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15 June 2005: Click
here for printer friendly version A number of "human rights" and "humanitarian" NGOs organize internships and visits for activists, who then return to their communities in Europe and North America and join anti-Israel political campaigns, which also promote an extremist Palestinian agenda. The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) is a notable example, and is actively supported and funded by the World Council of Churches, a major supporter of the anti-Israel divestment campaign. Its mission statement notes that the main purpose of EAPPI "is to accompany Palestinians and Israelis in their non-violent actions and concerted advocacy efforts to end the occupation." In this process, EAPPI presents a biased Palestinian narrative, and fails to make any mention of Palestinian terror or of the human rights of Israelis. EAPPI's activities are managed by Salpy Eskidjian, an Armenian Cypriot with a radical anti-Israel agenda, as reflected in the Ecumenical Campaign to End the Illegal Occupation of Palestine. The program sends "Ecumenical Accompaniers" for three-month periods "to try to reduce the brutality of the Occupation and improve the daily lives of both peoples." Despite claims of humanitarian objectives, balance and fairness, EAPPI consistently employs such demonizing terms as "apartheid" and "war crimes" in reference to Israel, and cooperates with such radical Palestinian NGOs as the Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees (UPMRC). Since the program was launched in August 2002, 198 activists have participated from more than 30 churches and ecumenical partners in 12 countries. Upon returning to their home base, most become active in anti-Israel campaigns. |
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