wfn.org | CWS Responds to Obama Call to Work for Holy Land Peace

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

> Church World Service
> 475 Riverside Drive
> New York, New York 10115

> For Immediate Release

CWS Responds to Obama Call to Work for Holy Land Peace

NEW YORK, June 4, 2009--Church World Service today joined diverse group
of national American Christian leaders in sending a letter to President
Obama following his historic speech in Cairo.

The message of support expressed gratitude for President Obamaâ??s
efforts at reaching out to the Muslim world and for making
Israeli-Palestinian peace a top priority of his Administration.  But it
also expressed grave concern over the â??deteriorating situation in  the
Holy Landâ?? and urged the Obama Administration to make real and
concrete progress in achieving a just peace between Israel and the
Palestinians.

The Reverend John L. McCullough, Executive Director and CEO of Church
World Service, said, "President Obama's remarks contained a message of
hope that we haven't heard in quite some time.  His effort to open a
dialogue that could bring Israelis and Palestinians together in the
search for a just peace in the Holy Land deserves the full support of
those of us who have always been committed to ending the polarity that
has resulted in so much pain and suffering."

The letter (below) emphasizes the urgency of the current moment-that
this may be the last chance for a viable two-state solution to the Holy
Landâ??s conflict, which the signatories view as critical to  stabilizing
the region and bringing justice to both Israelis and Palestinians.

Media Contact

Lesley Crosson, (212) 870-2676, media@churchworldservice.org

> The Honorable Barack Obama
> President of the United States
> The White House
> Washington, DC 20500

> June 4, 2009

Dear Mr. President,

As American Christian leaders with a shared commitment to a just and
lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace, we have come together at a time of
great opportunity and urgency. After decades of tragic conflict, many
Israelis and Palestinians despair of the possibility of peace, yet with
your determined leadership we believe the promise of two viable, secure
and independent states can be realized.

We commend your message to the people of the Middle East and your
challenge to all of us to work for Holy Land peace as we seek to build a
more positive future for the people of the region and the world.  We are
grateful that you have identified resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict as a top priority and made clear your Administrationâ??s
commitment to sustained, hands-on diplomacy.  As you embark on peace
efforts, we ask you to provide a clear framework for an end to the
conflict, help Israelis and Palestinians make the difficult decisions
necessary to achieve lasting peace, and hold both parties to account
when they fail to honor their commitments.

Mr. President, you have assumed office at one of the most critical
moments in the long history of this conflict. While the international
community and majorities of the Israeli and Palestinian people are all
committed to a two state solution as the best option for achieving peace
and security, the window of opportunity is rapidly closing. Continued
settlement growth and expansion are rapidly diminishing any possibility
for the creation of a viable Palestinian state. The targeting of Israeli
civilians through ongoing rocket fire and the insistent rejection by
some of Israelâ??s right to exist reinforces the destructive status  quo.
These actions, along with the route of the separation barrier, movement
restrictions, and continued home demolitions, serve to undermine
Palestinians and Israelis alike who seek peace. As hope dims, the threat
of violence grows and hardliners are strengthened.

We share a common commitment to all the people of the Holy Land-Jews,
Christians and Muslims- and are particularly concerned with the plight
of the Palestinian Christian community. In the birthplace of our faith,
one of the worldâ??s oldest Christian communities is

dwindling rapidly, and with them the possibility of a day when three thriving faith
communities live in shared peace in Jerusalem. Mr. President, it is
apparent that unless there is an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement
Christians in the Holy Land may cease to exist as a viable community.

Now is indeed the time for immediate and bold American leadership.
Fruitful diplomacy will require U.S. engagement with a Palestinian unity
government committed to peace with the state of Israel. We commend your
important statements pressing both Israel and the Palestinians to live
up to their obligations, and we urge your Administration to continue to
bolster Palestinian capacity to halt violence and continue to
demonstrate firm dedication to a viable Palestinian state by exhibiting
no tolerance for Israeli settlement activity.  While working to end
rocket attacks against the people of southern Israel, the U.S. should
also seek immediate relief for the population of Gaza-living in rubble
and without basic necessities-by ending restrictions on humanitarian
goods and opening the borders to reconstruction material, commerce and
transit in a secure manner.

We welcome your call for people on both sides to recognize the pain and
aspirations of the other.  Because of this conflict many have lost the
ability to see the other as human beings worthy of dignity and respect.
An entire generation of Israelis and Palestinians has grown up amidst
violence and hatred. We pledge to join with you to work with and support
those in both societies who seek peace, justice, and security, standing
beside those who hope for a better future for themselves and for the
generations that follow.

