LONDON (PSC) — Bishop Riah Abu El Assal arrives on Monday 8th January 2007 for a busy week of speaking with meetings in London York Liverpool and Manchester. Bishop Riah is the outgoing Episcopal Bishop in Jerusalem one of several Palestinian church leaders who recently hosted a visit by the Archbishop of Canterbury Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor and other English church leaders. He will be speaking on ‘Israel and Palestine: Is peace possible?’.
The Diocese of Jerusalem is responsible for a number of hospitals and schools including hospitals in Gaza and Nablus giving them first hand knowledge of the hardship suffered by the Palestinian people which has worsened over the last year with the withdrawal of EU and other monies in the light of the Palestinian election result. Bishop Riah has spoken at all levels including at 10 Downing Street on the need for the UK to remain actively engaged in Israel and Palestine.
Bishop Riah is the third Palestinian to hold the post of Bishop of the Diocese which encompasses Palestine Israel Jordan Syria and Lebanon. As a Palestinian Christian and Israeli citizen born in Nazareth he is an outspoken advocate for the rights of all people in the Holy Lands and of using all non-violent means to bring about change – including that of divesting from companies which profit from Israel’s occupation.
The visit is hosted by Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Amos Trust and each meeting will include discussion on how we can become involved in working for peace.
His first speaking engagement will be on Monday evening at House of Parliament in Westminster.
www.palestinecampaign.org
