killing all the Abu Haikel family."  Marzel is a leader in the Jewish Kach
movement, also outlawed by the Israeli government and classified by the U.S.
State Department as a terrorist organization.  
	Around 7:30 pm, Kern and Lehman met up with a Palestinian journalist
friend and agreed to accompany him past several checkpoints and settlements to
his home.  As they passed the Beit Hadassah checkpoint, they encountered a
soldier who had refused to let them pass two days previously unless they had
an armed escort.  At that time he had told them he would go to jail if he
allowed them to visit some Palestinian friends.
	As Kern and Lehman greeted him, Kern said, "I'm glad to see you aren't
in jail."
	"I almost went to jail today," he said, "Because I [had a fight] with an
Arab at Tel Rumeida."
	"Was anyone hurt?" Kern asked.
	"He [the Arab] was."
	"Is he all right?" Kern asked.
	"He'll live."
	"I'm glad." Kern responded.
	"I'm not," the soldier said.
	"You are too young to let hatred destroy your life," Kern said.
	The soldier did not understand, and Kern reiterated,  "When you hate
other people it destroys your life."
	"Hate does not do that," the soldier said.
	"Yes, it will," Kern responded, "But anyway, I'm glad you were not
hurt."
	Later, when Kern and Lehman returned past the Beit Hadassah checkpoint,
the same soldier said,  "I cannot let you pass -- until my commander gets here."
	As Kern and Lehman debated what to do, the soldier said, "I'm joking,"
and waved them past.  As they walked away, he said with a laugh, "Your kaffiyahs
are ugly." (Most CPT members tie Arabic scarves to their backpacks to
distinguish themselves from settlers when walking through Palestinian
neighborhoods.) 

         Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of the Church 
of the Brethren, Mennonite congregations of North America.

September 21, 1995

Chechnya Action Request

The war over Chechen independence continues, if at a lower level
since the July 30, 1995 peace accord.  Violations of the accord,
under which the Chechens are to submit their arms and the Russian
army will withdraw the bulk of its troops, continue, including the
slaying of former Chechen fighter Ramzan Eldarov by Russian troops
September 5.  The Russian army has not kept with its pledge to pay
the Chechens for arms handed in due to lack of money.  The fourth
anniversary of Chechnya's declared independence passed joyously on
September 6, with ten thousand demonstrators in Grozny demanding in
dependence and the withdrawal of Russian troops.

Local peace initiatives have germinated.  Memorial (the organization
established by Dr. Andre Sacharov), two organizations of Chechen
women, the Mothers of St. Petersburg, and the Quaker Peace and
Service committee are active.  Please write to your Senators and
Congressperson, President Clinton, Warren Christopher, and/or
whomever else you think can speak effectively against the ongoing
brutality in Chechnya.  Feel free to copy or draw from the letter
below.


Dear ________

I write out of concern over the on-going hostilities in Chechnya and
Ingushetia in the Former Soviet Union.  This region bears the scars
of war, including whole villages razed and many square kilometers of
Grozny bombed to the ground.  Bombing attacks on Chechen villages
continue in the west of the Republic, and reports of human rights
violations abound in spite of the July 30 peace accord.  The Chechen
people have resisted attempts at subjugation from the time of the
Russian Tsars and the culture survived the massive deportations
under Stalin.  A strong family and community identity and a desire
for independence have fueled this struggle.  In September 1991
Chechnya declared independence from Russia.

In the ensuing war that began three years later in December 1994, an
estimated 15,000 Russian soldiers have died and human rights groups
estimate that at least 65,000 Chechens have been killed.  Hundreds
of thousands more are left homeless.  At present, peace talks are
going on and there is an initiative whereby the Chechens are to
submit their arms, and the Russian army will withdraw the bulk of
its troops.  Yet young Chechen men are detained and killed.  Some
arms are being handed in but no Russian troops are being withdrawn. 
Russian military barricades are regular sites of kidnappings to
detention centers.

How long before these low-level hostilities erupt again into full
scale brutality?  How many thousands more Russian soldiers and
Chechen soldiers and civilians will die and suffer?  Good faith
handling of this situation and a commitment to saving life and to
pursuing justice can bring peace to this region.  I urge you to
declare publicly your concern and dismay over the on-going
hostilities in Chechnya and speak to the need for peace and
rebuilding.  Please also pass on your concerns to members of the
Russian government.  You have the voice to turn this struggle toward
peace; please take all possible action.

Sincerely,

Senator ____________             Representative ______________
Senate Office Building           House Office Building
Washington DC 20510              Washington DC 20515

Secretary Warren Christopher
Department of State
52201 C St NW
Washington DC 20520
---------------------
The Rt. Honourable Jean Chretien
Prime MInister of Canada
80 Wellington St., Langevin Block
House of Commons
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6
ph. 613 992-4211
fax 613 941-6900

The Hon. Andre Ouellet
Minister of Foreign Affairs
R. 484, Confederation Building
House of Commons
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6
ph. 613 995-8872
fax 613 995-9926

Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of the Church of the  
Brethren,  Mennonite congregations of North America.

Hebron: New Year - Call to Prayer

Sept. 23, 1995

The Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) are approaching on
Sept. 24 and Oct. 4, respectively.  Historically, the settlers in Hebron have
increased their harassment of the local Palestinian population on Jewish
holidays. Therefore, we are asking for the CPT supporters to keep Hebron in
their prayers during these dates and during the intervening period.  

The team in Hebron will be wishing settlers and soldiers a peaceful New Year
over the next few days.  We will also be reflecting on the religious
significance of Leviticus 23 and Isaiah 1.  Please keep the team in your
thoughts and prayers as we try to become more biblical and Christ-like
peacemakers.

Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of the Church of the  
Brethren,  Mennonite congregations of North America.

Sept. 23, 1995

Settler Assaults Elderly Man in Hebron
by Kathleen Kern

On September 23, 1995, Christian Peacemaker Team members in Hebron witnessed
a young male settler assault a 75 year old Palestinian man on Dubboya Street
in Hebron.

Between 1:30 and 4:45 CPT witnessed numerous other acts of harassment by
settlers, ranging from pre-pubescent girls throwing stones at the houses of
Dubboya Street residents and chanting "Goldstein, Goldstein," to middle aged
men yelling "Kill the Arabs," as they walked from the Beit Hadassah
settlement to the Tel Rumeida settlement.

At approximately 4:45, four male settlers who had earlier called out insults,
returned from Tel Rumeida and began speaking in Arabic to residents of
Dubboya Street standing across the street from the barber shop near the road
that leads up to Tel Rumeida.  Mahmoud Achmed Al-Bayed became incensed at
what they were saying and began to berate them.  One of the group of men, a
short dark-skinned settler wearing goggle-style sunglasses rammed Mr.
Al-Bayid in the torso with his shoulder, knocking him backwards. CPT members
stood between Mr. Al Bayid and the settler who had attacked him.  As Mr.
Al-Bayid came around the CPT members, speaking to the settlers in Arabic,
another one of the four men approached him in a karate-style stance.

The four men then proceeded on to Beit Hadassah, with Mr. Al-Bayid  and his
neighbors following.  When Mr. Al-Bayid reported the settlers' behavior to
the soldiers standing at the Beit Hadassah checkpoint, they told him to call
the police.  They did not attempt to apprehend the settler who had assaulted
him, even though they had seen him enter the Beit Hadassah compound.

Neighbors called the police and Wendy Lehman and Kathleen Kern, who had
witnessed the incident accompanied Mr. Al Bayid to the police station.  They
later found out from the police officer who interviewed all three of them
that the man who had attacked Mr. Al Bayid had been defaming the reputations
of Mr. Al-Bayid's wife and daughters.  He had been so upset by the insults to
his family that he had neglected to tell the officer conducting the interview
about the physical assault.

When CPT member Kathleen Kern asked if she could look at pictures of settlers
kept at the Civil Administration, the officer conducting the interview, said,
"We know who he [the settler who had committed the assault] is."

Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of the Church of the  
Brethren,  Mennonite congregations of North America.

25 September 1995
"Conversations at the Israeli police station in Hebron"
by Wendy Lehman

	HEBRON, WEST BANK -- "I think what you are doing here is beautiful," the
Israeli police officer Yossi told Christian Peacemaker Team member Kathleen
Kern.  She had been explaining to him what had happened earlier in the day.
  	She and I ended up at the police station because we had witnessed an
Israeli settler assault an elderly Palestinian man.
	Several times that day, we reported to the police, a group of four armed
Israeli settlers walked up and down the Palestinian residential street of
Deboyya.  As the settlers passed, they shouted, "Kill the Arabs" or worse.
Eventually, one of the settler men began a tirade of abuses against Mahmoud
Ahmad Al Bayed (75 years old).  After they argued for several minutes, the
settler thrust his shoulder into Mahmoud's side.
	To prevent the situation from getting more physical, Kathleen moved
in front of Mahmoud and I held his arm for a moment or two.  The argument
became more intense.  I began to wonder of the settler would attack again, so
I stood next to him and held my hands out partially in front of him.  I wanted
to be ready to hold the settler back or to jump in between him and the elderly
man if need be.  Kathleen stayed in front of Mahmoud.  Fortunately, the settler
walked off with three others.  The attacker then slipped into Beit Hadassah
settlement.
	Mahmoud asked neighbors to call the police.  After the officers arrived,
they took Mahmoud, Kathleen and I to the Israeli Civil (i.e. military)
Administration where the main police station is located.  The officer took a
complaint from Mahmoud in a back office while we waited in the lobby.
	A young Israeli desk officer, "Moshe," asked us why we were at the
police station.  We told him a little about CPT and what we hoped to do here.
He seemed incredulous that we would choose to come to Hebron.
	"I've only been here two months," he told us, "and I've already seen
five bodies."   He told us he wanted to go back to Eilat, Israel where he grew
up going to the beaches, relaxing, working.
	"I don't want to be like the police here," he said.  When he first
arrived, an Israeli police commander  showed him around the city.  They passed
two Palestinian children playing.  One child threw a stone at the other child.
"See," the commander told Moshe, "they are born animals."  Moshe told us he
didn't want to become hardened like his commander.
	I was then called back to make a statement to the investigating officer
Yossi.  It took about 20 or so minutes to convince Yossi that I had a right,
according to Israeli lawyer contacts and other police officers, to write my
statement in English before I would sign it.  We have made statements to the
police before and have gone through the same process every time.  Eventually,
Yossi took my statement in Hebrew and let me write a copy in English which I
signed.
	When I returned to the lobby, Kathleen went back to Yossi's office.
As we waited for her, Moshe chatted with Mahmoud in Arabic, laughing
periodically.  "I like this guy," Moshe told me in English.  Moshe asked the
elderly man what he thought about me.  Mahmoud said that he thought of
Kathleen and I as daughters.
	At about 7 pm, the Muslim call to prayer rang out in the city as it does
five times every day in  Hebron.  Mahmoud immediately got up from his chair,
faced Mecca, dropped his jacket on the dirty floor of the police station and
began his prayers.  Moshe began reading reports at his desk and I opened a
book.
	Meanwhile, Kathleen was making her statement in the back office. 
Yossi told her, "I suppose you want to write your statement in English like your
friend."  She told him yes and he complied.
	As she made her statement, she explained to Yossi what we were doing,
as a CPT team, in Hebron.  He told her, "I really like people who do beautiful
things like you are doing."
	When he discovered she was leaving the country soon, he asked her if she
would come back.  "It depends on what my [CPT] director says," she told him.
 "He may send me to Chechnya, [Russia]."
	"Don't go to Chechnya, it's dangerous there," Yossi said. "Come back
here."

Sept. 25, 1995
Seizing This Moment for Peace
by Cole Arendt

Washington, DC -- Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) workers moved
into the Warner apartments, a focus of violence in the Columbia
Heights neighborhood for the last several years.  As a result of
discussions with Columbia Heights neighbors active in citizen
patrols and other crime-fighting efforts, several CPTers will live
in apartment B201 for the next few months.

The Urban Peacemaking focusses on the Warner Apartments in response
to many requests from Columbia Heights neighbors.  The forty-four
unit complex in the 2600 block of 13th Street N.W. is a center of
drug activity, and prostitution.  Police statistics from 1992
through 1994 show that over half of the police runs in the block
around the building were to this single address.  This year alone
there have been over 125 calls to the building, an increase over
previous years.

Residents of Columbia Heights recently started several "Orange Hat"
citizen safety patrols comprising 50 persons per week.  While
neighbors observed less prostitution along 13th Street, many also
rea lize that much of the drug activity and violence near The Warner
continues at times when the patrols are not available or visible. 
Patrol leader Bill Golden stated, "while the Orange Hats are very n
ecessary because we 'walk the walk', we are working people and have
to meet our daily schedules.  The  CPT Team has joined with us and
can ... offer their presence and faith towards cutting through the
cycle of violence."

On Sunday, September 17, the CPTers opened their new one-bedroom
flat to 120 neighbors for food and conversation.  In the crowd were
long-time residents of the building, Catholic Worker neighbors,
community activists and the fresh faces of inquisitive children.

The local CPT team has recently expanded to 4 1/4 members with the
addition of David Siff (South Euclid, OH), Wes Hare (Richmond, VA),
and Matt Sears (Tiskilwa, IL) beside Cole Arendt (Washington, DC )
and quarter-time community liaison Tammy Krause (Washington, DC). 
Rey Lopez (Chicago, IL) joined the team recently for 3 weeks.

CPT is a project of Mennonite and Church of the Brethren
congregations in North America.  Persons wishing to contribute time
or money to the Project in Urban Peacemaking effort are invited to
call the CPT team at (202)234-4260 or write them at Apt. B201, 2620
13th St. N.W., Washington, DC, 20009.  Christian Peacemaker Teams,
P.O. Box 6508, Chicago, IL, 60680; Tel./FAX (312)455-1199; e-mail
[email protected]. 

September 20, 1995						
Contact: Janice Kulp Long Tel. 540-953-3111
TURN OFF THE VIOLENCE

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) has established an electronic 
discussion group called CPTGAMEnet to address the issue of video
game violence.  A new venture in CPT's ongoing campaign against
violent  toys, CPTGAMEnet is an open forum for parents, educators,
and game players of all ages. 

CPTGAMEnet discussion will focus on responsible computer and
electronic games, creative alternatives to violent video games, 
ways to evaluate specific games with regard to violent content, and
ideas for public witness against video violence.  "CPT's hope for
this discussion forum," according  to Janice Kulp Long of the CPT
staff, "is to help individuals and families critically examine the
conne ctions between faith and fun.  CPTGAMEnet will encourage them
to 'turn off the violence' in  their own homes, and to speak out
against video violence in their local communities."

For more information send an e-mail message to [email protected] with
the words, info CPTGAMEnet, in the message body.  Do not include a
signature.   Or contact Janice Kulp Long, 950 Heather Drive,
Blacksburg VA 24060; e-mail: [email protected].  

Christian Peacemaker Teams is a project of North American Mennonite 
and Church of the Brethren congregations, with offices in Chicago IL
and Blacksburg VA.    
 

25 September 1995
"Contrasting IDF treatment of Palestinian children and Israeli settler
children" 
by Wendy Lehman

	HEBRON, WEST BANK --  More than once, our Palestinian friends here
have told us that under the Israeli occupation, one law applies to Israeli
settlers and a different law applies to Palestinians.  On September 23, I
saw this "two-law" system play out with children who were throwing stones.
When the Palestinian children threw stones, dozens of soldiers from the IDF
(Israel Defense Force) responded by shooting rubber bullets and smoke bombs
at them.  But when the settler children threw stones, Israeli soldiers tried
to stop them by ineffectually asking them to leave.

	RUBBER BULLETS AND SMOKE BOMBS . . .
	At about 2:30 pm, I learned that Palestinian children were clashing with
Israeli soldiers in Babazawiah district.  I headed down there.  By the time I
arrived, the IDF had dispersed or arrested most of the Palestinian
stone-throwers -- some of whom were as young as five.   Several military
jeeps were still racing up to the area, their blue lights flashing, while
dozens of journalists from all over the world were running around trying to
get the best photograph.
	A friend told me that a few minutes earlier, a Palestinian boy was
arrested for throwing stones.  His parents argued with the IDF and an Israeli
soldier shot the father with rubber bullets, hitting him in the leg.  The
soldiers also fired rubber bullets and smoke bombs at the onlookers, most of
whom were not involved in the stone-throwing.  Two teenage Palestinian boys were
injured by the bullets and taken to the hospital.

	A GENTLE PUSH . . .
	About an hour later, after the situation had calmed down, I went to
nearby Deboyya Street -- a Palestinian neighborhood which lies between the
Israeli settlements of Tel Rumeida and Beit Hadassah.  Here I met CPT co-worker
Kathleen Kern.  As I walked up to her, she immediately told me, "Get your
[camera] zoom out" and pointed to one soldier in the midst of about a dozen
Israeli settler children.   Some of the boys were carrying wooden sticks an
inch thick.  They were all standing about five feet from the Israeli military
checkpoint outside Beit Hadassah.  Kathleen told me the settler children had
been throwing stones at Palestinians sitting on an upstairs balcony for more
than 20 minutes.  Several of them had shouted, "Goldstein is my father!"
(Israeli settler Baruch Goldstein massacred 29 Palestinians a year and a
half ago before being killed himself).  
	According to Kathleen, the soldier tried asking them nicely to leave,
but they began shouting at him.  He then told them more forcefully, "You don't
live in this neighborhood.  Why don't you go home?"  They refused.
	 I got my zoom lens ready as the settler boys and girls continued their
harassment and stone-throwing.   Several adult settlers stood by and did
nothing to stop the children.  I began taking photos and the children
responded by directing their attacks at me. One settler girl spat in my
direction while several others made faces or mocking body postures toward me.
 Three girls, at different times, stepped several feet closer and threw a
stone directly at me.
	A settler boy, aged about four, came up to me, held a stone high over
his head and looked as if he was about to throw it.  As I pulled up my camera he
tucked his stone behind his back and stared at me defiantly.  I said,
"Shabbat Shalom" ("peaceful sabbath", a common greeting) to him.  He paused
for a moment, almost smiling back at me.  Then he abruptly turned and walked
away.  The children continued with their jeering.
	Eventually, more soldiers came to help the frustrated and embarrassed
soldier.  They were nearly as ineffectual as he had been.  While the soldiers
tried to shoo the children, an Israeli police van drove up.  I knew the
officer on the passenger side from previous contact and he recognized me.  
	As the settler boys and girls surrounded me, all talking at once to the
officer in Hebrew, he and I joked around in English.  Eventually, he asked me
what I was doing there.  I told him the children had been throwing stones.
 He smiled and said sarcastically, "What?  These children threw stones?
 These beautiful children?" and shrugged.
	Although, of course, I didn't want the soldiers to attack the settler
children either, the different treatment of settler and Palestinian children
did make me curious.  "You know," I told the officer with a smile, "that's
interesting, because just down the road I saw other beautiful children
throwing stones.  Only the soldiers shot rubber bullets and smoke bombs at
them."

Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of the Church of the  
Brethren,  Mennonite congregations of North America.

27 September 1995
"IDF drags arrested Palestinian boy along ground"
by Wendy Lehman

HEBRON, WEST BANK -- A Palestinian boy was arrested yesterday for throwing
stones at the IDF (Israel Defense Force).  After he escaped, with the help of
onlookers, and was re-captured, Israeli soldiers pulled the boy by his arms
so that his body dragged on the ground.

For the past two weeks, sporatic clashes have errupted between Palestinian
youth and the IDF in Hebron.  Yesterday afternoon, after about 20 calm
minutes, several Israeli soldiers approached a taxi.  They pulled out one of
the passengers -- a Palestinian boy aged approximately ten years old.

Several soldiers walked with the boy, one gripping the back of his neck, to a
nearby military jeep.  A Palestinian man, aged about 55, ran over to the
soldiers and grabbed the child.  The soldiers and the man pulled back and
forth while the boy screamed.  The child began yelling, "What's happening?"
The adult, with the help of other onlookers, managed to take the boy away
from the soldiers.

The soldiers went after the boy and re-captured him.  One soldier held each
of his wrists and the two of them dragged him along the ground while he
struggled.  After several minutes, some Palestinians were able to pull him to
his feet.  The soldiers then took the boy down an alley to a nearby military
checkpoint and an awaiting jeep.

Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of the Church of the  
Brethren,  Mennonite congregations of North America.

Sept. 28,  1995
Open Letter to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin

To:  The Honorable Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
Re:  Increased Violence in Hebron

At dusk on 22 September 1995, Palestinian Medicha Abu Heikal, age 55 and
grandmother of three, was walking near her home in the Tel Rumeida area when
she was stoned by Israeli settlers.   The group of teen-aged settlers were
armed and wielded sticks and belts.  They threw stones at Medicha.  One
baseball-size stone hit  Medicha in the forehead, above her right eye.  The
soldiers who witnessed the incident did nothing in response. 

At 8 pm Hani Abu Heikal, Medicha's 26 year old son,  found out about the
incident.  He phoned the Israeli police who informed Hani that there were no
officers available, and no police would be sent to investigate.  Mr. Jamiil
Abu Heikal, Medicha's husband, left the house to speak with the Israeli
military officer and the soldiers who were standing at the checkpoint at the
time of the assault.  The army officer told  Mr. Abu Heikal to go back to his
home and keep quiet.  Shortly afterwards, three settlers stood at the gate of
the Abu Heikal home and threatened the family.  The settlers were identified
as David Shilansky, Sarah Marzel, and Baruch Marzel.  They shouted threats:
 "We will kill you.  We will come and do as Baruch Goldstein."

Hani Abu Heikal decided he had had enough.  When the settlers left the gate
of his home, Hani and his sister Hanna went out of the house to speak with
the soldiers who witnessed the incident.  Holding a metal pipe in his hand,
Hani told the soldiers that if the Israeli police did not come to respond to
the assault of his mother and the harassment of his family by the settlers,
he would take the law into his own hands.  The soldiers ordered Hani and
Hanna back to their home, and they complied.  The soldiers called the police
who arrived promptly at 8.30 pm and arrested Hani and Hanna Abu Heikal.
 Later in the evening, Medicha Abu Heikal was taken by soldiers to the police
station to file a complaint against the settlers who assaulted her.  After a
four hour detention, Hani and Hanna Abu Heikal were released on NIS 500 (165
US dollars) bond per person. The stone to Medicha's head did not break the
skin but resulted in an egg-shaped  bump, raised about 1/2 inch from the
surface of the skin.  The morning after the assault, she was taken to the
hospital for treatment of internal bleeding of the injury. 

Since our arrival in Hebron in June 1995, the Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT)
has witnessed numerous forms of violence used by armed Israeli settlers
against the Palestinian residents of Hebron, including stoning, verbal
insults, and physical attack.  Who holds the settlers accountable for violent
acts directed toward Palestinians?  We have observed that Israeli soldiers
who witness settler violence toward Palestinians do nothing in response, as
was the case for Medicha  Abu Heikal on 22 September 1995.  We understand
that it is the responsibility of the police to protect Palestinians from
settler attack, and to respond promptly and effectively when harassment and
assault occur.  We have observed that the police are caught between the
manipulation of the armed settlers, and the mandate of the law.
Furthermore, there are apparently not enough police to respond quickly when
settler assaults on Palestinians occur.

During this interim period in which the settlers are allowed to remain in
Hebron, the Christian Peacemaker Team calls for:  1) immediate disarmament of
the settlers in the city center of Hebron, in Qiryat Arba settlement, and in
settlements surrounding the city;  2) preventive  measures to be taken by
Israeli police to protect Palestinians from settler attack; and 3) prompt and
effective response by Israeli police to emergency calls for help and formal
complaints filed against settlers who harass and harm Palestinian residents
of Hebron. 

We ask that you do all in your power to halt the violence in the city of
Hebron.
Respectfully, 

Christian Peacemaker Team, Hebron
Kathy Kern				Wendy Lehman
Carmen Pauls				Hedy Sawadsky
Phone: 050 397 506			Mailing Address:  PO Box 326 Hebron
                                                          West Bank 

30 September 1995

"Israeli settlers assault Christian Peacemaker Team members"
by Wendy Lehman

	HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Israeli settlers assaulted Christian Peacemaker
Team members Kathleen Kern (33) and Wendy Lehman (24) today at approximately
2:30 pm.  After hitting and kicking the CPTers, one settler stole Kern's camera.
	Settlers attacked Palestinians throughout the city today in an upsurge
of violence.  Settlers broke the windows in approximately 13 cars and attacked
an estimated five Palestinian homes.  Kern and Lehman were on Deboyya Street,
near the Israeli settlements of Tel Rumeida and Beit Hadassah, like CPTers
are every Saturday in an effort to deter violence.
	At approximately 2 pm, Lehman went down the road toward the Israeli
military checkpoint outside Beit Hadassah.  Settlers were throwing bottles at
Palestinian shopkeepers there.  After the IDF (Israel Defense Force) ordered
them to leave, the settlers marched past Lehman in the direction of Kern, who
had stayed up the road.
	About 20 settler men from the group suddenly ran at Kern, yelling what
she described as a "battle cry."  One pulled the kaffiyeh (an Arabic scarf)
which was tied to her backpack and she fell to the ground.  Several other
settlers spit at her as she lay on her back.
	When she got up, she began to take photos of them.  They yelled at
her to stop.  One settler grabbed her camera and they struggled over it.  Lehman
arrived at the scene then and took one photo before attempting to assist
Kern.  The settler punched Kern in the left ear and she fell down.  Lehman
joined in the struggle for the camera and was also pulled to the ground.  
	Both CPTers were pulled along the road by the settler as they held onto
the camera strap.  Lehman was kicked from behind by settlers -- once in the
lower back and once at the base of the skull.  The main attacking settler began
pounding the camera on the ground -- as Lehman reached for it, he stomped on
her hand with his foot.
	Kern screamed for help.  No one came.  No one was at the Israeli
military checkpoint outside Beit Hadassah, which was within view about 20
meters away.  Normally, this checkpoint is attended by at least two Israeli
soldiers.  Eventually, the settler wrestled Kern's camera from them and ran
in the direction of Beit Hadassah settlement.
	After the settler fled, Kern and Lehman noticed a soldier had arrived
at the checkpoint and reported the incident to him.  The soldier called his
officer over to the group.  While Kern and Lehman were talking to him, a settler
youth approached the CPTers and asked them what happened.
	"You were there," Kern said through tears, "You know what happened."
	He shook his head and Lehman told him, "About 20 settlers just assaulted
us."
	"Ah," he said, "very good."  He laughed and walked away.
	Lehman went to call the Israeli police.  She reported what happened
and the officer on the phone told her, "Well, come up tomorrow to make a
complaint."
	"No," she said, "I think you better come now."
	Just then, a police jeep arrived, apparently called by locals.  Lehman
hung up the phone.
	Lehman and Kern were taken in the same police jeep with one of the
attackers to make a complaint at the Hebron police station.  The main attacker
was not, at this time, apprehended because he was no longer at the scene.
	After arriving at the police station, one police officer told the
CPTers how much he hated dealing with the settlers.  "See," he pointed to his
pant legs, "I just got egged by them."
	"Do you want the settlers to leave Hebron?" Lehman asked.
	"Yes," he said, "along with us [the police]."
	Later, an American living in Hebron reported to CPTers Carmen Pauls
and Hedy Sawadsky, "I'm so sorry I didn't warn you.  A friend of mine at
Kiryat Arba [settlement] told me the settlers would attack you today but I
didn't take it seriously."
              Kern and Lehman were later medically treated for minor
injuries.

Kryss Chupp

Oct. 2, 1995

CHECHNYA: Military Attack Feared

The town of Sernovodsk on the Chechen/Ingush border has, according
to inhabitants, been surrounded by Russian troops and military
equipment.  Russian troops have established military checkpoints and
a ring of trenches outside the town.  On Saturday (30 September) it
was announced on Russian "Independent Television News" that
Sernovodsk had been cut off and that an attack on the town was expected
soon.

According to Nick Sturdee of ARD televsion news, who passed through
the town on Sunday, the situation there is tense.  Armed Chechens in
Sernovodsk announced that they would resist an attack by the Russians
and fight back.

A large crowd of mostly women and children from the town gathered at
one of the checkpoints to protest the threatened military offensive
and to call for the withdrawal of the Russian troops.

Sernovodsk is the only town in western Chechnya that has not faced
destruction since the war began nearly 10 months ago.  Most of
Sernovodsk's 20,000 inhabitants have remained there, though some
fled on Monday and Tuesday when an ultimatum for the handing in of
weapons was announced by the Russian Forces.  Many refugees have
also crowded into the town since the bombing of other nearby towns
and villages, including Samashki where civilians were massacred in
April.

If a military offensive were launched on Sernovodsk, the
consequences would be catastrophic.  Houses are packed with
refugees.  The resistance of Chechen fighters and the resulting
fighting would mean huge civilian losses.

Please contact General Lieutenant Romanov, commander of internal
troops of Russia in Chechnya (FAX 239-08-60 / 239-09-95) and Oleg
Ivanovich Lobov (FAX 206-07-17) to register your concern about
continued Russian military action in Chechnya. Information supplied by
Chris Hunter, Quaker Peace & Service, Moscow.


Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of   Brethren,  Mennonite
congregations of North America.  Contact CPT  P. O. Box 6508
Chicago, IL 60680 tel. FAX 312-455-1199 e-mail [email protected]. 

Oct. 6, 1995

U.S. Congress Meddles in Haitian Affairs

The U.S. Congress is currently deliberating cutting off U.S. aid to
Haiti if the Haitian government fails to meet certain conditions.  A
subcommittee is reconciling House and Senate versions of a bill that
makes aid conditional on:

1) Presidential elections by March 1996 (House version).  Haitian
voices have called for President Aristide's term to be extended past
that time to compensate his three-year exile during the 1991-1994
military rule.

2) Investigations of the murders of 20 right-wing activists
assassinated since President Aristide's return (Senate version).

Many Haitians and International people see hypocrisy in Congress'
apparent concern for human rights.  According to Haitian Justice
Minister Jean-Joseph Exume, the U.S. played a major role in the Sept-
ember 4 release of Marcel Morissaint, a suspect in the 1993
assassination of Exume's predesessor Guy Malary, the Haitian Justice
Minister appointed by Aristide in his first year of rule prior to
the military take over.  Morissaint admitted to international
investigators commissioned by President Aristide that he received
secret payments from the U.S. at the time of Malary's assassination.
His ongoing testimony was expected to lead to the authors of the
most egregious assassinations during the coup.

CPT workers in Haiti report anxiety among Haitins in the face of
economic insecurity, a condition that is exacerbated by the
uncertainty of international economic assistance.  Long term
planning is put off.  Armed former supporters of the Haitian
military seize property and cattle in order to gain a tiny bit of
temporary security.  Haiti needs help now.  Without it the rights of
people including the ministries of churches will suffer. 

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations.

UPDATE Oct. 10, 1995

RUSSIA: Lt. General Romanov gravely injured:

Background:  On Oct. 8, 1995 we sent out a bulletin regarding a
planned attack on the town of Sernovodsk on the Chechen/Ingush
border.  We requested that you send faxes to General Romanov 
requesting that troops be pulled back.  The following dispatch 
identifies General Romanov as one of the victims in an attack in 
Grozny.

RUSSIAN TROOPS COMMANDER IN CHECHNYA INJURED IN ASSASSINATION
ATTEMPT. The commander of the Russian troop contingent in Chechnya,
Lt. Gen. Anatolii Romanov, was gravely injured and three other men
killed in a 6 October explosion in a tunnel in Grozny through which
Romanov's car was driving, Russian agencies reported. Oleg Lobov, the
Russian presidential representative in Chechnya who escaped uninjured
in a similar explosion on 19 September, accused unspecified forces
who oppose the ongoing peace process of perpetrating the attack.  A
spokesman for Chechen President Dzhokhar Dudaev denied responsibility
for the attack which he blamed on forces loyal to Grozny Mayor
Beslan Gantemirov, according to Interfax. The chairman of the
pro-Moscow Chechen government, Salambek Khadzhiev, expressed
reservations over the proposed introduction of a state of emergency
throughout Chechnya.

CPT deplores the loss of life on all side in Chechnya and urges 
concerned persons to continue to send faxes urging reliance on 
negotiations and nonviolence struggle rather than armed struggle.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
11 October 1995
"Israeli police slow to respond to Palestinians' complaint"
by Wendy Lehman

	HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Israeli settler youth from Tel Rumeida settlement
attacked two Palestinian children today at 12 pm.  At 3 pm, two Palestinian
women were delayed by the IDF (Israel Defense Force) from returning to their
home near the settlement; while they waited, settler youth stoned them.
	Approximately seven or eight Israeli settler children, aged seven to 12,
attacked Palestinians Wusam Abu Haikel (five years old) and Fadi Idajani
(four years old) as they returned to their home near Tel Rumeida.  One
settler slapped Wusam on the face and several settler youth threw stones at
both Palestinian children, hitting them.  The assault occurred next to an
Israeli military checkpoint, but the soldiers did nothing to stop the attack,
said witnesses.  The Abu Haikel family phoned the Israeli police, but there
was no answer.
	Three hours later, Wusam's mother Hannah (37 years old) and aunt Lena
(28 years old) attempted to return home but were prevented by the Israeli
soldiers at the checkpoint.  More than ten settler children threw stones at
the women, they said, but the soldiers did not stop the assault.  Hannah was
hit in the right ankle by a stone.
	When Christian Peacemaker Team members arrived at 4:25 pm, Hannah's
ankle was already swollen.  CPTers phoned the Israeli police and reported the
incident.  An Israeli police officer told CPTer Wendy Lehman, "What do you
want me to do about it?"
	"You're the police, aren't you supposed to handle these problems?"
Lehman asked.
	The officer gave her another number to call, which was busy.
	At about 4:30 pm, an Israeli border police jeep arrived.  A police
officer stepped out of the vehicle and asked the soldiers why the Palestinians
were not allowed to pass.  A soldier reported that these were their orders.  The
officer told the soldier to remove the barbed wire blocking the women and to
let them return home.  The soldier complied.
	Two weeks earlier, CPTers issued an urgent action alert calling for an
immediate response by the Israeli police to settler violence against the
Palestinian residents of the Tel Rumeida area.  The action alert came after
the police failed to respond to a complaint, similar to today's, made by the
Abu Haikel family.

              Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations participating in public response
to organized violence.

11 October 1995
"Residents of Hebron respond to Oslo 2 peace agreements"
by Wendy Lehman

	HEBRON, WEST BANK -- On September 28, world leaders met in Washington,
D.C. for the signing of the Oslo 2 peace accords between Israel and the PLO
(Palestinian Liberation Organization).  During this interim period the
Israeli settlers will be permitted to stay within the city under IDF (Israel
Defense Force) protection.  Neither Palestinians nor settlers living in
Hebron seem content with the agreements.
	Most, if not all, Palestinians call for the evacuation of the Hebron
settlers who are known even by other West Bank settlers as radical.  Most are
armed with an Uzi and/or a sidearm and some have used or threatened to use
their weapons against Palestinians. Because of the settler presence,
following Oslo 2 approximately 40 percent of the old city -- 5-6 percent of
the entire city -- will remain under direct Israeli control after the
six-month withdrawal period.  According to the Palestinian National Authority
Ministry of Information, "The Israeli government embarked on finding a
solution, whereby all the [Palestinian] inhabitants of Hebron, estimated at
140,000 persons, will be governed by a handful of Jewish settlers, totaling
400 persons."
	The only significant difference made by the signing of Oslo 2, said
Palestinian journalist Naji Dana, is that now "they are giving legitimacy for
the [Israeli] occupation, for dividing the city."  
	Palestinians believe the continuing harassment and physical attacks of
settlers will get worse as the settlers feel more secure in their position
here.  After returning from the peace talks in Taba, Egypt, Israeli minister
Yossi Beilin told Ma'ariv newspaper, "The situation of the settlements has
never been better since the Oslo Accord was created."  
	On September 30, two days after the signing, Hebron faced an upsurge in
settler violence.  Settlers damaged approximately 13 Palestinian cars and
five homes.  Palestinian residents reported assaults against them.  Christian
Peacemaker Team members Kathleen Kern and I were also attacked by a group of
about 20 settler men.  They first attacked Kern, throwing her to the ground.
After Kern took a photo of her attackers, one of them punched her in the
left ear and jaw.  When I came to help Kern, settlers pulled me to the ground
and kicked me in the base of the skull and lower back.   The settlers stole
Kern's camera before fleeing the scene.
	This type of mistreatment is common for Palestinians, although it
doesn't get as much media attention.  As Hillel Barak, an Israeli Jewish
peaceworker from Jerusalem, said, "It [the settler presence in Hebron] is
like members of the Klu Klux Klan coming to live in a Jewish neighborhood.
It doesn't exactly create a peaceful atmosphere."  
	The settlers, for their part, have promised resistance if the
Palestinian police are permitted, as stated in Oslo 2, to come to Hebron.  On
August 11, settler spokesperson Noam Arnon said that if the Palestinian police
come to Hebron, "we [the settlers] are not going to accept it, we will not
cooperate in any way."  
	Many settlers have reported that Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
does not speak for them as he deals with a "terrorist organization" like the
PLO.  On September 23, Israeli settler Azrael Moshe Ben Israel said, "We are at
war.  We are at war with these people [Palestinians]."
	Palestinian contacts for CPT have reported that they would welcome
Jews to Hebron, but the current settlers must leave.  In light of recent settler
threats and acts of violence, it seems apparent that the settlers should, at
the very least, be disarmed.  As Palestinian resident of the Tel Rumeida
settlement area Fariel Abu Haikel said, "Once there was much friendship
between Jews and Muslims here.  It is again possible if they [Israelis] live
without weapons."

