Peace Not Walls

A delegation of the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land visited Washington to speak with administration officials and congressional leaders about the role religious leaders can play in Middle East peace-making. Here Bishop Munib Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land and Patriarch Fouad Twal, the Latin Patriarch of the Holy Land and Jordan, talk with Churches for Middle East Peace Executive Director Warren Clark about the Christian presence in the Holy Land and the role of the Council in the Holy Land. Bishop Younan outlines 4 things people can do to help: 1) strengthen Christian institutions in the Holy Land; 2) build community-based education; 3) create jobs; 4) build affordable housing.

Peace in the Holy Land is a necessity – and possible.  So said the delegation from the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land  who visited Washington DC this week to speak to high level administration officials, congressional leaders and interested lay people.  The group, made up of top Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders in the Holy Land, have been working together since 2005 toward mutual understanding and ultimately to bring a just peace to their beloved land.

They spoke to Vice President Joe Biden for an hour and a half, and spoke Tuesday at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, stressing the role of education in peace-making.  I have asked for a transcript of the panel to be put up at http://www.usip.org/events/preventing-incitement-and-promoting-peace, but don’t know if that is possible.

A written statement from their delegation states that their goals for this visit include advocating for equal, free access to all holy sites and for respecting all three narratives of Jerusalem, Jewish, Christian and Muslim.  The council speaks out regularly against incitement and has commissioned a study of Palestinian and Israeli textbooks to monitor and hopefully lead to change of material deemed to incite hatred and racism.  The council is also working to launch a project to prepare emerging religious leaders to enable them to also work cooperatively toward a just peace.

They say that religious leaders can and should be a great help to address entrenched issues that touch on both religion and politics, and are ready and eager to be of service.

Read their full statement of goals and a message from this delegation.

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The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA, and other ecumenical faith leaders met with White House officials to express urgency and encourage action on the situation in Israel and Palestine.   According to Hanson, continued meetings with the Obama administration are “a priority because of our commitment to our companions in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land. It is also carried out in the commitment we have made in the ELCA’s Churchwide Strategy for Engagement in Israel and Palestine.

“As we began our conversation with Mr. Ross, I expressed disappointment. We hear our Christian partners in the region question the United States’ commitment. They wonder why the U.S. has not been more vocal about the increased settlement construction. I told Mr. Ross that we repeatedly hear Palestinian churches say they see this as a moment of abdication by the U.S. administration.”

Hanson said afterwards that, “More progress must be made toward the goal of a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. Since our meeting a year ago, the prospects for peace seem to have diminished with the expansion of settlements and the absence of face-to-face negotiations.”

According to a Nov. 10 news release from Churches for Middle East Peace, the church leaders who attended the Nov. 8 meeting said they are disappointed with developments since their 2010 meeting at the White House. 

“The position of the Palestinian Christian community is precarious,” stated the release. “There are constant problems of obtaining visas for clergy who must travel outside Jerusalem and the West Bank. Restriction on movement between Bethlehem and Jerusalem is a problem that undermines Christian life. Church leaders are humiliated at check points.”

Ecumenical leaders at this year’s White House meeting included Hanson; Katharine Jefferts Shori, presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church; Denis James Madden, auxiliary bishop of Baltimore and chairman-elect of the Committee for Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Neil Irons, executive secretary of the Methodist Council of Bishops; and Sara Lisherness, director of compassion, peace and justice for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A).
The meeting was arranged by Churches for Middle East Peace, a coalition of 24 national church denominations and organizations working to encourage U.S. government policies that promote a just and lasting resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Read full ELCA story

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Despite strong opposition from the US and several European countries, UNESCO has shown initial support for Palestinian membership.  The US has hinted at reprisals based on prohibitions on granting membership to those who do not meet certain requirements for a state.

Meanwhile, the drama of what will happen to the Palestinians bid for UN membership continues, as noted in the latest CMEP bulletin: 

What’s Next at the UN?
Congress Gets Serious
Tensions on the Ground
Settlement Expansion Announced
Calls to Annex the West Bank?
Happy New Year

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The most recent CMEP bulletin from September 16 focuses on the events leading up the Palestinian request for statehood and full inclusion at the UN. It gives some background of the different positions and statements made by leaders in the weeks prior to this historic event.

It also includes reports on the current situation on the ground concerning the forceable relocation of bedouins and the most recent “price tag” events carried out by Israeli settlers in response to outposts being demolished by the Israeli government.

You can read the newsletter here.

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The September 9 bulletin from Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) discusses developments surrounding the Palestinians’ UN bid, expected September 20; the IDF training and arming of Israeli settlers to prepare them for Palestinian protests, though the Palestinians are calling for non-violent protests; the high rate of settlement construction; and the release of the Palmer report to the UN about the Gaza flotilla.

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The plot is thickening around the Palestinian’s plan to go to the UN and ask for member status.  Israel’s ambassador Ron Prosor is reported to have stated that there is no way Israel will be able to block the UN General Assembly from recognizing Palestine.  Meanwhile, the US Consul General in Jerusalem Daniel Rubenstein says that the US will cut aid to the Palestinians if they continue on this path.

Although some predict that it will cause Palestinians some problems if Palestine becomes a member state in the UN, others disagree.

This page on the CMEP website has links to several organizations’ compilations of frequently asked questions and resources about the UN statehood initiative.   

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In the August 26 CMEP bulletin, read updates on escalating violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, Egypt/Israeli diplomatic tension, the continuing controversy about Palestinian statehood through the United Nations and other items.

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This week’s CMEP bulletin looks at how the renewal of violence is affecting or may affect the peace process. Topics covered are:

• Attacks in Israel’s Southern Border
• Israeli Announcements for More Building in West Bank
• September’s Palestinian Bid for UN Membership
• Plight of Palestinians in Syria Crackdown
• Republican Candidates on Israel

Read the bulletin.

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The most recent bulletin from Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) looks at:

The protests in Israel
The recent approval of settlements, almost 5000 in two weeks;
The 80 congressional members flocking to Israel this month paid for by the American Israel Education Foundation, a group closely associated with the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC);
The probability of the Palestinians going to the UN this fall to request full statehood.  

Last week’s CMEP bulletin looked at:  

So Close, and Yet So Far (PA efforts toward UN statehood)
Israeli Housing Protests and Settlements
Home Demolitions and Settlements Linked
West Bank Outpost to be Demolished
Local elections for PA
J Street Story
Funding Fight in Washington

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For a list of all CMEP bulletins please check out their website. You can also sign up to receive CMEP alerts, bulletins and more by email. Sign up.

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