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Letter to Bush Says Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Threatens U.S.

January 21, 2005, Washington, D.C. -- In a full-page ad in today’s national edition of The New York Times, leaders of Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant and Evangelical churches and institutions urge President Bush to have the courage to seize the opportunity and bring his leadership to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The 57 signers, including National Council of Churches USA General Secretary Robert Edgar (leading an official NCC delegation to the Middle East Jan. 21-Feb. 4 - click here for that story) and top leadership of a dozen NCC member churches (denominations), begin with their concern for the security and freedom of Israelis and Palestinians. Then they add an appeal to the security and reputation of the United States itself.

“The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has become a threat to the people of the United States,” they write in their open letter to the newly inaugurated President. “Every day the conflict continues, hatred of the United States government is fueled. With each news report of Palestinian suffering … popular support in Arab and Muslim countries for terrorism grows and the threat of attacks directed at the United States increases. The continuing conflict has also resulted in suffering and loss of life among Israeli citizens. We want Israelis, too, to live without fear or threat in their own country.”

They continue, “A hallmark of your campaign was the commitment to defeat terror and make our country more secure. We believe that the promise of peace in Jerusalem is the best defense against terrorism. We encourage you to maintain the faith, the courage and the resolve to work with other world leaders toward negotiations that guarantee two viable states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side and sharing Jerusalem as their capital.”

They conclude: “We believe that the promise of peace in Jerusalem is the best defense against terrorism.”

The letters’ signers represent a broad spectrum of Christians in the United States. Among the signers are the Rev. Dr. Robert W. Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches USA, and these top leaders of NCC member churches: Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Metropolitan Philip Saliba of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese; the Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, General Secretary, Reformed Church in America; the Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold, Presiding Bishop, The Episcopal Church in America; the Rev. Dr. Stan Hastey, Alliance of Baptists; the Rev. Wm. Chris Hobgood, General Minister and President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Also, Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim, Archbishop, Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church; the Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk, Presbyterian Church (USA); the Rev. Michael E. Livingston, Executive Director, International Council of Community Churches; A. Roy Medley, General Secretary, American Baptist Churches (U.S.A.); Dr. Robert E. Sawyer, Moravian Church Southern Province; the Rev. John H. Thomas, General Minister and President, United Church of Christ.

They join the Rev. John L. McCullough, Executive Director and CEO of the international humanitarian agency Church World Service, through which the NCC’s 36 member churches serve; other leaders in NCC-member churches, and a host of Evangelical and Roman Catholic leaders.

Former U.S. Ambassador for International Religious Freedom, Robert Seiple, a leader in the evangelical community, said the message of the letter and those who signed it is clear: “Peacemaking is difficult, the ultimate challenge. But it is here where we find out how good we really are. Do we have the courage and the commitment worthy of good people? In the end, this will determine how relevant we will be."

One of the Catholic signers, Sr. Christine Vladimiroff, OSB, President of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious said, “The ancient, unfulfilled vision of justice for all is now within our reach. It is time for us - citizens and elected officials - to disarm our hearts, speak a word of hope and bring the blessing of peace to the people in the holy land. ‘Let us, then, make it our aim to work for peace and to strengthen one another.’” (Romans 14:19)

Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold of the Episcopal Church had this comment: “Having recommitted himself to a two-state solution with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace, President Bush has a unique opportunity to make that vision real - to, as we urged, ‘follow the examples of the great prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, who declared that God calls all nations and all people to do justice to one another.’”

Click here to see the ad.  The full text of the letter and a complete list of those signing the letter follow:

-end-

January 21, 2005
The Honorable George W. Bush
The White House
Washington, DC

Dear Mr. President:

As leaders of Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Churches and Christian organizations with millions of members across the country, we encourage you to lead a political process that will end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As you begin your second term, the vision of a two-state solution is coming back into focus after having faded into obscurity. Will Palestinians finally be free? Will Israelis be secure at last? As people of faith and hope, we say yes!

This is the time for you and for the 109th Congress, and for friends of Israel and Palestine, to have the courage to be peacemakers, and to press both Israelis and Palestinians to seize the future; where each recognizes the other's right to exist and is willing to work together for security and economic well-being.

For the sake of our own country as well, Mr. President, we appeal to you. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has become a threat to the people of the United States. Every day the conflict continues, hatred of the United States government is fueled. With each news report of Palestinian suffering -- whether the death of an innocent child, the demolition of a family's home, or the confiscation of farmland for the separation barrier -- popular support in Arab and Muslim countries for terrorism grows and the threat of attacks directed at the United States increases. The continuing conflict has also resulted in suffering and loss of life among Israeli citizens. We want Israelis, too, to live without fear or threat in their own country.