Wendy Lehman (24) joined Christian Peacemaker Teams in January, committing to
a three-year term.  She was in Bethlehem, under CPT, in February and March
and has been with the Hebron team since it began in June.  The four-person
team is stationed in Hebron to serve as a violence-deterring presence.

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations participating in public response to organized 
violence.

Oct. 13, 1995
Haiti: Privatization, Friend or Foe of Democracy?
by Joel Klassen

Port-au-Prince, Haiti - Last night in the market, a woman commented
disapprovingly that I was speaking her language.  I said, "Can't I speak
your language in your country?"  "It's your country," she replied indignantly.
She raised her arm, pinching the skin, and shouted, "It's your color that
runs the country!"

Despite Aristide's tremendous popularity, demonstrations with
economic themes have increased steadily as Haitians protest policies
taken in response to pressure from the international community and
the U.S.  Discontent with the Haitian Government's economic policy
is flourishing after the first year of President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide's return from exile.  

It is well known among Haitians that President Aristide was forced to
make major concessions before the U.S. would agree to return him to
power. Two months before his return the Haitian government, 
foreign governments, and international financial institutions signed a
document popularly called the Paris Plan.  In return for 1.2 billion
dollars in aid, Haiti promised tariff reductions, tax reform,
and privatization of state enterprises.

Nine state-owned companies are currently slated for sale, including
the electric and telephone companies.  Critics of privatization say
that an honest government could run the companies more efficiently
than the military dictatorship did and assure that services are
affordable for all.  Aristide's government has shown itself capable
of running the enterprises: a June 1994 report written by the
Haitian government-in-exile showed that in May 1991, after only four
months in office, the Aristide government had started to turn profits
on three state-owned companies after taking them on at a deficit.
Continuing profits from state-owned enterprises could be used to
support crucial social projects.

Privatized companies would likely fall into the hands of either the
few rich families that have traditionally controlled Haiti or
foreign interests.  Either way, inequitable distribution of wealth,
a root cause of social conflict in Haiti, would intensify.  Popular
anti-privatization movements in the 1980's helped build President
Aristide's support.  Now the President, constrained to reverse his
earlier stand, avoids speaking clearly on the issue.

In a leaked document, the UN occupation force's chief intelligence
officer U.S. Major John Shissler said of the dissatisfaction,
"Haitians may perceive unwanted and excessive international influence
addressing [economic policy]."  Haiti's desperation after three years
of military rule and embargo is forcing Haiti to accept upopular policies
imposed from the outside that will benefit the elites and foreign investment.

________________ 

Joel Klassen is a resident of Kitchener and a graduate of the Peace
and Conflict Studies program at Conrad Grebel College, University of
Waterloo.  He has spent much of the last two years in Haiti as a
member of Christian Peacemaker Teams.   Christian Peacemaker Teams
(CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and Brethren congregations 
who organize public responses to organized violence.

15 October 1995 
"Conversations on Deboyya Street"
by Wendy Lehman

	HEBRON, WEST BANK -- In the middle of July, Palestinian residents of
Deboyya Street, located between the Israeli settlements of Beit Hadassah and Tel
Rumeida, reported incidents of harassment and violence committed against them
by Israeli settlers, particularly on Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath).  Since
that time, Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) members have maintained a
violence-deterring presence on this street every Saturday from 1 pm until
sunset.  They have observed and written about the situation on Deboyya Street
and intervened in situations of conflict.
	Nearly every week, CPTers have heard settlers shout, "Death to the
Arabs" and other curses.  Before sunset, a group of 50 to 100 settlers usually
march from Beit Hadassah to Tel Rumeida and back again.  Most of these settlers
are armed with an Uzi or at least a sidearm.  Tensions escalated on September 30
when a group of settlers broke windows of Palestinian cars on the street and
assaulted two CPTers and a Palestinian journalist.
	On the two Saturdays (including today) since these attacks, the
situation has been remarkably calm.  The "settler parades" have not occurred
and the harassment has lessened.  This "cooling off" may be partly due to the
negative media coverage following the September 30 attack as well as an
increase in Israeli military and police presence during the Jewish holidays
(Sukkot).  Approximately every 20-30 minutes today, police jeeps drove up and
down Deboyya Street -- a remarkable increase from earlier Saturdays.
	The only incident CPTers witnessed today occurred at 2:20 pm.  Four
Israeli settler girls, aged approximately eight to twelve years old, came from
Tel Rumeida toward Beit Hadassah, accompanied by four Israeli soldiers.  As they
neared Palestinian journalist Cawther Salaam, who was walking up the street
the other direction, they surrounded and began jeering at her.  One settler
girl took off her sandle and threw it at Salaam, hitting her.  Salaam picked
up the sandle.  Another settler girl punched Salaam in the left arm.  The
girls began calling her "dog" in Arabic.
	The soldiers tried to control the girls, pulling aside the girl who hit
Salaam.  Once they shooed the girls away, one soldier approached Salaam and
grabbed the sandle from her.  He gave it back to the girl.  The settler girls
then went down to Beit Hadassah.
	When Salaam began to make a complaint to the Israeli police, the
soldier who took the sandle from her said, "They're just kids."  
	On October 11, the same girl who threw the sandle at Salaam attacked
Palestinian residents of the Tel Rumeida area, throwing stones.  Palestinian
Hannah Abu Haikel was struck in the right ankle by a stone and was later told
by a doctor to take a couple days off work due to the injury.  The girl was
identified by Hannah's brother Hani as Baruch Marzel's daughter.  Marzel, a
Tel Rumeida settlement resident, is a leader in the outlawed Jewish Kach
movement, indentified by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist
organization.
	Soon after the attack on Salaam today, Deboyya Street resident Khalid Al
Khateeb approached an adult settler male who was walking down the street.  He
tried to explain to the settler that if Palestinian youth had acted toward
him like the settler girls had toward Salaam, he would talk to their parents.
The settler continued on toward Beit Hadassah.  Because of the enormous
tension between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in Hebron, this kind of
dialogue between parents is difficult if not impossible.
	CPTer Carmen Pauls later spoke with Deboyya Street residents about how
Palestinian children are treated when they act like the settler children did
today (i.e. throwing stones).  Al Khateeb put his hands together to symbolize
handcuffs.  In September, Palestinian children participated in clashes with
the IDF (Israel Defense Force) -- they threw stones at the soldiers.  On
September 23, the soldiers responded by firing rubber bullets and smoke bombs
at the children and arrested several, often using painful plastic handcuffs.
Two children were injured by the rubber bullets.  Today, the settler
children faced a reprimand.

              Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among 
Mennonite and Brethren congregations participating in public response 
to organized violence.

15 October 1995
"Palestinians stone Israeli settler vehicle"
by Wendy Lehman

	HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Hebron city is divided, keeping the 250-400 Israeli
settlers separate from the 120,000 Palestinian residents.  On October 13, a
settler van took a wrong turn in Hebron and ended up in a Palestinian
district called Babazawiah.  Palestinians threw stones at the van for several
minutes before being chased away by Israeli soldiers.
	Soon after the settler van drove into the district, Palestinian youth
began stoning the vehicle.  The settlers were able to continue driving until
they reached an area near an Israeli military checkpoint.  Because of the daily
traffic jams, the settlers were unable to continue.  Hebron, like the rest of
the occupied West Bank, has no traffic lights or traffic police because they
are not permitted by Israeli authorities.  The reason given for this is that
if a settler vehicle is stopped at a traffic light, Palestinians may attack
the settlers.
	While caught in the traffic jam, the van was stoned for several minutes
until Israeli soldiers from the checkpoint ran down toward the vehicle and
chased the stone-throwing youth away.  Several of the windows in the van had
been broken and the body of the vehicle was damaged.
	In the weeks before and after the September 28 signing of the Oslo 2
peace accords between Israel and the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization),
tensions between settlers and Palestinians in Hebron have escalated.
According to the agreements, the Israeli settlers will be permitted to stay
within the city center during this interim period.  The settlers, who are
armed with Uzis and sidearms, are viewed  by other West Bank settlers as
extreme.  Because of harassments and physical attacks Palestinian residents
of Hebron have faced from settlers, many Palestinians believe the settlers
should be evacuated from the center of the city.  Most settlers feel that
Hebron should be a Jewish city and remain under direct Israeli control.  Some
have threatened non-cooperation with the Palestinian police, who will be
coming to Hebron as agreed upon in the Oslo 2 accords.

	Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among 
Mennonite and Brethren congregations participating in public response 
to organized violence.

Oct. 17, 1995
CHECHNYA: TENSIONS BUILD

Bombing and rocketing of Chechen villages continues even as peace
talks resume in the Chechen capital of Grozny.  Tensions have
particularly escalated in the area of Sernovodsk in western Chechnya
since Russian forces began surrounding the town in early October. 
"Residents are fearful and angry because of the 'siege' and the
beatings of civilians", reports Steve Shirk, Mennonite Central
Committee Peace & Justice representative in Moscow.  Two neighboring
towns were recently bombed leaving up to 30 people dead.

World Vision has suspended shipments of medical supplies and
equipment to the Grozny hospital because humanitarian aid trucks can
no longer move through Sernovodsk, the typical route to Grozny. 
"The situation in Sernovodsk is tense", says project manager Jukka
Peltoniemi.  "It is hard to access the area with medical supplies or
personnel, because the town remains totally blocked off by Russian
troops."

On October 8, eight fighter planes bombed the village of Roshni Chu
in southern Chechnya killing 28 and wounding 40, though Russian
military officials denied involvement in the attacks.  Meanwhile,
Russian General Romonaov remains in a deep coma following an
assassination attempt.  The recent attempt on the life of Russian
envoy Oleg Lobov and the kidnapping of another Russian have fueled
fears of Russian countermoves and revived memories of the massacre
in Samashki last April.

Although talks have resumed in Grozny between Russian Federal
representatives and the breakaway government of Dudayev, disgruntled
and unmotivated Russian soldiers now roam about Chechnya with little
central control.  "There is no specific moment that signals the
final collapse of the peace process, but it keeps getting more and
more difficult", says Shirk.  "I believe there will be a need for
efforts like CPT".  Shirk served as translator for a Christian
Peacemaker Teams September delegation to Chechnya which visited the
town of Sernovodsk as well as Grozny and other areas.

Your letters and prayers calling for continued negotiations and
urging an end to the armed conflict in Chechnya may be sent to:

Boris Yeltsin
President of the Russian Federation 
The Kremlin
Moscow, Russia

Sergei Yushenkov
Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defence
The State Duma
Ulitsa Okhotni Riad 2
Moscow, Russia
Fax: 2929577

General Shkirko and Special Representative Lobov
Ministry of Internal Affairs
Ulitsa Zhitnaya 16
Moscow, Russia

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is a project of Mennonite and
Brethren congregations to promote nonviolent initiatives against
violence.  Following a recent visit to Chechnya, CPT is developing
suggestions for ways in which churches may support a peaceful
resolution to the conflict there.  A CPT team of two persons
recently visited Chechnya.

17 October 1995
"Christian Peacemaker Team members accompany school girl"
by Wendy Lehman

	HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Wisam Abu Haikel is five years old.  She lives
with her family near the Israeli settlement of Tel Rumeida, which houses some
of the more notoriously radical settlers.  The only time her mother lets her
risk leaving the house is to go to school.  Even then, settlers have harassed,
stoned and hit Wisam.  Israeli soldiers at a nearby checkpoint have witnessed
the attacks and have done almost nothing to stop the settlers.
	The area is guarded by several Israeli military checkpoints.  In order
to travel to and from their homes, Palestinians must pass through these
checkpoints and past Tel Rumeida.  Often, Palestinians are harassed and
delayed as they attempt to go through the checkpoints to go home.  Sometimes,
the settlers block their vehicles or commit acts of violence against them.
 Settlers have stoned, egged and firebombed Palestinian cars and have
attacked people.
	On October 15 as Wisam traveled home from school with neighbors Fadi
Idajani (aged four) and Nor Sunuqarut (aged three), settler children standing
near the checkpoint called them dogs.  One settler girl (aged about nine or ten)
punched Wisam in the right arm.
	The Israeli soldiers who stood nearby did nothing until Wisam's
grandfather Jamil and Nor's mother Muna, who waited for Wisam past the check-
point, shouted, "Don't hit Wisam!"  A soldier then pulled the settler girl away.
	These attacks occur regularly, said Wisam's mother Hannah.  On October
11, the same settler girls threw stones at Wisam and Fadi as they returned home
from school, hitting both children.  One of the settler children slapped
Wisam in the face.  Again, the soldiers stood by.
	Christian Peacemaker Team members were invited by the Abu Haikels to
accompany Wisam and Fadi home from school as they walk past the settlement.
On October 16 when CPTers Dianne Roe and Wendy Lehman came to wait for
Wisam, two settler girls stood next to the soldiers at the checkpoint.  When
they saw the CPTers, they left the area.
	Roe and Lehman accompanied Wisam through the checkpoint and there met
with Wisam's grandfather Jamil who was waiting for her.  After the CPTers
visited with the family, they headed back down the hill to leave the area.
	When they approached the checkpoint, about 20 settler boys and men
walked into Tel Rumeida settlement across from the Israeli soldiers.  Approx-
imately six or seven soldiers faced Roe and Lehman.
	Lehman said, "Good afternoon," to the settlers.   After the CPTers
passed, a settler threw a stone at them, hitting Lehman in the back.  The
stone was blocked by Lehman's backpack.
	"I think we've just been stoned," Lehman told the soldiers with a smile.
	The soldiers laughed.
	"You know," added Lehman ironically, "It's nice to know there are
soldiers here keeping people safe."

	Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among 
Mennonite and Brethren congregations who participate in public 
responses to organized violence.

16 October 1995
"Israeli settler woman damages Palestinian shop, injures Palestinian
bystander"
by Wendy Lehman
Carmen Pauls

	HEBRON, WEST BANK -- An Israeli settler woman attacked a Palestinian
shop on Deboyya Street and injured a bystander yesterday at 12 p.m.  The woman
used a hand-held sledgehammer to break windows in the store.
	Deboyya Street is a Palestinian residential and shopping area which lies
between the Israeli settlements of Beit Hadassah and Tel Rumeida.  The
settler woman, aged approximately 26 or 27, walked from Tel Rumeida toward
Beit Hadassah unaccompanied by Israeli soldiers, said witnesses.  During the
Jewish holidays, Sukkot, nearly all settlers travel with Israeli soldiers on
this route.  
	As she passed Munzair Shaheen's shop, which was open for business at the
time, she picked up a hand-held sledgehammer from in front of the store and
smashed five windows.  Palestinian Sa'adadeen Al Khateeb, a bystander, was
struck in the right leg during the attack.  According to witnesses, the woman
is from Avraham Avinu settlement which is about a seven-minute walk from the
area.
	Although Israeli military checkpoints block both ends of the street, the
closest one being approximately 20 meters away, no soldiers witnessed the
attack.  Shaheen reported that he did not notify the Israeli police because,
he said, they wouldn't do anything to help even if soldiers had seen the
assault.
	Approximately 120,000 Palestinians, 400 Israeli settlers and 1,200
Israeli soldiers populate this West Bank city.

	Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite 
and Brethren congregations participating in public response to 
organized violence.

Oct. 18, 1995    
Why was Tipper Gore's entourage stoned?     
Duane Ediger, Haiti CPT          

Tipper Gore's motorcade was pelted with stones during her recent
trip to Haiti as it entered Cite Soleil, a Port au Prince slum.  
Mrs. Gore had gone to visit a Center for Development and Health (CDS) 
outpost in Cite Soleil when the incident occurred.  CDS Director
Dr. Reginald Boulos is widely detested because he employed FRAPH
members, paramilitary personnel who abused the people during milita
ry rule.  CDS, which has twelve centers in Haiti, is also believed
to mishandle money.    

FRAPH burned over 500 houses and killed 70 people in Cite Soleil on
the night of December 27, 1993.  CDS handled aid for surviving
victims. Residents reported that men who had carried out the attack
were among those giving out aid cards.  Other cards were being sold
for $20 on the street.  Residents say CDS received money to help
rebuild the houses, but they never saw that money.  CDS contracts
from U.S.A.I.D. alone from 1989 to 1996 are worth over $11.8
million.

During the military rule CDS funded community projects in Cite
Soleil. Residents say CDS routinely denied projects to supporters of
President Aristide.

Four chief paramilitary attaches identified as involved in organized
murder and torture were apparently employed by CDS during the
military's rule. One attache, Gros Fanfan, currently in refuge in th
e Dominican Republic, was recently convicted in absentia for a role
in the 1993 murder of businessperson and Aristide supporter Antoine
Izmery.

Boulos himself no longer maintains an office in Cite Soleil, but
sits downtown behind layers of security personnel.  When he goes to
Cite Soleil, in the company of President Aristide and US Ambassado r
Swing, he is greeted with boos and anti-Boulos graffiti.  Perhaps he
thought he would be safe with this high-profile international visit.
Observers think that the Second Couple's security advisers never
talked with Cite Soleil residents to understand why they are less
than grateful for US's largesse.

The residents of Cite Soleil detest Boulos.  At the same time they
see that he is not a creature of his own making.  To the extent that
foreign aid is CDS's lifeline, Boulos is not accountable to the
people his centers serve, and he is under pressure to uphold
whatever overt or covert policy the US is pushing at a given time.

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations who participate in public responses to 
organized violence.

18 October 1995
"Palestinians seek protection from settler youth"
by Wendy Lehman

HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Palestinian residents here believe settler
children are encouraged or at least permitted by their parents to
attack Palestinians because the settler youth are minors and will not
likely be punished.    

Approximately 400 Israeli settlers and 120,000 Palestinians populate
Hebron. Twelve hundred Israeli soldiers are stationed in the city,
primarily to protect the settlers.  The settlers are often armed with
Uzis or sidearms and are considered by other West Bank settlers
as extreme.  Throughout Hebron, graffiti written by the settlers in
Hebrew say such things as, "Death to the Arabs," "Hebron is a Jewish
city," and "Why are the Gentiles still living?" 	

Against the backdrop of militerization, armed settlers, and racist
graffiti, come regular attacks against Palestinian shops and people
by both settler adults and youth. Palestinian residents feel they
have no way to address the attacks by the settler children. The
treatment by the Israeli authorities toward settler youth obviously
differs from the treatment toward Palestinian children.  When
Palestinian youth have thrown stones at soldiers or settlers, they
have faced rubber bullets and tear gas from the Israeli soldiers. 
By contrast, when settler children attack Palestinians, there is a 
de facto "hands off" policy.  	

Several Palestinian families, for example, live next to the Israeli
settlement of Tel Rumeida.  This area is surrounded by 
Israeli military checkpoints and houses  radical
Israeli settlers. Palestinian neighbors of Tel Rumeida are regularly
harassed or physically attacked by settlers, often youth.  One Tel
Rumeida settlement resident, Israeli Baruch Marzel, is a leader in
the outlawed Jewish Kach movement, classified by the U.S. State
Department as a terrorist organization.  In the last week, CPT  
witnessed or heard about four attacks by one of Marzel's daughters,
aged about nine or ten.  She, with other settler children, 
stoned and hit Palestinian adults and children and cursed them,
calling them "dogs."  All of these assaults occurred within
five feet of Israeli soldiers.   When a Palestinian began to complain
to the Israeli police after one of the attacks, a soldier who
witnessed the incident said of the settlers, "They're just kids."
	
Some of the attacks by settler youth have caused serious
injuries.  On July 16, Israeli settler youth attacked Palestinian
residents of Deboyya Street.  Settler youth used rubber bands to
shoot construction stables at Palestinian children. Ahmad Al Khateeb
(ten years old) was hit below the right eye and the wound required
three stitches. That same day, settlers broke the right leg of
16-year-old Tamer Al Nazer. 

Ideally, said Deboyya Street resident Khalid Al Khateeb, he would
confront the parents about the actions of their children.  But
because of the extreme tensions between settlers and Palestinians,
this is not possible. Sometimes during these attacks, settler adults
stand by and passively watch their children.  In addition, many of
the parents are more hateful toward the Arabs than the youth.
In September,  Marzel told Palestinian neighbor Hani Abu Haikel,
"We will never leave Tel Rumeida settlement without killing
the Abu Haikel family."  Marzel has attacked Palestinians, allegedly
participating in the killing of 16-year-old Ibrihim Ideyes near to
the Tel Rumeida checkpoint on July 1. 	

Palestinians feel the Israeli authorities do almost nothing to help.
When Palestinians make complaints to the police, they often have to
wait hours or days at the Israeli Civil (i.e. military)
Administration.  Palestinian Shakir Shukri Dana's home has been
stoned  weekly by settlers, mostly youth, for the past
20 years.  Israeli police officers have told him that even though
they will take his complaint against the stone-throwing settlers,
they can't do anything about it.  	

Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) members have encountered similar
apathy. After an attack by settler children near Tel Rumeida, CPTers
called the Israeli police.  A police officer asked them, "What do you
want me to do about it?"

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations who participate in public responses to 
organized violence.

Thursday, 19 October 1995
Invitation to Fast with CPT Team in Hebron

Please join us, Wendy Lehman, Dianne Roe, and Carmen Pauls in the fruit
and juice fast on Friday, Oct 20.  We will break the fast with our
evening meal.  We invite you to remember the prayer items listed
below, as well as any other concerns which may be on your hearts and
minds.

Join us in prayers of:
1.  THANKSGIVING.  We continue to be grateful for our new apartment, located
on Duboyya Street, which is close to the "action." 

2.  PETITION.  We are looking for a breakthrough in our work with the Shaker
and Wajeeha Shukri Dana family.  This Palestinian family lives near the
Quiryat Arba settlement, and their home is the target of stoning by Israeli
settler youth almost every evening.

We are praying for wisdom and courage in knowing which steps to take next as
we stand beside them in the struggle for a just resolution.  

Please pray for Lynda Brayer, our lawyer in Jerusalem who is looking into
legal action on Shaker's behalf.  

Please pray for A., our contact person at the Hebron municipality who is
working to ease the physical and financial strain for the Dana family.  

3.  PRAISE.  We have been blessed with friendships which nurture and sustain
us ... with our new neighbors, and with countless others whom we interact
with on a daily basis.  We have seen God's hand at work in our lives and
relationships as the CPT project unfolds in Hebron--for this we are truly
grateful!

Thank you for your prayers and support.

____________________________

The Christian Peacemaker Team in Hebron has been in place since June 1, 
1995.  Normally the team includes five people.  At the present time 
there are three people only.  Replacements will go to Hebron this 
coming week.  Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among 
Mennonite and Brethren congregations who participate in public 
responses to organized violence.

20 October 1995
"The experience of one Israeli soldier stationed in Hebron"
by Wendy Lehman

	HEBRON, WEST BANK -- We met "Noam" at the park across from Abraham's
Mosque where we worship every morning.  Noam is a soldier in the IDF (Israel
Defense Force) and was then stationed in Hebron at a checkpoint near the mosque.
Christian Peacemaker Team members were fixing park benches when Noam came
over to help in the work.
	After the benches were finished, Noam began talking to us CPTers about
his favorite rock bands.  He shared a common musical interest of mine -- Sinead
O'Connor.  Noam is 18 years old.  Like the majority of other Israeli men his
age, he will be spending the next three years in the IDF.
	"I hate my job," he told us.  When he was stationed in Hebron, he
worked six hours on, six hours off, six hours on again.  Part of the reason he
didn't like his work, he said, was because the Hebron Israeli settlers "don't
respect us, they don't listen to us."
	Once, he told a Hebron settler he couldn't park his car in front of the
mosque -- it was a no-parking zone.  For this order, the settler called Noam
a Nazi.  "Most of my grandmother's family died in [Nazi] Germany," Noam told
us.  
	Noam spent his free time in a military camp in Hebron.  Or, when he
was off duty, he went back home to Tel Aviv to visit friends or to go to rock
concerts.  He seemed to really like rock concerts, going to one nearly every
time he went home.
	One day, after he had taken a couple days off, Noam showed up with a
bandage over his eye.  "What happened?" we asked him.  He carefully pulled up
his bandage and showed us his "wound" -- an eyebrow ring.  He then showed us the
tattoo he got on his upper arm.  "The army doesn't like it," he told us,
grinning.
	He went on to speak with us about the latest rock concert he attended --
Israeli singer Aviv Geffen.  He showed us a picture he had of the singer
which was tucked into his M-16.  "It's a nice thing to put into a gun," he
told us with a smile.
	"Better than bullets," I replied.  He nodded and said, "I hate guns."
	On July 24, a bus bombing by Muslim extremists in Tel Aviv killed five
and injured 32 Israelis.  Noam wasn't around Hebron for awhile.  He returned a
few days later after a visit home.  His mood wasn't quite as happy-go-lucky
as usual.  Yet he had said to us many times -- as with Israelis, most Arabs
are "good people" in spite of the actions of a few.  But we didn't talk much
that day.
	A couple months later, I was covering an event near the mosque with some
Palestinian journalist friends.  An Israeli journalist asked me what paper I
was with, and I told him I wasn't a journalist.   I explained to him the goal
of CPT Hebron -- to maintain a violence-deterring presence and to write about
the situation here.
	Noam was with a group of soldiers in the background, listening
carefully. We'd never been explicit with him about why we were here.  He
approached me later and said, "I didn't know you had a mission here.  I mean,
I knew a lot of what you were doing, but . . . anyway, I think it's a good
mission."
	He rejoined the other soldiers for a few minutes, and then came back.
"My officer tells us we can't talk to journalists.  You're not a journalist,
right?" he asked with a smile.  "No, not exactly," I told him.  "Well, I'll
tell you anything you want to know," he replied.
	We began talking about life in the military.   He said he feels
pressure to push Palestinians around and to be overly tough with them.   He
told me he thinks it's important for the Israeli soldiers to treat the
Palestinians with respect because, after all, they are human beings.  "I
sometimes put on an  act," he said, "to look like I'm being rough.  But I
don't like it."
	A couple weeks later, as I was near the mosque, Noam came running up
to me. He told me he was being transferred out of Hebron.  He wanted to get a
picture of himself with the whole CPT team before he left.  It never worked
out.  As his jeep pulled out, he yelled back, "Write to me!"

               Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among 
Mennonite and Brethren congregations who participate in public responses
to organized violence.

23 October 1995
"Palestinian students receive death threats from Israeli settlers"
23 October 1995
by Carmen Pauls

	HEBRON, WEST BANK--Two Israeli settler women issued death threats to
students at the Cortoba School in the city center this morning.  Fariel Abu
Heikal, headmistress of the Palestinian school, reported two settler women,
approximately 20 to 25 years of age, shouted threats from the street in front
of the school while students walked from the morning assembly to the first
class of the day at 8 am.  

	For months Cortoba School, a Palestinian elementary school for girls,
has been the subject of harassment by Israeli settlers living in the Beit
Hadassah settlement across the street.  On September 13, ten students were
injured in an initial attack by settlers who burned the Palestinian flag on
the school grounds.  Since then, low-level harassment has continued on almost
a daily basis.  

	 In September, Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) members accompanied the
students who must walk past the settlement on their way to and from the
school each day.  The students are now encouraged by their teachers to walk
in groups for their own protection whenever they leave the school grounds.
Even so, CPT members have witnessed settler children throw stones at
Palestinian students in the street.  The Israel Defense Force soldiers who
attend the Beit Hadassah checkpoint witnessed the stoning and attempted to
"disarm" the settler girls, prying the stones away from them.  Settler
parents looked on without response.  

	Earlier this month, Abu Heikal was arrested by Israeli police for
raising the Palestinian flag on the school grounds, an act which was made
legal after the signing of the Oslo accords in September 1993.  Israeli
officials pressured Abu Heikal to sign an agreement not to raise the
Palestinian flag, and she refused.  After receiving the death threats this
morning, Abu Heikal said:  "Who are the 'terrorists?'  They [the settlers]
threaten to kill our girls, and we are considered the 'terrorists'."  

        Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative 
among Mennonite and Brethren congregations who participate in public 
responses to organized violence.

October 23, 1995
District of Columbia: Slum lord Goes to Jail
Cole Arendt

Washington, DC --  A District of Columbia court sentenced Mr.
Kingsley Anyanwutahu to 6 years in prison for operating slum houses
in violation of building codes, tax codes and permit regulations. 
Ki ngsley was charged after one of his slum houses that trafficked
crack was closed in December 1994 with the cooperation of community
people and Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) workers.

In one of the most unusual events in this case, the judge offered to
allow the mass of letters he had received on Kingsley's properties
from "ordinary citizens" to be used   as evidence of the "will of
the people."   These voices were compelling, said the judge.   CPT
workers who helped encourage citizens to contact the judge prior to
sentencing feel that these letters may have made a critical d
ifference in the outcome of the case.

Originally charged for violations in 28 of his properties, Kingsley
could have faced 13 years in prison and almost $239,000 in fines. 
Kingsley and his attorney, a former District of Columbia legal c
ounsel, entered a plea bargain with the city's lawyers.  Eventually
Kingsley was charged for violations in 11 houses. 

Chief Judge Hamilton chose to ignore this plea bargain and sentenced
Mr. Kingsley to a stiff 6 year jail term on September 19. 
Twenty-two days into his sentence, he was to reappear before the
judge, and there was apprehension that Mr. Kingsley would be deemed
no danger to the community and released as called for in the
original plea bargain.  Instead the judge indicated that he is
unwilling to hear any further pleas or appeals on behalf of Mr.
Kingsley until he has dispossessed himself of all his properties and
paid the over $110,000 fine. 

More than 40 of Kingsley's properties were home to drugs,
prostitution, and violence.  His tenants live in dangerous and
unsanitary conditions.  Even while the sentencing is pending,
Kingsley has con tinued to advertise his properties, transfer deeds,
and try to collect rent on court-seized units.

CPT workers have monitored the court case on Kingsley since the
successful shut down  of the crack house at 1304 Girard last year. 
The combination of strict monitoring of legal matters, community
activism, church involvement, and direct appeal to authorities are key
elements in the stuggle against violence.

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations who participate in public responses to 
organized violence.

23 October 1995
"Settler spits and curses at journalist; police arrest journalist"
by Wendy Lehman

	An Israeli settler threatened and spit at Palestinian journalist Mazen
Dana (Reuters) between 10:45 and 11:30 am today.  When Dana complained to the
Israeli police, they arrested the journalist.
	Dana was following a lead near the Abraham Mosque this morning.  He
asked several Israeli settler men about what was happening.  One of the
settlers, aged 25 to 30, spit at him and told him to "shut up."  The settler
then walked away.
	This incident took place in front of several Israeli border police.
Dana told them, "If I say something to him [the settler], you arrest me.  To
him," Dana gestured toward the settler, "you do nothing."   The police officer
pointed toward the Israeli police station in front of the mosque and Dana
went to make a complaint.  After the journalist explained to an officer there
what had happened, the officer told Dana to leave the station.  He complied.
	The settler who spit at him then began to videotape the journalist,
continuing for 15 to 20 minutes.  After the journalist again complained to
the border police, the settler cursed Dana, using profanities, and told him,
"You're on my list." 
	Dana returned to the police station and was arrested by the police,
who also took his press card.  By arresting him instead of the settler, Dana
said, "[The police] are punishing the victim, not the attacker."  Dana was
released after several hours.

        Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among 
Mennonite and Brethren congregations who participate in public 
responses to organized violence.

24 October 1995
"Palestinian woman receives death threats, insults from Israeli soldiers"
by Carmen Pauls

	HEBRON, WEST BANK--Imm Shaker Sherabati, 65, was cursed and threatened
yesterday by Israel Defense Force (IDF) soldiers who attend a checkpoint near
her home.  Witnesses reported on 23 October at approximately 2 pm, Sherabati
was standing on the veranda of her second-story home on Duboyya Street when
Israeli settlers standing on the roof of the Beit Hadassah settlement threw
stones at her home.  The settlers later claimed that the stones were thrown
by Palestinians.  Six IDF soldiers were stationed at the checkpoint guarding
the Beit Hadassah settlement.  The soldiers joined in the harassment,
shouting insults at Sherabati. 

	The soldiers shouted death threats at Sherabati, and one soldier took
aim, pointing his gun at the woman.  Sherabati went inside her home to phone the
Israeli police.  When the police arrived, they took Sherabati's report on the
harassment from the Beit Hadassah settlers.  Sherabati was prepared to
identify the soldiers who insulted and threatened to kill her, however the
IDF had "changed guard," leaving a different group of soldiers at the Beit
Hadassah checkpoint.  Sherabati was unable to identify the exact persons who
harassed her, and the police failed to take any action in response to her
complaint.

	Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) members pass by Beit Hadassah
settlement, the IDF checkpoint, and the Sherabati home several times each day.
Often Palestinian residents meet CPT members in the street, and report the
almost daily harassment by Israeli settlers.  "The soldiers see everything
and do nothing," said one Duboyya Street resident.  "Now we receive threats
from the soldiers, and the (Israeli) police do nothing."

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite
and Brethren congregations who participate in public responses to
organized violence.

25 October 1995
"Fresh paint.  Old message."
by Carmen Pauls

	HEBRON, WEST BANK--The graffiti was fresh, but the message was the same.
 Palestinian residents of the Duboyya neighborhood woke this morning to a
world of fresh Hebrew graffiti on the doors of their homes and shops.  Early
this morning, Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) members were notified by
telephone that the neighborhood was the target of midnight vandalism by four
armed Israeli settler youth.  As CPT members left their apartment in response
to the call, they noticed that their door was also "hit" by the vandals;  two
Jewish symbols, stars of David, were spray-painted in gold on the black trim
of the door leading to their second-story apartment above Duboyya Street.

	Khaled Al Khateeb (40), Palestinian resident of the Duboyya neighbor-
hood, reported to CPTers this morning that he was awakened by noise in the
street at 12.30 am.  He looked out of the window of his home and found four
armed Israeli settler youth defacing the shops below.  Al Khateeb said to the
settler youth:  "Why are you doing this?"  One settler pointed his handgun at
Al Khateeb, and shouted:  "Shut up!  Go inside and shut up!"  The settler
youth continued spray-painting the closed doors of the Arab-owned shops and
homes along the street, shouting curses to the residents of the Duboyya
neighborhood who were awakened by the commotion and dared to look out their
windows.  

	After about ten minutes of spray-painting and cursing, the settler youth
dispersed.  One returned to the Israeli settlement of Tel Rumeida, and the
other three retreated in the direction of the Beit Hadassah settlement.
Israel Defense Force (IDF) soldiers were stationed at the Beit Hadassah
checkpoint on Duboyya Street, just meters from one of the stores which was
targeted by the settler youth.  According to Palestinian witnesses, the
soldiers did nothing in response to the vandalism.

	Palestinian shops opened without incident this morning.  The shiny black
paint from the night before looked new, but the same messages have been
sprayed on the doors of these homes and shops countless times before.  The
graffiti read:  "Death to the Arabs!" "Hebron is a Jewish city." "Arabs are
dogs."  "This street is Jewish!"  "Arabs--Go from here!"  

	One shop owner whose name had been blotted out on the sign above his
barber salon immediately began to clean off the black paint which covered his
name.  He left the insults and death threats written in large, Hebrew cursive
on the door.  CPT members Dianne Roe and Carmen Pauls offered to help in his
efforts to clean up the property.  He thanked them for the offer.  "But what
good will it do?" he shrugged.  "We can expect the same tomorrow."
	
	"Today I wake up to curses and 'Death to the Arabs,'"  said one
Palestinian father, resident of Duboyya Street.  "Tomorrow I will wake up to
a destroyed house!  Why?  The [IDF] soldiers see what the [Israeli] settlers
do against us, but they do nothing.  If the soldier sees the Palestinian youth
do anything or even speak against a settler, the soldier will treat the
Palestinian roughly and will take him to prison.  Not so for the settler
youth!"

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations who participate in public responses to 
organized violence.

Oct. 25, 1995
Orange Hat Patrol Stops Violence

Washington DC - An Orange Hat patrol was credited in deterring a
potentially violent situation in the Columbia Heights neighborhood
of Washington DC.  An eight person team including CPT member Matt
Sears, five neighborhood residents, and two Mennonite volunteers
patrolled the normal weekly route in the evening between 7:30 and 9
pm.  A man from the community named O.J. approached patrol as 9 pm
as the citizen patrol was about to complete its evening walk.  

O.J. lives in a house known for prostitution and drug dealing and
was known to the Orange Hat people.  O.J. reported that earlier in
the evening the police had raided their apartment and confiscate d
nearly $400 in drugs from a common area inside the rooming house. 
This was the second police raid raid in two weeks.  

Around 8 pm the man that owned the drugs returned home.  Upon
finding that the drugs had been confiscated he gathered everyone in
the house and held them at gun point on the first floor.  He
believed that someone had been "snitching" on him to the police and
was furious after losing valuable drugs two weeks in a row. 

O.J. was one of those being held.  He knew the Orange Hat patrol was
nearby but was too afraid to call for help.  Seven persons live in
the 10 room house and the potential for violence was high.  Th e man
did not shoot.  When O.J. was asked what kept this man from violence
he said "the Orange Hat patrol and the two police motorcycles that
passed by."

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations who participate in public responses to 
organized violence.

Friday, October 26, 1995
HAITIAN CITIZENS OCCUPY COURTHOUSE

TIRIVYE, HAITI -- Friday the 13th was "bad luck" for Haitian Judge
Mereus Dorlisme of Tirivye.  That's the day the townspeople decided
they'd had enough of corruption.  A group of 300 people marched to
the courthouse to demand Judge Mereus' resignation.  Carrying
placards saying "Down with Mereus," and "We are for the police," the
people protested Mereus' suspension of police chief, Cesar.  Cesar
had attemted to arrest several members of a political organization,
to which Mereus belongs, for beating local election officials.

As officers of Haiti's new Civilian Police escorted Judge Mereus
from the courthouse unharmed, a UN detachment arrived and
accompanied them to the Tirivye police station.  There, U.S. Army
Sergeant Higginbotham spoke to the crowd through a translator. "We
will see that your specific complaints against the judge are brought
before the proper authorities," he said.

On September 15, two days before the make-up elections designed to
correct irregularities in the June 25 ballot, an election supervisor
was beat on the head with a chair.  On October 6, the secretary of
the local election office was hit on his right hand with a club. 
Judge Mereus refused to write up reports on either of these attacks
which were perpetrated by supporters of his political party.

The town of Tirivye has a long history of problems.  During the
three-year military government many of its residents suffered
arrests, beatings and torture.  The court system allowed judges to
line their pockets with money they extorted from the families of
those who sought justice. 

As the February 1996 departure of UN troops approaches, major
improvements in the justice system are seen as key to the survival
of democracy here.  Duane Ediger, member of a Christian Peacemaker
Team based in Tirivye, said, "We feel the tension in the town and
pray that violence will not errupt."  CPTer Lena Siegers added,
"Under President Aristide, the people are learning to assert their
rights.  I believe Mereus is one of the last judges to abuse the
people here." 

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations who participate in public responses to 
organized violence.

26 October 1995
CHRISTIAN PEACEMAKERS SURROUNDED DURING SETTLER DEMONSTRATION
by Dianne Roe and Wendy Lehman

HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Israeli settlers from Hebron vandalized
Palestinian-owned shops in the city center late Wednesday evening. 
Approximately 15 Israeli soldiers and border police in the area did
no thing to stop them.   Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) members
observing the demonstration were egged and stoned by the group of
approximately 60 Israeli settlers, primarily youth.  This
demonstration was apparently a protest against Wednesday's
redeployment in the West Bank Palestinian town of Jenin as part of
the implementation of the Oslo II accords.

The CPTers were walking in the neighborhood around 9 pm when they
heard a commotion.  They observed settler youth spraying graffiti on
the doors of Palestinian-owned shops while adult settlers cheere d
them on.  As the crowd proceeded down the street chanting and spray
painting, Israeli border police watched the vandalism -- some
officers stood two to three feet away from the spray painting youth
and failed to respond.  

CPTers observing the incident were the target of spit wads, eggs and
stones thrown by the settlers.  Several border police officers
arriving on the scene asked what the problem was.  As the CPTers ex
plained the incident to them, a group of settlers surrounded the
police and the CPTers.  The settlers tried to prevent the police
from talking to the CPT team by pulling the police aside or
interrupt ing their conversations.

"Why are you here?" asked one police officer, apparently in response
to a settler query.  When CPTers tried to explain what had been
happening to the shops of Palestinian residents, the crowd of settlers
around them grew in size.  The settlers, led by Miriam Levinger,
started shouting at the CPT team to go away.   Levinger is the wife
of Rabbi Moshe Levinger who founded the first settlement in
the West Bank, Kiryat Arba, by violent takeover of a hotel in 1968.
Levinger screamed obscenities at the CPT team, calling them
"harlots."  

"You must leave this area," a police officer told the CPTers. Team
members responded, "We are here to watch the settler demonstration
in the street.  You can see we are not causing a problem." 

"You are in much danger here," the officer continued, amidst
increasing settler activity, including more egg throwing at CPTers
and the border police.  CPTer Diane Roe was hit in the face with an
egg and Wendy Lehman was hit in the head.  Another settler spit on
team member Carmen Pauls from six inches away.   

"We can't protect you because we have been ordered to leave," the
officer said to the CPT team.  "Did your commander ask you to
leave?" asked  Roe.  "No," he said, "but they [the settlers] are
telli ng us we must leave."  The crowd of settlers continued to
shout, "Go away, go away!"

When the CPTers left with the police to make a complaint at about 12 am,
the crowd cheered.  Several of the border police confided to the
team that they were helpless in dealing with the settlers.  "It is a
big problem for us," one said. 

Pauls and Lehman were able to identify one of their attackers, David
Yakov Norvik, from mug shots at the police station.  Norvik is
fifteen years old and has been arrested on similar charges once before.

CPTers asked an investigating officer at the police station why the
Israeli border police and soldiers allowed the vandalism to continue
unabated.  The officer, who asked to remain anonymous, told them,
"The police take orders from the commander, who takes orders from
the Minister of Police, who takes orders from the Prime Minister who
takes orders from the settlers." 

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite
and Brethren congregations who participate in public responses to
organized violence.

Oct. 27, 1995
SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT
From: RABBIS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, ISRAEL

The following statement was published a few days before the Sept.
30 attack on the CPT team and the residents of Dubboya Street in
Hebron.  It was timed to appear a week before the Jewish celebration
of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).  Rabbis for Human Rights is a
group of Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist Rabbis
who speak out against human rights abuses against Palestinians, make
condolence visits to victims of settler violence and counter
inaccurate information with personal witness testimony.  Rabbi
Jeremy Milgrom translated the statement from the original Hebrew:

From the moment of its conception, in the darkest days of the
Intifada, Rabbis for Human Rights, the rabbinical branch of the
Israeli peace movement, has believed there can be no peace without
territorial compromise. The signing of the second stage of the Oslo
Accords brings us closer to peace, and we send our blessings to all
who worked on it and who will implement it. We also call upon the
general public and to all IDF soldiers to carry out governmental and
military directives and to hold the public debate in a civilized
manner.

The implementation of the agreement will not be simple; the point
of greatest tension will likely be in Hebron, where the memory of
insult and injury has not diminished among Moslems and Jews alike.
While appealing to the Palestinian inhabitants of Hebron to suspend
their principled struggle against the Jewish presence in the city of
our ancestors, we have a special message to the Jewish settlers in
Hebron -- The Jewish presence in Hebron cannot be maintained by
provocative behavior, hooliganism, intimidation and acts that
desecrate God's name. The future of the Jewish settlement in Hebron
depends on a change in your behavior patterns. Enough of the verbal
abuse, the strong-arm tactics, the pranks and the criminal acts:
behave as merciful, God-fearing, and benevolent descendants of Abraham,
and not as tyrants armed with weapons, an air of superiority
and the confidence that you have a privileged status above the law.

Many branches of the government have allowed this deterioration to
take place, including: the security forces, who have turned a blind
eye to the daily acts humiliation by settlers and have occasionally
joined in the abuse; policemen in the stations who have not taken
complaints filed by non-Jews seriously state prosecutors who charged
those who murdered Palestinians with "negligence", and judges who
have dealt symbolic sentences on criminals who announce they will
continue to endanger public safety and who have different standards
of justice for Jews and for Arabs.

But most accountable are we the public at large, whether aware,
unaware, indifferent or maliciously unconcerned, in whose name all
the evil has been done, who did not take measures to correct it, and
who didn't lose any sleep over it.

God, you have endowed humans to stand before you, and have lovingly
given us this Day of Atonement to put an end to our sins by
forgiving us, so that we may desist from this oppression  -- from
the traditional prayers for Yom Kippur.

For the sake of our consciences, for our future, for peace, Let us
be off to a fresh start with our neighbors.

November 4, 1995
"ISRAELI SETTLERS ATTACK PALESTINIAN GIRLS AND CHRISTIAN
PEACEMAKER TEAM MEMBER" 
by Wendy Lehman & Dianne Roe

     HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Israeli settlers assaulted two
Palestinian young women and Christian Peacemaker Team member
Dianne Roe today at 1:30 pm.  The incident followed settler
harassment of Palestinian students from Cordoba elementary girls'
school.
     This afternoon, a group of approximately 80 settlers blocked
the road between the Israeli settlement of Beit Hadassah and
Cordoba school.  Israeli military and police were present,
attempting to calm the situation.  About a dozen settler boys ran
up the hill toward the school but were chased down by soldiers.
Because of the settler presence near the exit of the school, the
girls were frightened and unable to leave Cordoba.  In the middle
of September and on October 31, settlers attacked the school and
injured both students and teachers.
     Roe (age 53) was talking with two Palestinian friends,
"Fatima" (age 18) and "Ahlam" (age 14), up the road from the
school when they were attacked today.  A group of about 20 to 25
settler men, women and children approached Roe and her friends
and told them to move even though they were not blocking the
road.  One settler adult male told them, along with CPT members
Wendy Lehman (age 24) and Margaret Purchase (age 69), "This place
is not for you."
     A group of settler teenage youth came closer to Roe, Fatima
and Ahlam.  One of the settler boys kicked Fatima in the left
leg.  She turned to face her attackers and a fight between her
and five settler  boys began with both sides pushing and hitting.
     One of the settlers pushed Roe down to the road and her
glasses were knocked off her face.  Another settler kicked her in
the back.  The settlers then grabbed Ahlam's hair, which was in a
braid, and pulled her down to the ground.  They dragged Ahlam for
several feet by her braid and kicked her while she screamed.
The settlers around them laughed.  The Israeli soldiers, who had
tried to prevent and eventually stopped the attack, helped Ahlam
to her feet. 
     Earlier, as Lehman videotaped the settler boys attempting to
enter the Cordoba school, one settler male approached her and
stood in front of the camera.  He told her not to film on the
Jewish Sabbath and that, "It is better for us [the settlers] and
better for you that you don't [film]."  The settler was armed
with an Uzi.  CPTers only photograph settlers on the Sabbath if
they need to document human rights violations.
     About 20 to 30 minutes after the attack, the situation
calmed down.  The same settler man who threatened Lehman walked
by the CPTers.  He turned to them and said, "You will pay a very
high price if you help these Nazis" and gestured to the
Palestinians.  Roe asked him where he was from.  "It's not your
business," he said, "This is my country and any foreigner who
comes to be with these Nazis will pay with their life."

     CPT is a program supported by Mennonite and Church of the
Brethren congregations.

November 3, 1995
"PALESTINIANS ATTACK ISRAELI SETTLER BUS"
by Wendy Lehman

     HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Palestinians threw a molotov cocktail
at an Israeli settler bus early in the morning of November 3 near
the north entrance of Hebron according to accounts reported to
members of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT).  Later in the day,
Palestinian youth stoned a settler vehicle.  None were injured in
either incident.
     The bus was attacked as it entered the city.  The settlers
managed to escape before anyone was injured, according to
witnesses, but the bus started on fire and was destroyed.  The
Israeli military arrived on the scene soon after the incident
took place, but no one was arrested. 
     Later in the day, a vehicle transporting settlers drove
through a Palestinian area of Hebron and was stoned by
Palestinian youth.  Again, no one was injured, but the windows in
the vehicle were broken.
     Hebron is populated by 120,000 Palestinians, 400 Israeli
settlers and 1,200 Israeli soldiers;  the city is a site of
extreme tension between the two groups.

     Christian Peacemaker Teams, a program supported by Mennonite
and Church of the Brethren congregations, maintains a violence
reduction team in Hebron.

November 4, 1995
"ISRAELI SETTLERS ATTACK, THREATEN PALESTINIAN FAMILY"
by Wendy Lehman

     HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Three male settlers from the Israeli
settlement of Kiryat Arba threw stones at Palestinian Shakir
Shukri Dana and his children yesterday afternoon (November 4).  One 
of the settlers also shouted a death threat at the Palestinian father.
     At 4 pm yesterday, Shakir and nine of his children (aged
three to 13) were standing on the roof of their house, located
approximately 30 yards from Kiryat Arba.  Three settler men
approached the house while remaining within the settlement fence.
The settlers threw stones toward the Dana family for about 15 to
20 minutes.  No one was injured.
     Finally, Dana began speaking to the settlers in Hebrew,
asking them why they were stoning him.  Two of the settlers left.
The third came closer and pointed his gun at Dana.  "Shut up or
I'll kill you," the settler said.
     Dana went to the Israeli army base near the entrance to
Kiryat Arba to make a complaint.  The military called the Israeli
police, who drove Dana around in Kiryat Arba and near the city
center settlements to look for the men who stoned and threatened
him.  Although they looked for an hour and a half, Dana did not
see the settlers.
       Members of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) have accompanied the 
Dana family whose home has been stoned by Israeli settlers for 20 
years, generally three or four times a week.  The family has made 
hundreds of complaints to the Israeli police but the problem still 
continues.  According to Palestinian neighbors of Kiryat Arba and 
other settlements, the settlers harass and attack their Palestinian  
neighbors in order to chase them from their land so that the 
settlements can expand.
  
     CPT is a program of Mennonite and Church of the Brethren
congregations.

November 7, 1995
"RESPONSES TO THE ASSASSINATION OF YITZHAK RABIN"

     On Saturday, November 4, just moments after we received the
report of a second assault in a month on CPT team members by
Israeli settlers in Hebron, news of Yitzhak Rabin's murder
flooded the airwaves.  
     Team members report that so far the situation in Hebron has
been quiet with very little activity in the city center.  "The
settlers are calm and the soldiers seem shocked," writes Wendy
Lehman.  Hebron has been at the center of settler resistance to
the peace process.
     What follows are several responses to the assassination - -
one, a prayer from CPTers in Hebron; two other reflections and
expressions of sympathy from members of CPT's steering committee.

"Prayer on the Occasion of Rabin's Assassination"; Margaret
Purchase - CPT Hebron

     God, we pray for the nation of Israel and the family of
Yitzhak Rabin as we face his untimely death.  We pray too for the
family of Yigal Amir, his assassin.  Help a world in shock to
rally to a peaceful and fair solution to problems according to
Your will rather than taking the law into our own hands through
painful violence.  Forgive us when we take too much power into
our own hands and try to serve ourselves rather than serving you.
We pray that You will guide the world's leaders to know and to do
Your will so that we may live in harmony and love.


Reflections from John Stoner, CPT Steering Committee and
Coordinator of New Call to Peacemaking:

     The murder of Yitzhak Rabin is a tragic event.  Contrary to
the claim of his killer Yigal Amir, this homicide was not
blessed, condoned, commanded or needed by God.  Likewise, the
death of a Jew named Jesus, who spoke for peace centuries ago,
was neither  blessed, condoned, commanded or needed by God.  But
there were those who claimed that it was.  So it is with all
homicide.  Some people claim social and human needs justify it.
But in the end it is all the same, contrary to the will of God. .
.Jesus said, "Love your enemies."  Let us all pray that the
impact of Yitzhak Rabin's death will be the further leavening of
human thought with this vision of the transformation, rather than
the destruction, of enemies.


"A response to the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin"; Lois Kenagy,
Co-chair - CPT Steering Committee:

     I just read the 11/4 news report from the CPT team in Hebron
and know the trauma of Palestinians as they are harrassed by
settlers.  I know too of the tragedy of many Palestian deaths.
It is a land so full of pain.  While we hold our CPT personnel
and the people of Hebron in prayer, I'd like to suggest we also
remember the Israeli people.
     Upon hearing the news of Rabin's death, I wrote the
following message and mailed it to the Israeli Embassy in
Washington, DC.  I'm also urging my congregation to send a letter
from the church.

     "To all the Israeli people, particularly those of you
working for peace in your beautiful and troubled land:
     I weep with you--my heart is breaking.  With you I have
longed for peace.  With you I have prayed for peace.  With you I
have hoped that an enduring peace would come to your land and the
two peoples that share it.
     My sympathy is with you today, knowing that your pain must
also be intense; that sadness must pervade your land.  Yitzhak
Rabin was a very courageous man.  He will long be remembered.
     Please be assured of my continuing prayers for you as well
as for the Palestinian people.  I pray that this tragic event may
somehow be a catalyst to further energize those who will continue
the hard work of bringing peace to your people and to your
Palestinian neighbors."

       For others wishing to send messages of sympathy, the
Embassy address is:  3514 International Dr. NW, Washington, DC
20008. 

9 November 1995
"POLICE ARREST SETTLERS; VIOLENCE MAY INCREASE"
by Wendy Lehman
 
     HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Since the assassination of Israel's
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a right-wing extremist, Israeli
authorities in Hebron have begun to investigate and apprehend
some militant settlers.  Demonstrations and protests by Hebron
settlers have greatly decreased in the wake of the assassination,
yet some settlers have made statements celebrating Rabin's death.
Israeli police moved in and arrested 2 settlers in Kiryat Arba on
the outskirts of Hebron because they had said Rabin was a traitor
and they condoned his death.
     Despite this new pressure from Israeli police, settler
violence may increase in the coming days.  Following Rabin's
murder, Hebron settler Baruch Marzel said in a CBS news
interview, "we will hold back for a month...or a week."
Marzel is a leader in the outlawed Jewish Kach movement,
classified by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist
organization.
     Prior to the assassination, Hebron settlers issued a press
release declaring November as "International Hebron month" in
order to celebrate Hebron as a Jewish city.  According to the
Palestinian newspaper Al Haia, November 17 has been declared by
the Hebron settlers as the "Day of Murders."  The paper stated
that settlers in Hebron have invited extremist Jews from within
the Occupied Territories, the U.S.A. and Europe to come to Hebron
on this day. 
     Marzel and others have made threats in the past.  Those
statements went unpunished, but since the assassination the
Israeli police seem to be taking these comments more seriously.
At 3:00 and 6:30 am yesterday and at 6:30 am today, according to
a Palestinian neighbor, Israeli police came to Tel Rumeida
settlement where Marzel lives in order to arrest two settlers.
The police did not specify who they were looking for, but
approximately five civilian police and two border police
surrounded Marzel's house.  The Palestinian neighbor saw Marzel
slip out of his house all three times.
     Yigal Amir (25), who gunned down Rabin on November 4, had
connections to the settler community in Hebron.  According to the
New York Times (11/8/95), "Far from being a loner, fellow
students said today he [Amir] has organized weekend outings to
Hebron, a flash point in the West Bank, to support embattled
settlers there."
     Hebron is populated by 120,000 Palestinians, 400 Israeli
settlers, and 1,200 Israeli soldiers.  Christian Peacemaker Teams
(CPT) has maintained a violence reduction presence in Hebron
since early June.  Current team members include:  Kay & Randy
Bond (Grand Rapids, MI), Ed Cooney (Trenton, MI), Fr. Peter
Dougherty (Lansing, MI), Wendy Lehman (Kidron, OH), Carman Pauls
(Denver, CO), Margaret Purchase (Grand Rapids, MI), and Tom Shea
(Traverse City, MI).
     CPT is a program in active peacemaking supported by
Mennonite and Church of the Brethren congregations in North
America.  CPT; P.O. Box 6508; Chicago, IL 60680; tel/fax: 312-
455-1199; e-mail: [email protected].

November 13, 1995
HEBRON ACTION ALERT

     Last week's assasination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak
Rabin by Jewish extremists has sparked concerns that settler
violence may escalate.  In a new partnership, Christian
Peacemaker Teams together with Palestinians & Israelis for
Nonviolence have issued the following joint ACTION ALERT from
Hebron where armed settlers routinely harrass and attack
Palestinian residents.

"STOP SETTLER VIOLENCE AGAINST PALESTINIANS"
     Stoning, verbal insults, death threats, and physical attacks
are among the numerous forms of violence used by armed Israeli
settlers against the Palestinian residents of Hebron.  Despite
countless complaints registered with law enforcement officials,
Israeli police and soldiers routinely turn a blind eye to the
Palestinians plight.  Settlers are not held accountable for
violent acts perpetrated against Palestinians who continue to
endure the harmful physical, psychological and financial effects
of ongoing harrassment.
     Fariel Abu Heikal, headmistress of the Cortoba school for
girls and Palestinian resident of the Tel Rumeida settlement
area, observed:  "Once there was much friendship between Jews and
Muslims here [in Hebron].  It is again possible if they [the
settlers] live without weapons."
     As CPTers living in Hebron since June 1995, we have
documented numerous cases of settler abuse and, together with
Palestinians & Israelis for Nonviolence, we urgently appeal for:
	1)  prompt and effective response by Israeli police to emergency 
	calls for help and formal complaints filed against settlers who 
	harass and harm Palestinian residents of Hebron.
	2) immediate disarmament of the settlers in the city center of 
	Hebron, and in the settlements surrounding thecity.  If this is not 
	possible, we call for the removal of the settlers.


CPT  P. O. Box 6508 Chicago, IL 60680 tel. FAX 
312-455-1199 e-mail [email protected].

November 14, 1995
Haiti: Reconciliation and Disarmament

"UN resolution 940 calls for disarmament.  If you are not interested
in helping in this process you have no role here."  		 

- President Aristide, Nov. 11 at the funeral of Deputy Jean Feuille,
		killed by an assassin's bullet Nov. 7.

Since the incursion of American troops into Haiti more than one year
ago, popular organizations in Haiti have pled with the foreign
forces now under UN command to help with "disarmament," a term that
implies the collection of weapons.  A CPT team that visited Haiti
Nov. 3 - 12 heard new pleas for help to confiscate more than 200,000
guns that are that are still in the hands of disbanded police and
military personnel.  Reports also indicate that former military
leaders are smuggling new weapons into the country.

The CPT delegation was invited to meet with Senate President Gady
Leblanc and Haitian parliamentarians on the first day of its visit. 
Several Congress members told the delegation, "This is very dang-
erous work for us.  We may be shot down at any time."  Three days
later one of their members, Jean Hubert Feuille (Port Salut,
President Aristide's hometown), was assassinated and another
severely wo unded.  One the day of the funeral, Nov. 11, CPT
delegation members watched as Gady Leblanc sat silently in front of
a coffin holding the remains of his murdered colleague.

In a highly critical speech at the funeral later in the day,
President Aristide challenged the international community to a more
aggressive posture with respect to collecting weapons.  "People
should not need to hide in their own country." said President
Aristide, a former priest.

Diplomats and UN officials have repeatedly emphasized
reconciliation. Many Haitians cringe at the word because it means
that vicious military officials who formerly ruled the country are
allowed to get away with their crimes and abusive behavior without
punishment or inconvenience.  When asked about this by Haitian
radio, Duane Ediger, (Dallas TX), a long term CPT worker in Haiti
said, "When we hear of people discussing reconciliation as the non
punishment of crimes, we as Christians are ashamed.  For us,
reconciliation really begins with the recognition of what was wrong,
continues into a process of making things right and concludes with 
forgiveness and a new relationship." Interviews with CPT personnel
were rebroadcast several times on Haitian radio.  

The CPT delegation spent several days in the Central Artibonite
Valley, Haiti's bread basket, where they observed a process of
mediation over a painful land dispute.  The team met with peasant
leader s, church representatives and several judges,  who all
expressed concern over robberies carried out by gangs called
zanglandos, armed and coordinated by former military leaders and
their supporters. 

CPT, a program of active peacemaking supported by Mennonite and
Church of the Brethren congregations in North America, maintains a
violence reduction team in the Artibonite Valley of Haiti. Team members
include Duane Ediger (Dallas TX) Lena Siegers (Hamilton ON) and
Joel Klassen (Waterloo, ON). Members of the November 3-12 CPT
delegation include: Merideth Ann (Denver, CO), Jean-Jaques Goulet
(Ca mrose, AB), Arlene Kindy (North Manchester, IN), Sylvia Shirk
Charles (Goshen, IN), Jan Hippensteel (Macy, IN) and Gene Stoltzfus
(Chicago, IL). 

24 November l995
"Armed Israeli settler pursues two Palestinian boys into their home"
by Tom Shea and Anne Montgomery

             HEBRON, WEST BANK -- This morning at about 9 a.m., two
Palestinian boys (aged eight or nine) were playing near the Abraham Mosque.
An Israeli settler pointed an automatic gun at the boys and pursued them
directly into their nearby home.  The settler reportedly told the police
later that the boys were playing with a snake. The boys and other observers
said it was a rope.
	From what we Christian Peacemaker Team members observed in this case, it
would seem the Israeli police and soldiers are continuing to take Palestinian
complaints more seriously since the assassination of Israel's Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin.
	After the incident, we saw an irate Palestinian woman, accompanied by
a few men and teens, talking vehemently to Israeli police officers about the
settler harassment. The confrontation moved from her home to the mobile home
that serves as police headquarters in front of the Mosque.  The police
apparantly accepted her righteous anger and seemed to listen carefully.
	Meanwhile the police ushered the settler with the rifle into the police
station for questioning.  After about 25 minutes, tempers calmed and some
adult Palestinians were conversing with two adult settlers.  The police
officer told two settler teens to move out of the area.  The same police
officer put his arm around one of the young Palestinian boys as the youth
departed.
	In the past, often when Palestinians complained to the police or
soldiers about settler harassment and attacks, their complaints would be
ignored and they would be asked to leave.  This time, the Israeli authorities
seemed to take the complaint seriously and ordered two teenage settlers, whose
presence was unnecessary, to leave.
    
	Christian Peacemaker Teams is supported by Church of the Brethren and
Mennonite congregations of North America which practices active nonviolence
to facilitate resolution of conflicts.  The organization has projects in
Haiti, Washington, D.C., and Hebron, West Bank.  Contact CPT, P.O. Box 6508,
Chicago, IL 60680, tel FAX 312-455-1199, e-mail [email protected]

30 November 1995
"IDF kills Hamas activist"
by Wendy Lehman

	HEBRON, WEST BANK --  Approximately 500 IDF (Israel Defense Force)
soldiers surrounded Dersamit village, south of Hebron, on Novemberr 28 and
killed the last Hamas activist "wanted" in Hebron by the Israeli military.
	At approximately 6 am, the IDF entered the area and declared a curfew on
Dersamit village.  They discovered the Hamas member, Ab'd Kareem Masalmi (age
37), and exchanged gunfire with him.  Masalmi was injured and ran into a
nearby barn.
	At 8 am, the IDF fired approximately three or four anti-tank missiles
at the barn and killed Masalmi, said witnesses.

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite,
Brethren, and Friends congregations and meetings who participate in
public responses to organized violence.

    Nov. 30, 1995
    Lwanj*

    African rhythms rebound off dew-moistened earth.
    Sunrays, breeze, goat and rooster calls
    filter through the sanctuary
    of woven palm leaves.

    We greet one another,
    children, grandmothers,
    professionals, peasants,
    citizens, aliens.

    The drumbeats carry our hymn
    upward, outward, inward,
    calling forth our own spirits from the dead,
    to life.

    *Worship (Haitian Creole).  This poem was written by Duane Ediger while
    on Christian Peacemaker Teams assignment in Haiti.

December 1, 1995
U.N. Sanctions Responsible for Iraqi Children Death

As many as 576,000 children have died as a result of 
sanctions imposed against Iraq by the United Nations 
Security Council, according to a report by the UN Food 
and Agriculture Organization (FAO).  The report showed 
a five-fold growth in child mortality rates and a sharp 
increase in malnutrition among children since the 
Persian Gulf War.

The scientists gathering information noticed a marked 
deterioration in water and sanitation systems, with 
deaths from diarrheal diseases at three times the 
previous level.  At the same time, hospitals are 
operating at 40% of capacity.  Food prices are so high 
that many Iraqis must rely on government rations of 
1,000 calories per day.

Christian Peacemaker Teams sent a delegation to Iraq in 
1990 as the Persian Gulf War loomed on the horizon.  
After ten days of meetings with Iraqi officials and 
civilians, the team returned to North America and 
encouraged the U.S. and Canadian governments to seek 
peaceful solutions to their differences and warned of 
the destruction and death that would result from a war.

The full results of the FAO study appeared in The 
Lancet, the journal of the British Medical Association, 
on December 1.  A detailed report on this appears in 
today's [December 1, 1995] New York Times p. 6. 

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations who participate in public responses to 
organized violence.

[The following article originally appeared in _The Jerusalem Times_ on
October 20, 1995.  Reprinted with permission.]

"A Dream Realized"
[from the] Neturei Karta
Jerusalem

	The identity of the Jewish Palestinians in the Holy Land has always
been a thorny issue for these indigenous residents.  In the period following
the United Nations sanctioning of the Zionist state, tens of thousands of these
Jews, who preceded the Zionist state by centuries, signed an official
document recognized by the new Zionist authority, that they disclaim
citizenship in the new sacrilegious state, and refuse to become its subjects.
Their decision was based on the theological persuasion that the Zionist
state violates one of the 13 principles of the Jewish faith, enumerated by
the Maimodedes, and recited daily from the Jewish Prayer Book (Siddur).  "I
believe wholeheartedly in the arrival of the Messiah, and even though he
tarries, nevertheless I await his arrival, daily."  This belief is one of the
pillars of Judaism, which defines our concept of exile and redemption.  We
repeat in our prayers constantly "because of our sins, we were exiled from
our land," and the Messiah, and only the Messiah, will return the land to us,
and return us to the land.  Any insolence by Jews who challenge G-d by
saying, "look here G-d, exile is not pleasant, please take us back to the
land, and if you refuse and feel incompetent, then we will just roll up our
sleeves and take ourselves back."  This is Zionism in a nutshell.  This is
blatant defiance of a Divine Oath which the Jewish nation was charged with,
not to incite the nations and rebel against the rule of the indigenous
population.  "I charge you Jewish daughter, by the deer and antelope of the
forest; if you will awaken your love (to the Land), until Thou will it" (Song
of Songs II); and the Talmud warns of the consequences of the defiance of
this oath, "I will make your flesh prey as the deer and the antelope of the
forest" (Ketuboth 111a).  In reality, these Palestinian Jews were and are
stateless, since there is no difference if a person is exiled from his native
land, or if the land is removed from underneath him.  In both cases, the
native is considered a "refugee."  The UN removed the land, which previously
was ruled by Turkey and England, a Kosher rule, and sanctioned the
sacrilegious Zionist state to officially rule Palestine.  We petitioned the
UN to issue "refugee passports" for these Palestinian refugees, without any
positive response.
	In his famous speech at the UN in 1974, the then future President of
the State of Palestine, Yasser Arafat, proposed establishing in Palestine a
non-secretarian state, giving equal rights to all its citizens, Jews and
non-Jews alike, without discrimination of any ethnic group.  The Neturei
Karta were elated with the proposal, which fits with its doctrines--a Kosher
state in the Holy Land.  When the Palestine State was declared on Nov. 15,
1988 in Algiers, the Neturei Karta were the first to recognize this new
entity followed by over a hundred centuries throughout the world.
	Our late Chief-Rabbi, Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, in 1924, headed a
delegation of members of the Neturei Karta and of Agudat Yisroel (before they
jumped on the wagon and aligned with the Zionist heretics) met with Arab
monarchs in Transjordan and handed over a joint memorandum, in which they
declared the Palestine Jews have no intention to rule or to self-rule any
portion of the land, and their only and prime interest is to live in the Holy
Land and serve G-d in his courtyard.
	Rabbi Sonnenfeld once responded to a question put forth by a visitor,
"Would you prefer that the Holy  Land by under the sovereignty of goyim (non-
Jews)?"  He responded, "The holiness of the Land is not diminished, even by
one iota, even if it were to be under non-Jewish rule."  The PNA [Palestinian
National Authority] meets every Saturday [the Jewish Sabbath], which prevents
the Minister for Jewish Affairs, Rabbi Moshe Hirsch, from participating and
therefore, President Abu Ammar [Yasser Arafat] meets with him during the week
in a mini-cab net meeting, to discuss relevant issues pertaining to his
Ministry.  During the last such meeting, Rabbi Hirsch received from his
President his diplomatic Palestinian passport (rouge colored).  Soon, all
Palestinian Jews will receive their Palestinian passports, which will serve
temporarily as their identification certificates.  This is the climax of
their search for a political identity, ever since the UN forfeited their
previous Kosher ID's of the Turkish and English rulers of Palestine, and
substituted their rule with a non-Kosher, sacrilegious Zionist rule, whose
existence endangers the entire Jewish nation.  Meah Shearim, the base of
Palestinian Jewry, is considered part of the Old City of Jerusalem, the
Capital of the State of Palestine as explicitly defined in its original
charter, founded over a century ago.  The elders of the community then
advised the founders to choose this site as their enclave, since it was
situated within the original walled city of Jerusalem during the period of
the Holy Temples, and possessed a special holiness attributed to the city.
Meah Shearim serves as the only oasis of Judaism in a desert of Zionism.
	It is noteworthy to mention that the United States Government until
recently has recognized the status of Jerusalem as being part of Palestine.
The children of Rabbi Hirsch, American nationals, received passports from the
US government, in which their place of birth, Jerusalem, was indicated on their
passports as "Palestine."  On Nov. 11, 1947, one of our late Chief Rabbis,
Yosef Zvi Dushinsky, sent a telegram to the UN Secretary General in the name
of the 60,000 orthodox Jews of Jerusalem, informing him of the position of
orthodox Jewry in the Holy Land, and that Jerusalem should not be appended to
the Zionist state; and it should be considered as an international Open City,
free to members of all denominations and citizens of the world.  That
occurred when the City was under a non-Kosher Zionist rule, but now that the
jurisdiction of Palestine is under a Kosher sovereignty--the State of
Palestine--Jerusalem is the spiritual Citadel of the World, the Capital of
Palestine.

2 December 1995
"Low level settler harassment resurfaces in Hebron"
by Wendy Lehman

	HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Today, about 30 Israeli settlers, mostly young
men and boys from Hebron, managed to enter the Palestinian marketplace in this
heavily divided city.  Although in the past month following the assassination
of Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin the settlers here have been calm,
over the last couple of weeks subtle "legal" harassment by settlers has begun
to resurface.
	On November 12, the Hebron settler community issued a press release on
the computer internet calling for "regular evening tours outside the Jewish
neighborhood [i.e. into Palestinian areas].  These tours constitute a foot
patrol to enhance Jewish presence in the city."  On November 18, groups of
approximately 40 Israeli settlers attempted to enter the Palestinian
marketplace in the city center a number of times but were continually turned
back by Israeli soldiers.  
	Today they succeeded, accompanied by a half dozen Israeli soldiers and
border police.  Some of the settlers were armed and a number of those present
belong to right-wing extremist groups, such as the outlawed Jewish Kach
movement, classified by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist
organization.  Most of the Palestinian shops in the market were closed by the
time the settler group entered, at about 3:30 pm, but those still in the
market looked on baffled.  I asked one Palestinian shop-owner how the
settlers got into the area and he shrugged.  "The soldiers didn't stop them?"
I asked.  He told me the soldiers said, "welcome," to the settlers.
	Earlier in the day, we saw four settler boys, aged about 13 or 14, enter
another shop on the outside edge of the market where settlers are rarely
seen.  In this case, as well as when the larger group entered the market, the
settlers did not appear to be harassing the Palestinian locals except by
their presence.  Some of these same settlers have in the past attacked and
cursed Palestinian adults and children.
	In a similar way, on November 18, we witnessed a group of eight settler
teenagers surround one Palestinian boy and simply stare at him and laugh.
Such incidents continued to occur throughout the day.  One group of settlers
entered an unoccuppied Palestinian home on Deboyya Street, staying for only a
few seconds.
	In light of these recent events, it would seem the Hebron settlers are
taking a much subtler approach to their intimidation of Palestinian locals.
Although there have been occassional physical attacks by settlers on
Palestinians, most of their current harassment has been on a psychological
level.  With the government crackdown on Israeli right-wing extremists
following Rabin's death, including the arrest of several settlers from
Hebron, the settlers here are being cautious.  But it would appear they are
slowly re-establishing their campaign of intimidation.  

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations who participate in public responses to 
organized violence.

    6 December 1995

    Dear friends:

    Greeting from the Christian Peacemaker Team in Haiti.

    Together with other expatriots in Haiti, CPT is planning to issue a
    public call a week from today for the US government to return documents
    seized from the head quarters of the paramilitary group FRAPH and from
    Haitian military headquarters by US troops after their arrival in
    September 1994.

    The approximately 150,000 pages of documents are thought to contain
    information which would help solve hundreds upon hundreds of murders
    and other crimes FRAPH operatives committed from 1992 until the return
    of President Aristide in October 1994.

    Many groups have already issued statements decrying this US attempt to
    hide its own involvement in the formation and direction of FRAPH, and
    to obstruct the administration of justice in Haiti by withholding
    information about those crimes.  If your congregation, meeting or 
    group has issued a statement requesting the US government to 
    release these materials it would be very helpful in our work here   
    to IMMEDIATELY send us a copy of your statement.

    If your congregation or group has not yet issued such a statement, we
    invite you to do so and send us a copy.  Statements we receive by
    December 11 will be made available to local and international media
    present for our event on the 13th.  This is a time when your 
    prayers for peaceful resolution to deep conflicts here can make a 
    difference.

    Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

    Sincerely, CPT Haiti

    Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite 
    and Brethren congregations, and Frends meetings who participate in 
    public responses to organized violence.

Dec. 8, 1995
Haiti: U.S. Obstructs Haitian Justice System

Christian Peacemaker Teams workers in Haiti are concerned about the
U.S. government's reluctance to return documents taken from the
Haitian military and the paramilitary group FRAPH.  The documents
were seized by U.S. troops after they arrived in Haiti in September
1994.

The approximately 150,000 pages of documents are thought to contain
information which would help solve hundreds of murders and other
crimes committed by FRAPH operatives from 1992 until the return of
President Aristide in October 1994.  By withholding the papers, the
U.S. is obstructing the administration of justice in Haiti in order
to cover up its own involvement in the formation and direction of
FRAPH.

Haitian pastor Herode Guillometre remarked about this latest turn in
U.S. policies, "[They] have paralyzed the Haitian justice system as
a moral force in the country.  It's these types of policies th at the
U.S. has been doing for a long time which is the reason justice has
not been able to make any progress.

"Justice is a moral necessity and a Christian principal," Guillometre
continued.  "The church should not tolerate these types of politics,
since the church should stand as the primary defender of justice."

Sources inside Haiti say they expect the documents to be returned,
but not in their original condition.  CIA and other names will
almost certainly be removed.  Many Haitians feel this incident is
just one of many ways the U.S. has shown itself reluctant to support
justice in Haiti.

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite
and Brethren congregations, and Frends meetings who participate in
public responses to organized violence.

Dec. 8, 1995
Christians Condemn Assault on the Poor

    People of faith and conscience are called to help send a prophetic
message to elected officials in Washington, D.C.  A group of Christian
Peacemakers who gathered recently at Kirkridge Retreat Center in Pennsylvania
declared:  "the assault on the poor is an offense to the heart of God." 
     They are inviting people to flood congressional offices with biblical
texts that speak strongly of God's concern for the poor and God's judgment on
those who oppress the poor.  "The Living Word Program" urges people to fax a
scripture text each week to Speaker Gingerich, Majority Leader Dole and
President Clinton.  The text for the week of December 3 was: "Woe to the
legislators of infamous laws, to those who issue tyrannical decrees, who
refuse justice to the unfortunate and cheat the poor among my people of their
rights, who make widows their prey and rob the orphan." Isaiah 10:1-2.  

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite
and Brethren congregations, and Frends meetings who participate in
public responses to organized violence.

Dec. 9, 1995
Hebron: Denial of Basic Rights to Israelis: CPT Concerned

A number of Israelis opposed to the Oslo Accords have been put
under administrative detention in Hebron in the wake of the Rabin
assassination. Chistian Peacemaker Teams are personally aware one
case in which a man from the Kiryat Arba settlement was denied
parole on the basis of "secret" material which neither he nor his
lawyer was allowed to see.

Administrative detention, torture and denial of due process  have
characterized the Palestinian experience with the Israeli "justice"
system for decades.  The actions have not led to peace, justice or
even security for the inhabitants of the region.

While CPT supports the efforts of Israeli police to prevent
dangerous people from attacking either Israelis or Palestinians, we
do not support denying either Israelis or Palestinians their rights
given to them under international law.

We pray that Israelis who have suffered violations of their civil rights will
begin reaching out to their Palestinian neighbors who have suffered similar
violations of their civil rights over the last  decades.  Empathy for one
another will be a big first step in establishing a just and humane
co-existence. 

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations, and Frends meetings who participate in public 
responses to organized violence.

Dec. 10, 1995
Hebron "Christian Peacemaker Teams" Mission Statement

	Christian Peacemaker Teams offers an organized nonviolent presence amid
war and other forms of conflict between groups. We only enter areas to which
we are invited.  CPT currently has projects in Haiti, Washington, D.C. and
Hebron, West Bank.  The Hebron project began in June, 1995, in order to
maintain a violence-deterring presence in this site of extreme tension
between Israeli settlers and Palestinians.  We do not affiliate ourselves
with any political group, but rather as a team are opposed to violence
committed against any human being.
	Here, we practice Biblically-based active nonviolence to facilitate
resolution of conflicts.  We come from a center of prayer, community, and the
belief in the transforming power of nonviolence in our own lives.
	From this center, we enter the larger Hebron community to listen and
observe the situation first-hand.  Our hope is to assist in providing a safer
environment for people to solve their own problems and to support local
initiatives in nonviolent peacemaking.  Our work takes several different
forms.
	One form is to act as international observers.  We have been told by
contacts here that our presence on the street helps to decrease violence.  If
harassment or attacks do occur, we try to nonviolently intervene.  We also
document abuses to send to local Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups,
as well as send press releases to the larger Israeli, Palestinian and
world-wide community.
	We have focused on specific projects which seem most urgent in Hebron.
When working with different families:  we have accompanied individuals at risk,
written about their cases, advocated their situations to human rights lawyers
and written urgent action alerts with their collaboration.  In all of these
situations, we have worked closely with those families or individuals who
have asked for our assistance.
	We abhor violence committed against any person.  The following
writings from the three major religions in this land confirm our vision:
	"You have heard that it was said, `Love your neighbor and hate your
enemy,' but I tell you:  Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you, that you may be sons and daugthers of your Father in heaven . . . If you
love those who love you, what reward will you get? . . . And if you greet only
your brothers, what are you doing more than others?" (Matthew 5:43-47).
	"And if they (the enemy) incline to peace, incline thou also to it, and
trust in God.  Lo!  He is the Hearer, the Knower" (Sura (Al-Anfaal) VIII:
61).  "Oh people!  Lo!  We have created you male and female, and have made
you nations and tribes that ye may know one another.  Lo!  The noblest of
you, in the sight of God, is the best in conduct" (Sura (Al-Hujuraat) XLIX:
13).
	"And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love
mercy and to walk humbly with your God"  (Micah 6:8).


Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite
and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who participate in
public responses to organized violence.

Dec. 11, 1995

  Time Magazine on December 11 carried an article entitled  "Bosnia - The
Peacekeeping Paradox", in which the author pointed out the inconsistency of
the U.S. plan to upgrade the weapons of the Bosnian Muslims in the name of
peace. He suggested that the Bosnian Serbs would see this as a hostile action
on the part of US troops, and be more likely to attack them. 

  Of course, the Serbs will see our troops as targets if we provide weapons to
their enemies. We could resolve this paradox of peacemaking, and make the
area safer for everyone, if we spent our energy and resources DISARMING both
sides. A balance of power at lower, rather than higher levels of armament,
would more likely reduce fear and ease the risk of peacekeeping. Peace could
also be enhanced by the use of nonviolent conflict resolution teams in the
most hostile areas.

John Reuwer,  Reserve Corps, CPT

11 December 1995
"Shots fired at Beit Hadassah settlement; settlers harass journalists
covering incident"
by Wendy Lehman

	HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Gunshots were fired at Beit Hadassah settlement
at 7 pm tonight from a hill opposite.  No one was injured, according to an
Israeli police officer.  Journalists arrived to film the incident an hour
later, but settlers chased them away, pushing several.
	When Christian Peacemaker Team members arrived at 7:45 pm, several
Israeli border police vehicles and an ambulance were present.  Dozens of border
police were running up the hill opposite the Israeli settlement in an attempt
to locate the attacker.	
	At 8 pm, five Palestinian journalists arrived who work for international
press agencies including Associated Press and Reuter.  Approximately fifty
Israeli settler adults and children were gathered outside Beit Hadassah when
the camera operators began filming.  A dozen settler youth ran at the
journalists, covering their lenses with their hands or pushing the video
cameras away.  One adult settler, aged approximately 45 years old, pushed a
camera operator for WTN British television.
	About 30 border police officers attempted to remove the settlers, most
of whom were now surrounding the reporters.  The journalists retreated back down
the road away from the settlement while the border police stood in lines
across the road to prevent the settlers from continuing.
	The journalists reached the other end of the street and went past
another Israeli military checkpoint.  When they attempted to go back toward
the site of the incident, soldiers at the checkpoint stopped them.  One
reporter for TF1 French television asked a soldier if the area was a military
closed zone.  "No," the soldier replied, "But we are trying to keep the
situation calm."  The reporter answered, "And I'm just trying to do my job."
	The same journalist gave credit to the border police for protecting them
against further harassment by the settlers.  "I was surprised that they
prevented the settlers from continuing," he said.

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and
Brethren congregations and Friends meetings who participate in public
responses to organized violence.

Dec. 15, 1995
Land Confiscation at Beit Kahal

Beit Kahal is a village of 5000 people which is built on a rocky
hill top near the Green line, the border recognized by the United
Nations between Israel and Palestine. Most of the families make their
living from farming, but the village farm land is 3-4 kilometers away.

Israelies have come to individuals offering to buy the lands, but the
people have been united in refusing to sell because their on going
existence depends on their livelihood from the land. A military
checkpoint is situated nearby as a control point for traffic passing
from  one side to the other.   

On November 30, 1995, Israeli authorities said they were confiscating
51 dunams ( one dunam is approximately 1/4 of an acre ) of land from this
village.  Instead they fenced in 750 dunams. Also, an additional 5000
dunams of village farm land was made inaccessible. The villagers have not
been informed of the reason for the confiscation. They speculate that it
could be to expand the checkpoint, for an Israeli industrial zone, a new
Israeli settlement, or, perhaps, a new settler road--all reasons that land
has been taken from Palestinians in the past. 

Because of this, Beit Kahal is exemplary of the hidden problems
facing Palestinians with the implementation of the Oslo Accords. CPT
Hebron visited Beit Kahal on 14 December for the first time. 


Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who participate in 
public responses to organized violence.

Dec. 26, 1995

Excerpts of letter on Bosnia for CPTNET readers who have concerns 
about Bosnia.  Please feel free to adapt this for use with your group,
or congregation in communications to your legislators.  


Friends Committee on National Legislation
245 2nd Street NE
Washington D.C. 20002.

December 8, 1995

Members of the United States Senate
Washington D.C.

RE: Bosnia Peace Plan and Deployment of U.S. Troops for Peacekeeping

(Excerpts)

At this time, the only hope for relief for the citizens of Bosnia seems  to
be the Dayton  Peace Agreement with  its NATO peacekeeping  force. However,
our hopefulness is tempered by the knowledge that the solutions to  today's
problems often become tomorrow's problems.  While this peace plan has  com-
mendable  elements,  it  also  has  fundamental  flaws.  Given  these, FCNL
believes the Dayton Peace Agreement with the NATO peacekeeping force is not
"the" answer, but it  may be a step  in the direction of  a long-term solu-
tion. The parties to the conflict have accepted a pathway to peace that  we
would not choose, but we will support and encourage them in their choice to
make peace now. We must live and work with this ambiguity, and we must take
this risk for peace in Bosnia.

In principle, FCNL cannot  advocate the use of  armed force to achieve  any
purpose, not  even peacekeeping.  As Senators,  you would  not send trained
peacemakers to wage  war, and, as  Quakers, we would  not urge you  to send
trained warriors to keep the peace. We have profound concerns about a peace
built on  the pillars  of ethnic  separation. We  oppose achieving military
parity among the parties to the conflict by building up rather than down. A
real peace will be best served by demilitarization, not  re-militarization.
This Bosnia  peace plan  has these  and other  fundamental weaknesses  that
could do more harm than good in both the short-term and long-term.

In conclusion, Quakers try to  live by a deceptively simple  discipline: to
walk cheerfully over the earth answering to that of God in everyone. It  is
difficult to know what policies will  answer to that of God in  the Croats,
the Bosnians (Muslim, Croat, Serb), the Serbs, the U.S. military  personnel
and their  families. The  belligerent and  irresponsible actions  of a  few
people in the former Yugoslavia have generated armed conflict, war  crimes,
and suffering for millions. Bad policy and spending choices over many years
by our own policy makers have narrowed down the options for what we can  do
to help. The Dayton plan for peace in Bosnia is not a good plan, but it has
one advantage over all  other plans: it exists,  and it may be  an adequate
start. We must give it a try by giving it our timely support and nurture.

Supporting the Bosnia peace plan  is not enough. U.S. security  policy must
begin now  to phase  down its  reliance on  the military.  It must begin to
phase up  its reliance  on peaceful  security arrangements.  It was William
Penn who appealed to us all, "...now, let us try what love can do to mend a
broken world." His appeal was echoed centuries later by Martin Luther King,
Jr., who urged us to build  "...a coalition of conscience to ...  close the
gap in broken community." Building a coalition of conscience that uses love
and compassion -- not weapons and bombast -- to mend our broken communities
is a project worthy of our commitment, both here and abroad. In this light,
we urge the Congress to support the Dayton Peace Plan for Bosnia.


Full text available on the Web at the following address:
(http://www.clark.net/pub/gen/fcnl/bosnia.html)

Dayton Peace Agreement text on the Web:
http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/bosday.html

26 December 1995
"Why CPT Hebron went to court" 
by Wendy Lehman

On December 12, I appeared in an Israeli court in Jerusalem to serve
as a witness in a case "against" D.  He is a 15-year-old male Israeli
settler from Hebron who participated in an attack against Christian
Peacemaker Team members Carmen Pauls, Dianne Roe and me on October
25.  We  CPTers discussed the pros and cons of testifying.  After
much deliberation and prayer, we concluded that testifying would be
beneficial -- not to seek revenge, but to hold D. responsible for his
actions.  One of our goals was to suggest remedial consequences as an
alternative punishment for D.

On October 25 at 9 pm, several Israeli settler adults led a group of
approximately 60 settler youth in a demonstration in Hebron.  Pauls, Roe and
I went out to investigate and observe.  We witnessed about half of the
settler children spray-painting Palestinian shops while Israeli soldiers and
border police watched and did not intervene.

At about 9:30 pm, approximately ten of the youth (including D.) began to
throw eggs and stones at us, with several eggs hitting us.  Five or six
Israeli border police officers came to assist us and were also egged.  When
the level of tension increased and the children and some adults began to yell
at us, the border police indicated that the settlers "ordered" them to leave.

After discussion, we left with the border police to make a statement at the
police station concerning D., whom we could identify.

In early December, a prosecuting attorney from the Israeli court system
requested that I testify in this case (Roe had since returned to the U.S. and
Pauls was unavailable at the time).  I was asked to participate in a
pre-trial investigation to determine whether the court had enough evidence to
proceed with the charges against D.  The attorney strongly encouraged us to
testify, calling for an emergency court appearance because Pauls and I would
be leaving the country.  We were unable to reach Pauls before she left for
the U.S. but I agreed to testify.  The trial took place with unusual
promptness, just a month and a half after we were attacked.

Little of the Hebrew court proceedings was translated for me, except for
direct questions.  At the request of the prosecuting attorney I related the
events of October 25.  I was then subjected to cross-examination by D.'s
attorney, who wanted to know if I was with an organization.  Although it
wasn't clear what this had to do with us being egged and stoned, I explained
that CPT is committed to justice and nonviolence, and that I am Mennonite and
a pacifist.  The trial provided a good forum to explain to at least a couple
of settlers that we are interested in peace with justice for everyone. 

The trial also provided opportunity to explain pacifist response to
violence.  The cross-examiner asked me why we didn't yell back at the
settlers when they threw stones and eggs at us.  I explained that we believe
shouting will only escalate violence/potential violence.  The cross-examiner
was also curious as to why we decided to stay.  "Why did you (the CPTers) just
stand there and take it?" he asked.  I joked, "What can I say?  That's what a
pacifist does." They laughed.  I went on to explain that although the police
were encouraging us to leave, we didn't feel it was right that the victims
rather than the offenders should be forced to leave.  When it seemed seemed
that the violence could become severe, we chose to leave.  "It's not
scientific," I explained.

The "stickiest" question the cross-examiner asked was, "Do you want to see
the boy punished?"  I hedged on that, saying that this wasn't an easy
question to answer.  The judge insisted on a yes or a no, and said it was a
simple question.  "Trust me," I explained, "in the context of my belief
system, this is not an easy question to answer."  I finally answered yes,
after the judge told me I could explain further.  I added that I don't
believe prison or a fine accomplishes much, but would like to see the boy do
something that made him aware of the effect of his actions.  I hoped this
would promote change.  The boy and his mother chuckled.  I joked, "Well,
maybe I'm an idealist, but this is what I believe."  I explained that I
didn't like the word "punished" but preferred, "held responsible."

Up until this point, the judge had been translating for me.  But the last
question the cross-examiner asked, in English, was, "So, what was the problem
with a couple of boys spray-painting graffiti--" and then the judge cut him
off.  They spoke Hebrew, so I was excluded.  I was planning to answer that I
understood that vandalism was illegal, but the question was dropped.

This report summarizes a much more lengthy dialogue.  It is my sense that
the court experience was productive, whether or not the Israeli authorities
decide to proceed with the charges against D.  At the beginning of the trial,
in a tiny courtroom, I felt tension between D., his mother and I.  As the
trial progressed, although there was still some tension, we were better able
to see each other as human beings.  D.'s mother even helped with some of the
translation.  Humanizing the victim and the attacker to one another is
crucial if we ever hope to reach the understanding that can lead to better
relations.

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who participate in 
public responses to organized violence.

December 26, 1995
Christian Embassy Boycotts Christmas in Bethlehem

Accusing Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat of using Christmas as a
political tool, International Christian Embassy spokesperson Jan
Willem van der Hoeven encouraged Christians to boycott the Christmas
proceedings in Bethlehem and celebrate instead at a nearby Israeli
settlement.  Arafat spent Christmas in Bethlehem to celebrate the
withdrawal of Israeli troops from this and other West Bank towns.

The International Christian Embassy, which claims to represent
millions of evangelical Christians around the world, favors the
return of Jews to a united Israel in anticipation of the end times. 
The group believes Israel should not return the West Bank to the
Palestinians because it is part of the Biblical land of Israel.

Not all Christians agreed with van der Hoeven's feelings, however.
Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah, the top Roman Catholic clergyman in
Israel, said the boycott is not in keeping with the Christmas spirit.
Said Sabbah, a Palestinian, "This land needs reconciliation...not
people coming from outside telling us to boycott this and boycott
that.  This is not Christmas."

The four person Christian Peacemaker Violence Reduction Team of
Hebron celebrated Christmas in Bethlehem with Palestinian Christian
families.

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who participate in 
public responses to organized violence.

December 29, 1995
Hebron: Bomb Scare Permits Dialogue

Tonight, December 28, the Christian Peacemaker Team in Hebron was
given an opportunity to turn a moment of tension and uncertainty
into a time of bridge-building.  Around 8 pm our dinner was disturbed
by a loud bang.  We quickly moved to the checkpoint near the
marketplace, where soldiers were investigating an "object of
suspicion."  A soldier explained that an Arab terrorist had
attempted an attack.  A tire which had been burning for ten minutes
had just exploded.

The Israeli Defense Force cordoned off an area and a robot device
checked trash barrels for "suspicious objects," a.k.a. bombs.  None
were found.  What CPT members found, however, was an opportunity to
dialogue with students at the nearby Jewish religious school. 
Previous attempts to speak with students had been halted by the
adults.  This evening the students came to us freely, curious as to
why Cliff and Art shaved their mustaches.  Our answers naturally
flowed into the telling of our own stories and stories of peace
work.

As the conversation went back and forth, touching upon what is most
basic to every boy, basketball, it moved towards that which troubles
them -- the Palestinian/Israeli situation.  Most difficult to hear
was the students fear of Arabs, their insistence that all Arabs
hated and wanted to kill the Jews.  This was especially sad given a
conversation earlier in the day with a Palestinian who spoke of us
all being created by God, and of the need for all of us to realize
this and to live together.

Our team will continue, inspired and encouraged by tonight's
meeting, to deter violence and humanize one to the other.

CPT's Hebron team is currently staffed by Marge Argyelan (Chicago,
IL), Art Gish (Athens, OH), Kathy Kern (Rochester, NY), and Cliff
Kindy (N. Manchester, IN).

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite
and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who participate in
public responses to organized violence.

December 30, 1995
SING OUT AGAINST VIOLENT TOYS

CHICAGO --At 11:00 AM on New Year's Day, 1996, Angelic Messengers
will gather at the Toys R Us store at Western and Belmont to sing
out against the toys that teach our children to kill and to announc e
the good news of peaceful play around the world.  This store
displays a selection of violent toys and computer games.  

As messengers of the Prince of Peace, the Angelic Choir will sing
carols of concern for children whose lives are threatened daily by
guns in the playgrounds and on our streets.  The angels will procl
aim the need for peaceful play and invite the management to exorcise
the violence from the shelves.  

This appeal, the fourth by CPT to Toys R Us to replace the violent
toys with those that reflect the true values of our communities, will
be proclaimed by eleven Peacemaker Corps and Reserve Corps trainees. 
CPT's third annual training session, currently under way in at the
Chicago office, started on December 27 and will continue through
January 17, 1996. 

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who participate in 
public responses to organized violence.

    I think thats's great!

Jan. 2, 1995
CPT CALLS FOR PEACEFUL PLAY

Six members of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) dressed as angels
entered the TOYS-R-US store in Chicago on New Year's Day to sing out
against violent toys. This was CPT's fourth appeal to replace violent
toys with those that reflect higher values for our communities. About
40 community people gathered outside the store to join in a celestial
choir of angels dressed in white sheets and tin foil wings.  The choir
sang traditional Christmas carols adapted for the occasion. Some
participants were threatened with arrest, but in the end were able
to deliver their message unmolested.

As the group inside the store began singing, the store manager
approached them saying, "I order you out of the store." The CPTers
handed him a scroll that called on TOYS-R-US to remove violent toys,
games and videos from the shelves as CPTer Dianne Roe took
photographs.  Security threatened to confiscate her camera.  The
manager crumpled the scroll and threatened to call the police.  The
angels continued singing and delivering messages about dangerous
toys, finally singing their way out the front doors uninhibited by
security.  They were greeted by another celestial choir that had
been singing to customers in the parking lot.

Several parents brought their children to join in the witness.
Martha Robinson, a mother of three and member of the 57th Street
Friends' Meeting said, "My husband Eric and I brought our whole
family. It's hard to keep children focused on the message of
non-violence. Everything around them is violent. In our meeting we
have had lessons about creating a war toy free zone."

CPTer Tammy Krause from Washington City Church of the Brethren later
commented, "Every day in CPT's Urban Violence Reduction Project I
see how these toys have influenced the youth with whom we intera ct."
"It desensitizes our children," said Beulah Shisler, a member of
the Hatfield Church of the Brethren in Pennsylvania.  "I wouldn't
want my seven grandchildren to grow up thinking that we solve
problems this way."

Christian Peacemaker Corps and Reserve Corps training participants 
include Anne Montgomery (New York City, age 69), Dianne Roe (Corning, NY,
age 53), David Harnish (Tucson, AZ, age 31), Tammy Krause 
(Washington, DC, age 28), Bob Naiman (Urbana, IL, age 30), Suzanne
O'Hatnick (Baltimore, MD, age 50), Jim Satterwhite (Bluffton, OH,
age 48), Matt Sears (Washington, DC, age 23), Beulah Shisler (Lans
dale, PA, age 64), and Bruce Yoder (Elkhart, IN, age 30).

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who participate in 
public responses to organized violence.

5 January 1996
Settlers Stone Nearby Palestinian Home
by Jeff Heie

HEBRON, WEST BANK -- According to eyewitnesses, between 30 and 40
Israeli settlers from Beit Hadassah showered stones on a neighboring
Palestinian home at about 8:30 pm on January 4.  Five members of the
Al Atal family suffered injuries due to the stoning.  Witnesses said
that two soldiers watched the attack but failed to respond.

Areefa Al Atal, age 14, was taken to the hospital and received
several stitches in her forehead.  She had been standing close to a
window in her home when a stone propelled from a slingshot struck her
in the head.

Four men were struck by baseball-sized stones thrown from
approximately 30 feet above where they were pouring a cement floor. 
Two of the men were hit in the head and the other two in the back. 
None of their injuries required medical attention.

Israeli police arrived on the scene at 9:45, over an hour after the
incident.  No arrests were made in connection with the attack. 
However, Mohammed Al Atal, father of Areefa and one of the stoning
victims, was taken to Israeli police headquarters at midnight and
questioned until 3:00 am. 

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who participate in 
public responses to organized violence.

Dec. 31, l995
HEBRON: ON BEING UNINVITED TO THE PARTY
by Art Gish

We had some interesting contact with Israelis here in Hebron last
evening.  It was close to dark and there had been a large group of
Israeli visitors on the streets.  Marge and I saw a group of maybe
150 people coming down the street singing and chanting.  They were in
a happy mood. 	

They invited us to join them and eat the third sabbath meal with
them.  I declined, but they insisted.  We started walking with them
and tried to explain to them that there are tensions between us and
the settlers, and that it didn't seem appropriate for us to go with
them.  They insisted that we were welcome and were their guests. 	

Soon a local settler approached them and informed them that they
should not be relating to us.  Our hosts were quite embarrassed to
tell us that actually we were not welcome to eat with them.  We told
them that we understood and didn't want to cause any problems.  We
did continue our conversation for another 5-10 minutes. 	

Earlier in the afternoon we met some musicians from Jerusalem who are
part of a group inspired by "the dancing rabbi". We talked about
peace, the situation here in Hebron, and possible solutions.  They
insisted that we were welcome to their concert in the evening, even
after I tried to explain the tensions here.  Then a local settler 
came by and told them not to talk with us.  After the settler left,
they again insisted that we come, that we would be their guests. 	

Our team had a big discussion of how to respond.  It was decided that
two of us should go, but first check if we in fact were welcome, and
not to go in if there were objections. 	

We went up to where they were selling tickets and began
asking if we were welcome.  Everyone said, yes, of course.  Some of
the musicians saw us and again assured us that we were welcome.
Soon a local settler came and told everyone that we were not
welcome.  That created a big discussion among the Israelis. We
stepped back.  Some of the Israelis vigorously defended us. 	

Soon a soldier took us to the nearby police station.  Apparently he
was told we were causing trouble and should be removed.  We
explained what happened and he let us go.  We would have liked to
listen to the conversations these two events may have stimulated. 

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who participate in 
public responses to organized violence.

6 January 1995
Hebron: Soldiers and Checkpoints
by Marge Argelyn

On January 4, 1996, CPT members Cliff Kindy and Marge Argyelan
investigated an incident in which border police harassed Kawther
Salaam, a Palestinian journalist, who was trying to visit the
Mutaseb family.  Because an army base was installed next to their
home, the Mutaseb family is unable to receive visitors and many
times are detained in their comings and goings.  

After going through a series of checkpoints, the team met with a
group of soldiers who discounted the incident, indicating  that the
journalist was crazy and thus open to insult and being spat upon.  It
was difficult to discuss the issue with the soldiers as they giggled
among themselves and made light of our concerns (i.e., "go ask Shimon
Peres for permission to visit the family" said the captain).  It was
also disconcerting to be surrounded by a group of  armed soldiers 
and to feel that there was no controlling authority.

The Musaseb family must daily pass through four checkpoints and go through
metal detectors.   This is especially difficult for the mother who has a
metal pin in her arm and has been told on occasion to break open her arm and
prove it to the soldiers.   Cliff and Marge were willing to sit and wait the
entire night if necessary to meet with the family.  Finally family members
were allowed to come down to the checkpoint and introductions allowed before
they were told to return to their home.  

Leaving the area, team members were stopped by a second set of soldiers who
were concerned about the interactions which had taken place with the other
soldiers.  This conversation achieved much more depth as CPT and soldiers
discussed how fear paralyzes people--agreeing that both the U.S. and Israel
are controlled by fear.  While Cliff and Marge did not change the soldiers'
hearts, while the soldiers did not lay down their M-16s, bearing the U.S.
"Ford" label, a dialogue took place in which people saw one another as human
beings. 

Returning home, comparing and contrasting the two conversations,  CPT 
workers were overtaken by the Mutaseb children.  They wanted to express their
thanks for the attempted visit.  The children asked not for food or money,
simply that CPT keep talking to the soldiers so one day they may freely come
and go and have visitors.  

January 7, 1996
Hebron: CPT Helps Market Clean Up
By Cliff Kindy

On Friday January 5, 1996, Hamas leader Yihye Ayyash was killed in
Gaza by an explosive planted in a mobile phone.  The Israeli Secret
Service reportedly carried out the assassination because of strong
suspicion that Ayyash was the mastermind behind many Palestinian
bombings.  Hamas called a three-day strike after the funeral on
Saturday January 6.  Despite fairly strong support for the strike in
Hebron, no incidents of retaliation or unrest against the military or
Israelis have occurred.

Today, January 7, three members of CPT's team in Hebron discovered
that the metal gate at the entrance to the old city market had been
partially removed.  These gates were strategically located
throughout the city by the Israeli military in order to close off
sectors for security reasons during the Intifada (Palistinian
Uprising).  The gates have since deteriorated and now only serve as a
hindrance to market traffic and a reminder of the restrictions placed
on many Palestinians by the Israeli occupation. The CPTers helped
passersby clean up the concrete rubble still blocking the passage
around one of these gates.  Onlookers expressed their appreciation.

Later, passing by again, the CPTers encountered other Palestinians
finishing the job of opening the gate and again stopped to help. Two
hours later, all the remains of the gate were cleaned up.  The
enthusiasm of persons in the immediate vicinity was infectious,
and there is much speculation that Palestinians may remove other
barriers throughout the city markets.

8 January 1996
Hebron: Two Arrested for Removing Barricades
by Jeff Heie and Cole Hull

One American and one Palestinian were arrested this morning for
purportedly removing barricades and turnstiles from the market in the
center city section of Hebron.  Art Gish, an American citizen and
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) worker and Hisham Al Botch, a
Palestinian living in Hebron, were taken into custody at 11:00 am by
Israeli Defense Forces.  They were later turned over to local Israeli
Police.

The gates and turnstiles which were dismantled by Palestinians were
built during the Intifada ( Palestinian Uprising) by the Israeli
occupation forces to maintain control of the market by allowing
certain areas to be quickly closed. Though they have deteriorated
and have not been used at all in the last year, they have been
allowed to continue to impede commerce in the marketplace. 
The gates require pedestrian traffic to move through certain
passageways in a single file line and make the movement of sizable
loads of market goods very difficult.  They also serve as an
reminder of the restrictions placed on the Palestinians
who live and work in Hebron.

Following the removal of the first gate to the market by a group of
Palestinians and CPTers, hundreds of Palestinians took part in the
dismantling of barricades throughout the market area.  The crowd
completed at least two hours of work without any interuption by
Israeli soldiers.  During the removal of the final gate, soldiers
appeared to select Palestinians at random for detention and
questioning.

About ten Palestinian shopkeepers and youth were taken to the police
headquarters, though most were soon released.  Two Palestinians were
held for several hours as witnesses, as were CPTers Cliff Kindy
(North Manchester, IN) and Canadian Cole Hull, who had been
recording the scene with a video camera.  Two others, CPTer Art Gish
and Palestinian Hisham Al Botch, were ultimately charged for the
actions of many others.  Hisham is being held under "administrative
detention" for 96 hours, and faces further sentencing should
his case come to trial.  Gish, an organic farmer from Athens, Ohio
is being held under the charge of destruction of military property, and
may face deportation.

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who participate in 
public responses to organized violence.

January 10, 1996
Hebron: Peace Team Member Released
By Cole Hull

HEBRON, WEST BANK -- A member of a Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT)
in Hebron, West Bank was released today after 48 hours imprisonment.
CPTer Art Gish of Athens, Ohio was held at the Israeli Civil
Administration in Hebron under charges of "doing damage to a gate
under serious circumstances" and interfering with military personnel
in carrying out their duties.  Gish was released unharmed and
without condition.  Hisham Naji Al Batach, a Palestinian youth who
was arrested with Gish, was released a few hours later.

Israeli Defense Forces had arrested Hisham and Gish after they and
others dismantled gates and turnstiles in Hebron's central
marketplace.  The gates, originally installed by the Israeli
occupation as security measures, had not been used in the past year
and had deteriorated.  They were removed with the support
and help of hundreds of enthusiastic Palestinian residents, who saw
the gates as an impediment to market traffic and a reminder of
restrictions placed on Palestinians during the Israeli occupation. 
A festive mood prevailed during the gate removal and no outbreaks of
violence occurred.  The arrests appeared to be arbitrary sanctions
against the actions of many.

During his incarceration Gish refused food and water.  His fasting
concerned his captors, though Gish saw it primarily as prayer.  The
remainder of the CPT team spent much of the time following the
arrests, gathering information and contacting legal support and
governmental offices.  In conflicting stories, the police reported
that Gish had been transferred to the "Russian Compound" in
Jerusalem, that he was being held in Asqalon Prison near Tel Aviv,
and that he was to be deported back to the United States.  The police
also indicated that since permission to remove the gates had not been
granted, the military would seal the market gateways permanently.

Against legal requirements, Israeli officials neither notified nor
consulted the U.S. consulate following the detention of Gish, a U.S.
citizen.  The Israeli authorities kept Gish in isolation during his
incarceration, explaining only that he would be killed if he were
kept with other Palestinian prisoners.  Similarly, he was cautioned
not to return to the market area of the city following his release
for risk of being harmed.

After his release, Gish returned to the market, where he was received 
with appreciation and thanks for his efforts on behalf of the local populace.

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who participate in 
public responses to organized violence.

January 12, 1996
HEBRON: CROSSING THE LANGUAGE BARRIER
Art Gish

The other day while I intervened in a clash between soldiers and
Palestinians in Hebron, West Bank, a woman about 60 years of age
came up to me and in a very excited voice to tell me her story.  I
couldn't interpret one word of her Arabic, but I think I understood
her.  I kept nodding to show her I understood.

She told me of the pain she and her family suffered from the
soldiers.  She pointed to the soldiers, she said something about her
child, she shared her pain.  It was a glorious encounter.

I don't think she knew that I work for Christian Peacemaker Teams to
reduce violence in Hebron.  She had only seen how I was confronting
the brutality of the soldiers.

We understood each other.  God bless her.


Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who participate in 
public responses to organized violence.

Jan. 13, 1996
HEBRON: 48 HOURS IN AN ISRAELI JAIL
Art Gish

On January 8 a large number of Palestinians removed gates which had
been installed in Hebron's central market by the Israeli military. 
These gates were a constant frustration to the local people bec ause
they greatly hindered movement and symbolized the restrictions
brought by the Israeli occupation.  Members of Christian Peacemaker
Teams (CPT) became involved in the action primarily to be a non
violent presence in case of intervention by Israeli soldiers. 
Soldiers detained three Palestinians and CPT members Cole Hull,
Cliff Kindy, and myself.  I was arrested and held 48 hours.

The police didn't know quite what to do with me.  I obviously wasn't
a threat to anyone, but the military wanted to bring serious charges
against me, seeking at least deportation.  The police even had a
difficult time interrogating me.  I was too interesting and we had
too much fun.  I kept asking for pizza and joking about life in
Israeli jails.  I told them my name was Samson and that I tore down
those gates all by myself.  They loved it.  We did a lot of laughing
together.

We got into a big discussion of capital punishment and how peace
could happen between Israelis and Palestinians.  I outlined the role
of Christian Peacemaker Teams as a positive, nonviolent presence and
described how we have been working to reduce the tensions in Hebron.
They argued that only the government has the authority to be
peacemakers.

I refused to answer any questions that would implicate others or
myself, but I did make a statement about removing the gates.  I said
it was an act of empowerment for the Palestinians and a step toward
democracy and responsibility, and that I hoped that Israelis would
see this event as a stepping stone toward more freedom and
reconciliation.

It seemed difficult for them, but they told me they would be seeking
deportation and that I would be held in jail.  Soon I was alone in
the small cell where I would spend the next two days.  I accepted
this as a time of spiritual retreat and went on a complete fast,
neither eating or drinking until they released me.  I spent a lot of
time singing and praying.  And I caught up on sleep.

I thought a lot about my cell.  It was built by the British to
maintain control over the people here.  Then the Jordanians took it
over, and now the Israelis.  How many people over the years have been
in this cell because they dared to question the unjust order
imposed on them?  When the Palestinians take over this building in
March, will they also imprison people who question their authority? 
I also thought of the Jews in exile in Babylon, the early
Christians, the Anabaptists, the vast numbers of people who over the
centuries who have had the courage to stand for truth.  I was at
peace.

The second evening I was told I would be deported the next day. 
That was depressing.  I began to feel the injustice of it all.  The
next morning an officer came to my cell and told me they were putting
me on a plane to America.  For the first time I protested.  I told him
I had not been allowed to speak to a lawyer, and that I had to have
a hearing before a judge before they could deport me.

It turned out he was joking.  He took me to his office and informed
me that I would be released.  I wrote a short statement saying I did
not intend to harm anyone and intended to remain peaceful.  I was
then released and the police gave me water and something to eat.  I
was pretty weak.

I wanted to walk home, but they said it was not safe to walk through
Arab neighborhoods.  I have been living in a Palestinian
neighborhood and walking the streets alone any time of the day or
night feeling perfectly safe.  For there to be peace, we will have
to get beyond our fear.

When I arrived back in our neighborhood I was greeted with hugs and
kisses and cheers.  For them I was now a Palestinian.  Actually, I
don't deserve the honor.  Palestinians get long jail sentences for
doing less than I did.  I was treated much better than are
Palestinians.  I am not as vulnerable as they because of my U.S.
passport.  But I learned a little bit about their suffering.  My
time in jail was a wonderful experience I will not soon forget.

I came to Hebron on a mission of peace.  I intend to leave Hebron on
Jan 21.  I do not intend to do anything against the people of Israel
or create trouble for anyone.  I am sorry if the soldiers feel I
gave them trouble.  I believe I was always nonviolent and peaceful.


Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who participate in 
public responses to organized violence.

Jan. l3, l996      
HEBRON: BIBLE BELT
Art Gish

This morning I was talking to some Israeli soldiers at the end of
our street.  They wanted to see my Bible.  One of them started
reading from the first chapter of Genesis and seemed surprising that
it was the same as the Hebrew. 	

Then a settler woman came up to us and scolded the soldiers for
talking with me.  The only word I could understand was "Hamas." I
said  "Shabot Shalom", told her I am not Hamas, that I am working
for peace.  She walked away very angry.  	 

The soldiers asked me why she is angry with me.  I explained that
some settlers think we are Nazis and support Hamas.  I asked them if
they understood why the settlers are so angry with us. 	 

One of the soldiers said yes.  We are in the middle of a war, and
talking about nonviolence in the middle of a war is not appreciated. 
That led to a long discussion of what CPT is doing in Hebron.  


Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who participate in 
public responses to organized violence.

January 16, 1996
CLAMLAKE, WI: PEACEMAKER WITNESS AGAINST TRIDENT FUNDING
by Bruce Yoder

CHICAGO, IL - Six members of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) were
arrested during a witness against Project ELF in Northern Wisconsin
yesterday.  CPT members and concerned local citizens participated in
the action at the ELF site as part of Martin Luther King Jr. weekend
holiday celebrations.  Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) transmitters
send commands to submerged nuclear-armed submarines around the globe
as a part of the US Navy's first-strike system.

Following a gathering at the entrance to the ELF compound for
songs, sharing and a common meal of soup, participants streamed
though the entrance carrying signs which read "Don't Get Snowed by
ELF" and "King Had A Dream, ELF Is A Nightmare".  At the inner
entrance the group blocked the gate with freshly fallen snow while
listening to recordings of King speeches.  Six CPTers and ten local
activists entered the inner compound as law enforcement officials
arrived at the scene.  Those who entered were arrested after
refusing to leave the compound.  

Despite the legal consequences, participants expressed their
dedication to continue witnessing for an end to the US nuclear
arsenal.  Among those cited for trespassing were various persons who
had recently spent time in prison for previous actions in the
campaign to close the ELF facility.  Yesterday's action was a first
for Beulah Shisler of the Hatfield Church of the Brethren.  She
said, "Everybody is in favor of peace, but to actually do something
to make it happen is quite a big step.  I've now been able to make
that step."

The King Day activity was part of the ongoing effort by local
citizens to close the ELF site.  Twice in 1995 the US Senate voted
to discontinue funding, only to have it reinstated in committee
after heavy lobbying by the "Submarine Caucus", eight members of
Congress who have ties to the submarine industry.  Senator Russ
Feingold (D-WI) has called the "Trident Submarine System" a relic of
the Cold War. 	 	


Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who participate in 
public responses to organized violence.

January 15, 1996
Hebron -- Reading the Signs
by J. Scott Heie

Two nights ago, members of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) in
Hebron, West Bank observed a group of Israeli soldiers on the roof
of a Palestinian home.   Palestinian children who had gathered
around told us that the soldiers were removing a banner advertising a
candidate in the upcoming Palestinian elections (January 20).  The
soldiers later confirmed this.  The banner was located in a Palestinian
neighborhood but was adjacent to a road used by Israeli settlers.

This action made me think about signs and their relation to fairness
and democracy.  Earlier in the week a group of Israeli settlers had
set up tables and hung banners in this very same Palestinian
neighborhood.  Though the banners had provocative slogans like
"Hebron: Jewish Yesterday, Today, and Forever," Israeli soldiers
stationed a few yards away did nothing.  But legitimate political
candidates are not permitted to display campaign signs because of
what Israeli settlers may think.

Signs commemorating the massacre of 67 Jews by Arabs in Hebron in
1929 can be found repeatedly in downtown Hebron along with
spray-painted stars of David and anti-Arab graffiti.  No remembrance
of the 1994 massacre of 29 Palestinians at the Abraham Mosque can be
seen. The perpetrator, Baruch Goldstein, is memorialized by a shrine
at Kiryat Arba settlement where local settlers light candles and
pray.

A press release by settlers announces that Kiryat Arba Mayor Zvi
Katzover has moved his office to Hebron.  Though Kiryat Arba is
located outside the city, it appears the mayor has "hung his
shingle" within the city limits, presumably to make a statement of
ownership about Hebron.  By way of contrast, about two weeks ago the
Israeli military forced the Palestinian authority in Hebron to take
down a sign outside one of its offices.  The sign merely signified
the purpose of the office, "water and electric," but was nonetheless
deemed improper by the occupation forces.

What do all of these "signs" say about the future of Hebron?  To me,
they say that even though Palestinians make up the overwhelming
majority of Hebron's population, they will have only limited control
over the future of their city after the January 20 Palestinian
elections.  The upcoming elections seem more a way to appease the
Palestinians than to give them power to make real changes.  Israeli
Defense Forces and Israeli settlers will remain in control, and the
new Palestinian Parliament will serve as a token of Israeli goodwill.

Do Palestinians have any power in this situation?  Yes, they do.  A
case in point: when the settlers set up signs and tables in their
neighborhood, some Palestinian children got their whistles out and
went into a whistle-blowing frenzy.  Annoyed by the noise, the
settlers moved to a quieter location. 


Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who participate in 
public responses to organized violence.

January l8, l996
HEBRON: TWO ISRAELI SOLDIERS KILLED
Art Gish

After supper last evening, our Christian Peacemaker Team  went for
our regular evening patrol around the city.  When we got outside the
door we heard automatic weapons firing somewhere from beyond the
cemetery.  We decided to investigate.

The soldiers would only say this was war.  It seemed a little crazy
to me, but we decided to head for where we thought the shooting was
taking place. It did seem like the right thing to do.

We decided to take the long road around Tel Rumeida.  We continued
to hear sporadic shooting in the distance, but all the neighborhoods
were quiet.  We concluded that it may have been local people from a
Hamas neighborhood celebrating.

Not long after we returned home we heard a lot of sirens and a
loudspeaker announcing a curfew.  We soon learned that two Israeli
soldiers had  been killed outside of Hebron and that the West Bank
was under a week's curfew.

Early this morning a co-worker and I took a walk to learn more about what
was happening.  We learned that the curfew was lifted at 5:00 this
morning.  It is interesting that the curfew  was so short.  Did the
presence of many international election observers have an effect?

Have the Israelis decided to use less collective punishment?  As far
as we know, no one was arrested for the murders and no one has
claimed responsibility. Everything was quiet today.


Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite
and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who participate in
public responses to organized violence.

Feb. 2, 1995
HEBRON:  Defense Force Destroys Caves
by Cole Hull

Over 100 Bedouin from the Yatta region south of Hebron were forcibly removed
from the caves which they call home today.  Their crime?  Choosing to live
within a kilometer of the Jewish settlement of Beit Yattie.  Never mind that
they moved in some 36 years before the settlement was even established or
that they are simple farmers and shepherds.

Today the IDF moved in heavy equipment including a hydraulic jackhammer, and
proceeded to not only remove the Bedouin from their homes, but destroyed the
caves where they have lived since 1948.  The ceilings of four caves which
served as home for over 85 persons were systematically collapsed, and the
well that they used was filled with rubble and drained.

CPT members Cole Hull and Jeff Heie traveled to this remote hillside to
document the destruction.  They were able to gather some testimonies and
photographic evidence along with a local journalist.

Left homeless in the harsh January weather with nothing more than advice that
they must move to the nearby village of Yatta were the Mosallam Salahih
Rashead family, 20 persons; the Mahmoud Salahih Rasheed family, 15 persons;
the Ahmad Ali Haseen Ihreezot family, 20 persons; the Muhmad Ali Ihreezot
family, 30 persons; and the Sabri Haseen Rasheed family, consisting of 10
persons.

These families watched the destruction proceed amid the pile of their sparse
possessions, thrown together in bags or loose by the soldiers who arrived
unannounced early in the day.   Attempts to identify a spokesperson among
the soldiers gathered at the site were unsuccessful.  There is no spokesperson
was the only response.  Two members of the Isreali civil administration
present would offer no more than the claim that these people were in an
illegal area.  The Bedouin, in turn, point to the 5 dunams of land beneath
the cave openings which they used to harvest, but which the settlements now
claim.

They came and cut our trees and shrubs, they scattered our animals; they
even knocked over and removed our grave markers.  Since the Beit Yattia
Settlement was created in 1984 there has existed an uneasy relationship
between the Bedouin of Hirybiet and Alnby and their new neighbors.  Fences
have been erected, and olive trees seized.

Some short time earlier 3 makeshift stone homes which the extended families
also utilized to house 12 members each were also leveled, reducing the
options available to them even further.  These homes were perhaps 100 yards
downslope from the four caves.  Within the caves, most families lived in two
chamber rooms subdividing a single cave of perhaps 20 meters depth.

Reports from this morning indicate that up to 5 of the Bedouin children
require hospital care for hypothermia in the near freezing conditions last
night as they were left in the elements, though due to their remote locale,
an ambulance could not be dispatched.  The International Red Cross has been
notified.


Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and
Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who participate in
public responses to organized violence.

9 February, 1996
Oslo II Market Goes Into, Out Of Business
by Cole Hull

This morning, beginning at 11am, members of the Christian Peacemaker Team in
Hebron attempted to sell tomatoes in the old wholesale market, Hasbahe, but
were quickly stopped by IDF soldiers.  They had set up a table with the sign
"Oslo II Market" in Arabic, Hebrew and English.  They also brought with them
a copy of the accords to help interested shoppers in understanding their
actions.

According to the Oslo II Accords, one of the measures "for normalizing life
in the Old City... [to] be taken immediately after the signing of the
Agreement" is the opening of this market for retail use.  Over four months
after the agreement was ratified in Washington DC (Sept. 28, 1995), this has
not happened.

Soldiers immediately descended on the table where Jeff Heie (Washington, DC)
and Anne Montgomery (New York City) stood with a case of tomatoes, a scale,
and bags. They first refused to allow the Team to sell, or to read the Oslo
II Accords to them, then the soldiers moved the table to the curbside.  As
Cole Hull (Seattle, WA) and Jeff Heie once again moved the table to the foot
of the stairs leading into the Hasbahe, they were blocked by a growing
contingent of military personnel.

In the ensuing debate, one of the soldiers produced a coffee-stained
document, that had been altered several times as evidence that the
zone was, in fact, a closed military area.  The date on the document
had been crossed out and changed.  Settler spokesperson Noam Arnon
appeared on the scene and declared the area to be Jewish land, and
that attempts to open the market were supporting terrorism.  Several
members of the Hebron Solidarity Committee, as well as a student
from Birzeit University, and a staff member from Neve Shalom, a
Jewish - Palestinian community all come in support of the action.
They debated with settler spokesperson Arnon.

The Team continued until all the tomatoes were sold out, and further debate
with the military personnel who had gathered seemed fruitless.

"We chose tomatoes," said Team member Jeff Heie, "on the advice of a local
Palestinian friend who said they would not hurt as much if someone threw them
at us."

Many in the crowd that had gathered expressed support and gratitude
for the effort.  Montgomery was approached by a former merchant from
the area who expressed a desire to return to his former station.
Others encouraged the Team to come back again tomorrow.  No arrests were
made, though the military governor made a brief appearance.  The
presence of large numbers of television press may have increased the
security of the Team's efforts.

The market, located in the old city area of Hebron adjacent to the current
vegetable market, the IDF checkpoint, and the Avraham Avinu settlement, has
been closed since the 1994 Massacre at the nearby Abraham Mosque by a Jewish
settler, Baruch Goldstein.  The Old City, as part of "Area C", will remain
under the control of the IDF rather than the Palestinian police following
redeployment.  Various stories have been circulating in the community: that
the market area remains closed; that an offer was made to reopen it, but
the municipality is hesitant to accept the transition agreement to a retail
space; that the market is available, but merchants are either not informed of
their rights, or are afraid of harassment due to the proximity of the market
area to both soldier checkpoints and the settlement.


Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and
Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who participate in
public responses to organized violence.

10 February 1996
Hebron: Yeshiva Students Living in Military Camp
by J. Scott Heie

The main Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) military camp in the center of Hebron
doubles as dorm room space for several Yeshiva students who attend school
only meters away.  Four mobile homes within the compound are currently being
utilized by students.  The camp was renovated in September of 1995 in order
to make a number of existing bus shelter sheds into livable barracks for IDF
soldiers.  The mobile units were moved in after this rennovation, and as of
late have also been used to house guests of local settlers on the Jewish
Sabbath (Saturday).

The land occupied by the military camp is the site of the former Hebron bus
station.  It was expropriated in 1983 for security reasons.  The street which
connects the former bus station to the rest of the city has been completely
closed to Palestinian vehicular traffic, and has proven to be an economic 
and transportation disaster to the city of Hebron due to its central
location and lack of alternative through streets.

Kiryat Arba, a local settlement on the outskirts of Hebron, also began as a
military camp.  It was turned over to Moshe Levinger in 1968, after Levinger,
disguised as a Swiss tourist, occupied a hotel in downtown Hebron and refused
to leave.  The military felt obligated to give him an abandoned military camp
on the outskirts of Hebron in echange for vacating the hotel.  Kiryat Arba,
the former miliatry camp, is now home to over 2000 Israeli settlers.  Since
1968 the size of Kiryat Arba has increased by leaps and bounds.  Any
Palestinian land which hinders the expansion of this settlement is merely
confiscated.

Many local Palestinians fear that the bus station may have a similar fate,
considering that it is already being occupied by soldiers, and now Israeli
settlers.  The adjacent Yeshiva school began an expansion project in the fall
of 1995.  The project was halted during the month of January but was resumed
early this week.

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and
Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who participate in
public responses to organized violence.

Feb. 18, 1996
Chechnya: Mass Protests Met with Bloodshed
by Chris Hunter, Center for Peacemaking, Moscow

From February 4 to 6, Russian journalists estimate that tens of
thousands of demonstrators from all over Chechnya marched
through the ruined capital Grozny demanding the withdrawal of
Russian troops, independence from Moscow and lasting peace in
the Republic.  Following the demonstrations, several thousand
Chechens established a 24 hour peace camp in "Freedom Square"
fronting the bombed-out presidential palace.  I visited the
demonstration on February 9 and met teachers, doctors, mullahs
(Islamic holy men) and others who felt driven to nonviolent
action after over a year of destruction.

On February 8, Russian-backed Chechen police blockaded the area
around Freedom Square.  Around noon on February 9,
demonstrators were attacked by shell-fire from a nearby
building.  Two people were killed and five seriously injured.
Towards that evening and on the following day, the situation
became increasingly tense.  Helicopters circled above, and
Chechen militia and Russian troops gradually moved in on the
demonstrators, firing tear gas and attacking the crowd on
several occasions.  Estimates of the death toll range from 7 to
11 demonstrators killed, 16 to 54 wounded.

On February 10, the authorities gave the demonstrators an
ultimatum to leave the square by 6pm.  Wishing to avoid further
bloodshed, the demonstrators agreed, but requested that the
ultimatum be extended to 8am the next day.  The demonstration
was violently broken up the evening of the 10th.  Militia and
troops forced about 150 people onto three buses, and the
remaining demonstrators left the sq uare on foot voluntarily.
Eye-witnesses reported to me that more people were killed or
injured as the demonstration was broken up.  Journalists were
kept away far away from the final break up of the demonstration.

Organizers of the pro-independence demonstrations vowed
February 13 to resume their protest unless Moscow meets their
demands, including withdrawal of Russian troops.   Russian
forces demolished the remains of the presidential palace
February 16, citing concern for safety due to the buildings
instability and unexploded shells left inside.

The Christian Peacemaker Teams exploratory delegation to Chechnya in
September 1995 viewed the bombed out former Presidential Palace.
Its final leveling by the Russian forces is clearly a symbolic act
indicating no movement towards Chechen autonomy or independence.

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who
participate in public responses to organized violence.

Feb. 20, 1996
Haitians Fear Corruption in New Police Force
Notes from Carla Bluntschli

Here in Haiti, reports of abuses by the new police are filling
the airways.  Three months of training is just not enough for
these very young men and women. Yesterday, a speaker from the
Grand Anse reported that a friend in the police told him, "We
could do a coup d'etat.  Of course we wouldn't, but we could if
we wanted."  The speaker continued, shaking his head, "This
isn't what the people hoped for, another army at their backs.
They wanted a force that would protect them."

The latest graffiti gives an idea about people's sentiments
toward the police.  Today I saw freshly scrawled on a cemetery
wall, "Down with the criminal police of Petionville."
Chavannes Jean Baptiste, a spokesperson for newly elected
President Rene Preval, has intimated in a radio interview that
the police force may have been infiltrated by the CIA.  The
prophecy of a pastor friend of ours is coming true: "Only the
children still in their mother's womb are fit to be police.
They have not witnessed the brutality of men in uniform, so
they may be untainted by that image."

Haiti needs help immediately to reduce people's fear of
potential violence.  Guns are filling the streets.

Christian Peacemaker Teams has maintained a violence reducing
presence in different regions of Haiti since the Haitian
military seized power from democratically elected President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 1992.  Since the restoration of
democracy by armed intervention, CPT has addressed such issues
as the failure to confiscate weapons.  CPT workers currently
include Lena Siegers (Hamilton, ON), Joanne Kaufman (Boulder, CO)
and Beulah Shisler (Lansdale, PA).  Carla Bluntschli and her
Haitian partner Ari Nicole serve as on-site coordinators for
CPT projects.

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who
participate in public responses to organized violence.

February 25, 1996
CPT Condemns Jerusalem Bus Bombing
CPT TEAM Hebron

We, the Christian Peacemaker Team in Hebron, are sick at heart over the bus
bombings in Jerusalem and Ashkelon today.  We reject in no uncertain terms
the violent sacrifice of human life to achieve political aims or to express
rage over previous injustices.  We call on our constituency to pray for the
families of the victims and to pray that this will be the last bombing in
Israel or Palestine. We ask them also to pray for those who planned the
attacks, that they may reflect on the depths of this tragedy and repent of
their violence.

Our Palestinian friends in Hebron have expressed sorrow and dismay to us
regarding these bombings.  They tell us the Koran specifically forbids both
suicide and the taking of civilian life.  We ask our constituency not to
condemn an entire nation for the actions of a few.  Pray that God, who loves
each human being more than any political cause, will work through this
tragedy and inspire both Israelis and Palestinians to seek justice, practice
kindness and resolve to treat no one with contempt, hatred or violence.

_________________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Team workers have been in Hebron since June
1995.  The present team includes Cole (Arendt) Hull,  Kathleen
Kern, Ann Montgomery, and Dianne Roe.  All are members of the
Christian Peacemaker Corps.   Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT)
is an initiative among Mennonite and Brethren congregations,
and Friends meetings who participate in public responses to
organized violence.

February 25, 1996
The Day of the Bus Bombings
by Kathleen Kern

I first heard about the bombings during the morning service at
the Lutheran Church when the pastor asked the congregation to
pray for the families of the victims.  Several people told me
afterwards that they had heard the explosion but assumed it was
a sonic boom.

I needed to run an errand to Jerusalem's International
Convention Center after church, three blocks away from the site
of the bombing.  Listening to the Hebrew commentary playing on
the radio of the Egged bus, I heard the words "Macpeleh" and
"Ayyash."  I guessed that the announcer was speculating that the
bombings were done in reprisal for the killing of "The
Engineer" 50 days ago and for the Baruch Goldstein massacre of
the people praying at the Cave of Macpeleh Il Ibrahimi mosque
two years ago today.

As the people on the bus listened to the radio, the lines on
their faces seemed to deepen.  A man sitting across from me
said, "Zeh Shalom?" to his friend in exactly the same tone of
voice that I have heard Palestinian men in Hebron say "Hada
salaam?" ("This is peace?") after witnessing acts of violence
committed by the Israeli military and Israeli settlers living
in Hebron.

On the way back from my errand I stopped at the site of the
bombing.  There was no indication that a bus had ever been
there.  Dozens of  Orthodox Jewish men  wearing rubber gloves
were picking up fragments of charred flesh still lying in the
road or stuck to cars.  Across the street one young man was up
in a tree carefully trying to reach ashy tatters draped over
twigs and branches.  A boy in a black velvet yarmulke said to
his friend, "They found a really big piece of skin hanging up
there."  Over on the next street I saw more men carefully
scanning the street, walls, bushes and trees for human
remains--so that they could have a decent human burial.

In the evening, the rest of the team went to visit a friend whose house
frequently gets stoned by settlers in Kiryat Arba.  I stayed home to write
this story.  At 7:30 I received a call from the team asking me to call the
police because our  friend's house was being stoned again.  The policeman at
the civil administration told me I had to go to the station near the mosque.
As  I stepped outside, a soldier from the checkpoint near where we live
approached me.

"Why are you living with terrorists?" he asked.  "Did you hear what they
did?"

I told him about what I had seen in Jerusalem.

"They are animals.  They are shit," he said.  "They want to kill you and you
just don't know it."

He kept yelling as I walked away--long after I had stopped understanding
what he said.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who
participate in public responses to organized violence.

Feb. 26, 1996
Hebron:  One Palestinian journalist's response to the bus bombings
The following was written by the journalist Kawther Salaam, a friend of the
Christian Peacemaker Team in Hebron:

To: His Excellency Baruch Najjar the Civil Governor, Hebron
To: His Excellency Gabi the military Governor, Hebron
cc: Shimon Peres, Prime Minister of Israel

Dear Sir,

With deep sorrow I heard of the deplorable news of the death of innocent
civilians resulting from the explosion in Ashkelon and Jerusalem yesterday.

I send you, the Israeli Government, nation and others who support and love
peace in the world my condolences for the tragic event.

I denounce and condemn the extremist act as an inhuman crime and conducive to
the obstruction of the efforts exerted in the Peace Process.  "But Peace will
be and Peace will do," and I hope and pray that such attempts to obstruct the
peace will not achieve their vile aim.

Yours sincerely,

Kawther Salaam

[The Palastinian Media Ministry, several Arabic members of Palestianian
Parliament, Abu Mazen, member of the PLO Committee, the Minister of Health,
the Municipality of Hebron, and Orient House (the Palastinian counsel
offices in Jerusalem), the Palestinian Oslo negotiating team, the head of
Palestinian Police in Gaza, as well as the governments of most Middle Eastern
nations (including Jordan and Saudi Arabia) and many others all offered
statements denouncing this act of violence and expressed a desire for peace.]

28 February, 1996
HEBRON HOUSE DEMOLITIONS: CPT MEMBERS HELD
by Cole Hull

Fifteen Palestinians were left homeless and two CPT team members
were arrested this afternoon when the Israeli Defense Forces
destroyed the Al Zaloum family home.  The house, near the Kiryat
Arba and Harsina settlements, was one of 11 slated for
demolition today by West Bank military governor Ori Orr.
According to local journalists, Orr had promised settlers in
Kiryat Arba that he would demolish various homes near the
settlement.  Some soldiers told CPT members  that the house was
being destroyed because it had no building permit, while others
said the homes were being destroyed in reprisal for the Feb. 25
bus bombings in Jerusalem and Ashkelon.

Israeli soldiers told CPT that the house was being
destroyed because it had no building permit.  Others said the
homes were being destroyed in reprisal for the Feb. 25 bus
bombings in Jerusalem and Ashkelon. Following the intervention
of a member of the Knesset (Israeli parliament), Israeli Prime
Minister Peres had a desist order issued, but it came moments
too late to save the home that Wahid and his brother Walid had
spent their life savings to build, a home in which they had been
living for the last three years.  At least 4 other homes were
destroyed in the area today.

According to the Israeli military, the family had been given 3
days warning, though family members dispute this.  They indicate
that Israeli soldiers arrived unexpectedly at noon and
began throwing all the family's possessions into the yard.

CPT members arrived shortly afterwards.  They and several
journalists moved to the roof of the house.  Soldiers pushed
back a crowd of several dozen onlookers.  Palestinian journalist
Kawther Salaam was knocked down and injured.  Neither
the presence of the CPT team and the press or the efforts of
Hebron's mayor Mustafa Natsche were sufficient to stop the
destruction.

Israeli soldiers arrested CPT team members Robert Naiman (Urbana,
IL) and Dianne Roe (Corning, NY) as they attempted to accompany
a Palestinian youth at the site.  Naiman was beaten when he tried to
intervene.  Two other CPT members, Kathleen Kern (Rochester, NY)
and Anne Montgomery (New York, NY), were also removed from the
roof and temporarily detained. The youth was being taken into
custody after he tried to intervene with soldiers who were
pushing and yelling at a girl who came too close to the house.

Both Naiman and Roe were charged with refusing to leave a
closed military zone.  They were turned over to the Civil
Administration and remain under "investigation." The police
indicate that both will be transferred to prison in Jerusalem
and may be deported.  In a phone call after he was arrested
Naiman told Kern that the soldier who had arrested him shoved
his face into the ground and told him to eat dirt.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who
participate in public responses to organized violence.
    
    

February 28, 1996
NEIGHBORHOOD CELEBRATES CRACK HOUSE CLOSING
by Tammy Krause

Residents of the Columbia Heights neighborhood and Christian
Peacemaker Teams' Project in Urban Peacemaking (CPT/PUP) watched
as an inspector from the District of Columbia Department of
Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) and DC Police officers
entered 2719 13th Street NW yesterday morning. Following years
of citizen action about violence and illegal activity at the
building, a recent intensive campaign of letters and phone calls
prompted the inspection.

Inspectors cited the owner of the house, Russell Hughes, for
several violations.  The authorities turned off the electricity
and told the occupants, most of whom were squatters, to vacate
the premises due to unsafe living conditions.

After the morning raid,  observers entered the house and were
stunned by the stench caused by raw human waste in buckets and
disfunctional toilets and bathtubs.  Maggots covered a
refrigerator containing spoiled food.  Drug paraphenalia
such as needles, razor blades, pills, and related refuse was
strewn throughout the rooms.  Used condoms and wrappers littered
the floor.  Although electric power had recently been on, the
residents have not had water since June.

Mr. Hughes faced fines due to the housing violations unless he
vacated occupants from the building.  Two residents remained
inside the house and were notified by police officers to leave
by 4:00 pm.  CPT worker Tammy Krause arranged for temporary
housing which was not utilized by the occupants.  The occupants
left the building by the required time, and the house was secured
by the owner, Mr Hughes.  A Tuesday evening "Orange Hat Patrol"
(a community safety patrol) inspected the building around 8:00pm
and celebrated that it was empty and peaceful.

Paul Dahmus, a neighborhood resident, has been concerned about
the poor conditions of 2719 13 Street NW for  ten years. Dahmus
remembers Russell Hughes for the 1988 fire in one of his houses
in which three small children were burned to death.  "We know
that the community has to keep pressure on these dangerous
neighborhood places.  We are learning  how to make things
happen.   I'm pleased to add this second neighborhood nuisance
to our list of closings.   We expect the list to continue to
grow."

In December 1994, a similar problem house was closed at 1304
Girard Street NW, two blocks from 2719 13th Street NW.  The
owner of 1304 Girard Street NW, Kingsley Anyanwataku, is now
serving a six year jail sentence for housing violations and tax
evasion. Anyanwataku owned a string of more than 40 houses in
the District.

CPT/PUP has video documentation of the 13th Street house for
use, as well as photos that are available on request. CPT is
located at 2620 13th St. NW #B201, Washington DC, 20009; Ph. #
202 234-4260;  email:[email protected]   Contacts are Wes Hare and
Matt Sears or Tammy Krause at the Sojourners Neighborhood
Center, (202)387-7000.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who
support violence reduction Teams around the world.

Mar. 7, 1996
CALL TO PRAYER AND ACTION TO END
THE VIOLENCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse
them.  Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who
weep."  Romans 12:14-15 (NRSV)

In light of the four suicide bombings in Israel by the
military wing of Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement),
which have left at least 61 dead and hundreds injured, the
Christian Peacemaker Team in Hebron has resolved to ride
bus #18 in Jerusalem for several hours Sunday morning,
March 10, starting at 6 am.  Bus #18 has been the target
of bombing attacks two weeks in a row, both times early
Sunday morning.  By their action the team will stand
against the violence and renew the call for all sides to
use nonviolent means of addressing issues of justice in
the Holy Land.

Now is the time for Christian congregations to reach out
to Muslim and Jewish brothers and sisters to ask
forgiveness for any complicity in violence and seek advice
on how to strengthen our witness a gainst violence.  CPT
calls on supporting congregations and meetings to:

1. Invite members of local Jewish and Muslim associations,
student groups, and mosques, synagogues and other
religious institutions to a prayer event.  Pray that all
participants and the peoples they represent would have the
will to take action to end the violence and accept healing
for their own prejudices and bitterness.  Follow with a
discussion.

2. Join one or both of these communities in their own
events of remembrance and rededication to the basic
principles of reconciliation and justice.

3. Address letters of concern to the Israeli embassy and
Palestinian Authority Representative in your country.

Since June, 1995, CPT has maintained a violence-deterring
presence in the West Bank city of Hebron, site of tension
between Palestinian residents and Israeli settlers.  The
Hebron team has responded to such actions as the
demolition of Palestinian homes by the IDF (Israel Defense
Forces) and protecting families and children from abuse by
Israeli settlers.  Acts of violence by the Islamic Resistance
Movement have generally been unannounced, making it difficult
for CPT Hebron to try to prevent them.  "In this
instance, however," the team writes, "we feel that the
repeated attacks on bus #18 constitute an implied threat
for next Sunday morning.  Therefore we feel called to
respond to this threat by stating publicly that if bus #18
is attacked next Sunday, CPT Hebron will be on it."

CPT is an expression a deeply held spiritual vision of
Mennonite and Brethren congregations and Friends meetings
participating in public response to organized violence.
Team members are trained in nonviolent intervention and
peacemaking skills.  In riding bus #18, the team will
stand against the violence and renew the call for all
sides to use nonviolent means of addressing issues of
justice in the Holy Land.

The team has felt the direct and indirect effects of the
recent bombings.  CPT member Kathleen Kern was present
soon after one bombing attack and witnessed the gruesome
clean-up.  The team has witnessed the effects in Hebron as
well, writing, "the cycle of retaliation following each
bombing has threatened the fragile process of peace and
reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians."  In
Hebron, the first bombing was followed by a wave of
demolitions of Palestinian homes by Israeli authorities.
CPT members unsuccessfully attempted to prevent the
destruction of a home that housed 15 Palestinians,
including women and children.  CPTers Dianne Roe (age 53;
Corning, NY) and Robert Naiman (age 30; Urbana, IL) were
arrested after they, with other CPTers, knelt on the roof
of the home, praying and singing.  Naiman was arrested
when he intervened on behalf of a Palestinian youth.  The
soldier arresting him used plastic handcuffs, then forced
him to the ground and told him to eat dirt.  Both Naiman and
Roe have been threatened with deportation for their
actions.

Mar. 8, 1996
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ON RECENT EVENTS
by Dianne Roe

Our expected court hearing Monday was to be in the Russian
Compound, the same area where we had been incarcerated for
forty-eight hours a few days earlier. St. Yves, a Catholic
human rights organization that volunteered to take our
case, was located a few hundred yards away in one
direction, and in a slightly different direction, was the
site of the second #18 bus bombing which had happened the
day before.

When the police failed to show up to bring charges, we
walked with Allegra our lawyer to return to St. Yves.  We
came upon the site of the bus bombing. Damage was on both
sides of the street and despair was written on the
merchants faces.  No words can adequately describe the
pain.

We walked from St. Yves. to the Damascus Gate to catch a
taxi back to Hebron.  Minutes after we boarded, the driver
told us we must move to a different taxi - one to
Bethlehem.  "There has been another bus bombing," he said.
"Just now, in Tel Aviv." We had already decided to ride the
#18 bus next Sunday.

No, we don't know that it will accomplish anything.  We do
know that we have gained the respect of a growing group of
youth in the Hebron area. These youth, if we give them no
hope for the future, are potential bus-bombers.  If we can
reach them and give them hope, they will become our hope;
they are potential peacemakers.

We often turn for advice to our friends here in Hebron.
"We must ask ourselves," said Ahlam, "what is the cause of
this terrorism.  What would cause a twenty-year-old youth
to blow himself up along with a bus load of people?"  She
disputed a co-worker's allegation that these young people
are merely pawns in the resistance, coersed by powerful
leadership. "We must go deeper than that," she said.  "We
must know what they are thinking and feeling."

Later that evening (Tuesday) we heard Peres respond to the
attacks by imposing new counter measures. Among the most
serious was the free reign given to the army.  Each soldier
is his own boss now regarding his treatment of Palestinians
in the West Bank.  That night as the army was sealing the
Islamic Charitable Society and Hebron University here in
Hebron, soldiers exercised these liberties against
journalist friends of ours.  Only the quick intervention of
the commander prevented a soldier from shooting Mazen
Da'na, whose only offense was that he was videotaping.

On Wednesday travel restrictions on Palestinians in the
West Bank included moving from village to town.  A Birzeit
University worker near Ramallah was told that soldiers
would shoot anyone who tried to take alternative routes
around checkpoints.

Now soldiers have been given permission to shoot people who
take these alternative routes. I'm afraid that Peres is
going the route of his predecessors in his fight against
terrorism.  It will not work.  One cannot counter terrorism
with counter-terrorism.  The cycle of violence must be
broken some other way.

I read in the Jerusalem Post of U.S. response to the bus
bombing, and in particular of pressure on Arafat to crack
down on Hamas.  On TV Wednesday night Palestinians got a
taste of the consequences of that.

Khazi Jabali, leader of the Palestinian National Authority
forces said, "I will root out Hamas."  The bleeding through
partially hidden face of one of the accused (Mohammed Abu
Ardi) confirm that the torture methods used by the PNA
will equal that of the Israelis.  According to Mazen Da'na,
to whom I talked in the journalism office Thursday, the
Palestinian Authority is now acting with Israel against the
Palestinian people.

I don't feel I've done anywhere near an adequate job of
describing the frustration level of the people here.
Collective punishment has turned the West Bank into a
prison with sadistic and hate-filled wardens.  The Oslo
agreements are falling apart.  A new, more violent
intifadeh is threatening.

It was two years ago on Purim that Baruch Goldstein
massacred Muslims praying at the Ibrahami mosque.
Wednesday his followers were celebrating in honor of him.
There is another way.  Collective punishment kills and
destroys the spirit of innocent civilians.  The bus
bombings were a cruel form of collective punishment by
someone with no sense of reason.  The governments of the
United States and Israel must have a sense of reason.

March 10, 1996

BUS #18 RIDE FOR PEACE CONCLUDES WITHOUT INCIDENT
by Cole Hull

Sunday morning, March 10, starting at 6 AM, the Christian
Peacemaker Team rode Kiryat Yovel-Goren bus (#18) in
Jerusalem in response to the recent bombings of this bus.
The ride was relatively uneventful, remarkable only in the
increased presence of military personnel at the bus stops.

"The biggest difficulty we encountered was actually
getting into Jerusalem from Hebron in the first place,"
said Anne Montgomery of the Team.

The Team divided and rode on two different buses on the
same route.  As expected during the morning rush hour, the
#18 was crowded with people who needed to commute to work
and school.

The team thought it important to ride with Israelis who
rely on the bus day in and day out, and who don't have
access to alternate transportation. These are the people
most at risk, most affected by the recent bombings. Like
Palestinians currently living under the closure of Gaza
and the West Bank, these are the Israelis who face
collective punishment for the violence of the few.

After 2 1/2 hours of riding the #18, the Team formally
ended their action, and participated in nearby church
services.  CPT member Kathleen Kern broke her week-long
fast of mourning for Israeli and Palestinian victims of
the recent bombings with the Eucharist at morning worship
at the Redeemer Lutheran Church.  Pastor John Melin shared
the account of CPT's action and Kern's fast during the
service, and this led to much discussion after the service
of people's sense of frustration after the bombings and
desire to do something constructive.

The Team's public resolution to ride bus #18 to call
attention to the futility of using violence to address the
conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians was
prayerfully supported by persons throughout the world.  The
action was undertaken not only to deter violence and to
attempt to break the cycle of retaliation and collective
punishment, but to speak to the fear that accompanies such
acts.

Copies of a notice of intent were sent earlier in the week
to the Israeli police and to Palestinian and Israeli
political movements, governmental agencies, NGO's,
church, and press outlets.  The notice invited Palestinians
and Israelis of conscience to take a strong, public, and
principled stand against all violence and to engage in
supportive dialogue about lasting peace.

The night before the #18 bus ride, CPT Hebron members
Robert Naiman, Kathleen Kern, and Cole Hull participated
in a Peace Now rally and march in downtown Jerusalem.  Many
of the several thousand people that filled the streets
sought solace in the company of others supporting peace.
As an Israeli woman quietly said to the Team, "thank
goodness...I was beginning to think I was the only one
left!"

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into peace struggle.

Mar. 12, 1996
Hebron: LESSONS FROM THE CHILDREN
by Anne Montgomery

Hebron, West Bank -- On Sunday morning, March 10th, in
solidarity with the victims of indiscriminate terror and
collective punishment, we rode the #18 bus in Jerusalem.
In the afternoon we returned to Hebron and read the back
issues of the previous week's Jerusalem Post.  Again and
again the articles focused on the need to deter
terrorism through use of its mirror image:
collective punishment.

Who are the objects of this policy?  The next morning a
journalist called tosay that the Hebron office of Defense
for Children International had been ransacked.  We arrived
to see the glass of the outer door shattered, gaping
holes in the interior doors; furniture, papers, food
trashed and scattered around the floors.  Instead of
initiating a legal day time inspection, plainclothes
security officers rejected the key proffered by the
building's owner and broke into the office in the
middle of the night, carrying away confidential
files on the client children.

Stunned and angry social workers answered the question
many have asked since the bombings: how can youths scarcely
out of their teens blow to bits both innocent people and
themselves?  Many of the children treated by these social
workers have experienced the arrest and mistreatment of
close family members or have themselves been prisoners
subject to interrogation, torture, fear, isolation,
degradation and helplessness.  They may very well be the
ones most vulnerable to recruitment as suicide bombers of
the future.

Defence for Children International in Palestine defends
the rights of children, counsels them, visits their
families and schools and finds them work.  Those
traumatized by the past need on-going support if they are
to feel part of society and have hope for a meaningful
future.  One social worker described the consequences of
Israeli repression, "these children will come to see life
and death as equal; their anger will build up and burst;
they will become the ones who strap bombs to themselves.
What Israel is doing is creating more terrorists."

Thus the cycle of collective punishment and terrorism, of
bus bombings, curfews, closing of universities, destruction
of Palestinian homes continues.  And the lessons we can
draw: to resist a politics of control at the cost of human
rights, a policy of terroristic counter-terror that sows
the seeds of more violence in the minds and hearts of the
young; to acknowledge people as individual human beings
rather than perceive them as part of a collective and
inferior entity; to look to the roots of violence as well
as condemn its results; and, to aid rather than suppress
those in the business of healing and creating hope.
Suicide bombers do not come out of a vacuum but they must
feel the terrible emptiness of a prison from which there
seems no other escape.  We MUST support the alternative,
other Palestinians whose hands reach out to free their
brothers and sisters.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into true SHALOM.

13 March 1996
UPDATE ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN THE WEST BANK

Land and Water Establishment
PO Box 20873
Jerusalem, via Israel
Tel: (972) (2) 824559/824559
email: [email protected]

Human rights abuses continue to escalate as a result of the collective
punishment measures currently imposed by the Israeli government on
the West Bank and Gaza.  Medical care particularly has been hard hit by
these measures, causing needless and tragic loss of life.  Humiliating
treatment and property destruction continue to mark Israeli army
conduct in the West Bank.  LAWE continues to condemn these
measures, and calls for an end to this collective punishment.

LAWE has documented the following human rights abuses in the West
Bank from 11 to 13 March.

Health and Medicine:
Restrictions to medical care have caused fatal results.  On 11 march, a
woman pregnant with twins was refused entry to Bethlehem at the
Hossan village checkpoint.  The woman, in serious condition,
hemorrhaged and gave birth to one of the twins, which died while the
soldiers detained them.  Two hours later the soldiers finally allowed the
woman to go to the ambulance that was waiting for her just over the
checkpoint, where she gave birth to her second child.  The second child
died before reaching the hospital. Her doctor stated that the cause of
death was uncontrolled hemorrhaging.

In addition, the doctor said that only half of the hospital's patients
receiving neo- and post-natal care have been able to receive medical
care, and at least two needed surgeries have had to be canceled at this
hospital alone.

In Qabatiya village, a father was denied permission to bring his son to the
hospital in Jenin.

Medical supplies are in short supply all over the West Bank, and some
clinics have been forced to close due to lack of medical supplies and
staff.  On 12 March Israeli authorities did not allow an oxygen supplier in
Jenin to distribute the badly needed supply to West Bank hospitals.

Education:
About 71,000 students have been affected by the closures, and primary
and secondary schools in some areas of the West Bank have been
forced to close.  On 12 March, the OC General Commander Ilan Biran
ordered all students from Gaza to leave the West Bank and stated that if
caught, they would be considered illegal and arrested.

Arrests and Closures:
In a sweep of the West Bank, on 11 March the Israeli army arrested over
200 people in the Bethlehem, Jenin, Tulkarem, Nablus and Ramallah
areas.

Some villages in the West Bank have faced more severe measures
against them, including cut electricity and telephone services.  Tarkumia
village near Hebron has been under total curfew since 12 March, and all
men aged 16-45 were ordered to leave their homes and report to the
playground of the village school.   Hossan village was placed under total
curfew on 10 March, which remains in force.  Total curfew means that
residents are restricted to their homes.  465 villages remain under
"regular" curfew, in which residents cannot leave the village limits.

On 12 March, a 68 year old man from a village near Tulkarim was found
by the Israeli army outside his restricted area.  He was forced to remove
his clothes by the Israeli soldiers and to walk back to his home.

The Ministry of Information was raided by Israeli army in Hebron on 12
March, and the office was ransacked.  The office for the Defense of
Children International, which provides medical and counseling services to
children, was also subject to a pre-dawn raid by the Israeli army, and the
office severely damaged.

Shortages:
Food shipments from Yatta village were denied access to al-Fawwar
refugee camp, which is facing the most severe food shortage in the
West Bank.  This refugee camp has been under total curfew for nine
days, and has not received food or medical supplies since then.

Ramin village, near Tulkarim, has been under total curfew for nine days,
and is facing severe food shortages as well.

Travel:
Palestinian movement is still totally restricted in the West Bank, except
for two 12-hour liftings of the internal closure so that residents could buy
food.  The border with Jordan remains closed to Palestinians, as are all
other international borders.
***************************************************************************
Land and Water Establishment is a non-governmental organization
based in Jerusalem, dedicated to preserving human rights through legal
advocacy.

March 14, 1996
HEBRON:  AL-FAWWAR REFUGEE FOOD DELIVERY PLANNED
by Cole Hull

Saturday March 16 at 10:00am Christian Peacemaker Teams,
The Hebron Solidarity Committee, and other persons of good
faith: Israelis, Palestinians and internationals, are
planning to bring food into the al-Fawwar refugee camp near
Hebron.  Al-Fawwar has been under full closure for over 16
days, during which time the Israel Defense Force has
repeatedly refused entry to vehicles carrying food.

The trickle of food allowed in from area municipalities
(Hebron, Yatta, Dura) is insufficient to meet the needs of the
6000 residents of the camp.  Journalists report that many
families are without milk for infants, and fighting for the
few rations that do get in has erupted between neighbors.
One Palestinian journalist told CPT that he has cried only
very few times in his life, but he cried visiting the camp
this week.  Camp residents have been allowed out of their
homes only 2 hours each day.  Residents are not allowed to
leave the camp.  Outsiders are barred from entry.  Refugees
in the camp depend on work in Israel.  Due to curfews
people can not reach their work place.

All those opposed to collective punishment have been
invited to support and participate in this witness.  Two
homes inside the al-Fawwar camp were recently sealed and
are slated for demolition in connection with the recent bus
bombings in Israel.  Technically the ownership of the camp
property is under UN control,  and therefore these cases
are being held up in court.  Sources in the camp indicate
there is no widespread support of Hamas or terrorist
activities, and that the withholding of medical care, food
and other critical services are inhumane acts of
repression visited upon whole populations for the crimes of
a few.

_________________________________________________

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who
support violence reduction Teams around the world.

Mar, 17, 1996
Food Delivered to Al-Fawar Refugee Camp Under Curfew

Note:  Portions of this release was written by staff of
the Hebron Solidarity Committee (HSC). The HSC is composed
of Israeli and international Jerusalem-based peace workers
opposed to the continuing Israeli military occupation.  The
organization calls for an immediate and complete
withdrawal from all occupied territories.

On March 16, a group of 25 Israeli, Palestinian, and
Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) members delivered
hundreds of pounds of badly-needed food to Al-Fawar Refugee
Camp, south of Hebron, then under its fourteenth day of
total curfew. The group, organized by the Hebron
Solidarity Committee and the CPT, was stopped at the
checkpoint 1/2 kilometer from the entrance to the camp by
IDF soldiers who refused to allow the food to be brought
in.  Soldiers and Israeli police likewise refused to allow
United Nations vehicles and ambulances entering the camp
to take the food inside.

According to police on the scene, orders from  the
military governor of Hebron were to prevent any food
shipments from being brought into the camp that day.
Members of CPT responded with a decision to remain at the
checkpoint with most of the food -- 600 kilos (2500 lb) of flour,
125 kilos (245 lb.) of rice, some pita bread, and sugar as well as
dozens of cans of powdered milk -- until the military
allowed the food in.

Meanwhile, members of the HSC group and Robert Naiman of
CPT entered the the camp from a nearby mountain with cans
of powdered milk and sacks of bread, which were transferred
to the camp's food distribution committee.  The group met
with some of the camp's 5,500 residents who described their
suffering since the curfew was imposed. Due to a severe
food shortage, camp residents have been reduced to eating
one meal a day.  Residents are completely without fresh
fruits and vegetables or milk and rely on their rapidly
depleting stocks of dry goods.

After two weeks without paychecks, many residents lack the
means to purchase food even if they could manage to sneak
out of the camp.  After five hours, residents from the
camp's food distribution committee were permitted to travel
to the camp's gate and collect the remainder of the food,
which the CPT members were then able to deliver without
incident.

Funds for the food were donated by the HSC and the United
Methodist Committee on Relief.  Food was also spontaneously
donated by local Palestinian residents after they saw the
HSC and CPT members arrive at the camp's entrance.
_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who
support violence reduction Teams around the world.

Note on Hebron Solidarity Committee

"The Israeli government's policy of collective punishment approved also by
the left wing parties--Meretz, Hadash and the Labour Doves--is embodied in a
recent statement by Israeli President Ezer Weizman.:  "If you can't find the
needle in the haystack, then burn the haystack."  The HSC strongly protests
such a policy of state terror, manifested not only by the closure, but also
by house demolitions, hundreds of arrests and administrative detention orders
and impending deportations.

"The HSC believes that the crisis faced by the Israeli government over the
suicide bomb operations is a result of its attempts to impose and unworkable
solution--the Oslo agreements--on the Palestinian people.  The HSC also
believes that a cessation of armed struggle can only come about through an
unequivocal commitment byt Israel to end its occupation of the whole of
Palestine.  BURNING HAYSTACKS WILL ONLY SET THE FIELD ALIGHT."

"The Hebron Solidarity Committee is composed of Israeli and foreign
Jerusalem-based activists opposed to the continuing Israeli military
occupation and calls for an immediate and complete IDF withdrawal for all
occupied territories."

Mar. 22
WHAT IS A CLOSURE?  NOTES FROM THE HEART
Bob Naiman

I wonder if people in North America understand what it
means that the West Bank and Gaza are under closure.

Do you think that this is just a minor inconvenience,
necessary to guarantee Israel's security?

Do you understand that people are dying because the
Israeli army won't allow ambulances to take them to
hospitals?

Do you understand that people - and food - are not allowed
to move from one town to another? That the closure is
keeping people from working, so even if they find food they
can't afford to buy it?

Do you understand what it means that Fawar refugee camp
near Hebron is "under curfew" for the last 16 days? Do you
think it means the kids can't play outside after dark? Do
you realize that no-one has been allowed to enter or leave
the camp for 16 days? Do you understand that people in the
camp have no food?  Do you know that the camp residents,
close to 6,000 of them, are allowed out of their homes for
only 2 hours each day, and still confined to the camp
during that time.

Do you understand that this policy is making a mockery of
the Oslo accords?

  - That the West Bank and Gaza have been
turned into a huge prison?

  - That people in the "autonomous
zones" are just as unable to travel as people in Hebron?

  - That many Palestinians are saying "This is worse than
occupation"?

  - That the Israeli government has, by means of
this policy, become the most effective recruiter for Hamas?

What  effect do North Americans think this is all having on
Palestinian public opinion of the "peace process"? Did
someone change international law and make collective
punishment legal while we weren't looking? Has the
international community given the Israeli government the
"green light" to carry out this policy?

Are people in the North America aware of these things? Is
anyone in the US putting any pressure at all on the Israeli
government to end the closure?


_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into true SHALOM.

Israeli closure could "lead to brink of an explosion"

GAZA CITY, Gaza -- Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) workers have been
unable to leave or enter the Gaza Strip for two weeks due to the
Israeli closure of its Gaza border following three bomb attacks in
Israel.

In the wake of Palestinian suicide bus bombings in Jerusalem and Tel
Aviv, Israel barred the passage of all people and goods into and out
of the Gaza Strip.  While Israeli closures of the border crossings
have only applied to Palestinians in the past, this time foreigners
who don't have diplomatic status are also prevented from crossing.

This has meant that more than 50 expatriates in the Strip, including
MCC workers Sonia and Alain Epp Weaver and their children, have been
unable to leave.  In addition, MCC workers John F. Lapp and Chip
Poston, based in Jerusalem, have been prevented from travelling to
Gaza to visit MCC's development projects.

The unprecedented closure has had dire consequences for Palestinians.
Supplies of flour and dairy products have dwindled drastically.  After
nearly two weeks of closure, Israel is slowly beginning to open its
border and the Egypt-Gaza border so that food can be trucked into the
strip.

More serious for Gaza has been the economic impact of closure.  The
10,000 Gazans who work in Israel are unemployed, with no end to that
issue in sight.

Palestinian exports, particularly of agricultural products, have been
badly hit.  Palestinian economist and former MCC West Bank employee
Ibrahim Matar estimates losses of $3 to 4 million daily to Gaza's
economy, due to Israel's preventing Gazan flowers, strawberries,
citrus and vegetables from being exported through Israel. Gaza Strip
cannot export directly because it does not have a port.

An official in the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture notes that Gaza
farmers are throwing away thousands of tons of fruits and vegetables
that have rotted at the border while waiting to be exported.

As in the past, Israel has taken these measures in the name of
"security."  But if, as one MCC partner worries, the hardships
engendered by the closure lead Gaza "to the brink of an explosion,"
then the long-term benefits to Israeli security of the closure seem
limited.

Alain Epp Weaver, MCC Gaza

Alain Epp Weaver attends the Shalom Mennonite Church in Newton, Kan.

March 25, 1996

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) will send two representatives to
Chechnya as part of a multinational peace delegation beginning
April 3.  CPT Reservist James Satterwhite, a Professor of History
at Bluffton College (Bluffton, OH) with experience in Eastern
Europe, and Ray Hamm, pastor of Altona Mennonite Church (Southern
Manitoba) and former peace and justice director of Mennonite
Central Committee in Canada, will work to focus international
attention on continuing Russian attacks and human rights
violations.

A nine-day attack on Sernovodsk (pop. 20,000) March 3 - 11
included killing, raping and looting.  "A group of soldiers raped
one 17 or 18 year old girl.  I saw them going in one after the
other and coming out of a house where they held her," reported
Boris Kiev, the Russian-backed Mayor of Sernovodsk.  Kiev said
one man was killed in front of his eyes in the middle of the
street. "He was 18 or 19.  They (soldiers) tied a wire to his
leg, threw gasoline, and set it alight."  The few refugees who
managed to leave the town during the attack told similar stories.
Members of the Russian human rights organization Memorial
estimate that more than 100 people died in the attack.

In further hostilities, Russian forces attacked the village of
Samashki with rockets, grenades and planes on March 15-17.  A few
thousand people escaped the village when a corridor was opened
briefly for refugees, but humanitarian groups reported that up to
10,000 people, many of them women, children and the elderly, were
still trapped inside when the bombing began.

The peace plan outlined by Russian authorities rules out talks
between Russian leaders and the Chechen 'rebel' leadership.  The
plan pledges to continue eliminating "dangerous hotbeds of
terrorism" throughout the Chechen republic, raising fears that
attacks on Sernovodsk, Samashki and other population centers
could continue.

Throughout the war, people all over Chechnya and neighboring
republics have created nonviolent responses to crisis and
aggression.  Many joined Buddhist monks, mothers of soldiers, and
Chechen women in their 1995 peace march from Moscow to Grozny.
When Russian troops surrounded Chechen fighters and their
hostages in Dagestan, thousands of local people marched for
peace, offering a human corridor for the Chechens and their
hostages to avert bloodshed.  While Russian forces blockaded
Sernovodsk, inhabitants set up peace camps on the main roads into
the village.  In February, peace camps in Chechnya's capitol
Grozny were broken up violently by Russian troops and Russian-
backed Chechen police units.

CPT's delegates will support the efforts of local people and
groups to acheive a nonviolent resolution to the war in Chechnya
and report their findings to CPT's supporting churches and
meetings.  CPT continues to seek funding to respond to an
invitation to place a team in Chechnya.
____________________________________________________________________
CPT is an initiative of Mennonite and Church of the Brethren
congregations and Friends meetings.

4 April 1996
Christian Peacemaker Team to hold
teach-in at Hebron University to challenge closure

HEBRON, WEST BANK -- In February, 1996, Christian
Peacemaker Team members agreed to teach an English
discussion class at Hebron University with a focus on
nonviolent strategies for social change.  Despite the fact
that the Israeli government declared the university a
closed military zone on March 5, CPT will follow through
with this commitment by holding a teach-in at the school
starting Monday, April 8, at 10 am.

In the fall of 1995, CPT members offered this same class
and approximately 120 students signed up to participate.
The class continued for two months but from mid-December to
mid-February went on a temporary hiatus.  CPTers agreed to
resume the class by the end of February.

In late February and early March, the military wing of
Hamas claimed responsibility for four suicide bombings in
Israel which left approximately 60 dead.  Following these
attacks, the Israeli government instituted a closure on the
West Bank and closed many Islamic, cultural, and
educational institutions, including Hebron University.

The Israeli military government declared Hebron University
a closed military zone although none of the suicide bombers
were from the school and Israeli authorities have not
alleged a connection between the school and the bombings
earlier this year.  The closure prevents students from
taking classes needed for graduation and has led to
financial hardship for both the students and the
university.

In order to fulfill CPT's commitment to students and staff
of the University and to help challenge this University's
closure CPTers will teach at the school, as earlier
agreed to, on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10 am to 12 noon.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

April 9, 1996
CPT Conducts Teach-in at Hebron University

by Kathleen Kern

HEBRON, WEST BANK -- At 10:00 on April 8, 1996, members of
the Christian Peacemaker Team followed through on their
commitment to begin teaching an English discussion group
on nonviolent strategies for social change at Hebron
University.

Approximately twenty-five students came to the class held
on the sidewalk outside university grounds . A banner
reading, "This university was closed by the occupation
forces of `The only democracy in the Middle East,'" was
fastened to the front gate of the university.

When asked why they had chosen to come the class, one of
the students responded that education was the only weapon
they had with which to challenge the occupation. Students
expressed concern about how the Western media portray
Palestinians and wondered why Americans seem to think that
peace between Israelis and Palestinians has already been
achieved.

Referring to the closure of the West Bank and Gaza and the
subsequent hardship it has brought upon the Palestinian
population, one of the students asked, "Do the people in
America think that nothing will happen against the peace
agreement because of these things?"  The Israeli military
closed Hebron University in reprisal for the February 25
and March 3 bus bombings in Jerusalem.

In February, university faculty and administrators had
asked members of the team to continue teaching an English
language class on nonviolent strategy that they had
conducted in the fall. The team was was due to begin
teaching this class on the day that the university was
closed.  The Israeli government has said that the
university will remain closed for six months.

Members of the Christian Peacemaker Team in Hebron --Anne
Montgomery, Dianne Roe, Kathleen Kern, Robert Naiman and
Wendy Lehman--intend to continue teaching the class outside
the gates of the university every Monday and Wednesday
morning.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

April 19, 1996
CPT HEBRON: FIVE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
by CPT Hebron

1) Aren't Hebron and Hebron University both hotbeds of
Hamas activism?

There is a higher percentage of religious Muslims in
Hebron than there is in other parts of the West Bank.  It
is logical, then, that Hamas would have many supporters
here.  Additionally, the presence of settlements and
military encampments within Hebron has made life unbearable
for many of the people here, and any organization that
promises a solution for such misery will have its
followers.

However, many people support the religious and political
goals of a movement without supporting attacks against
civilians. Most of our religious Muslim friends were
appalled by the bombings within Israel over the last few
months. Rather than reduce violence, collective punishment,
such as closing Hebron University and demolishing people's
homes, is more likely to reinforce the arguments of
militant Palestinian movements that Israelis cannot be
trusted and are seeking to destroy the Palestinian people.

2) Isn't CPT biased on behalf of the Palestinians?

The Christian Peacemaker Teams in Haiti and Washington, DC
rarely get asked whether they are portraying paramilitary
thugs and slumlords fairly.  However, when we report on
the same sorts of human rights abuses and violence in
Palestine that we see in Haiti and Washington, DC, some
people accuse us of not being fair to Israeli soldiers or
settlers.

Our message to the soldiers and settlers in Hebron is
this: We will stand with whomever has a gun pointed at them
or is being attacked.  If we are present when soldiers or
settlers are attacked, we will intervene to help them.  We
have so far witnessed only Palestinians facing attacks and
harassment.

3) You call yourselves Peacemakers, but isn't it true that
you stir up trouble in Hebron?

We believe in active nonviolence.  That is, we believe
there can be no real peace unless people challenge the
fundamental violence of an oppressive social structure.  By
standing steadfastly in prayer on the roof of a house that
the military intends to demolish, we do cause the soldiers
more trouble than if we did nothing to challenge their
decision to destroy the house, but we also model nonviolent
ways to resist violent oppression.

4) Isn't there violence in America that you should be
addressing?

We have had an urban project in Washington, DC for the
last two years that addresses the problems of violent crime
in poor neighborhoods.  Since the U.S. wields so much
influence in the governments of countries like Haiti and
Israel, however, we see it as our obligation to serve as
witnesses to the damage that U.S. policy causes in these
places.

5) How do you like it here in Israel?

We actually spend most of our time in the Israeli-occupied
areas of Palestine.  However we do enjoy occasional trips
to West Jerusalem to visit friends and human rights
groups.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

April 20,1996
Jewish Committee: Condemns Israeli Policies

We usually only post material from our team but in view of
the enormous coverage all of us are subjected to on the
Middle East our CPT Hebron Team has requested that the
following statement be posted for your use in discussions.

Jewish Committee On The Middle East P.O. Box 18367   -
Washington, D.C. 20036 (202) 362-JCOME (362-5266)    Fax:
(202) 362-6965   Email:[email protected]

The only national organization led by American Jews
advocating a sovereign, independent and truly democratic
Palestinian State in all of the occupied territories with
capital in Jerusalem.


            J C O M E   P r e s s  R e l e a s e   -   4/18/96

For press spokesperson contact (202) 362-5266, Ext 278,
24-hours.

JCOME  condemns  Israeli actions in Lebanon.
Furthermore JCOME  believes the Israelis  are  involved  in
a gross campaign of disinformation  and deception regarding
their  actual  policies  and  motives,  both  in  regard
to the Palestinians as well as in Lebanon.  This afternoon
the Israeli Army Chief of Staff  said there have been "no
mistakes on Israel's part" and Prime Minister Shimon  Peres
blamed Lebanon and Hizballah for what Israel is doing
claiming Israel's  policies  of  gross collective
punishment  are  justifiable. These Israeli  attitudes,
coupled with Israeli policies are  totally unacceptable.
Furthermore,  the complicity of the United States
government,  especially the Clinton  Administration, in
arming and encouraging the Israelis should  be of growing
concern to all Americans.

Just yesterday MID-EAST REALITIES sent out the information
contained on page 2 which  has appeared  in  the  British
press  outlining  the  cynical Israeli policy  of targetting
 civilians and devastating Lebanon -- and this  was all
published prior to today's tragic developements.

It  should  not  be forgotten that Hizballah was created
in the  aftermath of Israel's  terrible  destruction of
Lebanon in 1982 --  during  which  tens of thousands  of
people  were killed and terrible massacres  comparable  to
war crimes  occurred  with  clear  Israeli  complicity  and
knowledge. Israel's occupation  of  parts  of Lebanon ever
since has created  the  conditions for Hizballah's growth
and support in opposing Israel's occupation.

JCOME  believes Israel should immediately suspend all
military  operations in Lebanon  and  should  immediately
agree to fully withdraw  from  all Lebanese territory as a
precondition for serious negotiations with Lebanon, Syria,
and Hizballah.   JCOME further believes that Israel should
stop  its  policies of attempting  to  put  Palestinians  on
 reservations  in  the  name  of peace and publicly accept
Palestinian Statehood  in all the areas of the West Bank,
Gaza Strip  and East Jerusalem.

Since 1988 JCOME has supported full Palestinian Statehood
in all of the territories occupied by Israel including East
Jerusalem, and full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon to the
recognized international border.  JCOME helps produce and
distribute the unique weekly TV Program "Mid-East
Realities" showing on all cable systems in the Washington
area and regular MER information on the Internet.

JCOME Advisory Committee:   Prof. Jane Adas; Rutgers
Univ.; Prof. Alex Alland, Columbia University; Prof.
Michael Astour, Univ. of Southern Il.; Prof. Howard
Baumgartel, Emeritus Univ. of Kansas; Prof. Charles Black,
Emeritus Yale Univ Law School;  Mark Bruzonsky; writer and
lawyer; Former Washington Representative, World Jewish
Congress; Prof. Noam Chomsky, M.I.T.; Mark Dow, Miami;
Prof. Richard Falk, Princeton Univ.; Prof. Sherna Gluck, CA
State Univ (Long Beach); Prof. Clement Henry, Univ. Of TX;
Prof. Herbert Hill, Univ of WI (Madison); Prof. Elie Katz;
Sonoma State Univ; Prof. George Kent, Univ. Of Hawaii;
Jeremy Levin, Former CNN Beirut Bureau Chief and hostage;
Prof. Seymour Melman, Columbia Univ.; Henry Schwarzschild,
New York; Prof. Herbert Schiller, Univ. of CA (San Diego);
Prof. J. David Singer, Univ of MI (Ann Arbor); Ms. Shifra
Stern, New York. With Jewish Professors at over 175
Universities and supporters of all backgrounds nationwide.

April 23, 1996
"From Ur to Hebron"
by Anne Montgomery, RSCJ

[Anne Montgomery, a Catholic Religious of the Sacred
Heart, has worked with CPT Hebron since October 1995.
Prior to joining CPT full time in January 1996 she worked
on nonviolent actions against nuclear weapons and
participated in a peace team to Sarajevo. In March 1996
Anne helped deliver medical supplies to Iraq as part of
Voices in the Wilderness, a group challenging destructive
UN sanctions.  She lives in a  Community in New York City.
Anne is 69 years old.]

Scripture offers Abraham's journey from Ur to Hebron as a
model of faith and a trust in God that empowers us to risk
the unknown. This past year, with several detours, I
followed in the footsteps of Abraham.  In July, I stood on
the ziggurat at Ur where he began his journey into faith.
On Good Friday I walked on a roof in Karakosh, near ancient
Nineveh, listening to the chanting of the faithful in a
village that out of its own poverty had housed and fed
refugees from cities bombed during the Gulf War.  On
February 28, not far from Abraham's final resting place, I
sat on the roof of a house about to be bulldozed, and on
April 11 watched from another roof as yet another
Palestinian home was reduced to rubble.

Rooftops should give perspective, a meaningful map of the
reality through which we travel.  To me, however, they have
come to symbolize powerlessness in the face of systematic
oppression.  To Iraq we had carried a few boxes of medicine
to divide among large hospitals where children die in pain
from leukemia, from lymph and bone cancer, from some
diseases easily curable with proper nourishment,
antibiotics, and instruments, and from others linked to a
war-polluted environment.  In Hebron we had only our
bodies, to be dragged away by Israeli soldiers before a
bulldozer could calmly do its job, its driver seemingly as
mechanized as his vehicle.  While the soldiers sang and
joked to celebrate this event, the family, its only crime
building on its own land, wept.

There are many occasions to reflect on the deliberate
slaughter of the innocents:  sometimes their bodies,
sometimes their spirits.  When a young man immolates
himself and others, when government leaders carry such
terrorism to homes and cities, do they truly think their
mandate is from heaven?  I am sure that Abraham, embracing
his son on the mountain he named, "God will provide,"
found another perspective on the will of God.  To his own
opponents, Jesus responded:  "If you were Abraham's
children then you  would do the things Abraham did.  As it
is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you
the truth that I heard from God.  Abraham did not do such
things." (Jn. 8: 39-40)

The people of Karakosh chanted the meaning for which we
search: Cross and resurrection are one, the victory of life
and hope over death and despair, or, as the Palestinian
theologian Naim Ateek reminded us, we can understand the
Passion only through faith in the resurrection.  Perhaps
this is the only way to cling to hope in a journey which
for both Iraqis and Palestinians is a continuation of "Sad
Friday" and can so easily lead to a despair prompting
either passivity or violence.

In a discussion at St. George's Cathedral in Jerusalem,
Jonathan Kuttab also stressed  this danger in a context in
which basic principles of international law are ignored as
the "peace" agreement is interpreted almost solely in terms
of Israeli "security."  The deeper theological point is
that something systematically evil is taking place, larger
than what we see here: a psychological warfare - like that
during the Gulf War - which we can recognize as the battle
with the Principalities and Powers, one Christians should
know all about.  We should also be ready with the weapons
of the powerless, the armor described by Paul, if we are to
resist that hopelessness which makes small nations
surrender their resources to the enemy and the oppressed
resort to bombs.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

April 27, 1996
Urgent Action Appeal: Hebron Houses to be Destroyed

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) has recently learned from
the municipality of Hebron that sixty homes in the Hebron
area have been slated for demolition by the Israeli
military.  On May 1, the military will begin destroying
family homes in the area between the settlements of Kiryat
Arba and Givat Ha Harsina.

The reason given by the Israeli government for the
demolition of these homes is that they were built without a
permit.  In reality, the people living in these homes were
denied permission to build because they were unlucky enough
to have settlements built next to land that has been in
their families for generations.

Israeli settlements have traditionally expanded by
building groups of houses at two geographically distant
points and then filling in the middle.  It would seem
that the houses slated for destruction are being destroyed
so that Harsina and Kiryat Arba can eventually become one
contiguous settlement. Once the houses without permits are
destroyed, it is probably only a matter of time until the
houses with permits and the land on which they are built
are confiscated for security reasons.

Faxes and phone calls by concerned Israelis and
internationals have helped postpone the demolitions twice
in the last two months.  CPT asks its constituency to fax
the following numbers and ask that the demolition orders
on the houses in the Hebron area be canceled since they
are in violation of both international law and the the
peace process between the PLO and Israel.

Congregations, Meetings and peace loving people are
encouraged to respond swiftly to this appeal with
communications to one or several of the addresses
identified below.

Fax numbers in Israel:

Israel's President Ezer Weizmann
011-972-2-660-445

Prime  Minister and
Minister of Security and Defense Shimon Peres
011-972-2-664-838

Minister of Environment Yossi Sarid
011-972-2-653-5958

E-mail addresses in the North America::

Israel UN Mission -- [email protected]

Embassy of Israel, Ottawa - [Image] [email protected]
   Consulate-General Toronto  [email protected]

Washington: Embassy of Israel -- [email protected]

        Consulate-General of Israel, Atlanta - [Image]
          [email protected]
        Consulate-General of Israel, Chicago - [Image]
          [email protected]
        Consulate-General of Israel, Houston - [Image]
          [email protected]
        Consulate-General of Israel, Los Angeles - [Image]
          [email protected]
        Consulate-General of Israel, Miami - [Image] [email protected]
        Consulate-General of Israel, New York - [Image]
          [email protected]
        Consulate-General of Israel, Philadelphia - [Image]
          [email protected]
        Consulate-General of Israel, San Franciso - [Image]
          [email protected]

Embassy of Israel, Ottawa - [Image] [email protected]
   Consulate-General Toronto  [email protected]

1 May 1996
Hebron: Settler stabbed; Marketplace Ransacked
by Wendy Lehman

HEBRON, WEST BANK -- A settler man was stabbed in the
marketplace today at 10 am and was seriously wounded.
Following the attack, settlers ransacked the market,
attacking Palestinian vendors and journalists.

Christian Peacemaker Team member Bob Naiman went into the
market soon after the attack.  When he arrived, he saw the
settler lying on the ground with a knife still in his back.
The victim was then taken away by ambulance.

In a different section of the marketplace, about 60
settlers, according to witnesses, entered the marketplace.
Many kicked and hit Palestinian vendors and journalists and
overturned tables.  This area stands directly across from
an Israeli soldier checkpoint.

Naiman joined Palestinian journalists who went to film the
incident.  Settler youth tried to attack the journalists;
Naiman stood in front of the youth blocking their path and
attempted to attract the attention of nearby Israeli
soldiers.  One settler teenage girl, standing several feet
away from Naiman, threw a stone at him which struck him in
the leg.

Eventually, Israeli police arrived and moved the
Palestinian journalists and Naiman away from the market.
One journalist pointed to Israeli camera operators who were
allowed to film the incident.  He told a police officer,
"You are here to uphold the law.  The Israeli journalists
are allowed to film, why aren't we?"  The police officer
replied, "There is no law here."

When CPT members Anne Montgomery, Wendy Lehman, Kathleen
Kern and Dianne Roe arrived, the marketplace was filled
with scattered vegetables and broken children's toys.
They learned that four Palestinians were arrested, but no
settlers were taken into custody.

Naiman said, "Maybe if there were one rule of law here that
applied equally to all people, both Israelis and
Palestinians would be more secure."  Partial redeployment
of the Israeli army in Hebron, which was scheduled for
March 28 according to the Oslo 2 peace accords signed by
Israel and the PLO, was rescheduled to occur sometime
before Israeli elections on May 28.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

4 May 1996
Hebron: Settlers Protest Gate Installation
by Wendy Lehman

HEBRON, WEST BANK -- Last night at 8:30 pm, 50 Israeli
settler youth and adults protested the IDF's (Israel
Defense Forces) installation of a gate near settlements in
the old city.  Carrying Israeli flags, settlers sat in
front of and on the flatbed truck transporting the gate.
Although the demonstration was primarily nonviolent, some
settler youth who wandered from the protest threw stones at
Palestinian journalists and Christian Peacemaker Team
members.  Soldiers also prevented Palestinian journalists
from filming. Throughout the evening the Israeli police and
military showed great restraint in dealing with the protest
of the settlers.  In contrast, when Palestinian students
had a sit-in protesting  the closure of Hebron University,
they were attacked and beaten by Israeli soldiers; seven
were arrested and several went to the hospital due to the
severity of the beating. The following is a time line of
events that occurred last night.

8:45 pm -- CPT members hear children shouting outside their
apartment in the old city.  When they go to investigate,
they discover the demonstration. Israeli police officers
ineffectually attempt to clear the area, which they have
declared a closed military zone.

9:15 pm -- Hisham Sharabati, camera operator for WTN
British Television, attempts to film  the demonstration.
Although one officer tells him he can film, other soldiers
prevent his passage to the site.  He tries to approach from
a different direction, through the market, with CPT
members.  As they all walk toward the CPTers' apartment,
five soldiers step in front of the group and block their
path in a covered alleyway.  Although CPTers explain they
live just 20 feet away, the soldiers will not let them
pass for several minutes.  After some debate, one of the
soldiers calls his officer.   The soldier reports that the
CPTers can pass, but not Sharabati.

9:30 pm -- CPTers Dianne Roe, Anne Montgomery and Wendy
Lehman accompany Sharabati back through the market.  He
then attempts to film the site from a distance.   Several
soldiers at a checkpoint approach him and one grabs his
camera.  The CPTers and Sharabati protest, saying they
have no right to confiscate his camera.  One soldier tells
him, "We'll show  you we have a right" and threatens
Sharabati.  The police officers standing nearby intervene
and his camera is returned.  Several times, soldiers
attempt to grab him or push him.  CPTers intervene by
standing between the soldiers and Sharabati  and by
removing their hands from his arm.

9:45 pm -- Lehman asks one of the police officers, "Is
this a closed area?
" A nearby soldier responds, "Yes."
"Then why are settlers freely moving through the area?"
"Because they live here," says the soldier. "We live here
too, but we are not allowed to go in.  So it's a closed
area, but it's an open area as well?"
"This is not your problem," says the soldier, "We will deal with the
situation."

10 pm -- Other Palestinian journalists arrive and film
from near the CPT apartment.  Settler children crowd around
them, trying to prevent them from filming.  One journalist
stops the hand of a boy trying to hit him.  An IDF officer
tells the journalist, "Don't touch them, I'll remove
them."  The officer then leaves the area.  CPTers Kathleen
Kern and Lehman are not permitted to go near the
journalists, who are still being harassed by the settlers.
One soldier tells Lehman, "I am the army here.  If you
come any closer, I will have to arrest you."

Eventually the journalists retreat behind the gate
blocking the marketplace. Lehman and Nasser Sheyokhi, a
reporter for Associated Press, stay in the market while the
rest of the group goes to the CPT apartment.  As Lehman
and Sheyokhi talk with an AP correspondent in Jerusalem,
about a dozen settler children throw stones at them through
and over the gate.  The soldiers do not intervene.

2 am -- The settler protest eventually winds down and the
soldiers install the gate.


_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

May 10 ,1996
Prayer for Haiti

The overriding concern of the Haitians with whom CPT has
lived are the arms that continue to be hidden and remain a
threat to peace.  The weapons were distributed by the
defunct Haitian military and were made in the USA.
Pray that people of peace in Haiti including CPT find ways
to disarm these weapons that threaten life.

May 13, 1996
The Wheat Harvest Near Hebron

Hebron, West Bank - On Friday, May l0, Dianne Roe and Anne
Montgomery, Christian Peacemaker Teams workers accompanied
Mosallam Ali Shreateh, his brothers, and their families
from Yatta to his wheat fields next to the Israeli
settlement of Susia.  The settlers had previously seized a
section of this land to plant trees, had poisoned another
section, grazed sheep on the growing wheat, and threatened
those attempting to work in their own fields

When we reached the field adjacent to the trees, a group
of settlers approached, filmed us, and were soon followed
by two soldiers who, after a lengthy argument, informed the
brothers that the plot of land now belonged to the
settlement.  When the family began harvesting the wheat next
to it, two other soldiers arrived and shouted at the
Palestinians, threatening to shoot us all if we did not
leave in five minutes. We moved to a field farther from the
settlement.  Shortly the same two soldiers reappeared and
repeated their five-minute warning which was ignored. They
retreated to the side of the road and finally departed to
be replaced by a cruising settler van.  For the next two
hours rows of men, women and children gathered as much
wheat as possible to save it from the burning sun.

This incident capsulizes both a way of life and its
gradual destruction under occupation. The spreading
settlements gobble land farmed for generations by the same
families.  These families life in tight-knit villages
whose livelihood depends on those surrounding orchards,
grapevines, and wheat fields.  Whole extended families use
holidays and sometimes even schooldays to harvest the
precious crops, often by hand.  To eat loaves baked from
family wheat is to taste the love binding its members to
each other and to the threatened soil of Palestine.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

Peace Factory Tools Up For Production
May 17, 1996
by Cole Hull and Tammy Krause

Columbia Heights, Washington, DC -- In a neighborhood that
has seen 75 violent drug related crimes in the last 3
months, as well as over a dozen homicides, a peace factory
seemed entirely appropriate, even if a little out of
place.  But last week it opened up for business at the
University of the District of Columbia's (UDC) Harvard
Street campus.

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), in conjunction with
Sojourners Neighborhood Center, University of the District
of Columbia, the Mennonite Board of Missions Voluntary
Service Program, and concerned citizens of Columbia
Heights neighborhood teamed up to bring a Peace Fair to
their crime-prone neighborhood.  The Fair brought together
interactive displays, food, music and most of all people:
to meet, learn, and work together.

"This is a chance for communities to come together for
celebration of diversity and to offer their energies
towards realizing the vision of a violence-free
neighborhood." said organizer Wes Hare.

Over 500 people attended the 7 days of events, including
church, school and community groups.

Shiela Griffin, a  teacher at Meyer Elementary said, "The
Peace Fair was a very good presentation of alternatives to
violence for the children.  There were opportunities for
the children to to use their hands and their heads."

Highlights of the week's activities included 'The Peace
Factory', designed by, and previously set up in
Philadelphia, PA last summer; as well as a 'Peace Troupe'
training focusing on developing nonviolent techniques to
cope and prosper in conflictive urban environments.  Music
from local talent, as well as food and fun served up by
various community venues rounded out the week's festive
events.  Neighborhood youth designed and painted a mural
of a street scene with the message, "Put down the guns!"

CPT has been active in the Columbia Heights Community
since 1994, and has been instrumental in a number of steps
taken by and with the community to improve their security
and community participation.  The closure of crack houses
and encouragement of citizen community patrols are just
two examples of their efforts.  They hope that this fair
will help continue to build bridges within and around the
community, and offer a breath of fresh air, of fresh
ideas, into a community that has often responded to
growing violence by buying one more lock for their window
or alarm for their car.
_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

PRAYERS FOR PEACEMAKERS
Friday, May 17, 1996

Give thanks that Israeli authorities have apparently responded to
requests by Christian Peacemaker Teams and other internationals
that Israel stop demolishing the homes of Palestinians in Hebron
and other areas of the West Bank.

Doug Pritchard
Christian Peacemaker Teams
Toronto, Ontario

20 May 1996
UNIVERSITY CLOSURE PROTESTED
Issued by the Christian Peacemaker Team, Hebron

Today, dozens of Israeli and foreign activists joined
Palestinian students and faculty from the Hebron University
to protest the Israeli military closure of the school which
began on March 5, 1995.  The group entered school grounds
although the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) has declared the
campus a closed military area.   Despite the presence of
dozens of military jeeps, the IDF did not order the group
to leave.  Following a 45-minute sit-in inside the
university, the group dispersed of its own accord.

Today's action was part of a continuing nonviolent
campaign to pressure the Israeli government to reopen the
university.  The closure, set for six months, costs the
university an estimated $150,000 per month.   University
administrators are concerned that the school may not
survive the closure. Students are meeting in scattered
places throughout Hebron in an attempt to finish their
studies, but large classrooms and technical equipment,
such as computers, remain inaccessible on school grounds.

The school was closed following a wave of suicide bombings
in Israel, despite the fact that the university has no
institutional connections with Hamas or Islamic Jihad.  In
addition, no students were arrested in connection with the
bombings.  The closure is a form of collective punishment,
in violation of international law.

Attempts made by the university to nonviolently protest
the closure have met with harsh treatment from the Israeli
military.  More than one hundred students and faculty
members joined together in a sit-in on April 9 and were
subsequently attacked by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces).
People present witnessed groups of half a dozen soldiers
beating up one student and smashing the students' heads
into the ground.  Several students were sent to the
hospital and seven were arrested.

In light of this attack, today the students were joined by
Hebrew University students and members of Hebron Solidarity
Committee, Gush Shalom (Peace Bloc) and Christian
Peacemaker Teams.   The university, Israeli peace groups
and the CPT team are planning to continue the campaign to
lift the school closure.

May 21, 1996
Iraq: Partial Lifting of Sanctions, New Challenge for Church

CPT supports a project called Voices in the Wilderness a
campaign to end sanctions against Iraq. The campaign plans
to send a second delegation to Iraq in the coming months to
deliver medical supplies and develop personal connections
with Iraqi people.   Congregations are invited to help
transport supplies, assist with expenses, or encourage
people to participate in the delegation recognizing that
trasporting such supplies to Iraq may be a violation of
the law.
______________________
CPT believes that the efforts of Christians contributed
toward persuading U.S. and U.N. authorities that the
embargo against Iraq, targeted primarily against Iraqi
civilians, is unacceptable.   The May 21 NYT editorial, "A
Good Oil Deal with Iraq," lauds the UN "food for oil" deal
as the result of "tough-minded American bargaining... and
six years of steadfastness by the United Nations."  The
editorial neglects to mention that the tough, steadfast
U.S./UN policy makers sacrificed 567,000 children through
their refusal to end sanctions.

The experience of sanctions teach us that this instrument
of political pressure can be used as a weapon of economic
mass destruction, inflicting collective punishment on
innocent civilians.  Similar policies used by Israel, with
US support have contributed to major human suffering in
the West Bank and Gaza.

The "food for oil" deal, Resolution 986, is a welcome step
along the way toward completely lifting the embargo but
falls short of meeting the needs of the Iraqi people. Under
the new deal Iraq will be allowed to sell $4 billion of
oil each year.   From a year's proceeds of $4 billion 30%
(about 1.2 billion) will go to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as
war reparations;  $0.2 billion, to UN organizations
monitoring weapons in Iraq and to Turkey for use of the
pipeline for oil; and $2.6 billion to humanitarian
purposes in Iraq.

In the past two months more than 20,000 Iraqi people have
died as a direct result of the sanctions.  More than 10,000
of those who died in March and April were infants and
children.  Those children bore no responsibility to comply
with U.S./UN demands upon Iraq.

In order for Iraq to have the sanctions lifted completely,
it will have to prove that its weapons of mass destruction
have been destroyed.  Eliminating any nation's weapons of
mass destruction is a noble goal.  CPT looks forward to
that principal being applied to all nations.

Iraqis urgently need a drug to cure Black Fever, sometimes
called Sandfly Disease.  The necessary medicine is
Pentostam, sometimes produced under the trade name
Tricostam.  If you have suggestions or your congregation
can help with this campaign please contact CPT.

Prepared by Kathy Kelly of Voices in the Wilderness in
collaboration with CPT Staff.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

PRAYERS FOR PEACEMAKERS
Thursday, May 23, 1996

Pray for the students and faculty of Hebron University which was closed by
the Israeli government on March 5, 1996. The closure is a form of collective
punishment for suicide bombings in Israel by others, and violates
international law.


Doug Pritchard
Christian Peacemaker Teams
Toronto, Ontario

May 24, 1996
HEBRON: DETAINED PALESTINIAN RELEASED
by Tom Malthaner

Last Saturday night Bob Naiman and I, as Christian
Peacemaker Team members stationed in Hebron, went on night
patrol about 7:30 pm.  We saw a young man about 20 years
old being detained by the soldiers.  The man had his hands
up against the wall.  Bob asked the soldiers, "Why is the
man being detained?" The soldier said he couldn't tell us.
Then Bob said that it was humiliating to stand like that,
could he not sit down?  No, said the soldier.

The soldier approached us and asked for our identification
papers.  I had mine, however, Bob didn't have his visa with
him.  It was back at the house.  The soldier told Bob, "You
must come to the police station."

We both went with the soldiers. At the police station the
officer on duty lectured us, telling us not to talk with
soldiers when they are doing their job or interfere with
them in any way, nor talk to those detained.

We had a lively discussion with the officer, explaining
our concern for human rights for all people and that our
work requires us to find out what is going on.  There is no
way to find out why someone is being detained, we told the
officer, without asking the soldiers.

The officer didn't like our response nor did we like what
the military did, but I believe we did end the conversation
in mutual respect for each other. We left the police
station and to our surprise we found that the man was still
being detained, but was now allowed to sit down.  At this
point we regrouped and went back to our apartment.

The other two people on the team, Wendy Lehman and Anne
Montgomery, joined us and we all went to the scene.  The
soldiers were angry and would not talk to us.  So Wendy and
I decided to go back to the police and seek their
assistance.  We explained the situation to the police
officer on duty (the officer we had talked to previouly
left) and he was receptive to the idea that the man had
been detained an inordinate amount of time.

The police officer then talked to the soldier in charge of
the detainment and after their conversation the officer
said the soldier has agreed to let the man go.

Thinking it was all over Wendy and I returned to the scene
where Bob and Anne were waiting.  To our disbelief we saw
that the man was still being held. Wendy and I went back to
the police station and voiced our dismay to the same
officer. He then took us in his police jeep back to the
scene and confronted the soldiers.  They reluctantly and
finally released the detained man.  Not surprisingly the
soldiers were angry with us for interfering in "their
business".

After some 20 minutes of "conversation" their anger
dissipated to the point that we were able to depart with
the shaking of hands.  We got back home to our
apartment at 11:15 PM exhausted by this four-hour ordeal.

Yes, I was exhausted after this encounter but also I  felt
a lot of hope.  The hope of being able to talk to the so
called "enemy", to start the process of understanding each
other.  The hope when we're able to touch each others'
humanity.  I sensed the police officer felt some
compassion for the man detained. I think it took a lot of
courage for him to confront the soldier. And the hope of
respecting each others' human dignity. I felt respect of my
person and I believe it was mutual with the police and
soldiers.  I hope this is a small step.

May 30 1996
Hebron:  CPT Team Arrested for Uprooting Trees
For Immediate Release

This morning at 8:30 am CST Gene Stoltzfus received a call
from Allegra Pacheco, an Israeli lawyer at the Society of
St. Yves and member of the Hebron Solidarity Committee.
She told Stoltzfus that the entire team in Hebron had been
arrested for uprooting tree seedlings planted by Israeli
settlers on Palestinian land near Susia settlement.

Susia lies approximately thirty minutes south of Hebron
near the town of Yatta.  The owner of the land  has twice
requested CPT help before- when settlers from Susia erected
a fence around his newly planted wheat field and when it
came time to harvest the wheat.

An American woman living in Hebron initiated the
relationship between CPT and the Palestinian landowner.
She called the police the day before the action and told
them what the group planned to do.  The police told her
that the action was legal, since the Palestinian father of
13 had a legal title to the land.

Currently, Wendy Lehman (Kidron, OH) is in Ashkelon Prison
and Robert Naiman (Chicago), Randy Bond (Grand Rapids, MI),
and Tom Malthaner (Rochester, NY) are being held in the
Hebron District prison.

Your prayers of support are needed.  More later today on
specific details and suggestions regarding an appropiate
response.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

6/2/96
CPTer Released

Hebron CPTer Tom Malthaner (Rochester, NY) was released yesterday
from the Russian Compound in Jerusalem.

Malthaner, along with 3 other CPT members, were arrested without
warning on Tuesday as they prepared to transplant olive trees,
illegally planted by Israeli settlers on Palestinian land, to the
property of the adjacent Susia settlement.  Team members Wendy Lehman
(Kidron, OH), Randy Bond (Grand Rapids, MI) and Bob Naiman (Chicago,
IL) had been released on Friday.

Thanks to all of you who sent messages or called officials on the
team's behalf.  Your efforts are a blessing for peace.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Christian Peacemaker Teams; P.O. Box 6508; Chicago, IL 60680
Tel./Fax: 312-455-1199
e-mail: [email protected]
WEBPAGE: http://www.prairienet.org.cpt

June 5, 1996
CPT Begins Work in Chechnya and Bosnia

CPT will send workers to Chechnya and Bosnia this summer to engage
in nonviolent peacemaking projects in these regions experiencing
long-standing ethnic conflicts.

Peacemaker Corps member Lena Siegers, a veteran of CPT Haiti, and
Peace Reservist Suzanne O'Hatnick will begin work in Jajce, Bosnia in
mid June.  The four month project seeks to create a peaceful climate
for Serb and Muslim refugees returning to this historically diverse
town of 40,000 near the Croatian border.  Jajce has been occupied
twice by different armies over the last four years of war; each time
most of the inhabitants fled.

The town is covered with Croatian national symbols, and many current
residents believe that it is now Croatian territory.  The project was
proposed by CPT Reservist Randy Shank, now in his second year of
peace work in Bosnia under the auspices of the German Mennonite Peace
Committee.  Expressing his hope that Bosnians can learn to live
together once more Shank said, "We would like to help those who don't
accept the division of Bosnia into ethnic regions."

CPT Reservist Jim Satterwhite travelled to Chechnya, Russia June 2
for two months of intensive peacemaking.  Satterwhite, a Quaker
history professor at Bluffton College (OH), specializes in Slavic
languages and is fluent in Russian.  He participated in a
multinational delegation to Chechnya April 4-10.

Despite repeated cease fire agreements, Russian troops continue to
siege and bombing Chechen villages and towns.  "It was clear that the
Russian military was waging war indiscriminately against the civilian
population," wrote Satterwhite about his visit.  Satterwhite will
join efforts by Quaker Peace and Service to encourage Russian and
Chechen peace groups and bring international attention to abuses by
the Russian forces.

June 12, 1996
CPTERS RESPOND TO POLICE ORDER BANNING THEM FROM HEBRON

   In a statement to Israeli Police, members of Christian
Peacemaker Teams expressed their intention to continue
their violence reduction work in Hebron.  Following their
arrest on May 28, four CPTers were released from prison
under restrictions that they not return to Hebron.  Given
the increase of military and settler activity since the
Israeli elections, the team believes that now, more than
ever, their presence in Hebron is crucial.

   Palestinians in Hebron have reported to CPTers an increase
in hostility and violence from both settlers and soldiers.
For example, on May 29 and 30, the Israel Defense Forces
(IDF) raided Ibrahimi Elementary School and beat students
because the school had raised the Palestinian flag. 

   News reports also indicate escalating tensions in Hebron.
According to the Palestine Report (6/7/96 p.16), "On June 1,
Likud leaders said there would be 'three soldiers for
every settler' in the city, and the number of settlers (now
about 350 . . .) would be increased.  Recent clashes in
Hebron suggest that the addition of even more settlers may
be calamitous.  Settlers went on a rampage in downtown
Hebron as election results came in late on the night of 29
May, suggesting that Netanyahu had won." 

   Also on June 7 The Jerusalem Times front page story
reported that Israeli settlers "demolished the walls of a
number of houses in the Old City of Hebron [on June 5] . . .
They also demolished part of the Turkish baths in Hebron,
belonging to the Islamic Waqf [trust for religious
property] department.  The settlers, accompanied by Israeli
bulldozers, tried to demolish the houses completely, and
threatened to open fire in case anyone tried to stop them."
Local residents believe the settlers were attempting to
expand their settlement compounds in the city center. 
Israeli soldiers at the site did not prevent the settlers
from destroying homes or from harassing nearby Palestinians.

   The partial redeployment of the Israel Defense Forces from
Hebron was to take place, according to the Oslo II peace
agreements, no later than March 28.  Prior to the Israeli
elections on May 29, Prime Minister Shimon Peres postponed
the redeployment until after the elections.  Now Prime
Minister-elect Binyamin Netanyahu has said that
redeployment will not occur in Hebron.

   The violations of due process in the treatment of the
CPTers during their incarceration are indicative of the
current trend in Hebron.  The team had been helping a
Palestinian friend prepare his field for plowing by
transplanting olive tree seedlings that neighboring
settlers had illegally planted there.  Israeli soldiers
arrived, took the CPTers and their companions into custody
without warning, and interrogated them over the course of
15 hours.   While in prison, team members were not allowed
to see their lawyer and were threatened with indefinite
jail sentences.

   After reflecting on the counsel of local Palestinian
Christians and Muslims as well as Israeli friends who feel
overwhelmingly that the CPTers are needed in Hebron now,
the team sent the following statement to the Israeli police
in Hebron with the attached letter from the Hebron
Municipality.

Statement from CPTers to Israeli Police in Hebron:
June 11, 1996 

   As members of the Christian Peacemaker Team who live and
work in the Palestinian city of Hebron, we wish to inform
the Israeli police that we do not consider ourselves bound
by any order from the Israeli occupation authorities to
leave the city.

   We consider the Hebron Municipality to be the legitimate
political authority in Hebron, democratically elected by
the majority of the city's residents and accountable to
them. The Hebron Municipality invited us to come to Hebron
as a violence- deterring presence because the Israeli
police have not protected the Palestinian residents of the
city from attacks by Israeli settlers, nor have the Israeli
police protected the Palestinian residents from abuses by
the Israeli military.  We do not consider that the police
of the Israeli military occupation have the right to bar
someone from Hebron for nonviolent  peace activism who has
been invited by the legitimate government of the city.

   Moreover, reports we have received on conditions in Hebron
since our arrest and since the recent Israeli election
indicates that the threat of violence by Israeli settlers
and soldiers against Palestinian civilians is as great as
at any time since the arrival of our team in June, 1995.

   As members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams, we are
pacifists: we have consistently used and advocated
non-violent means of resisting violence and injustice.  We
believe that the only ultimate solution to violence is the
provision of justice.

   We believe we are called to follow the model of the non-
violent Christ.  No race, religion or national boundary
can separate us from our responsibility to stand with our
sisters and brothers, to seek reconciliation and to
overcome structures of violence.  Jesus calls us to love
friend and foe alike, to do good to those who hate us. 
This too is our task and intent.

Randy Bond (Grand Rapids, MI)
Wendy Lehman (Kidron, OH)
Tom Malthaner (Rochester, NY)
Robert Naiman (Chicago, IL)

Letter from the Hebron Municipality to Israeli Police in
Hebron:

June 11, 1996

To whom it may concern:

   This is to confirm that the Christian Peacemaker Teams
have been in Hebron since June of 1995, oppose all forms of
violence and are always received graciously by the
Municipality in order to be a violence-deterring presence,
particularly in the Old City.

   It is our opinion that the presence of CPT in Hebron is
now more necessary than ever.  Not only has the
redeployment of the IDF from most of the city, promised in
the Oslo Accords to occur by the end of March, been
repeatedly delayed, already since the recent Israeli
elections there has been an escalation of settler activity
in the Old City with the illegal occupation of a building
belonging to the Islamic Waqf. 

   We hope that all people of conscience and goodwill will
support the right of foreign guests to observe the
conditions of the people here, and the right of foreign
journalists and other observers to report the situation of
the people here to international opinion.

Mustafa Natsche
Mayor of Hebron

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Church of the Brethren congregations and
Friends meetings who believe that the life of faith calls
each of us to work to transform conflict and violence into
new possibilities for peace.

Date: 13 Jun 1996 21:18:57 -0500
Subject: CPTers Witness Against Land Confiscations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
8 June 1996
"PALESTINIAN LANDOWNERS, ISRAELIS AND FOREIGNERS WITNESS AGAINST
LAND CONFISCATION NEAR BETHLEHEM"

BETHLEHEM, ISRAEL -- Today from 3 pm to 5 pm, Christian Peacemaker
Team members joined 250 Palestinians, Israelis and foreign peace workers
in protesting the confiscation of land near Bethlehem by attempting to
restore land destroyed by Israeli military bulldozers.

On June 2, Israeli army bulldozers destroyed approximately 45 ancient
olive trees and a wall on this land to begin construction on a so-called
"patrol road." Since June 2, the Israeli government has continued the
destruction of this prime agricultural land in Beit Sahour village,
near Bethlehem.

Today, demonstrators marched to the land carrying banners calling for
the defense of land in Bethlehem, "The City of Peace," or carried
wooden crosses and crescents.  At the site, some used bulldozers to
move land back into place and others stood uprooted olive trees
upright and "planted" crosses and crescents in the large swath of
land destroyed by the Israeli army bulldozers.  If the IDF (Israel
Defense Forces) return, they will have to bulldoze over these
symbols.

The road the IDF are building is intended to connect the Israeli
settlement of Gilo to the settlement of Har Homa, scheduled to be
built on Abu Ghneim mountain on lands owned by residents of Beit
Sahour, Um Tuba and Bethlehem.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who
support violence reduction Teams around the world.

>land destroyed by the Israeli army bulldozers.  If the IDF (Israel
>Defense Forces) return, they will have to bulldoze over these
>symbols.

    It would be, errr... interesting if that were video taped and
    broadcast all over US national television.  I believe "policies"
    would change *very* quickly.   :-)

    Tom

June 17, 1996
"CPTERS RESUME WORK IN HEBRON"

As of Sunday, June 16, all members of CPT's team had returned to
Hebron in response to reports of deteriorating conditions there.
Team members enjoyed warm welcomes from many people in Hebron and
have resumed their normal schedule of patrols and home visits.  At
least three Arabic newspapers carried the story of the team's return
including their statement to Israeli police.

-----------------------------------------------------------
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among Mennonite and 
Church of the Brethren congregation and Friends meetings who support 
violence reduction teams around the world.

June 24, 1996
Haiti:  Notes from the Other Side
by Carla Bluntschli, CPT Haiti


"Rather I was born the dog of a rich man than born a
Haitian."

This is the reflection of young man in the church I
teach at who works for a 'gran neg' or rich family. He told
me about the care that this family gives to their dogs.
They are first of all imported breeds.  Their diet is
controlled so they eat 3 times a day.  They are exercised,
bathed and groomed by professionals. He himself as 'yard'
man is given the means to eat only sometimes once a day.

Today on TV we watched a program from the US about a
zookeeper's dream of having things return to the way they
were created.  The zookeeper said animals in captivity
desire environments as similar as possible to their
natural habitat.  According to recent research having
meaningful activity and working to obtain their food makes
for happier animals, as it is closer to the way things are
in nature.

What efforts are made for those humans who are still in
the captivity of racial and economic exploitation both in
the US and Haiti?

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

HEBRON URGENT ACTION APPEAL--PLEASE FORWARD TO ALL
INTERESTED PARTIES AND NETWORKS

24 June 1996

"Social worker put under administrative detention for 6
months; urge release"

HEBRON, WEST BANK -- On 17 June at midnight, the Israel
Defense Forces (IDF) arrested Defense for Children
International (DCI) social worker Riyadh Za'aqiq (27) from
his home.   Za'aqiq, a Palestinian, has been held for seven
days without charge. Today CPT learned he has been put
under administrative detention for 6 months and transfered
to Megiddo prison.  CPT calls for prayer and an offering of
messages on behalf of Za'aqiq on July 7, Peace Sunday.

DCI is an international social service organization that
works to protect the rights of children.  The Hebron branch
works especially with children who have been in prison,
helping them  to overcome the social, psychological and
emotional problems resulting from their imprisonment, and
in many cases, torture.  Because of their work with
children ex-prisoners, the Israeli authorities have
frequently harassed the Hebron DCI office.  In March of
this year, the IDF ransacked their office and confiscated
confidential files concerning the children.

Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) members have collaborated
closely with DCI Hebron for the past three months on the
case of an epileptic Palestinian youth being held in an
Israeli prison.  CPTers have had many conversations with
Riyadh concerning his work with children ex-prisoners and
his hopes to reintegrate these youths into society.

CPT is concerned that the indefinite detention of one of
the two social workers in the DCI Hebron office will
cripple the work of this important institution and
represents an escalation of repression on the part of the
authorities.  CPT is working for Riyadh Za'aqiq's
immediate release.

You may assist in this effort by sending faxes or e-mail
the following numbers/addresses in Israel, the U.S. and
Canada urging the Israeli authorities to release Riyadh
and to allow DCI to carry out its work with the children of
Hebron.  We commend project to congregations for
implementation on July 7, Peace Sunday.  The case is going
up for appeal; ordinarily this is a pro-forma procedure
with little hope of success, but in this case we hope to
generate enough pressure to affect the outcome. When
sending letters, you may wish to include Riyadh's Israeli
identity card number:  988046975.

Fax numbers in Israel:

Israel's President Ezer Weizman
011-972-2-660-445

Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu
011-972-2-664-838

Addresses in Canada and the US:

Embassy Of Israel - Ottawa
50 O'Connor St.  #1005
Ottawa ONT K1P 6L2
tel. 613 567-6450
FAX 613-237-8865
e-mail  [email protected]
Consulate-General Toronto  [email protected]

Israel UN Mission -- [email protected]

Embassy of Israel Washington
3414 International Dr. NW
Washington DC 20008
tel. 202 364-5500
FAX 202 363-4156
e-mail [email protected]

        Consulate-General of Israel, Atlanta -
          [email protected]
        Consulate-General of Israel, Chicago -
          [email protected]
        Consulate-General of Israel, Houston -
          [email protected]
        Consulate-General of Israel, Los Angeles -
          [email protected]
        Consulate-General of Israel, Miami -
          [email protected]
        Consulate-General of Israel, New York - [
          [email protected]
        Consulate-General of Israel, Philadelphia -
          [email protected]
        Consulate-General of Israel, San Franciso - ]
          [email protected]

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings who
support violence reduction Teams around the world.

June 25, 1996
Bosnia Notes
Lena Siegers

(The following notes from Lena Siegers are reflections
after two weeks in Jajce where CPT has been invited to
work with the International Mennonite Organization and
local groups in resolving broken promises, disputes and
unfulfilled expectations of people returning to Jajce, a
Bosnian city of 40,000 people.  Two major ethnic groups
formerly resided in this city that suffered major
destruction during the 1990s.)

Dear Friends,

I know that you have been  waiting for news from me.  I
needed some time to absorb all that I am experiencing.
There is so much destruction here that even seeing is
unbelievable.  As I visited many destroyed sacred places,
whole farm villages, every house block after block, holes
in the roofs, broken  windows, ghost towns, an emptiness
crept into my spirit as I sensed the terrible evil that had
taken over this once beautiful country.  It seems as if
each person has been displaced.

Even as I write this I find it emotionally difficult to
discuss it.  There is so much pain here.  Everyone I talk
to has experienced great losses.  People are trying to put
things back together again but the job seems
insurmountable.

We visited the local Jajce Mayor this morning and he signed
the proposal we had been working on this week. We were
surprised that he was so agreeable.  Many projects have
been stalled because of political problems. Croats set up
town councils but Bosnians claim positions too.
There is much "passing of the buck."

Jajce has blocked the free return of some former residents.
The government made up a list and if your name is not on it
you cannot return.  We went with a man to visit the
International Police.  This man is a resident of Jajce but
has not yet been able to get his other family members back
home.  When he went to the town council, they sent him to
the local police; there he was told he must go to the town
council.  The international police were polite but said
that they have no real power. They can advise but can't
override decisions made by the local council.

People are very hospitable and are happy to see
foreigners.  Thanks for sending me here.  I am being
stretched again.   Lena

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

June 28 (written approx. June 20)
Chechnya: Hope Against Hope for a Settlement
Jim Satterwhite

I am in the town of Sleptsovskaya in Ingushetia,
right on the border with Chechnya, which is
the town where the airport for all of Ingushetia is
located.  Today my hosts took me to the capital, Nazran,
(a 20 minute drive away) to register with the police.
Just in that short trip I was left with a number of
impressions.

First of all, Nazran is where the Russian-Chechen peace
talks are being held.  Many think that now, just before
the Russian presidential elections, may be the last best
chance, a window of opportunity for the peace process.
Yeltsin needs to show some progress in settling this
conflict, and the Chechens would like to see an
understanding reached that recognizes their g rievances.
Many here hope against hope for a settlement.  While some
progress seems to have been made, by the same token other
such agreements have come and gone.  Yeltsin says one
thing, his milita ry commanders say and do something else.
Supposedly an agreement was reached today that Russian
troops will be withdrawn by August, to be followed by
elections for a Chechen parliament later.  So th ere are
signs of hope, however tentative.

We took a slightly different way back from Nazran
today.  When I commented on this fact, my host said that
he usually goes the other way, because Russian armored
personnel carriers use the main road.  Sometimes the
soldiers are drunk, and either ram or shoot at passing
cars.  This is in Ingushetia, which is part of the Russian
Federati on and is not at war.  This fact only serves to
underscore the tenuous nature of any agreement while the
Russian army is still deployed in Chechnya; if the army
can act like this in a peaceful zone, imagine what the
situation is like in Chechnya, which is more or less a
free-fire zone, where the military is a law unto itself.

It is understandable that this host, a Chechen man whose
home was burned out and his place of work turned into a
military barracks, would so hope for peace, but comment on
the plans of some prosperous relatives in Ingushetia to
expand their house by saying that he would never build
here in the North Caucasus region until a lasting
agreement is reached with Russia.  His sentiments were
echoed in another discussion at the university, by a man
who asked whether he was being punished for just walking
the earth... this man in his fifties has been dislocated
three times in his life, and the worst thing is, he sees no
real sign of hope that it will be any different for his
children.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

Russian Presidential Elections

On June 16 I had the opportunity to observe the balloting
process here in the village of Ordzhonikidzevskaya (also
known as Sleptsovskaya), Republic of Ingushetia.  I was
interested to see how that compared to the process with
which I was familiar in the United States.

Accompanied by a friend from the Chechen-Ingush
organization "For Peace and Human Rights" I went to the
offices of the regional electoral commission in
mid-morning, having previously obtained permiss ion from
the regional Administration to be an independent observer.

July 1, 1996 CPTNET
Chechnya:  Notes on Elections:
Jim Satterwhite

Accompanied by a friend from the Chechen-Ingush
organization "For Peace and Human Rights" I went to the
offices of the regional electoral commission in
mid-morning, having previously obtained permission from
the regional Administration to be an independent
observer.. After explaining some of the basic outlines of
the process, they took us across the street to visit the
polling station for Precinct 41. There the people
officiating showed us in greater detail how the process
works.   People coming in to vote are required to produce
identification (their internal passport) to show that they
are indeed the person eligible to vote.  The information
from this passport is copied down, and they are then
required to sign the form on the same line.  At this point
they are given a ballot, which is a sheet of paper with an
official seal at the top and the names of the candidates on
separate lines followed by a box to be checked if that
candidate is chosen.  At theb ottom of the form is a box
marked "none of the above."  The voter then fills out the
ballot in a polling booth, and drops it in a ballot box
standing near the exit.

We went to two more precinct polling stations, where the
process was identical.  We only stayed and observed a few
minutes in each place, then returned to the central office
of the electoral commissi on, where every two hours the
voter-turnout figures were being phoned in from all of the
precincts.  The officials there also explained the
process. On the basis of the short time actually spent
observing, everything seemed to go smoothly, and the
electoral officials paid strict attention to the protocol.

For some people Yeltsin means progress, for others he is
too closely identified with the conflict in Chechnya.  It
now appears that the race is close in the first round of
elections, so there will be a second round in early July
to determine who will be the president.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

July 2, 1996
Chechnya:  Samashki Revisited
Jim Satterwhite

The village of Samashki is another village very close to
the Ingush border, just a few miles on the other side of
Sernovodsk.  Like Sernovodsk, it has been virtually
leveled by attacks by Russian troops.  It was first
attacked in April 1995, only a few months after the war in
Chechnya began.  At that time the village was shelled,
bombed, and then stormed.  Over 100 innocent civilians
were killed, some of them directly by the soldiers
sweeping the village, and hundreds of the men were taken
away to "filtration" (concentration) camps.  Dozens of men
from the village are still missing.

Samashki was once again attacked by Russian forces on
March 15, 16 and 17 of this year.  According to a March 18
report from the Moscow-based Centre for Peacemaking, "The
villagers of Samashki were issued an ultimatum before
the military operation began.  Russian forces
demanded around 100 weapons and 50 million rubles ($10,000
dollars where the average income is less than $100/month).

Villagers reportedly collected and brought almost the
required number of weapons and handed them over to the
Russian forces together with the money March 15.  (It is
important to stress that many if not all of the weapons
were permitted for the village militia, which functioned
as a police force in response to the general breakdown of
government services following the outbreak of the war.)
The attack was launched nevertheless.

Commanders of the Russian forces offer the claim that
hundreds of  Chechen fighters were inside the village as
the motive for the attack.  However, Russian bombs and
other weapons fell not on Chechen fighters, but on the
civilian population. Eighty-six men, some reportedly as
young as 14 years old, were arrested by Russian troops and
taken away to the filtration camps -- their crime was being
Chechen males.

One of the ironies of this war is that Russia is waging war
to "restore constitutional order," whereas the army that
is "restoring" this order is a law unto itself, and has
several times even gone against pronouncements made by
President Yeltsin himself.  It seems clear to this observer
that "restoring constitutional order" on the ground is very
much like the legendary statement from the Vietnam war made
by an American officer that "we had to destroy the village
in order to save it."

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

For Immediate Release

HEBRON: CPT RECEIVES COMMENDATION AT UN GATHERING
July 3, 1996

New York, New York - Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) was
awarded a special certificate of recognition for its work
in Hebron, Palestine from the North American Coordinating
Committee on NGOs in Palestine (Nablus).   The team
maintains a violence-reducing presence in Hebron, the West
Bank city of 120,000 Palestinians, 400 Israeli settlers
and 1500 Israeli soldiers.

Team members document cases of harassment and violence,
call forth international responses to abuses of human
rights, and engage in a special presence of prayer and
nonviolent direct action in the city of Abraham and Sarah.
Twenty-four ex-patriots have worked with the team for
periods of one to nine months since the project began in
June 1995.

The award to CPT - Hebron said, "Your work has established
a new standard for commitment to the protection of the
Palestinian people's rights, and is an on-going
inspiration and challenge to us all."  The award was
presented on the occasion of the 13th United Nations North
American NGO Symposium on the Question of Palestine which
began June 24, 1996. The NACC is a coordinating body for
NGOs based in the U.S. and Canada who work for solutions
for Palestinians.

CPT is a program of active nonviolence and peacemaking
created by and supported by Mennonite, Church of the
Brethren and Quaker congregations and meetings in North
America.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

Prayers for Peacemakers,  July 4, 1996

Pray for CPT Peacemaker Corps persons Lena Siegers and
Randy Shank and their co-workers in Jajce, Bosnia.  CPT
has joined efforts to encourage a safe environment for
returning Serbian, Croat and Muslim refugees in this devastated
city of 40,000 people near the Croatian border.

Joshua Yoder
Christian Peacemaker Teams
Chicago

July 6, 1996
HEBRON: CPTers VISIT A VILLAGE UNDER CURFEW

CPTers Dianne Roe and Esther Ho bypassed Israeli
military checkpoints by travelling on foot along a
mountain road and across rocky terrain with local people
pointing the way, so they could be present with the
villagers of Samoua. They were responding to an invitation
by a woman there to stay in her home and see how her
neighbors were suffering under curfew.

The Israeli military placed Samoua, a Palestinian village
of 15,000 people, south of Hebron under 24 hour curfew for
over two weeks after villagers protested the confiscation
of 30,000 dunums (4 dunu ms=1 acre) and some youth burned
Israeli bulldozers that were used to take the land.

