Presiding bishop joins interfaith leaders in declaring 'new hope for the peace of Jerusalem'
Episcopal News Service. September 29, 2010 [092910-01]
Matthew Davies
Saying that they are people of hope who "refuse ... to give in to cynicism or despair," a group of interfaith leaders delivered a declaration to the White House and State Department Sept. 29 uniting in support of "active, fair, and firm U.S. leadership for Arab-Israeli-Palestinian peace."
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori was among the 28 Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders who signed the statement.
Alexander D. Baumgarten, director of government relations for the Episcopal Church, represented Jefferts Schori at the meeting with General James Jones, United States national security adviser, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The religious leaders, acting as the National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East, said in their statement that they "remain firmly committed to a two-state solution to the [Israeli/Palestinian] conflict as the only viable way forward" and that "concerted, sustained U.S. leadership for peace is essential.
"And we know that time is not on the side of peace, that delay is not an option."
The leaders' statement noted that the U.S.-brokered negotiations in early September between Israel and the Palestinian Authority affirmed the goal of reaching a mutually acceptable agreement within one year.
"These two meetings came at a critical time for the peace process," Baumgarten told ENS. "First and foremost, the delegation's objective was to tell the leaders of our nation that religious Americans from the three great Abrahamic traditions will stand with the president and secretary of state as they provide high-level diplomatic engagement in the search for a two-state solution.
"The contours of such a solution are as clear as ever: security and universal recognition for the state of Israel; the creation of a viable, secure, and sovereign Palestinian state; and a sharing of Jerusalem as the capital of both states," he added. "At the same time, however, we are under no illusions about the level of challenging compromise that will be required on all sides, and the amount of diplomatic engagement from the United States and the international community that will be necessary to encourage those compromises."
Baumgarten noted that NILI leaders -- including the presiding bishop and her predecessor, Bishop Frank Griswold -- had similarly met with both secretaries of state in the Bush administration: Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell.
Almost two years ago, NILI issued a statement titled "A Window of Hope for Peace in Jerusalem," and wrote to then President-elect Barack Obama calling for "engaged, urgent U.S. leadership for peace" as soon as he took office. In May 2009, four months into Obama's presidency, the leaders applauded his efforts towards a two-state solution in Israel/Palestine and lasting peace in the Middle East, saying that they continue to be a source of optimism for the global religious community.
"Today we declare there is 'New Hope for the Peace of Jerusalem,'" the leaders said in their Sept. 29 statement. "It will be difficult to achieve, but peace is possible."
Since 2003, NILI leaders have worked together for a two-state solution to ensure Arab-Israeli-Palestinian peace.
"As religious leaders in the United States, we have prayed for peace, made public statements, met with public officials, and stood in solidarity with religious leaders in Israel, the Palestinian Territories and throughout the region," the leaders said.
The Episcopal Church, based on resolutions passed at General Convention and Executive Council regarding the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, remains committed to a just peace that ends the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, guarantees Israel's security and Palestinian aspirations for a viable sovereign state with Jerusalem as the shared capital of both Israel and Palestine.
"Despite tragic violence and discouraging developments, there are signs of hope," the NILI religious leaders said in their statement, noting that the majorities of both Israelis and Palestinians still support a two-state solution. "Official and informal negotiations have produced the outlines of concrete compromises for resolving the conflict, including the final status issues: borders and security, settlements, refugees and Jerusalem. Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious leaders both here and in the region reject the killing of innocents, support a just peace, and believe sustained negotiations are the only path to peace."
The NILI leaders underscored that "the path to peace shuns violence and embraces dialogue [and] demands reciprocal steps that build confidence.
"The United States has a unique and indispensable role which gives our nation a special responsibility to pursue peace. Achieving Arab-Israeli-Palestinian peace will have positive reverberations in the region and around the world. Our nation and the world will be much safer with the achievement of the peace of Jerusalem.
"The time for peace is now."
In addition to its membership on NILI, the Episcopal Church is committed to interfaith dialogue through the National Council of Churches Interfaith Relations Commission, as well as the Christian-Jewish Roundtable, which includes other ecumenical partners.
General Convention 2009, through its passing of Resolution A074, adopted a theological statement on interreligious relations, which represents the Episcopal Church's official policy on the topic. "We believe that religions must stand together in solidarity with all who are suffering and witness to the dignity of every human being," the statement says. "In these ways, presence in mission becomes a courageous mode of peace-making in a violent world."
The statement notes that, in contemporary local and global contexts, the Episcopal Church "faces crucial opportunities and challenges for developing new creative relationships with people of other religious heritages. Throughout the world, people of different religions can be seen searching for compatible if not common ways toward justice, peace and sustainable life."
The Middle East is served by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which includes 27 parishes and supports 33 institutions throughout Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. The U.S.-based Episcopal Church continues to support the Jerusalem diocese through partnerships and companion diocese relationships.
The institutions – which include hospitals, clinics, kindergartens and schools, vocational training programs, as well as centers for the deaf, the disabled and the elderly – "are built on a philosophy of Christian charity, but also respect for differences, tolerance and a foundational spirit of reconciliation," Anne K. Lynn, executive director of the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, recently told ENS. "These values are embedded in the school curricula and shared with students and patients of all religious backgrounds."
Lynn acknowledged that "by helping to build a self-sufficient, stable, educated community, by living the model of a tapestry woven from many beautiful strands, by embracing Jesus' command to love thy neighbor in the land he walked, by teaching children to fish instead of giving them a fish, the Episcopal Church can directly contribute to a stable and lasting peace in our time."