The full text of the three letters follows.

1. Letter to Mr Arial Sharon
April 12 2002

Your Excellency,

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches has watched with horror the events of recent weeks in Israel and occupied Palestine. The land on which violence and bloodshed have become daily experiences is shared by people belonging to three of the world's great religions - Judaism, Islam and Christianity - each of which have scriptural traditions that challenge us to seek peace and preserve life.

Encouraged by this common tradition, we are writing to urge you to stop immediately the current operations by the Israeli Defence Forces which can bring neither peace nor security. Many voices within our constituency of more than 75 million people in 107 countries have made similar appeals.

We decry the growing violence that has characterized Israeli-Palestinian relations since September 2000 and intensified in March this year. The loss of innocent life is appalling.

We are puzzled that your government has turned its back on the search for a political solution which will enable the people of Israel and the people of Palestine to live side-by-side peacefully with tangible security in the land, in favour of a military response to this very complex situation.

We are further puzzled that your government has ignored calls for withdrawal from the UN Security Council, the European Union, the President of the United States and others. Instead, you have been quoted as saying that Israeli withdrawal will only be after your military objectives are met.

You must be aware that these IDF incursions have put at risk and led to the death or injury of many hundreds of innocent civilians (children, women and men). You must also be aware that doctors and other medical workers are unable to tend the wounded and dying, and even the Red Cross is unable to do its work effectively. The unnecessary suffering and loss of life that have resulted from this invasion cannot be justified.

We urge you and your government to give peace a chance. This is the moment for mature leaders to raise fundamental questions which will take into account the many UN resolutions, the various peace accords and the recent Saudi peace initiative. A lasting settlement must address the issues of peaceful co-existence, security for all, the return of the territories illegally occupied since 1967, and a just settlement of the Palestinian refugee question.

The pain experienced by many innocent Palestinians and Israelis calls on all concerned to seek peace and pursue it (Psalm 34.14). This cardinal scriptural value is one which Jews, Christians, and Muslims all share. In view of this we urge your government to withdraw immediately from the Palestinian territories, and to demonstrate its full commitment to negotiations towards a lasting peace.

May you be granted wisdom and the courage of humility from above in taking a stance for peace which will benefit your people - the people of Israel - as well as your neighbours.

Yours faithfully,

Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi
General Secretary

2. Letter to Alliance member churches April 12 2002

Dear Brother and Sisters,

In October 2001, I wrote you a letter calling for reflection and prayers regarding the September 11 attacks in the USA and the subsequent war in Afghanistan. Today, I am writing you another letter concerning developments in a land we all regard as holy.

In the Old Testament, we read, "A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more" (Jer 31.15). Matthew quotes this text from Jeremiah to express the grief of mothers whose innocent children were slaughtered by King Herod as he attempted to kill the new-born Prince of Peace (Mt 2.18). For many years, because of the conflict between Jews and Arabs, we ourselves have heard lamentation and bitter weeping in the Holy Land where the Prince of Peace preached peace (shalom, salaam), justice and life in fullness for all people on earth. In the last two years, this has reached new levels of intensity with suicide bombings and military incursions.

Today we hear mounting lamentation and bitter weeping in Bethlehem, Hebron, Jennin, Nablus, Qalquilia, Ramallah, and Tulkarem, where the Israeli Defence Forces are killing and injuring many hundreds of innocent civilians. They are demolishing houses and other property, and destroying the infrastructure of Palestine society, in the name of a "war against terrorism" that becomes ever more obviously a war of terror by the state of Israel against the whole Palestinian community. At the same time, we can never justify or condone the killing of innocent people by suicide bombings. This also causes bitter weeping and lamentation.

The Israeli Defence Forces siege of the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, and their storming into the Lutheran church in the same town, powerfully symbolize the tragedy of what is being done.

In these events, we see all kinds of inhuman and irreligious values in the land that Jews, Christians and Muslims alike hold dear.

Israel has so far chosen not to heed the calls for withdrawal from the UN Security Council, the US President, European Union leaders, and many others. Meanwhile, in spite of the barring of the local and international media from the battlefields, the evidence mounts of Israeli war crimes and even of crimes against humanity.

On April 10, the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, the Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, and the Spanish Foreign Minister, Josep Piqué, said in a joint statement that there is "no military solution to the conflict". WARC has consistently argued that military options can bring neither peace nor security. We believe that this invasion of the Palestinian territories with tanks and other weapons of mass destruction will only plant more anger, hatred and mistrust and lessen regard for human life.

All peace-loving people have known for years that a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be found on the basis of return to the Palestinians of all the territories illegally occupied since 1967 and a just settlement of the Palestinian refugee question. The futility of Mr Sharon's war may perhaps bring this truth home at last to the people of Israel.

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches calls on its member churches to make every effort to divert the messenger of death from all the households of the Holy Land, both Jewish and Arab, and to restore peace with justice where our Lord first preached it. We ask our churches to:

Some member churches have already acted. We are encouraged by their statements, letters and other actions, and the depth of feeling they display. Please let us know of any steps that your church is taking.

In acting for peace, let us all be aware that we are not alone. We are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. May God bless us all as we continue to seek God's "shalom".

Sincerely yours,

Setri Nyomi

3. Letter to Mr Yasser Arafat April 12 2002

Dear President Arafat,

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches has watched with horror the events of recent weeks in Israel and occupied Palestine. The land on which violence and bloodshed have become daily experiences is shared by people belonging to three of the world's great religions - Judaism, Islam and Christianity - each of which have scriptural traditions that challenge us to seek peace and preserve life.

Encouraged by this common tradition, we are writing you this letter to express our dismay that your people are suffering so dreadfully under military attack. Many voices within our constituency of more than 75 million people in 107 countries have made similar appeals.

We decry the growing violence that has characterized Israeli-Palestinian relations since September 2000 and intensified in March this year. The loss of innocent life is appalling.

We are puzzled that the Israeli government has chosen a military response to this very complex situation. This choice is a set back to a search for a political solution which will enable the people of Israel and the people of Palestine to live side-by-side peacefully with tangible security in the land.

We are further puzzled that Israel has ignored calls for withdrawal from the UN Security Council, the European Union, the President of the United States, and others. These IDF incursions have put at risk and led to the death or injury of many hundreds of innocent civilians (children, women and men). Doctors and other medical workers are unable to tend the wounded and dying, and even the Red Cross is unable to do its work effectively. The unnecessary suffering and loss of life that have resulted from this invasion cannot be justified.

We urge you and the Palestinian Authority not to be daunted by these events - but instead be committed to the path of peace which won you the Nobel Peace Prize. It can be tempting to respond to violence with violence. This is the moment for mature leaders to raise fundamental questions which will take into account the many UN resolutions, the various peace accords and the recent Saudi peace initiative. A lasting settlement must address the issues of peaceful co-existence, security for all, the return of all territories illegally occupied since 1967, and a just settlement of the Palestinian refugee question.

The pain experienced by many innocent Palestinians and Israelis calls on all concerned to seek peace and pursue it. This cardinal religious value is one which Muslims, Christians and Jews all share. In view of this, we urge you and the Palestinian Authority to do all in your power to discourage those who may want to express their frustration through violence from doing so, and to demonstrate your commitment to negotiations towards a lasting peace.

May you be granted wisdom from above in taking a stance for peace which will benefit your people - the people of Palestine - as well as your neighbours.

Yours faithfully,

Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi
General Secretary"

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