Arab/Israeli peace central to Washington interfaith initiatives
Episcopal News Service. November 9, 2007 [110907-01]
Episcopal Life staff
Furthering the cause of Arab/Israeli peace was the focus of two major efforts this week when Episcopalians joined with interfaith leaders to engage in initiatives intended to bring a lasting stability to the Holy Land.
Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem Suheil Dawani traveled to Washington, D.C., with the Council of Leaders of Holy Land Institutions for meetings with U.S. religious leaders, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, C. David Welch, and members and staff of the House and Senate. The Council, made up of 15 Christian, Jewish, and Muslim leaders of Holy Land institutions, is engaged in peace-building initiatives designed to decrease violence in the region and create an open dialogue for peace.
On November 9, members of the National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East (NILI) met with Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns.
The NILI members included His Eminence, Theodore Cardinal McCarrick; Bishop Ann Sherer of the United Methodist Church; Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; Dr. Sayyid Syeed, national director of the Islamic Society of North America; and Maureen Shea, director of Government Relations for the Episcopal Church.
This was the fourth in a series of State Department meetings for the group this year, including one in February with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that included Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. The meetings are part of NILI's commitment to urging the Administration to make Arab-Israeli peace an urgent priority of U.S. policy.
Upon their arrival in the United States, the Council of Leaders of Holy Land Institutions issued a communiqué listing six areas on which they would work together, including efforts "to secure open access to the Old City for all communities, and seek a common vision for this city which all of us regard as holy."
In its communiqué, the Council notes its responsibility "to find the right way to live together in peace rather than to fight and kill one other.
"Palestinians yearn for the end to occupation and for what they see as their inalienable rights," the communiqué continues. "Israelis long for the day when they can live in personal and national security. Together we must find ways of reaching these goals."
The full text of the statement can be read here.
"This new Council is a huge breakthrough and important development both for interfaith cooperation and our efforts toward peace in the Holy Land," said Bishop Christopher Epting, the Presiding Bishop's Deputy for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, who joined the Council for its meeting November 5.
"Just sitting around the table with Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, Sheikh Tayseer Al-Tamimi, Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah, Greek Patriarch Theophilos II, and our own Bishop Suheil Dawani was an enormous privilege," said Epting, who was representing Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori.
Epting acknowledged his gratitude to McCarrick and Ambassador Tony Hall for making the visit possible. "The Council has asked us to tell our congregations about their desire to add a religious voice to peace efforts in the Middle East, to visit all three of the faith communities in the Holy Land to appreciate the various perspectives, and to coordinate our peace-making efforts with theirs," he said. "It is my prayer than we can respond to all of these requests."
The Council leaders met in September with Rice in Bethlehem. They are working closely with the political leaders of the government of Israel and the Palestinian National Authority to support current peace initiatives. The Council's trip to the United States was funded by a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development and is based on efforts of Rice and leading members of the House and Senate to foster new and creative efforts to build trust and strengthen respect among communities in the region. The initiative is led by Ambassador Tony Hall and McCarrick.
In preparation for Friday's meeting with Undersecretary Burns, the leaders of NILI wrote to Rice urging a more assertive U.S. role in preparation for the Annapolis conference, and U.S. support for principles and practical ideas for resolving the final status issues developed by Israelis and Palestinians and reflected in documents such as the Geneva Accord.
"I think all Jews, Christians and Muslims of goodwill are joined in prayer for the success of this conference," the Rev. Canon Brian Grieves, director of Peace and Justice Ministries, said of the upcoming Annapolis conference. "As we've said all along, peace between the Israelis and Palestinians is key to peace in the region. I'm grateful to Secretary Rice and Nicholas Burns for their leadership in this effort."
Holy Land Participants
Jewish members of the Council include:
- Rabbi Shlomo Amar - Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel
- Rabbi Yonah Metzger - Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Israel
- Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen - Chief Rabbi of Haifa
- Rabbi David Rosen and Oded Wiener -- Director General of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel
Christian Council members include:
- Patriarch Theophilos III - Greek Orthodox Patriarchate
- Patriarch Michel Sabah, - Latin Patriarchate
- Bishop Suheil Dawani - The Anglican Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East
- Bishop Munib Younan - Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Holy Land and Jordan
Muslim Council members include:
- Shaykh Tayseer Rajab Hamed Bayoud Tamimi – Supreme Judge of the Sharia Courts in the Palestine Department
- Sheik Jamal Bawatnah - Minister of Awqaf
- Salah Zuhayka - Assistant Secretary of the Waqf
- Sheikh Hatem Hilmi Bakri and Sheikh Abdel Salam Mraish