wfn.org | ELCA Bishop, Church Leaders Affirm, Criticize Jerusalem Peace Effort

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

September 11, 2000

ELCA BISHOP, CHURCH LEADERS AFFIRM, CRITICIZE JERUSALEM PEACE EFFORT
00-214-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Leaders of North American Roman Catholic,
Protestant and Orthodox Churches -- including the Rev. H. George
Anderson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) -- urged President Clinton to promote sharing of
Jerusalem between Israelis and Palestinians and among Jews,
Christians and Muslims in the negotiations Clinton is facilitating.
      In a Sept. 6 letter to Clinton, the 15 leaders criticized the
administration for lack of attention to Christian concerns and
international law as it affects Jerusalem.
      "At this time we do not view the administration's attention to
the American churches' interests, concerns and recommendations or
those of the Jerusalem churches' interests and rights to be
adequate," the church leaders said.
      Israel's occupation of East Jerusalem is "illegal according to
international law," the leaders said.  They urged the Clinton
Administration to place higher consideration of the significance of
Jerusalem to the international community and to show higher regard
for international law that addresses Jerusalem's status. They said
this is essential for "a political agreement to be broadly endorsed
and enduring."
     The letter commended Clinton for blocking, thus far, the
congressionally mandated move of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to
Jerusalem.  The church leaders discouraged him from threatening to
move the embassy before an agreement is reached.
     The proposal of Jerusalem's church leaders to create an
internationally guaranteed special statute for the governance of
Jerusalem was endorsed by the church officials. This would "allow
Jerusalem to be an open city which transcends local, regional or
world political troubles," they said.
     The current Israeli practice of requiring Palestinians from the
West Bank and Gaza to acquire Israeli permits to enter Jerusalem is a
"totally unacceptable and discriminatory practice," the church
leaders said.  They also criticized Israel's continued building of
Jewish settlements on Palestinian land in and near Jerusalem during
Clinton's leadership of the peace process.
     The letter reaffirmed the efforts of churches to promote
sharing Jerusalem between the Israelis and Palestinians and among 
Christians, Jews and Muslims. The church leaders said the idea  is 
"based on our steadfast commitment to an equitable solution for 
Jerusalem that respects the human and political rights of Israelis and 
Palestinians, as well as the three religious communities."   The churches' 
interests extend to the communities of believers as well as to the holy 
sites, they added.
     Joining Anderson in signing the letter was the Rev. Andrew
Young, president of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the
U.S.A., of which the ELCA is a member. Four leaders of ELCA full-
communion partner churches signed: the Rev. Wesley Granberg-
Michaelson, general secretary, Reformed Church in America; the Most
Rev. Frank T. Griswold, presiding bishop, The Episcopal Church; the
Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.);
and the Rev. John H. Thomas, president, United Church of Christ.
      Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza, president, National Conference of
Catholic Bishops, also signed.
     Others who signed were John A. Buehrens, president, Unitarian
Universalist Association; C. Wayne Carter, general secretary, Friends
United Meeting; Stephen Glodek, SM, president, Catholic Conference of
Major Superiors of Men's Institutes; the Rev. Richard L. Hamm,
president, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United
States and Canada; Ronald J. R. Mathies, executive director,
Mennonite Central Committee; the Rev. Judy Mills Reimer, executive
director, Church of the Brethren; Metropolitan Phillip Saliba,
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America; and
Bishop Melvin G. Talbert, ecumenical officer, United Methodist
Council of Bishops.
--
  The full text of the letter to President Clinton is on the Web
at http://www.loga.org.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html