NCC Officials Speak on Middle East
Diocesan Press Service. January 27, 1969 [73-25]
NEW YORK, N. Y. -- The president and general secretary of the National Council of Churches on January 3 called for "compassion, justice and peace" in the Middle East and urged member churches to support four steps aimed in that direction.
In a statement signed by NCC President Arthur S. Fleming and General Secretary R. H. Edwin Espy, support was asked for the recommendations on the Middle East defined recently by the World Council of Churches.
Noting the recent incidents of violence on both sides, the two NCC leaders supported the November 27, 1967 Security Council resolution concerning a settlement in the Middle East; called for the return of West Bank refugees to their homes; increased U. S. Government contribution to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency; and "mindful of reports of continued persecution of Jews in some countries of the Middle East" they protested and affirmed the need for adequate legal safeguards for the protection of the rights of each person or association.