For Immediate Release CONTACT: Jacob Pace, Interfaith Peace-Builders 202-689-9790
David Lamarre-Vincent, NH Council of Churches
603-496-6989
New Hampshire Council of Churches Executive Director returns from Interfaith Delegation to Israel and Palestine
Israelis and Palestinians share insight on the question of apartheid and hope for peace
Washington, DC — David Lamarre-Vincent, Executive Director of the New Hampshire Council of Churches, has returned from a unique delegation to Israel and Palestine. Mr. Lamarre-Vincent, along with thirteen other participants from around the US landed in Tel Aviv on July 28 for a two-week trip through the conflict zone. The delegates investigated the question of apartheid in the Israeli-Palestinian context while meeting with representatives of Israeli and Palestinian civil society, religious leaders, politicians, businesspeople, farmers, students, Human Rights workers, former combatants and more.
The delegation was co-sponsored by Interfaith Peace-Builders (IFPB) and the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation (USC). This delegation is the 28th such experience organized by IFPB since 2001, successfully educating more than 400 North American citizens about the Middle East and deepening their understanding of its conflicts through eye-witness experiences.
Jimmy Carter’s recent book Palestine: Peace not Apartheid (Simon & Schuster, 2006) makes the former US President the latest in an extensive list of world leaders to apply the term apartheid to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Carter’s observations follow similar judgments by prominent South Africans such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and International Court Justice John Dugard. More recently, strong rhetoric by US presidential nominees regarding military aid to Israel and dialogue with Palestinian groups has raised important questions for US foreign policy and heightened public concern over US involvement in the conflict.
Participation in the Interfaith Peace Builders delegation was a cornerstone of Mr. Lamarre-Vincent’s summer sabbatical focused upon grassroots stories of interfaith understanding, whole community environmental thinking, and ethnic/racial/language diversity in the New Hampshire church community. “Middle East peace hinges upon settlement of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. This instability poses the greatest threat to world peace and support for the Israeli and Palestinian peace movements offers hope,” he explains. “Upon seeing and hearing the frustrations, fears and hopes of Israelis and Palestinians, New Hampshire religious leaders can support peace with justice based upon realities, not preconceptions.”
David Lamarre-Vincent has served as Executive Director of the New Hampshire Council of Churches since 1990. The NH Council of Churches is an ecumenical and inter-religious advocate for justice and peace, Christian unity and interreligious understanding. Mr. Lamarre-Vincent has also served on numerous New Hampshire government and nonprofit Boards of Directors and Advisory Councils and provided consultation services to government, business, religious, and volunteer sectors. He has been instrumental in the establishment of unique advocacy coalitions whose disparate members share one common mission for service and justice. He serves nationally as a consultant on social policy and organizational development within the religious community. His efforts have led to the formation of several national ecumenical and interreligious organizations for a just, peaceful and environmentally healthy world.
Mr. Lamarre-Vincent holds an A.B. from Dartmouth College, a M.Ed. in Counseling and Human Resources from the University of New Hampshire, an M. Div. from Yale University Divinity School and has completed post-graduate work at Weston Jesuit School of Theology.
David Lamarre-Vincent looks forward to discussing his trip directly. He can be reached at 603-496-6989 or David@NHchurches.org.
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Interfaith Peace-Builders and the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation believe in the power of eye-witness experience and transformation through first-hand experience. Given the opportunity to speak directly with Israelis and Palestinians, delegates return to North America better informed, more determined to make a change , and with a deeper understanding of the possibilities for justice and peace in the Middle East.
Begun as a program of the Fellowship of Reconciliation in 2000, Interfaith Peace-Builders’ mission is to give US citizens the opportunity to see and understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict firsthand and to empower these citizens to educate their local communities and advocate for a more just US foreign policy when they return. For more information see www.interfaithpeacebuilders.org.
The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation is a diverse coalition working for freedom from occupation and equal rights for all by challenging current US policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Campaign is based on human rights and international law, providing a non-sectarian framework for everyone who supports its Call to Action. Its strategy is to inform, educate, and mobilize the public so as to change the US role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to support peace, justice, human rights, and international law. For more information see www.endtheoccupation.org.