The current political stalemate and declining situation on the ground
demonstrate that Israelis and Palestinians cannot reach a negotiated
agreement without a strong, helping hand.  We urge your Administration
to present proposals that go beyond the mere principle of two states and
lay out a just and equitable solution that provides dignity, security
and sovereignty for both peoples. Moreover, we appreciate your strong
support for a comprehensive peace and we look forward to diplomatic
efforts to build upon the historic Arab Peace Initiative, with its offer
of recognition and normalization of relations with Israel in exchange
for an end to the occupation.

There is no greater work than the Psalmistâ??s call to â??seek  peace
and pursue itâ?? and no more critical time than now to finally end the
conflict in the Holy Land (Ps. 34:14). We stand ready to support your
bold action and are rallying Christians nationwide around robust U.S.
peacemaking efforts to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace. Our prayers
and mutual commitment are with you in this difficult and most important
task.

> Sincerely,

> The Rev. Dr. Jimmy R. Allen
> Coordinator
> New Baptist Covenant

> The Most Rev. Archbishop Khajag Barsamian
> Primate
> Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)

> David Black
> President
> Eastern University

> Bishop Wayne Burkette
> Moravian Church in America, Southern Province

> Tony Campolo
> Speaker
> Eastern University, St. Davids, PA

Sr. J. Lora Dambroski, OSF

President, Leadership Conference of Women Religious

> His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America
> Primate
> Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

> Marie Dennis
> Director
> Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns

> Dr. Joy Fenner
> Former President
> Baptist General Convention of Texas

> Leighton Ford
> President
> Leighton Ford Ministries

> Israel L. Gaither
> Commissioner
> National Commander
> The Salvation Army

> Rev. Dr. David Emmanuel Goatley
> Executive Secretary-Treasurer
> Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention

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

> The Rev. Mark S. Hanson
> Presiding Bishop
> Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
> President, Lutheran World Federation

> Dennis Hollinger
> President
> Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

> Most Rev. Howard J. Hubbard
> Bishop of Albany
> Chairman
> Committee on International Justice and Peace
> United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

> Dr. Joel C. Hunter
> Senior Pastor, Northland Church
> Member, Executive Committee of the
> National Association of Evangelicals

> Bill Hybels
> Senior Pastor
> Willow Creek Community Church

> Lynne Hybels
> Advocate for Global Engagement
> Willow Creek Community Church

> The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
> Presiding Bishop
> The Episcopal Church

> Reverend A. Wayne Johnson
> General Secretary
> National Missionary Baptist Convention of America

> Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim
> Archbishop
> Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch for the Eastern USA

> Margaret Mary Kimmins, OSF
> President
> Franciscan Action Network

> Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon
> General Secretary
> National Council of Churches

> Rev. Michael E. Livingston
> Executive Director
> International Council of Community Churches
> Immediate Past President, National Council of Churches

> Reverend Willie Maynard
> Treasurer, National Baptist Convention, Inc.
> Pastor, St. Paul Baptist Church, LA

> His Eminence Theodore Cardinal McCarrick
> Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Washington

> Rev. John L. McCullough
> Executive Director and CEO
> Church World Service

> Mary Ellen McNish
> General Secretary
> American Friends Service Committee

> Rev. Dr. A. Roy Medley
> General Secretary
> American Baptist Churches

> Richard J. Mouw
> President
> Fuller Theological Seminary

> David Neff
> Editor in Chief
> Christianity Today

> Stanley J. Noffsinger
> General Secretary
> Church of the Brethren

> Bishop Gregory Vaughn Palmer, President
> The Council of Bishops
> The United Methodist Church

> Rev. Gradye Parsons
> Stated Clerk of the General Assembly
> Presbyterian Church, (USA)

> Very Rev. Thomas Picton, CSsR
> President
> Conference of Major Superiors of Men

> Reverend Tyrone Pitts
> General Secretary
> Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.

> Most Rev. John H. Ricard, SSJ
> Catholic Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee

> Bob Roberts, Jr.
> Pastor
> NorthWood Church, Keller, TX

Metropolitan PHILIP (Saliba)

Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America

> Rolando Santiago
> Executive Director
> Mennonite Central Committee U.S.

> Dr. Chris Seiple
> President
> Institute for Global Engagement

> Robert Seiple
> Former Ambassador-at-large for
> International Religious Freedom

> Reverend William J. Shaw
> President, National Baptist Convention, Inc
> Pastor, White Rock Baptist Church, PA

> Ron Sider
> President
> Evangelicals for Social Action

> Reverend T. DeWitt Smith
> President
> Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.

> Richard Stearns
> President
> World Vision

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

> Jim Wallis
> President
> Sojourners

> Rev. Dr. Sharon E. Watkins
> General Minister and President
> Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

> Most Rev. Thomas G. Wenski
> Catholic Bishop of Orlando

> The Right Rev. John F. White
> Ecumenical and Urban Affairs Officer
> African Methodist Episcopal Church

> Joe Volk
> Executive Secretary
> Friends Committee on National Legislation

> Bishop Gabino Zavala
> Bishop President
> Pax Christi USA: National Catholic Peace Movement