The mayor told the CPTers, "The people of Samoua don't
have food, water, jobs, or money.  Why are women,
children, and sick people being punished for the acts of a
few youth?"

Many Samoua families lost farmland in 1948 when the
Israeli State was created and then again in 1967 when
Israel occupied the West Bank. The Israeli settlements
which now abut the village lands curre ntly use most of the
water from the Samoua well that the Jordanian government
helped villagers dig in 1948.  The land taken more
recently will be used for Israeli settlement expansion,
bypass roads a nd security purposes.

The women visited a family of three girls and four boys,
ages seven to l8, who are living alone.  Their mother died
of cancer in l991.  Their father worked in Tel Aviv until
the Israeli authorities c losed the borders of Israel to
most Palestinian workers in March l996 following bus
bombings in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.  Two weeks ago he
tried to return to work and broke his leg while running
from the soldiers. He must remain in another town while
recuperating, close to the doctor who originally treated
him.  Meanwhile, the apartment owner is demanding the
children leave because they cannot pa y the rent.  There
are no social agencies to assist in this situation.  Kind
neighbors provide some food for them.

Most of the men in Samoua worked in Israel prior to the
border closure so the CPTers heard similar desperate
stories in family after family.

"When families are separated from their land," said Ali
Abu Argoub, a village resident, "fathers and children will
sneak past soldiers in the middle of the night just to
plant and to harvest so that they can eat."

One 20-year-old woman who studies psychology at Hebron
University (when the curfew does not prevent her) told the
CPTers the military took ten dunums of her grandfather's
land for a road.  "But they took the harvest with the
road!  The rest of our land is on the other side of the
road and now we have no way of reaching it.  We want the
world to help us keep the rest of our land."

The two week curfew was lifted July 5 and the two women
were joined in Samoua by other CPT team members and a
British journalist. Members of the CPT team in Hebron are
Diane Roe (Corning, NY.); Esther Ho (Hayward,Ca.); Bob Naiman
(Chicago, Il.); Randy Bond (Grand Rapids, Mi.), Bruce Yoder
(Elkhart, In); Ann Montgomery (New York, NY).

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

July 9, 1996
Bosnia: CPT Accompanies Funeral
Lena Seigers

CPT members along with UN International Police accompanied
a Muslim funeral July 3 in Jahce Bosnia.  Formerly
inhabited by all three of Bosnia's ethnic groups (Serbs,
Croats, and Muslims), Jajce was a town of 40,000 residents;
only 1/4 of them have returned.  The Croat Police now in
control are not fully complying with the "Dayton Agreement"
which allows for the return and free movement of all
citizens.  Those who are allowed to return find houses full
of broken furniture, leaking roofs and rotting mattresses;
their beautiful homes they fled from four years ago.

Muslims are allowed to come bury their dead, but then are
ushered back onto the bus to leave town.  The local Muslim
Cleric asked CPT to speak on their behalf.  After CPT
members and UN police agreed to accompany the funeral,
Croat police granted permission for the people to stay in
town for two hours.  The Muslim Cleric was pleased to be
able to walk the streets again wearing his fez (religious
headdress) but added, "Why must I ask special  permission
for me and my people to stay and drink a cup of coffee in
my own town?"

At exactly six o'clock PM the bus loaded up and left town
with police escort.  CPT members, concerned that the
people may be harassed by police, followed the bus. Police
turned around without any inc ident.  The police sometimes
force all passengers off the bus and painstakingly check
everyone's identity.  This activity is very intimidating,
and perpetuates fear of those in power.

Lena Siegers (Hamilton, Ont.) lives in Jajce in a house
owned by a Muslim who is afraid to move in.  Other CPTers
in Bosnia are Randy Puljek Shank (Ephrata, PA) and
Amela Puljek Shank (Jajce, Bosnia).

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

July 16, 1996
Chechnya: More Reflections
Jim Satterwhite

The war started up again here: several Chechen villages
have come under full-scale assault in the last few days by
Russian military forces.  The official reason is that the
Chechen side has not lived up to the Nazran Agreement
reached last month in the capital of the neighboring
Republic, Ingushetia.  But, Russian forces also failed to
live up to the agreement. They built more checkpoints and
roadblocks during the ceasefire, an accord that called for
the removal of checkpoints.

Infractions of the ceasefire agreement by one side or
another, however are not the main issue in the renewal of
the fighting.  It is commonly understood here that the
ceasefire agreement was purely cosmetic from the Russian
point of view, designed to demonstrate to the electorate
of Russia that president Yeltsin was the truc "candidate
of peace".   There is a parallel here between the recently
completed election campaign and that of President Nixon in
1972 when the American President promised to end the war
in Vietnam.  In both cases "peace with honor" or "peace on
our terms" meant truth twisting of the battlefield.

In recent days in Moscow bombs have exploded in two
trolley buses.  The immediate reaction of authorities was
that this was the work of "Chechen terrorists".  (The
first response to the bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal
Building was that "Arab terrorists" must have been
responsible.)  In Moscow anyone from the Caucasus region
is considered suspect in the trolly bombings.  Overt
discrimination against persons from the Caucuses is
tolerated even by police and Chechen people are especially
targeted.  In the wake of bombings authorities in Moscow
promise to rid the city of all "undesirables".

What is lost in all the talk about "Chechen terrorists" is
the fact that the Russian military campaign in Chechnya is
itself a terror campaign.  Though ostensibly aimed at
Chechen "fighters" the enti re Chechen population is
targeted.  The Chechen people are the enemy.  The war
effort depopulates villages.  The goal is accomplished
through indiscriminate bombing, shelling, assaults by
infantry and armor and killing anyone in the path of the
military.  Like in Vietnam, "body counts" are reported of
"Chechen fighters" or "Chechen separatists"  who have been
killed.

In the West people are paying for this war through loans
to Russia.  When the money is misused we look the other
way and say that this is an internal affair - like Pontius
Pilate who ceremoniously wa shed his hands when Jesus was
condemned to death.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

July 22, 1996
Chechnya:  Intensified War

Christian Peacemaker Teams workers stationed in Chechnya
report that the war there has intensified since the
Russian elections.  An assembly of Independent
Social-Political Parties and Movements gathered in the
Chechen capital of Grozny last week decried the increased
attacks on civilian populations and Russia's "genocidal
policy against the Chechen people."

A declaration from the assembly dileneated numerous
accounts of torture and killing of Chechen civilians by
Russian troops on July 15 and 16.  According to the
statement, residents of the northern suburbs of Grozny
awoke to find the bodies of seven young men who showed
"clear signs of cruel treatment."  Witnesses saw evidence
of bayonet slashes, slit throats, severed ears and broken
bones on the charred bodies.

Three more bodies were discovered in a different district
that same day.  Reports indicated that the young men had
been tied to the back of tank while still alive and
dragged along behind it before being taken to the top of a
hill and burned to death.

Later near the village of Katar-Yurt, the bodies of three
young village residents were found chopped to pieces with
an axe.  When residents of the village approached the
place where the bodies were, Russian soldiers opened fire
on them.

The assembly called for an end to the war against the
Chechen people and its government and appealed to the
world community and all those working for peace to bring a
halt to Russian agression.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

July 25, 1996
Ingushetia: The Other War

CPT Reservist Jim Satterwhite travelled to the North
Caucusus on June 2 for two months of intensive
peacemaking.  He is based in the republic of Ingushetia
which is bordered by Russia to the north, Chechnya to the
east, Georgia to the south, and North Ossetia to the west.


One hot, dry day in early July I visited a refugee camp
not far from Nazran, the capital of Ingushetia.  This camp
is the legacy of a conflict little known to North
Americans yet closely linked to th e current crisis in
Chechnya.

The "conflict" -- really an act of ethnic cleansing --
took place during a week at the end of October 1992 in an
area of North Ossetia which had previously belonged to
Ingushetia.  The "cleansing," carried out by North
Ossetians as well as Russian troops sent in under the
guise of peacekeepers, consisted in all the Ingush living
there being either killed or forced to flee accross the
border into Ingushetia.   All in all Ingushetia was deluged
with some 60,000 refugees almost overnight.

The reasons for what happened can be found partly in
history and partly in current politics.  Stalin deported
the entire Ingush and Chechen population to Central Asia
in 1944 for continuing to resist Soviet/Russian rule.
Before that time the disputed area had belonged to
Ingushetia, but after the deportations it was given to
North Ossetia.  Following Khrushchev's famous denunciation
of Stalin i n 1956, Chechens and Ingush were gradually
allowed to return to their original homelands in the North
Caucasus, including the area given to North Ossetia.

By 1991 Russia officially admitted that the deportations
had been wrong and began a tentative step towards
restoring the lost territory to Ingushetia.  The Ossetians
quite naturally were opposed to this proposal and so
undertook what many consider to be a preemptive strike by
forcing virtually all Ingush residents out.  In a
carefully planned move, all the Ingush were rounded up.
Some were killed, some deported, and some held as hostages
to be ransomed.  Some people were never heard from again.

Two days into the cleansing (referred to as "pogrom")
Russian forces were sent in to "restore order."  But the
"peacekeepers" joined in the attack and proceeded to
bombard Ingush villages with heavy weapons for several
days.  Many feel that the Russian move was designed to
provoke the Chechen separatist government of Dudaev to try
to help the Ingush people with whom they have close
cultural and linguistic ties.  This would have offered the
Russians a pretext to put down the Chechen independence
movement.  The Chechens did not become involved and
Russian military intervention in Chechnya was averted for
another two years.

The refugees from this "cleansing" were scattered all over
Ingushetia.  Now, four years later, they are still
refugees.  People in the camp outside of Nazran live in
what are known as "vagonchiki" (from "vagon," or "wagon").

Vagonchiki resemble the large shipping containers we see
on the roads and railways of North America.  Some of them
live within a half mile of their former homes yet are not
allowed to go back to see their houses (which if not
destroyed by the shelling were at least looted).  There is
a deep fatalism about them, yet a resilience as well.

As is often the case, the refugees are caught in the
cracks of the system.  They are Ingush, but the camp
itself is located in territory technically belonging to
North Ossetia.  The Ossetians aren't interested in helping
them and the camp is legally outside of Ingush
jurisdiction.

It is understandable that the Ingush authorities want a
resolution to the refugee crisis given their severely
strained resources from dealing with the hundreds of
thousands of Chechen refugees coming in so soon after the
influx from North Ossetia.  But as long as the Russians
are using it to provide leverage against Chechnya through
pressure on Ingushetia there will be no resolution.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

July 26, 1996
"Ingushetia: Tenuous Faith"

(CPT Reservist Jim Satterwhite travelled to the North
Caucusus on June 2 for two months of intensive
peacemaking.  He is based in the republic of Ingushetia
which is bordered by Russia to the north, Chechnya to the
east, Georgia to the south, and North Ossetia to the west.)


Ingushetia is a tiny republic within the Russian
Federation, with a population of under half a million. It
used to be part of a Chechen-Ingush republic in the Soviet
Union, but on June 4, 1992 Chechnya and Ingushetia were
declared to be separate, autonomous parts of the Russian
Federation, although the law did not delineate any of
their boundaries.  This "oversight" was one of the factors
that led in October of that same year to the Ossetians
"cleansing" all Ingush residents from disputed regions in
an attempt to preempt the territorial question.  These
days Ingushetia is known to the world as an area of
relative calm next to the war in Chechnya, but there is
more below the surface.

Ingushetia is poor.  This is predominantly an agricultural
region where people often keep a cow and a few chickens,
and have a small vegetable garden if they can.  Although
things look relatively prosperous (people are building
houses, goods are readily available), prices in absolute
terms for most consumer products approach or outstrip
those in North America, and in relation to wages they are
astronomical.

Even though the war is not going on here now, it could
spill over into Ingushetia at any moment.  Some in the
Russian military think that Ingushetia is providing aid to
Chechen "separatists" and so would like to expand
offensive operations into their region as well.

Beyond that, though, there is a deeper sense of
tenuousness here -- a sense that there is no security in
the world. The entire Ingush and Chechen populations were
deported by Stalin's orders in February of 1944 to
Siberia/Central Asia without warning and with considerable
loss of life.  The ethnic cleansing of Ingush from North
Ossetia in late 1992, right when Ingushetia seemed on the
way to rec overing both its autonomy and lost territory,
shook the faith of many people.

In this light, to choose to build, to live a normal life,
is simultaneously a tremendous act of faith and an act of
desperation.  Some people told me that they considered
emigrating, but they want th eir children to grow up in
this culture, so have decided to stay.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

July 27, 1996
Ingushetia: Living in a Hostile Land

(CPT Reservist Jim Satterwhite travelled to the North
Caucusus on June 2 for two months of intensive peacemaking.
He is based in the republic of Ingushetia which is bordered
by Russia to the north, Chechnya to the east, Georgia to the
south, and North Ossetia to the west.)

Today I travelled to Vladikavkaz, the capital of North
Ossetia.  Because of the ethnic cleansing of the Ingush
residents from North Ossetia in 1992, it is still
dangerous for Ingush to go there so I went with Chechen
friends.  Even they didn't feel safe in Vladikavkaz,
though they knew the city well and liked it very much.
"For us here there is no protection of the law," they told
me after we were away from the harsh glares of an Ossetian
man at the newspaper stand.  "Anyone could do anything to
us and there would be no help available, no authorities to
turn to."

My time in Vladikavkaz reminded me of my visit to the
former Yugoslavia last year.  One has the same eerie
feeling that something is wrong underneath the surface
normalcy.  The fact that thousands of the city's residents
were forcibly evicted or killed over a period of a few
days just because they were Ingush is not discussed.  In
both places -- Ossetia and Bosnia -- ethnic cleansing was
stirred up by outside agitation.

On the way home we stopped briefly at a village which had
been predominantly Ingush before the events of 1992.  Last
year the Ossetian authorities permitted a few of the
Ingush to return to their vil lage, but they found that
their houses had been totally demolished.  They now live
in two rows of "vagonchiki," (shipping containers made
into trailer houses) alongside the ruins of their former
homes.  They sit there with nothing to do, as they are not
allowed to go anywhere -- "not even three hundred meters,
over there across the creek," one man explained.  No one
actually forbids them to move about; the authorities simply
say that they "cannot guarantee the safety" of the Ingush
villagers should they stray from their encampment.

Given their experiences in 1992, and given that there are
still many armed Ossetian men roaming around the village,
this is not an idle threat.  Indeed, minutes after we
arrived, several policemen ca me up and wanted to know what
we were doing there.  They told us that it was forbidden
to talk to the Ingush residents and even threatened to
arrest us. Yet these few Ingush villagers have "returned"
to this extremely tenuous existence because they fear that
if they do not maintain a presence there, their ancestral
home sites will be lost to them forever.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

July 24, 1996
IRAQ:  Unfinished Business

A delegation to Iraq departs August 3, 1996.  Traveling
openly and publicly, the delegation will violate the UN/US
imposed sanctions by delivering medical relief supplies to
Iraqi people. The delegation members will also try to
learn about conditions in Iraq and the continuing effects
of the sanctions.   CPT has endorsed the work of Voices In
the Wilderness, the organizer of this pilgrimage.

As U.S. political party conventions draw near, it seems
unlikely that either gathering will address U.S.
responsibility for the ongoing suffering, starvation and
death of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children.

At this time economic sanctions of Iraq remain completely
in place. Although the United Nations and Iraq signed a
Memorandum of Understanding on the sale of oil for food,
medicine and material supplies on May 20, 1996, the U.S.
side rejected Iraq's subsequent Distribution Plan
alleging that Iraq plans to use some proceeds of its oil
sales to import high technology equipment that won't be
used to meet human needs.  The equipment referred to
includes five computers for University and secondary level
schools and spare parts to repair helicopters used for pest
control by the Ministry of Agriculture.

On July 18, 1996, U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros
Ghali approved Iraq's Distribution Plan, but approval from
the U.N. Security Council committee is still pending.
Delegation participant and CPT supporter Kathleen Kelly
encourages CPT supporters to remind all policy makers of
the continuing tragedy in Iraq and call for and end to
sanctions.


_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

July 29, 1996
"Chechnya: Landscape After the Battle"
by CPT Reservist Jim Satterwhite

As soon as Yeltsin -- the "candidate of peace" -- was
reelected, the Russian army launched a new series of
offensives against villages in Chechnya.   CPT visited the
village of Gikhy, located just southwest of Grozny, a week
after it was attacked. Russian troops attacked at dawn, to
drive out any Chechen "fighters".  However, the fighters
had already publicly pulled out of the village so as to
spare it the destruction that a pitched battle would
bring. The Russian forces waited to attack the village
until the Chechen fighters had withdrawn.

Russian troops rammed their armored personnel carriers
(APC's) through courtyard gates, forced people to leave,
and proceeded to loot where they could.  Some of the
village self-defense forces put up a stiff battle in which
the Russian forces suffered heavy losses (contrary to
official press releases).  After the fighting was
basically over, Russian planes bombed the village.

CPT witnessed family homes grouped around a courtyard had
been utterly destroyed by bombs after the villagers had
left.  These families were now homeless and destitute.
They worked for years in Russia because there was no work
to be had in the Caucasus.  They saved, built their own
homes, and now the work of a lifetime was literally blown
away in a moment.

One old Chechen man showed me his former Russian military
ID voicing his bewilderment that the country he had so
proudly served was doing this to him now.  He said that
when he showed his ID to the soldiers who were driving him
from his home, they laughed.

We met a small boy who played soldier. His toy was a steel
pipe improvised as a rifle.  With his pipe he set up his
own checkpoint outside his home.  The boy will grow up to
be a "fighter" one day.

The pattern of attack and devestation is repeating itself
again today in the village of Borzoi in the Caucasus
mountains further south in Chechnya.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

Aug 2, 1996
CHECHEN "PEOPLE POWER"
by Jim Satterwhite, CPT Reservist

In a bold act of courage, hundreds of Chechens assembled
for a large peace rally at "Freedom Square" in the center
Grozny on July 26.  The last time anti-war protests were
held there (in early winter), Russian troops surrounded
the square and opened fire on the crowd.  Even as this
rally began, authorities detonated several warning
explosions amidst the debris of demolished buildings
surrounding the area.  The people did not waver but
continued to gather strength of will and numbers.

Huge banners reiterated the refrain that was chanted
repeatedly: "Remove Russian troops from Chechnya!"  One
banner in English read: "Bill Clinton and Helmut Kohl:
Accomplices to the Killing of the Chechen People" since
the U.S. and Germany have been the main backers of the
international loans enabling Russia to continue paying for
this war.  Many people approached me as I was taking
pictures an d asked why so many journalists came and went
and why nothing came of their reports.

Following a few speeches and a traditional prayer dance,
the people formed a column and began to move up the
boulevard towards another square.  Immediately a
contingent of the Moscow-installed special Chechen police
blocked the march route but the crowd surged forward past
the police line.  The police reformed their blockade and
this time fired into the air with their automatic weapons
warning t hat "Federal" (Russian) troops up the road would
certainly shoot them.  Undaunted, the people continued to
surge past police for half a mile until officers pointed
their rifles into the crowd.  People then agreed to
disperse peacefully.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

August 15, 1996
CHECHNYA: A Different View

CPT Reservist Jim Satterwhite just returned from a two month presence
in Chechnya and offers a different view on the fighting that has been
going on there in recent days. 

The U.S. State Department recently issued a statement blaming the
Chechen side for violating the ceasefire agreement and holding them
responsible for civilian casualties in this latest round of fighting.

CPT's experience on the ground in Chechnya and its neighboring
states reveals a different reality.  Although the Nazran peace talks
held in June helped establish Yeltsin as the "candidate of peace,"
the Russians launched a new series of attacks on Chechen villages
before the ink was dry on the ceasefire agreement.  Their strategy
has been to demand that Chechen "fighters" leave a village or be
attacked.  Then they attack the village anyway once the "fighters"
have left.  The remaining civilians must flee under fire or through
hastily arranged "corridors" as Russian troops move in to loot and
torch their homes or bomb the entire village.  In the process
civilians are often killed, and many men are taken to "filtration"
camps where they are tortured and either held indefinitely, killed,
or ransomed to their families for exorbitant sums of money.  Fields
are burned, mined, or sprayed with herbicides. 

CPT observed this scenario most recently in the village of Gikhy,
southwest of Grozny, days after the village had been attacked by
Russian forces in mid July.  All over Chechnya, and particularly in
Grozny, it was the civilians who were targeted and harassed.  Now, as
before, with the Chechen takeover of Grozny, the Russian response has
been to simply bomb the city with no regard for the civilian 
population.

This cycle will continue until the Russians negotiate in good faith. 
The U.S. and Western Europe are helping to finance this war by giving
loans to Russia which free up money for fighting in Chechnya, so we
can help end the war by putting pressure on Yeltsin to stop the 
fighting.

August 13, 1996
WEST BANK: JAHALIN FACING EVICTION

On August 28, or soon after, some 400 Jahalin tribesmen, women and
children could see the encampments that have been home for 40 years
bulldozed to the ground.  The Bedouin homes are about 8 km from
central Jerusalem on the Palestinian West Bank.  They are being
displaced by state order to make way for the expansion of the Jewish
settlement Ma'ale Adumim.

At least 70 children under the age of 5 are involved in the impending
forced removal of the Jahalin to a small, rocky hill less than 500
meters from a Jerusalem garbage dump that receives over 700
truckloads of domestic and industrial waste each day.

"We have been condemned to death on a hill that will hardly hold our
tents beside a garbage dump that smells like poison," said Mohamed
El-Hirsh, one of the leaders of the Jahalin.

--------------------------------
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative of Mennonite and
Church of the Brethren congregation and Friends meetings who believe
that the life of faith calls each of us to work to transform
conflict and violence into new possibilities for peace.

    RE: moving the Jahalin tribesmen.
    
    Gee.. they're almost as nice as we were to the indians 140 years ago.

August 22, 1996
VIOLENT SIEGE IN HAITI

The following report by Carla Bluntschli, CPT's co-worker in
Haiti, describes recent attacks by former Haitian military
personnel in Port-au-Prince.

On Sunday, August 18, bandits of the disbanded Haitian military
dressed in their former olive green uniforms used Bazookas,
Uzi's, M1's, and other heavy military weapons to launch a highly
organized attack on the main police headquarters in Port-au-
Prince.  Fifteen former military arrested the previous day for
plotting to destabilize the government were thought to be
detained there.

Bazookas left smoldering war-like craters in the walls of the
Parliament building and vehicles with automatic weapons shot at
the National Palace throughout the night.  One civilian, a 15
year old boy sleeping in the yard, was killed by the bandits
during the seige.

The bandits blocked all access roads with armed vehicles and fired at
any attempts by police to bring in support.  They intercepted police
radio communications threatening to kill any officers attempting to
respond to calls from the Port-au-Prince headquarters.  Eventually
Haitian National Police stationed within the headquaters itself were
able to secure the building and were finally reinforced by UN troops.

That same night, former president Aristide's private home was
shot at.  The following night, community members put up
barricades in front of Aristide's house to prevent further
attack.  The next morning, Monday, August 19, a live grenade was
discovered at a gas station close to the international airport.
After clearing the area, UN forces were able to safely detonate
the grenade.

Members of the defunct Haitian military have been threatening
terrorist action against the Preval government unless their
conditions are met.  During a demonstration organized by former
military in front of the Parliament building, they declared that
the day any member of their organization is arrested, they will
attack.

CPT has maintained a violence deterring presence in different
parts of Haiti since 1993.  A new project scheduled to begin
later this month will focuss in part on Cite Soley, a poor
section of Port-au-Prince known for gang activity and organizing
of former military.

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Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative of Mennonite and Church
of the Brethren congregations and Friends meetings who believe that
the life of faith calls each of us to work to transform conflict and
violence into new possibilities for peace.

Wednesday, August 28
JAHALIN WIN TEMPORARY INJUNCTION

On Sunday, Aug. 25, a petition to prevent the forced expulsion of
the Jahalin Bedouin from their dwelling site was submitted to the
High Court in Israel.  The High Court granted a temporary
injunction prohibiting actions against the Jahalin until a
decision on this petition can be handed down.  The hearing is
scheduled for Sept 4, so nothing can happen before that.

CPTers have participated in an international peace encampment to
support the Jahalin as the previous August 28th eviction deadline
approached.

Advocate Lynda Brayer argued that the Israeli authorities are
attempting to move the Jahalin in the West Bank out of Area C
into Area B - a move that is a blatant violation of the Oslo
Accords.  Were this to be recognised as a legal move, then the
Israeli authorities could "cleanse"  Area C of all of its
Palestinian residents.  Israel could then claim in the final
stage of the agreement with the Palestinian Authority, that there
are only Jews in Area C and therefore the Palestinians are not
entitled to receive back the territory conquered in 1967 despite
UN Resolutions 242 and 338.

Soon after the injunction was issued but before it was widely
known about, border guards attacked a Jahalin encampment far from
the area currently under dispute, knocking down ten tents and
stealing jewelry and money.  According to the Society of St.
Yves, a legal resource and human rights center in Jerusalem,
these attempts at "ethnic cleansing" of the West Bank could do
irreparable damage to Israeli-Palestinian relations.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative of Mennonite and Church
of the Brethren congregations and Friends meetings who believe that
the life of faith calls each of us to work to transform conflict and
violence into new possibilities for peace.

September 3, 1996
"SMALL MIRACLES"

CPT Bosnia -- As the news that municipal elections will be
delayed until April or May, dashing the hopes of many that they
might soon return home, there are still moments of inspiration
and success. Creativity, perseverance and mutual good will can
work miracles.

A Muslim former citizen of Jajce who had lived in several cities
throughout the war was residing in Bosnian Army-controlled
Bugojno.  The house he was living in was owned by a Croat who
visited Bugojno from his place of refuge in Croatia to see what
was left of his home.  The Muslim invited the Croat owner to come
in.  As they talked, they shared their mutual desire to return to
their own homes, the Muslim to Jajce, and the Croat to his own
house in Bugojno.

Despite the Dayton agreement's pilot program for the return of
200 families to each city, permission for return is difficult to
attain.  Both had experienced the seeming impossibility of
securing permission to return to their own homes. They decided to
collaborate and approach both governments together, with the
Croat taking the lead with Croatian-dominated Jajce, and the
Muslim taking the lead with Muslim-dominated Bugojno.

Success!  It was not easy, for our Muslim friend had to travel to
Bugojno's city government six times to get the proper
authorization, but the men's creativity and perseverance paid off
in the end, and both men and their families have been able to
return to their own homes - at last.  Hopefully the creative
solution of these two men will serve as an example to be
replicated by other individuals.

On Wednesday, August 28, CPT traveled to Bugojno to find out
about the conditions for the return of Croats.  The windows of
some Croats' houses have been broken and several bombs have been
thrown to suggest to them that they are not welcome in Bugojno.
Various international organizations (UN High Commissioner for
Refugees - UNHCR,  Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe - OSCE, International  Police Task Force) that are active
in the area seem unable to effect much change in the situation of
return.

CPTers Amela & Randy Puljek Shank and Suzanne O'Hatnick serve as
a kind of bridge, giving people accurate information about their
rights and relaying current problems to the other international
organizations.  CPT works in cooperation with International
Mennonite Organization to maintain a nonviolent presence in Jajce
to facilitate the return of refugees.
------------------------------------------------------
Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative of Mennonite and
Church of the Brethren congregations and Friends meetings who
believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work to
transform conflict and violence into new possibilities for peace.

September 4, 1996
Haiti: Fears of Violence Increase

Two years ago, Father Jean Marie Vincent was gunned down
right in front of his community's Center in Port-au-Prince.
Father Vincent had worked tirelessly in the church to
protect people's lives in the face of brutal military rule.
In a secret meeting at the U.S. Embassy, alleged assasin
Marcel Maurrisaint started to confess to participating in
the murder of Father Vincent.  American pressure reportedly
had Maurrisaint released from prison and flown away.  He
disappeared before he could be tried.

Over 150,000 pages of documents seized from the FRAPH
(paramilitary) headquarters by U.S. troops in 1994
continue to be held at the American Embassy.  These
documents, which legally belong to the Haitian government,
contain crucial evidence needed to bring perpetrators of
the abuse of people's rights and illegal use of weapons.

Under Haiti's military rulers, more than 200,000 weapons
entered the country through military assistance programs
and arms smuggling.  Haitians, from the youngest to the
oldest, expected that the U.S. forces would collect those
weapons when they landed in September, 1994.  That did not
happen.  Most of the weapons are in the hands of former
military and paramilitary personnel and their supporters.
They continue to be used in political assasinations,
banditry, and in recent days, full-scale attacks on Haitian
police headquarters.

Many Haitians fear that the same forces that ousted
President Jean Bertrand Aristide and carried out
assasinations like that of Fr. Jean Marie Vincent will once
again take control of the country.

CPT has maintained a violence reduction presence in Haiti
since 1993.  Current team members Lena Siegers (Hamilton,
ON), Joanne Kaufman (Boulder, CO), Pierre Shantz (Kitchner,
ON), and Joshua Yoder (Chicago, IL) are working to identify
sources of weapons and deter violence in Port-au-Prince as
well as monitor selected court hearings throughout the
country as accused human rights violators are brought to
trial.

_________________________________________________
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is an initiative among
Mennonite and Brethren congregations, and Friends meetings
who believe that the life of faith calls each of us to work
to transform conflict and violence into new possibilities
for peace.

6 Sept 1996, Jerusalem
Eviction of Jahalin Bedouin Postponed

Yesterday Israel's High Court rejection of the Jahalin Bedouin appeal
against their impending eviction from their encampments adjoining the West
Bank settlement of Ma'ale Adumim. The Civil Administration, a branch of the
Israeli army, last night agreed to postpone the eviction pending the outcome
of negotiations with the Jahalin.  The emergency meeting was called by the
Action Committee for the Jahalin Tribe.

The leader of the 400 Bedouin who are under threat of forced removal,
Mohammed el-Hirsh, told the meeting that the Jahalin are ready to negotiate
for moving to an alternative site if given adequate facilities, security of
tenure, building permission and proper compensation for their losses
as Bedouin.

CPTNET members have responded in various ways to the crisis of the Bedouin
at Jahalin.  This solution is not the most desirable but it will allow for
some compensation. The work of tribe, members of the peace community,
concerned Israelis and Palestinians and many of you who responded helped
in this effort.

8 September 1996
HEBRON UNIVERSITY CLOSURE EXTENDED
Issued by Christian Peacemaker Teams, Hebron

On Thursday September 5th, Hebron University administration, teachers,
and students learned that the six month university closure imposed on March
5 in the wake of suicide bombings had been extended.  Students and faculty
learned the news over the radio while on their way to the university.

Hebron University official Manwar Sultan told Chrisitan Peacemaker Teams
(CPT), "After six months of unjustified closure of Hebron University, during
which the two thousand university students were scattered all over the city,
taking classes in rented rooms; the University hopped to avoid, sending the
students to the streets to join other unemployed, frustrated Palestinians".
University officials had been advised that the closure would not be renewed.
The new univsersity closure will last for two weeks but may be extended for
another six months.

CPT Hebron has joined the university officials and students in objecting to
the closure of the university.  University administrators handed CPT a document
detailing the financial losses incurred because of the closure and due to
property damage sustained when the Israeli Defence Forces ransacked the
university in March.  The estimate in damage was $329,550.

The university has no institutional connections with Hamas or Islamic Jihad.
No students were arrested in connection with the bombings.  The closure is
considered a form of collective punishment imposed on students and
intellectuals of this Muslim city.

Last spring CPT supported attempts by the university to nonviolently protest the
closure. More than one hundred students and faculty members joined together
in a sit-in on April 9 and were subsequently attacked by the IDF (Israel
Defense Forces).  People present witnessed groups of half a dozen soldiers
beating up one student and smashing the students' heads into the ground.
Several students were sent to the hospital and seven were arrested.

In May Hebron University students were joined in a peaceful demonstration by
Hebrew University students and members of Hebron Solidarity Committee, Gush
Shalom (Peace Bloc) and Christian Peacemaker Teams.  New initiatives in
nonviolence activities are being discussed.
September 7, 1996

REFERENDUM ON U S BASES IN OKINAWA
by Marvin Miller

Note:  Today Japanese living in Okinawa will express their wishes regarding
the presence of US bases in their communities in a referendum.

The first referendum in Japan on any issue is expected to produce a positive
vote for reduction and eventual removal of U.S. bases in the southern
Japanese island of Okinawa.  Mennonites in Japan are watching this vote very
closely because some of the military bases may be moved to their
communities.  Seventy-five percent of U.S bases in Japan are on Okinawa
which has 1% of the total Japanese land area.  Okinawans say,  "Okinawa
exists among the bases."

The present governor of Okinawa is refusing to give consent to renew
agreements with the U.S for use of the land belonging to Okinawa farmers.
This is the first time in fifty years that such a strong stand has been
taken by any Japanese governor.  As long as the US-Japan Mutual Security
Treaty is in effect, it is certain that a positive vote will be overruled by
the national government.  Land belonging to farmers will continue to be
seized for use by the U.S. military.

Mennonite Christians on the northern island of Hokkaido dealt with the issue
of the US bases at their annual Peace Conference in January this year.  The
U. S.  and Japanese government have agreed that a US Marine base will move
from Okinawa to the Bakkai area in eastern Hokkaido where there are several
vigorous Mennonite congregations.   Members of these congregations have a
long standing concern and opposition to the Japanese Self-Defense Forces
which have been in Bekkai even longer than the congregations.  Mennonites
have written letters to the mayors of the towns in Bekkai area voicing their
opposition to the coming of the Marines.

One Mennonite leader said, "Of course we don't want the Marines, yet some
people feel that Okinawa shouldn't have to carry the whole burden on the US
bases.  Maybe its time to spread the bases around Japan, even if they have
to come to our area."

Other Japanese observers think that Japanese shouldn't have to keep paying
for the US presence on their soil.  Many, including Mennonites are very
disturbed about the use of the US bases in Japan for the current air strikes
in Iraq, as they were during the Gulf war and the Viet Nam war.

North Americans can stand with Japanese sisters and brothers by letting
voices question and condemn the rearrangement of military instillations into
all of Japan.  Geopolitics insist that the bases are required to check North
Korean or Chinese expansionism and help create security among states.  The
reality is that US bases in Okinawa have created moral decay and instability
in local communities and their closing may mean the spread of these same
influences to other regions of Japan.
\-----
Marvin Miller, is a retired Mennonite expatriot professor who spent
twenty-five years in Japan.  He now lives in Bloomington IN who now lives in
Bloomington IN.  Marvin is a friend and supporter of CPT.

Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of Mennonite, Church of the Brethren
and Quaker bodies.

Text from Pledge brochure:

   On November 18, 1996, an Israeli military court in Jaffa sentenced four
Israeli undercover unit officers to one hour in jail and fined them one agora
(about 1/3 of a cent) for assassinating the wrong Palestinian in 1993.
   This incident reflects the contempt for Palestinian life present in most
sectors of Israeli society.  Israeli policy supports the torture and murder
of Palestinians, the confiscation of their land, the demolition of their
houses, the closure of their schools, the restriction of their water supply
and their imprisonment without charges while the international community
either remains silent or protests to no effect.
   The worldwide church has been part of this ineffectual response to Israel's
egregious human rights abuses.  As heirs to a tradition that sanctioned the
dehumanization and persecution of Jews for centuries and paved the way for
the Nazi holocaust, we are loathe to cause any more suffering to the Jewish
community.  We know that criticism by Christians of Israel has been
interpreted by some as criticism of Judaism.  We also know that contempt for
Jews still exists in our societies and that Jewish fears of renewed
persecution are not without basis, given the atrocities already committed in
this century.

Therefore, we the undersigned make the following pledge:

   We will not let comments which reflect a contempt for Jews or Judaism to
pass unchallenged.  We will not laugh at jokes that ridicule Jews. We will
monitor the political arena and the media for examples of anti-Jewish
rhetoric.  Should we see racist demagogues arising in our countries as they
did in Europe after WWI, we will oppose these demagogues with all the
political power at our disposal.
   We will challenge attempts to deny the Holocaust happened or to down-play
its seriousness.  We will commit ourselves to fighting the political,
spiritual and economic forces that can lead to genocide.
   We will educate ourselves and our children about the profound and beautiful
contributions Judaism and Jewish people have made to our spiritual and
intellectual lives and toward the well-being of our societies.
   Should evil circumstances in our societies lead to a renewed persecution of
our Jewish neighbors, near or far, it is our intention to risk ostracism,
arrest and if necessary, our lives to protect Jews and to confound their
oppressors.
   However, because of our concern for human rights, inspired by the Jewish
prophets and a Jewish carpenter from Nazareth, we cannot pay the price
exacted by some people for meaningful Jewish-Christian dialogue-that of
silence regarding Israel's human rights abuses.  We believe that silence
makes us complicit in the injustices at work in Israel and Palestine.
   We realize our intention to confront Israeli abuses of power may mean that
we cannot have harmonious relationships with some of our Jewish friends.  We
will mourn the loss of these relationships.  We will also pray for the
eventual restoration of these relationships as we pray for a just peace
between Israelis and Palestinians.  And until such time as the restoration of
these relationships occurs, we will celebrate those Palestinians and
Israelis, Jews, Christians and Muslims who have worked diligently and
self-sacrificially for justice in the Holy Land.