Religious leaders applaud Obama's Middle East peace efforts
Episcopal News Service. May 22, 2009 [052209-01]
Matthew Davies
President Barack Obama's efforts towards a two-state solution in Israel/Palestine and lasting peace in the Middle East continue to be a source of optimism for the global religious community.
In a May 17 letter to the White House, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori joined Jewish, Muslim and other Christian leaders representing the National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East (NILI) in commending Obama's decision to make Arab-Israeli-Palestinian peace "a high priority from the start of his presidency."
The letter was sent in anticipation of several key meetings between Obama and Arab and Israeli leaders and on the eve of a White House summit with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to meet with Obama on May 28.
"Despite the challenges and discouraging developments, there remains a window of hope to achieve both a viable two-state solution, acceptable to majorities of Israelis and Palestinians, and a final comprehensive peace between Israel and all her Arab neighbors," said the NILI leaders.
Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem Suheil Dawani, following a May 14-15 peace conference at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia, joined other global Christian leaders in supporting Obama's commitment to Middle East peace issues, while calling for Gaza's borders to be opened immediately.
Chaired by former President Jimmy Carter, the conference, titled "Towards a New Christian Consensus: Peace with Justice in the Holy Land," welcomed leaders from The Kairos Project, Churches for Middle East Peace, and the World Council of Churches. Dawani was the only participant in the group from Jerusalem's Palestinian Christian community, according to a press release from the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem.
The full text of the Christian leaders' May 15 letter to Obama is available here.
In his May 18 meeting with Netanyahu, Obama reportedly urged the Israeli prime minister to grasp a "historic opportunity" to make peace with the Palestinians and to halt the building of Jewish settlements.
"As you prepare for meetings with Israeli, Palestinian and other Arab leaders, we offer you our support, encouragement and commitment," the Christian leaders said in their May 15 letter. They acknowledged that Obama's leadership brings hope, "grounded in the growing consensus across the Christian community that supports a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, [a] just and lasting two-state solution and an end to conflict in the region that upholds the security and freedom of both Israelis and Palestinians."
The leaders shared their concern that Israeli settlements make a two-state solution "less and less possible" and called for the borders of the embattled Gaza strip to be opened "in a manner that respects both humanitarian and security concerns."
While Israel withdrew its military and settlers from Gaza in 2005, it continues to maintain control over entry into the Palestinian territory via land, air, and sea.
On February 4, Dawani, along with Greek Catholic Archbishop Elias Chacour and Lutheran Bishop Munib Younan, was denied entry to Gaza to make a pastoral visit to the Al Ahli Arab Hospital, an institution of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, despite having been informed that their request for permits had been granted. Five weeks later, on March 10, the Israeli authorities granted permission for the religious leaders to enter Gaza.
Following the Atlanta meeting and on his return to Jerusalem, Dawani said he had been "deeply impressed with the upbeat spirit" at the conference and by Carter's strong belief in a two-state solution to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.
"While I fully recognize the complexities, I believe that Christians have historically played a very important leadership role in the spiritual leadership and politics of the region as well as the various public and private sectors of the economy," said Dawani, who presented a paper at the conference titled "Traditions of the Christian Community in the Land of the Holy One and Threats to its Continuing Presence."
In recent years, the Christian community in the Holy Land has witnessed a marked decline in its numbers as younger generations flee the region to escape the hostilities and in search of greater opportunities.
"The education and values of local Christians help to create respectful and constructive dialogue among people of different faiths and economic conditions," Dawani said in his paper. "The urgency to preserve an indigenous Christian community in the Holy Land is crucial to its ability in continuing to serve as a moderating and reconciling element in the social and cultural fabric of the Middle East."