Fall 1997 - 2000

CPT’s Campaign for Secure Dwellings provided an international response to the Israeli government’s threat to demolish thousands of Palestinian homes located near Israeli settlements and their highways.

Working in coordination with the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) and the Palestine Land Defense Committee, the campaign matched congregations with Palestinian families in the Hebron area facing home demolition.

The congregations and families exchanged profiles, letters and photographs. The North American families wrote letters to their representatives, the Israeli government and the U.S. State Department describing the threat that their partner family faced. Canadian and U.S. churches also held vigils and witnesses outside Israeli Consulate offices and the local offices of their senators. One congregation parked a bulldozer in front of the Israeli consulate in Toronto and hung a banner on it that read, “Stop the demolitions.”

Accomplishments

An entry-point issue: Home demolitions proved to be an effective entry issue into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for both internationals and Israelis, and engaged people who otherwise would not have been concerned with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Regardless of someone’s politics, almost no one thought demolishing Palestinian homes so that Israeli settlements could expand was a good idea.

Increased pressure: Amid the gloom of continuing demolitions, the pressure on the Israeli and American governments increased due to letter writing and fax campaigns. A contact in the U.S. State Department said the Department received more letters on the home demolition issue than it did for any other issue in the entire Middle East. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright began to issue great, though unpublicized, pressure on the Israeli government to stop demolishing homes.

Demolitions decreased: the Israelis destroyed around 350 homes in 1997, 250 in 1998, 175 in 1999, and then demolitions dropped to a handful in 2000, none of which took place in the Hebron district. The downward trend was due to many factors, but we do recognize CPT played a small part in decreasing demolitions.

Creating a network: After its first year, the campaign had matched fifty-eight churches with families who had experienced or were facing home demolition. A surprising number of North Americans participated in CPT delegations to Palestine to specifically visit the families matched with their congregation.