FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2007

Contact: Sr.Ruth Lautt, O.P., Esq.
(212) 870-2320
New York, New York

Fair Witness Questions Silence on Recent Violence in Lebanon

Christians For Fair Witness on the Middle East questions the relative silence from FOSNA and Churches for Middle East Peace as the Lebanese army continued shelling a Palestinian refugee camp in Tripoli in an attempt to root out the radical Fatah al-Islam.  According to news reports a serious humanitarian crisis developed as up to 40,000 Palestinians were trapped inside Nahr al Bared with no water or electricity and dwindling food supplies as the shelling prevented aid groups from entering the camp.  Eyewitnesses say they have seen scores of corpses lying on the ground, although the number of dead is still unknown.  Ambulances were not able to approach the area to treat those who were injured.

“We question the silence from these and other Christian groups in the U.S. that claim to be advocates for peace in the Middle East and justice for the Palestinian people,” says Fair Witness National Director Sister Ruth Lautt.

“These groups frequently raise their voices to urge Israeli military restraint in defending its citizens from attacks emanating from terrorist groups located amidst civilian populations in the Palestinian territories and in Lebanon,” points out Fr. James Loughran, S.A., Director of the Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute.  “Why are they silent now?” 

Rev. Dr. Roy Howard, pastor of Saint Mark Presbyterian Church in Rockville, MD., added “Nahr al Bared is a densely inhabited camp, so attacking it necessarily means civilians will be endangered.  A sincere commitment to peace with justice cannot be limited to criticism of Israel when it is perceived as using excessive force to quell groups that terrorize its civilian population.”

“For peace and justice groups within our churches to remain credible, they should not exhibit a double standard, holding Israel to account for actions which, when taken by non-Israelis, are met  with silence,” says Rev. Dr. Bruce Chilton, Bell Professor of Religion at Bard College and rector of the Episcopal Church of St. John the Evangelist, Barrytown, N.Y.  “Once again Fair Witness must warn that given the history of Christian anti-Semitism, when Christians single out the Jewish state for condemnation, the unintended consequence of this double standard of morality may be to encourage violence against Jews by stirring up unwarranted anti-Israel animus.