wfn.org | ELCA Presiding Bishop, Others Urge Diplomacy to Maintain Gaza Cease-fire

[<NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

Title: ELCA Presiding Bishop, Others Urge Diplomacy to Maintain Gaza Cease-fire
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

>January 30, 2009  

ELCA Presiding Bishop, Others Urge Diplomacy to Maintain Gaza Cease-fire
09-028-JB

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In a Jan. 27 letter to U.S. President
Barack H. Obama, U.S. Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders called
for "urgent U.S. diplomacy" in cooperation with Egypt and others
to ensure that an effective and sustainable cease-fire is
maintained in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was among the 35 religious
leaders who signed the letter. The religious leaders make up the
National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the
Middle East (NILI), an organization that was formed in 2003.

"People in our communities have different precious bonds
with Israelis and Palestinians and responded in different ways to
the recent war between Hamas and Israel," the religious leaders
wrote.

The religious leaders said they were united in supporting
specific measures to maintain a Gaza cease-fire: an agreement by
Hamas to stop all rocket attacks on Israel; international
measures to prevent the resupply of rockets to Gaza through
Sinai; an agreement by Israel to halt all military operations in
Gaza, withdraw its forces and open Gaza border crossings; and the
commitment of all parties to provide substantial humanitarian and
economic assistance to the people of Gaza.

The religious leaders said that despite discouraging
developments and tragic violence in the Middle East, there are
signs of hope. They made a similar statement in a November 2008
statement.

"Majorities of both Israelis and Palestinians still support
a two-state solution. Arab states have declared their commitment
to peace with Israel in the historic Arab Peace Initiative.
Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Syrian negotiations have made
progress. Official and informal negotiations have produced
principles and practical ideas for resolving the conflict,
including the difficult issues of refugees and Jerusalem," the
religious leaders wrote to Obama.

The religious leaders said they support the president's
commitment to provide "active, fair and firm U.S. leadership for
Arab-Israeli-Palestinian peace." They appreciated Obama's phone
calls to Arab and Israeli leaders on his first day in office and
the appointment of George Mitchell as the Middle East envoy. NILI
has repeatedly called for a special envoy, the religious leaders
wrote. Mitchell is a former U.S. senator and was U.S. Special
Envoy to Northern Ireland, working on a peace process.

"As Jews, Christians and Muslims, we share a common
religious commitment to peace with justice for all of God's
children. We refuse, now and always, to give in to cynicism or
despair. We are people of hope. We pledge to call upon members in
churches, synagogues and mosques across the country to pray for
the peace of Jerusalem and to support you and your administration
in providing engaged U.S. leadership for Arab-Israeli-Palestinian
peace. The time for peace is now," the religious leaders wrote.

>---

The full text of the NILI letter to President Barack Obama
is in a PDF file at http://tinyurl.com/dzoa3x on the Web.

>Information about NILI is at
>http://www.nili-mideastpeace.org/ on the Web.

For information contact:

John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog