Title: Church Leaders Urge Clinton to Stand for Shared Jerusalem
ELCA NEWS SERVICE
May 8, 1998
CHURCH LEADERS URGE CLINTON TO STAND FOR SHARED JERUSALEM
98-16-105-AH
WASHINGTON, D.C., (ELCA) -- With another Middle East peace summit
still in question, 20 Christian leaders sent an open letter to President
Bill Clinton calling upon him to redouble efforts "to achieve a negotiated
peace in the Middle East."
Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran, Orthodox and other church leaders asked
Clinton to work for a peace "where ... the Jewish people no longer fear for
their existence [and] the Palestinian people can gather their refugees to
live with dignity and security in their own democratic state." Among those
signing the letter was The Rev. H. George Anderson, presiding bishop of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
The letter urges Clinton to "stand for a Jerusalem that is shared by
its two peoples [Palestinians and Israelis] and by three religious
communities [Jewish, Christian, Muslim]."
The Christian leaders contend that the goal of "a warm peace" between
Israel and its Arab neighbors can only be achieved in the context of a
shared Jerusalem. It is "essential" that the two peoples who call
Jerusalem their home and capital openly negotiate its future.
"Representatives of the three Abrahamic religions must also have a
role in shaping the ultimate resolution of issues affecting historic
Jerusalem and the commitment of the international community to guaranteeing
the living presence of the three religious communities in the Holy City,"
the leaders told Clinton.
The letter stated that peace is not the reality of Jerusalem today.
"If there is to be universal and whole-hearted celebration of the creation
of the State of Israel this year, the reality of the dislocation and
suffering experienced by the Palestinian people must be acknowledged, and
questions of restitution, self-determination (statehood) and a just peace"
need to be addressed and resolved openly.
In 1996 the ELCA Church Council urged that free access to Jerusalem
be guaranteed for all people at all times and called on the international
community to protect the unique historical l nature of Jerusalem as sacred
to Jews, Christians and Muslims. ELCA members were called to "pray for the
peace of Jerusalem, remembering the suffering and the hope of both
Palestinians and Israelis and the challenges their leaders face as they
work to move the peace process forward.
In 1995 the Rev. Herbert W. Chilstrom, Anderson's predecessor, and
other high-ranking Christian leaders called on Clinton to press Israel to
stop seizing land and constructing settlements in Jerusalem.
The letter is signed by the principal leader of American Baptist
Churches, USA; American Friends Service Committee; Antiochian Orthodox
Christian Archdiocese of North America; Baptist Joint Committee on Public
Affairs; Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); Church of the Brethren;
The Episcopal Church; The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Friends
Committee on National Legislation (Quakers); Maryknoll Fathers and
Brothers; Mennonite Central Committee; Missionaries of Africa; National
Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA; Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.);
Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.; Reformed Church in America;
Roman Catholic Conference of Major Superiors of Men's Institutes; Unitarian
Universalist Association of Congregations; United Church of Christ; The
United Methodist Church.
For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html
