[ENS] Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold has written a letter to US Secretary of State Colin Powell, an Episcopal layman, informing him of the difficulties faced by students at an Episcopal school near Jerusalem as a result of ongoing violence in Israel.

The Arab Evangelical School in Ramallah, founded in 1954, belongs to the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. Currently it has 568 students in grades from kindergarten to high school. Seventy percent of the students are Christians and 30 percent are Muslims.

On December 13, Israeli military forces dug a 6-10 foot trench across the main road, adjacent to one side of the school. According to Nancy Dinsmore, development officer for the Jerusalem diocese, the trench made the road "impassable." On the other side of the school, she reported, there are a number of tanks blocking the road and preventing access to the school.

Students were prevented from entering the school and the Israeli military has advised the administration that the school was closed until further notice. A nearby Christian family, supporters of the school, was evicted from their home, which is serving as a barracks for 30 Israeli soldiers.

Israeli troops began withdrawing from positions on the West Bank near Ramallah on December 20. The army took the positions after suicide bombings in Jerusalem and Haifa.

"While I am altogether sympathetic to the needs of Israel to protect herself against terrorist attack, I and many other Episcopalians are deeply concerned by what appears to be an overstepping of the requirements for security," Griswold's letter said, after quoting Dinsmore's account. "The victims in this case are Christian and Muslim children who are being taught the art of peace-making as an integral part of their overall curriculum."

Griswold led a delegation of church leaders who visited Powell in June to discuss peace in the Middle East.

Ramallah is located about 10 miles north of Jerusalem on a road which runs from the Galilee in the north to Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Hebron in the south. Before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the town's population was 100% Christian Arab.

The Arab Evangelical School is funded in part by the Jerusalem 2000 project, an appeal to Episcopalians and Anglicans worldwide, which is raising money for a new secondary school building, classrooms, labs and equipment. The Jerusalem 2000 campaign, Building Presence, Building Peace, is a collaborative effort of the Episcopal Church in the USA and the rest of the Anglican Communion.