wfn.org | U.S. Church Leaders Press Bush on Holy Land Christians'

["Carol Fouke" <cfouke@ncccusa.org>]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE						  Contact:
Jim Wetekam
							       Churches for
Middle East Peace
								 
202-543-4150, jim@cmep.org <mailto:jim@cmep.org>

U.S. Church Leaders Press President Bush on Problems
Facing Holy Land Christians

(WASHINGTON, May 7, 2004)  Fifty leaders of evangelical and mainline
Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox churches and church-related organizations
in the U.S. today delivered a letter to President Bush asking for a full
understanding of bthe crisis in the Holy Land confronting Christian
Palestinians, Christian institutions, and those who wish to visit the
birthplace of Christianity.b

Stating that the bchurches have directed their concerns to the Israeli
government but to little avail,b the church leaders appealed for the
Presidentbs intervention to help restore the normal functioning of Christian
institutions in Israel and the Occupied Territories and claimed that bit is
generally acknowledged that relations of the churches and these institutions
with the Israeli government may be the worst they have ever been.b 

The letter addressed the church leadersb concerns specifically regarding the
effects of the separation barrier being constructed by Israel, taxation
issues that may force some church institutions to close due to the removal of
their longstanding tax-exempt status, and bthe denial and delay of visas, by
Israel, for clergy and church personnel result[ing] in understaffed
seminaries, churches, hospitals, education and other institutions.b

Speaking as one of the diverse group of signers, the Most Rev. Frank T.
Griswold, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, USA, said, bOur
churches, hospitals, schools, and other institutions are important visible
expressions of our faith's concern for humanity.  While they serve Christians
and non-Christians alike, they are also expressions of our Christian heritage
and its many contributions to the region.b

Another signer, Brother Robert Schieler, Provincial for the De La Salle
Christian Brothers who administer Bethlehem University, emphasized the
destructive effects of the separation barrier on Christian and Palestinian
populations: bEven if the barrier is intended for security, it has had the
very real effects of separating students and faculty from their classrooms,
families from one another, farmers from their fields, and Christian
worshippers from their churches.b
 
In the letter to President Bush, the church leaders observe, bWe find it
difficult to be assured by your description on April 14 of the barrier as
btemporaryb in light of Israelbs plans to extend the barrier far beyond
the 1967 Green Line, encompassing on the Israeli side those large West Bank
settlements that you implied would remain part of Israel.b

Speaking of Bethlehem particularly, Bro. Schieler noted, bThe barrier and
checkpoints are now cutting off Christians in Bethlehem from Jerusalem just a
few miles away.  I wonder if U.S. Christians who visit Bethlehem as tourists
know that many of their Christian brothers and sisters who live and work and
worship where Jesus was born are not able to travel just a few miles to
Jerusalem to where Jesus died and was risen.  Unfortunately, most American
Christians remain woefully uninformed about what is happening in the very
land where Jesus walked.b

Letter signers included the heads of many Catholic orders and organizations
in the United States; the General Secretary of the National Council of
Churches; the Presiding Bishops and leaders of many denominations, such as
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (USA),
Reformed Church in America; and Armenian Church of America; evangelical
leaders including Leighton Ford, Robert Seiple, and Ron Sider; the heads of
relief and development agencies such as World Vision, Catholic Relief
Services, Church World Service, and the Mennonite Central Committee; and many
others.  The complete text of the letter and list of signers is available at
www.cmep.org <http://www.cmep.org>.

The signers, while specifically raising the concerns of church institutions
and Palestinian Christians, stated clearly that they bdo not mean to
minimize the suffering of Muslims and Jews.b  The letter ended by imploring
the President to assist all Muslims, Jews, and Christians in the Holy Land,
stating, byour help is needed as a force for peacemaking that builds bridges
to a new and hopeful future.b

Bishop Griswold summarized, bWe believe that our institutions provide
services that are essential to bringing hope to people in need and thus to
our shared goal of two states, with secure borders, and able to live in
peace, one with the other.b