(WASHINGTON, D.C.) Sixteen Christian leaders have signed on to an ad that will be published in the New York Times insisting that Jerusalem be shared by Israelis and Palestinians and the three religions - Jews, Christians and Muslims.

The ad has been developed by Churches for Middle East Peace, a Washington-based coalition of U.S. Christian communions and organizations, to emphasize that a negotiated agreement is the only way to secure lasting peace in the Middle East and to push negotiators to respect the human and political rights of both Palestinians and Israelis.

"We want to inform the debate in the U.S. and to have an impact on U.S. policy. Many people -- including leaders -- have assumed that only Jews, Muslims and fundamentalist Christians care about Jerusalem. It's time that we make our voices heard," said Corinne Whitlatch, director of Churches for Middle East Peace and coordinator of the Jerusalem Ad Project.

Already signing on to the ad project are Kara Newell, Executive Director of the American Friends Service Committee; Metropolitan PHILIP (Saliba) of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America; The Very Rev. Joseph LeVesque, President of the Catholic Conference of Major Superiors of Men's Institutes; Richard L. Hamm, General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); The Rev. Dr. Donald E. Miller, General Secretary of the Church of the Brethren; The Most Rev. Edmond L. Browning, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church; The Rev. H. George Anderson, Presiding Bishop of The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; and Joe Volk, Executive Secretary of the Friends Committee on National Legislation.

Signatures have also been secured from Fr. Kenneth F. Thesing, Superior General of Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers; Sister Claudette LaVerdiere,MM, President of the Central Governing Board of the Maryknoll Sisters; Ronald J.R. Mathies, Executive Director of the Mennonite Central Committee; The Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, General Secretary of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA; The Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); The Rev. Wesley Granberg Michaelson, General Secretary of the Reformed Church in America; The Rev. Paul H. Sherry, President of the United Church of Christ; and Bishop Melvin G. Talbert, San Francisco Area, United Methodist Church.

Churches for Middle East Peace is raising $33,000 through its ad project to pay for the full-page New York Times ad scheduled to run in early December. The cost of an individual signature is $25, while organizational signatures cost $100.

The deadline for signing on to the ad is Nov. 15, 1996. Checks are written to: The Jerusalem Ad Project. The mailing address is Churches for Middle East Peace, 110 Maryland Ave. NE, Suite 108, Washington DC 20002. For more information call (202) 546-8425.

The central text of the ad reads: "Jerusalem at peace cannot belong exclusively to one people, one country or one religion. Jerusalem should be open to all, shared by all -- two peoples and three religions."

Churches for Middle East Peace is also publishing a monthly newsletter, "Jerusalem and the Peace Process," that is available from the Washington offices of the member organizations.

Stressing the urgency of securing more signatures to express the voice of mainstream U.S. Christians, Whitlatch said, "This current crisis, that began in Jerusalem, is evidence of how explosive and unacceptable the current situation is - of exclusive Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem."