CPTnet
CHRISTIAN PEACEMAKER DENIED ENTRY TO ISRAEL
October 24, 2002

Kathleen Kern, Bible scholar and member of Christian Peacemaker Teams, was
denied entry to Israel at Ben Gurion Airport yesterday. Kern, a forty-year
old writer of Sunday School materials , was on her
way to join the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) in Israel/Palestine. On
numerous trips with CPT over the past eight years, Kern has repeatedly
intervened in conflict situations to reduce violence and to protect human
rights. She has been assaulted by Israeli settlers, but never arrested by
Israeli authorities. Kern is the third member of CPT to be denied entry in
the last five months: Michael Goode of Chicago (IL) and Kurtis Unger of
Winnipeg (MB) were denied entry in June and August.

Kern was scheduled to be part of the CPT Rapid Response Team, based in
Jerusalem and charged with responding as quickly as possible to attacks or
threats of attacks against any civilian populations, Israeli or Palestinian.
The Rapid Response Team is in part a renewal of an action Kern initiated in
response to bus bombings in 1996: when the #18 bus in Jerusalem was bombed
two Sundays in a row, Kern and another CPTer publicly declared their
opposition to all violence, and proceeded to ride the #18 bus the following
three Sundays.

"Kathy is the least threatening person you can imagine," said Mark Shelly of
Rochester (NY) Mennonite Fellowship where Kern is a member. "She knows what
she believes and can state it clearly, but she is never harsh or rough,
verbally or physically. She is always working to try to understand others'
positions. She has been a leader in improving Jewish/Christian/Muslim
dialogue in our area. She values her friendships with Jews and Muslims
highly, and she is committed to reconciliation -- helping people understand
and respect each other."

Also Wednesday at Ben Gurion Airport, harassment by Israeli authorities led
four Palestinian church leaders to give up their attempt to attend a
conference in London. Bishop Riah Abu El-Asal, Head of the Anglican Church,
Bishop Munib Younan, Head of the Lutheran Church, and Bishop Boutros
Mouallem and Abbouna Elias Chakour of the Greek Catholic Church were on
their way to attend follow-up meetings on the Alexandria Declaration, an
initiative for interfaith dialogue between Christians, Moslem, and Jews.

"The Israeli government is using the US led international climate of anti-
terrorism and Iraq war fever to run rough shod over Palestinians in general
and human rights workers in particular." according to Gene Stoltzfus,
Christian Peacemaker Teams director. "This is done by tightening the
noose at Tel Aviv's Airport or on the ground restrictions and arrests of
human rights workers as well as with renewed home demolitions and attacks
on population centers. Kerns rejection at Tel Aviv Airport is a wake up
call for all Christians to start doing something about the blood that is
flowing in that place called the Holy Land."

Kern was part of the exploratory delegation that set up the CPT project in
Hebron in June 1995. As of this writing, CPT has had no direct contact with
Kern. Allowed one phone call from the airport holding cell, she called an
Israeli friend. On the basis of that phone call, we believe Kern is now
being flown back to the US.

Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of Brethren, Quaker and Mennonite
Churches. CPT P. O. Box 6508 Chicago, IL 60680 tel. 773-277-0253; Fax:
773-277-0291, E-Mail cpt [at] igc [dot] org?Subject=Re:%20CHICAGO%20IL:%20CPTNET%20EDITOR%20DENIED%20ENTRY%20TO%20ISRAEL&In-Reply-To=<1035482371@mennolink> WEB www.cpt.org

Christian Peacemaker Teams is a program of Brethren, Quaker and Mennonite
Churches. CPT P. O. Box 6508 Chicago, IL 60680 tel. 773-277-0253; Fax:
773-277-0291, E-Mail cpt [at] igc [dot] org?Subject=Re:%20CHICAGO%20IL:%20CPTNET%20EDITOR%20DENIED%20ENTRY%20TO%20ISRAEL&In-Reply-To=<1035482371@mennolink> WEB www.cpt.org