HEBRON - 9 April 2008 - 170 words
Holy Land: Christian, Jewish groups support Islamic orphanages threatened with closure
The Israeli Military has been given orders to shut down the orphanages and schools run by the Islamic Charitable Society in Hebron.
On Monday, the Popular Committee for Supporting
the Orphanages hosted a press conference at the Hebron Girls Orphanage
with approximately 70 attending, including independent media,
internationals, and clergy. The lawyer representing the Islamic
Charitable Societies spoke of the invaluable work of serving 2,500
children, 240 of them orphans, aiding an additional 4,000 students
and 5,000 needy families, running a dairy and two bakeries, a
warehouse and four small store fronts which serve the schools
and orphanages of the Hebron area. The warehouse, bakeries
and the storefronts were raided on 6 March, The Israeli
Military confiscated food, clothing, school supplies, refrigerators
and two buses worth $300,000.
The lawyer also spoke of how the monies donated to support the
orphanages and schools are accounted for and audited by certified
public accountants and monitored by the Palestinian Authority.
The books are open to audit by the Israeli Government as well. Twenty
percent of the monies donated come from the Hebron local community.
The other eighty percent come from Europe and the US and Middle
East countries. The Islamic Charitable Society is highly
respected by locals, NGOs, and other reputable organizations such
as Catholic Charities.
During the conference Rabbi Arik Ascherman, of Rabbis for Human
Rights, spoke to the press conference by speaker phone, saying
that under Jewish law there must be evidence brought before the
court and that there must be witnesses to that evidence.
Even in the name of security, this closure is not warranted, as
the Islamic Charitable Society has threatened no human life.
Members of Christian Peacemaker Teams and other internationals
slept at the orphanages to accompany, and to document any
possible incursion by the Israeli Military; however by midnight
of 7 April, the attorney for the Israeli Military had asked for
an extension of time to prepare and submit to the court a full
justification for the closures of the schools and orphanages.
Christian Peacemaker Teams is an ecumenical initiative to support
violence reduction efforts around the world. To learn more
about CPT's peacemaking work, see: www.cpt.org
© Independent Catholic News 2008
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