Gaza Agreement, Road Map are Focus of Interreligious Leaders' Letter
Episcopal News Service. November 28, 2005 [112805-1-A]
Thirty-seven American Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders, including Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold and the heads of 24 other national organizations, have written Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice commending her leadership in helping Israel and the Palestinian Authority reach agreement on opening Gaza. The letter from the National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East also calls for urgent efforts to restart negotiations to implement the Road Map to Peace. (Full text of letter to Secretary Rice and list of leaders follow)
National Interreligious Leadership Initiative
for Peace in the Middle East
(Project of A Different Future)
P.O. Box 6307 Hamden, CT 06517
November 20, 2005
The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
U.S. Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2020 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520
The Honorable Karen Hughes
Under Secretary for Diplomacy and Public Affairs
U.S. Department of State
2020 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Madame Secretary and Ambassador Hughes,
We write on behalf of 37 Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders of the National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East. These leaders, including the heads of twenty-five national organizations, are joined together since 2003 in an unprecedented cooperative effort to support U.S. leadership of the Road Map to Peace. We would welcome an opportunity for leaders of the National Interreligious Initiative to meet with you.
We write today to express our deep appreciation to you, Secretary Rice, for the crucial leadership role you played in helping Israel and the Palestinian Authority to reach agreement about opening Gaza, while effectively meeting Israeli security concerns. We write also in appreciation to you, Ambassador Hughes for the challenging role you have taken on as Under Secretary for Diplomacy and Public Affairs and the sense of urgency for achieving Israeli-Palestinian peace we understand you developed in the course of your important trip through the Middle East. We believe Israeli-Palestinian peace is possible, that active, fair and firm U.S. leadership is essential to achieving this goal, and that achieving peace is vitally important to protecting U.S. national security interests and reducing the threat of global terrorism.
Leaders of the Interreligious Initiative are committed to encouraging local interreligious support for your efforts in cities across the country. In January 2005 more than 250 religious leaders in fifteen cities joined in an appeal to the President and Congress in support of the Road Map. In June 3000 Jews, Christians and Muslims gathered in synagogues, churches and mosques in fifty cities to participate in a Trans National Town Hall Meeting for Peace (via the internet) sponsored by A Different Future, with religious and civil society speakers from Jerusalem and Washington, DC. Senator Lugar and Representative Hyde initiated bi-partisan "Dear Colleague" letters in the Senate and House acknowledging the message of urgency from their constituents across the country in support of leadership that only the U.S. can provide to help Israelis and Palestinians resolve the conflict. This Fall A Different Future has initiated a series of Conference Call Briefings for national and local religious leaders.
We believe the Road Map to Peace continues to provide an essential framework for negotiated progress toward peace, including its mandate for reciprocal, simultaneous steps by both parties, monitoring of implementation, and an accepted timetable. We fear that if negotiations to implement the Road Map are not resumed quickly, the opportunity for progress toward peace created by Israel's disengagement from Gaza may be lost.
Leaders of the Interreligious Initiative strongly support the President's commitment to the goal of two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace, and his commitment to restart the Road Map to Peace. Based on provisions in the Road Map, we support the appointment of a successor to General Ward for an "enhanced mission" to strengthen Israeli-Palestinian security coordination to prevent violent attacks on Israelis. Preventing such attacks is essential to restoring Israeli hopes for peace. The recent attacks and counter-attacks give even greater urgency to this mission.
We deeply applaud your work in helping Israel and the Palestinian Authority reach agreement on enabling freer movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza and the West Bank to build positively on Israeli disengagement, while effectively meeting Israeli security concerns. We believe reconstruction of the economy in Gaza, including large scale job creation, is essential for restoring Palestinian hopes for peace and providing further incentive for a nonviolent path to peace.
We support the President in his support for Palestinian democratic elections to form "a functioning government that delivers economic opportunity," his commitment to provide (monitored) economic aid to the Palestinian Authority, and his call on the Palestinian Authority to consolidate security services and take further effective action in "rejecting and fighting terrorism." As the new Palestinian government gains strength, it is essential that the Palestinian Authority act effectively to disarm Palestinian factions and dismantle groups that persist in carrying out acts of violence against Israelis. At the same time, based on its Road Map obligations, we support the President's call on Israel simultaneously to "remove unauthorized outposts, stop settlement expansion," and "not undertake any activity that contravenes its Road Map obligations or prejudices the final status negotiations with regard to Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem." We believe U.S insistence on these objectives would be supported by a substantial majority of Americans.
We are committed to mobilizing support from our communities nationwide including urging bi-partisan Congressional support, for active, fair and firm U.S. leadership in pursuing implementation of the Road Map. We would welcome an opportunity for the leaders of the National Interreligious Initiative to meet with you to discuss how we, and our congregations and communities, can best help your efforts at this critical time on this critically important issue.
Respectfully,
Dr. Bruce E. Wexler
Co-Coordinator
Ronald J. Young
Co-Coordinator
Enc: List of Leaders of the National Interreligious Initiative
National Interreligious Leadership Initiative For Peace in the Middle East
Christian Leaders
His Eminence, Theodore Cardinal McCarrick
Archbishop of Washington
His Eminence, Archbishop Demetrios, Primate
Greek Orthodox Church in America
His Eminence, William Cardinal Keeler
Archbishop of Baltimore
His Eminence, Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate
Armenian Apostolic Church in America
Most Reverend William Skylstad, President
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold III, Presiding Bishop
The Episcopal Church
Bishop Thomas Hoyt, Jr. President
National Council of Churches
The Reverend Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Bishop Mark Hanson, Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Reverend John M. Buchanan, Editor and Publisher
Christian Century
The Rev. John Thomas, General Minister & President
United Church of Christ
Richard J. Mouw, President
Fuller Theological Seminary
Bishop Ann B. Sherer, the Council of Bishops
The United Methodist Church
The Reverend Leighton Ford, President
Leighton Ford Ministries
The Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins, General Min, President
Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ)
David Neff, Editor and Vice-President
Christianity Today
Richard E. Stearns, President
World Vision
Jewish Leaders
Rabbi Harry K. Danziger, President
Central Conference of American Rabbis (Reform)
Rabbi Peter S. Knobel, Member of the Council
Parliament of World Religions
Rabbi Paul Menitoff, Executive Vice President (ret)
Central Conference of American Rabbis (Reform)
Rabbi Janet Marder, Past President
Central Conference of American Rabbis (Reform)
Rabbi Alvin S. Sugarman, Vice President
A Different Future
Rabbi Amy Small, Past President
Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
Rabbi Brant Rosen, President
Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
Rabbi David E. Stern
Temple Emanu-El, Dallas, Texas (Reform)
Rabbi Elliot Dorff, Rector
University of Judaism (Conservative)
Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Dean
Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies (Conservative)
Rabbi David Saperstein, Director
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Muslim Leaders
Dr. Sayyid Muhammad Syeed, Secretary General
Islamic Society of North America
Dawud Assad, President (ret)
Council of Mosques, USA
Naeem Baig, General Secretary
Islamic Circle of North America
Nahid Angha, Ph. D., Co-Director
International Association of Sufism (IAS)
Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, Leader
The Mosque Cares
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, Director
American Sufi Muslim Association
Iftekhar A. Hai, Founding Director
United Muslims of America
Imam Yahya Hendi, Chaplain
Georgetown University
Imam Hassan Qazwini
Islamic Center of America
Organizations for Identification Only