wfn.org | Church Leaders Urge Initiatives by President Bush and Prime Minister

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

Sharon

February 6, 2002

Churches for Middle East Peace
100 Maryland Ave. NE, Suite 313
Washington, DC  20002
202-488-5638 (direct)
202-554-8223 (fax)
Contact: Jim Wetekam, 202-488-5638, jim@cmep.org

(WASHINGTON) -- Church leaders today urged President Bush and Prime 
Minister Sharon to use their meetings on Thursday to create new, 
far-reaching steps toward Israeli-Palestinian peace.  Commenting through a 
national ecumenical coalition named Churches for Middle East Peace, the 
leaders made clear that the United States must exert more pressure on all 
parties to begin an extensive effort for peace in the region.

Father Bill Headley, Catholic Relief Services' deputy executive director 
for policy and strategic issues, observed, "We hear constantly of hardening 
attitudes between Israelis and Palestinians and of hopelessness in the 
region.  Creating the possibilities for peace now requires bold action.  It 
is essential that such action commence at the meetings between President 
Bush and Prime Minister Sharon."

Recognizing a new overture which emerged from Palestinian leader Yasser 
Arafat this past weekend, the Rev. John McCullough, executive director of 
Church World Service, pointed to previous times when Middle Eastern leaders 
and American presidents had taken the necessary risks to produce 
peace.  "Nearly a decade ago, significant progress was made to establish a 
lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace.  That would not have been possible if 
the American, Israeli, and Palestinian leaders had been incapable of 
putting aside their apprehensions - some of which were justified - and 
creating a new possibility for the people.  Such vision and resolve are 
needed now."

Rev. McCullough was explicit about steps to be taken: "Continuing to 
severely restrict the Palestinian people to their villages and cities 
contributes to a cycle of deadly violence and insecurity for all people in 
the region.  It is clear that the current Israeli policy will not lead to a 
negotiated peace.  Its implementation is at a horrendous human cost to both 
Palestinian and Israeli citizens."

Other church leaders expressed the need to have President Bush exert 
pressure upon Prime Minister Sharon as well as on President 
Arafat.  "Palestinian Christians ask me," said the Rev. Mark Brown of the 
Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs, "how the United States can demand 
that Palestinians cease all hostilities while Israel maintains the violence 
of military occupation itself."  A member of the executive committee for 
Churches for Middle East Peace, Rev. Brown added, "It is my hope that 
President Bush will use this valuable time with Prime Minister Sharon to 
urge that the Israeli government show real determination for a two-state 
solution to end Israel's occupation of Palestinian land and provide secure 
borders for the Israelis."

For nearly two decades, Churches for Middle East Peace has worked 
diligently with policymakers in Washington as well as with people on the 
ground in Israel and the Occupied Territories to encourage steps that will 
produce a comprehensive and just peace.  While condemning violence 
perpetrated by both peoples, the church leaders have continued to believe 
that this spiral of violence can be broken.  Having returned this past week 
from Jerusalem, Fr. Headley observed, "It is not a matter of whether the 
cycle in which Israelis and Palestinians find themselves can be 
reversed.  For the sake of both peoples, it must be reversed.  It is our 
fervent prayer that President Bush and Prime Minister Sharon will set in 
motion the events that could ultimately allow Israelis and Palestinians to 
live, work, and prosper together as neighbors."

Churches for Middle East Peace is a Washington-based program of the 
American Friends Service Committee, Catholic Conference of Major Superiors 
of Men's Institutes, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Church of the 
Brethren, Church World Service and Witness, Episcopal Church, Evangelical 
Lutheran Church in America, Friends Committee on National Legislation, 
Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, Mennonite Central Committee, National 
Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, Presbyterian Church (USA), 
Reformed Church in America, Unitarian Universalist Association, United 
Church of Christ, and the United Methodist Church.