Title: Churches Hold Clinton Responsible for Middle East Peace
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

January 26, 1998

CHURCHES HOLD CLINTON RESPONSIBLE FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE
98-017-FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and
other members of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) sent a letter Jan.
15 to President Bill Clinton, praising him for meeting with Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.  "As
the principal sponsor of the (Arab-Israeli) peace process, the U.S.
government's responsibility for its success or failure cannot be
overstated."
     The letter expressed concern that conflict in the Middle East will
continue into the next century.  CMEP called the Israeli Cabinet's
reluctance to cede control of parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip "a
great disappointment" and asked Clinton to hold Israel's leadership to
earlier agreements to withdraw.
     CMEP also decried trends "that the conflict is increasingly being
cast as one between religions and is increasingly dominated by extremist
elements."  The letter added, "The United States must insist that both
Israeli and Palestinian authorities deal with their extremists who have,
too often in the name of religion, murdered civilians with the aim of
generating hatred and destroying the chance of peace."
     The Rev. Mark B. Brown, associate director for public policy advocacy
ministry with the Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs (LOGA) in
Washington, D.C., signed the letter as chair of the CMEP executive
committee.


For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html