(WASHINGTON, July 21, 2006)

The Heads of U.S. Churches, in two letters to President Bush this week, have appealed to him to exercise stronger leadership in support of peace and to halt violence that has created humanitarian crises in Gaza and throughout Lebanon. The overarching concern of the religious leaders is for lives lost and for the suffering and displaced people caught in these conflicts.  They call upon the United States government to work cooperatively with the international community to achieve an immediate ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel and a diplomatic resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that can pave the way for a comprehensive Middle East peace.  

In the July 20 letter, the Christian leaders condemn the provocative capture of an Israeli soldier by Gaza militants and ask the President to work with Prime Minister Olmert toward a “diplomatic solution which will not further impoverish and burden ordinary Palestinians.” They endorse the call by church-related aid organizations “for the urgent protection of Gaza’s civilians, as specified by the Fourth Geneva Convention, as well as immediate and unobstructed access for the delivery of critical humanitarian aid and supplies necessary for basic human needs.”

The letter writers brought to the President’s attention a statement from the Bishops and Patriarchs of Jerusalem. These leaders of the Palestinian Christian community condemned the abduction of the soldier and killing of the young settler, but consider Israel’s response – the destruction of bridges and a power station, the deprivation and deaths of civilians and arrests of Palestinian officials – as without proportion. “Things have gone too far.  We call upon the International community to intervene and insist on a diplomatic solution to this conflict.”

In a July 21 letter, the leaders of US churches and church-related organizations urge the President “to work with other world leaders to secure an immediate cease-fire in the violent conflict raging now between Hezbollah and Israel.”  They write that “no hoped-for benefit could outweigh the cause of saving innocent lives” and cite the 34 Israelis and at least 335 Lebanese who have been killed along with the hundreds of thousands of people who have been displaced.

They assert that “in the face of such a humanitarian crisis, calls for the fighting parties to be restrained in their actions fall short of what is needed.  Your presidential leadership and the full weight of the United States, acting in concert with the international community, must be applied now to achieve an immediate cease-fire and to launch an intense diplomatic initiative for the cessation of hostilities.”

The letter concludes, “This is a necessary first step toward the diplomatic resolution of this crisis and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the way toward a comprehensive Middle East peace.”

July 20 Letter on Gaza Crisis: http://www.cmep.org/letters/7-20-06_Heads_Letter_Gaza.pdf

July 21 Letter Urging a Cease-Fire: http://www.cmep.org/letters/7-21-06_Heads_Letter_Hezbollah-Israel.pdf