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Herald Press Author Art Gish Dies in Accident

Art Gish, author of four Herald Press books, including Hebron Journal: Stories of Nonviolent Peacemaking (2001) and At-Tuwani Journal: Hope and Nonviolent Action in a Palestinian Village (2008), died July 28 in an accident at his farm near Athens, Ohio. He was 70.

Gish, a member of the New Covenant Community in Athens (affiliated with the Church of the Brethren), is being remembered as peacemaker for his work in the U.S. and the Middle East.

Art Gish faces down a tank in Hebron in 2003. Photo Credit: Associated Press.

"We have lost a person important to the Church of the Brethren who has been a visible witness to Christ’s peace around the world," said Stan Noffsinger, the church’s general secretary, remembering Gish’s strong witness for active Christian peacemaking.

"It is a true loss to the church and the thousands of people he served . . . We mourn this loss."

A speaker, writer and preacher, Gish is remembered for his participation in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and the protest movement against war in the 1970s, and for his work for peace in the Middle East in more recent decades. Up until recently he had served in the Middle East for periods of time with Christian Peacemaker Teams, beginning in 1995, often as a part of the CPT teams in the West Bank city of Hebron and in the Palestinian village of At-Tuwani.

In addition to Hebron Journal and At-Tuwani Journal, other Herald Press books that Gish authored were Beyond the Rat Race (1972) and Living in Christian Community (1979). His wife, Peggy Faw Gish, wrote the Herald Press book Iraq: A Journey of Hope and Peace (2004).

In At-Tuwani Journal, Gish reflected on his time in that Palestinian community.

"As I look back on my time in At-Tuwani this winter, I am amazed at all that was accomplished. This is arguably the most exciting, successful, nonviolent campaign I have ever been part of. A group of untrained, partly illiterate shepherds led a sustained nonviolent campaign. I was constantly amazed at the depth of understanding of both nonviolence and democratic decision making these shepherds displayed."

Nonviolent action, he went on to say "helps open new possibilities for all sides in a conflict. The status quo is upset, the power equation is changed, and the oppressed see new hope. Nonviolent action often results in discussions between the various sides and some kind of resolution to the conflict."