A hallmark of your campaign was the commitment to defeat terror and make our country more secure. We believe that the promise of peace in Jerusalem is the best defense against terrorism. We encourage you to maintain the faith, the courage and the resolve to work with other world leaders toward negotiations that guarantee two viable states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side and sharing Jerusalem as their capital.

Finally, Mr. President, we urge you to follow the examples of the great prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, who declared that God calls all nations and all people to do justice to one another. We join you in praying for peace in the Holy Land and at home.

Sincerely,

Rev. Dr. Leonard B. Bjorkman
Co-Moderator
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship

Marilyn Borst
Director, Global Ministry
Peachtree Presbyterian Church, Atlanta

Simone Campbell, SSS
National Coordinator
NETWORK, A Catholic Social Justice Lobby

Anthony Campolo
President
Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education

Br. Kevin Cawley
Deputy Province Leader
Eastern American Province
Christian Brothers

Sister Ardis Cloutier, OSF
Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, MN

Marie Dennis
Director
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns

Christopher J. Doyle
President/CEO
American Leprosy Missions

Rev. Robert Edgar
General Secretary
National Council of Churches USA

Beatrice Eichten, OSF
Vice President
Leadership Conference of Women Religious

Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson
General Secretary
Reformed Church in America

Anne Griffis
Chair, Action/Global Concerns
Church Women United

The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold
Presiding Bishop
The Episcopal Church in America

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

The Rev. Dr. Stan Hastey
Alliance of Baptists

Rev. Wm. Chris Hobgood
General Minister and President
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Rev. Kathryn J. Johnson
Executive Director
Methodist Federation for Social Action

The Rev. Phil Jones
Director
Brethren Witness/Washington Office

Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim
Archbishop
Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church

Ted Keating, SM
Executive Director
Conference of Major Superiors of Men

Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick
Stated Clerk
Presbyterian Church (USA)

Abbot Jerome Kodell, OSB
Subiaco Abbey

Thomas Krosnicki, SVD
Provincial
Society of the Divine Word (Chicago)

Donald A. Kruse
Vice President, Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF)

Rev. Michael E. Livingston
Executive Director
International Council of Community Churches

Dr. Ronald J.R. Mathies
Executive Director
Mennonite Central Committee

Joellen McCarthy, BVM
Peggy Nolan, BVM
Mary Ann Zollmann, BVM

Leadership Team
Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Rev. John L. McCullough
Executive Director & CEO
Church World Service

Mary Ellen McNish
General Secretary
American Friends Service Committee

A. Roy Medley
General Secretary
American Baptist Churches, U.S.A.

Joseph Nangle, OFM
Franciscan Mission Service

Ron Nikkel
President
Prison Fellowship International

Rateb Y. Rabie, KHS
President, Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF)

Leonard Rodgers
President/Founder
Venture International

Andrew Ryskamp
Executive Director, Christian Reformed World Relief Committee-US

Metropolitan Philip Saliba
Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese

Rev. Cheryl J. Sanders, Th.D.
Senior Pastor
Third Street Church of God, Washington, D.C.

Dr. Robert E. Sawyer
Moravian Church Southern Province

Amb. Robert A. Seiple
Founder/Chair
Institute for Global Engagement.

Carole Shinnick, SSND
Executive Director
Leadership Conference of Women Religious

Ronald J. Sider
President
Evangelicals for Social Action

Rev. William G. Sinkford
President
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations

James W. Skillen
President
Center for Public Justice

Glen Stassen
Lewis B. Smedes Professor of Christian Ethics
Fuller Theological Seminary

Richard E. Stearns
President
World Vision

Msgr. Archimandrite Robert L. Stern
Secretary General
Catholic Near East Welfare Association

Rev. John H. Thomas
General Minister and President
United Church of Christ

The Rev. Canon Richard Toll
Friends of Sabeel-North America

Christine Vladimiroff, OSB
President
Leadership Conference of Women Religious

Joe Volk
Executive Secretary
Friends Committee on National Legislation

Rev. Dr. Donald E. Wagner
Professor
North Park University, Chicago.

Jim Wallis
Executive Director
Sojourners

Corinne Whitlatch
Executive Director
Churches for Middle East Peace

James Winkler
General Secretary
General Board of Church & Society
United Methodist Church

Bishop Gabino Zavala
Bishop President
Pax Christi USA

CONTACT: Corinne Whitlatch, Churches for Middle East Peace, 202-543-1222 or cell 202-306-3187
NCC Media Contact: Carol Fouke-Mpoyo, 212-870-2252; cfouke@ncccusa.org


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