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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Julie Schumacher Cohen, Deputy Director (202-543-1222/julie@cmep.org)
[Washington, DC – May 5, 2009]
Churches
for Middle East Peace, a coalition of 22 U.S. church bodies, sent a letter
to Secretary of State Clinton today, on the occasion of the visit this
week of his Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to the
Holy Land, highlighting the rapid decline of the Palestinian
Christian community there.
Commenting on the letter, James Fine, Chair of the CMEP Board said,
“The prospect of a Holy Land devoid of its living Christian community is
not just a tragedy for world Christianity but
would have
serious ramifications for a future Palestinian state, the interreligious
nature of Jerusalem, and regional peace and security. It certainly
makes the Obama Administration’s efforts to bring peace, stability and
security through a just and lasting two-state solution even more urgent.”
While recognizing that ultimately only a negotiated agreement can stem
Palestinian Christian emigration, the letter cites several specific issues
that can be acted on immediately, including:
restrictive
Israeli residency and family unification regulations in East Jerusalem;
visa and permit restrictions that inhibit the
movement of clergy and religious personnel; and the need for further
efforts to strengthen the rule of law in the West Bank and Gaza.
The letter
asserts that efforts to address the situation
of Palestinian Christians “will bolster [the Administration’s]
comprehensive peace effort and can be acted on in a manner that fully
respects Israel’s security needs while helping to build the foundation for
a viable Palestinian state with effective governing institutions.”
It concludes with the hope that persistent diplomacy can help the Holy
Land “become a model for good relations – an antidote to rising
intolerance and fundamentalism – and a place where all the children of
Abraham can live together in peace with dignity and security. “
The full text and list of signers follow below.
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May 5, 2009
The
Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary
of State
United
States Department of State
Washington,
DC
Dear Secretary Clinton,
Thank you for your leadership, together with President Obama and Special
Envoy Mitchell, in working to achieve Israeli-Arab peace. The visit this
month of his Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to Jerusalem, Bethlehem and
Nazareth is a demonstration of the deep connection we as Christians have
to the Holy Land – its two peoples, Israelis and Palestinians, and its
historic Christian community.
As a coalition of 22 national church bodies – Catholic, Orthodox and
Protestant – we urge your attention to the alarming decline in numbers of
our Palestinian Christian brothers and sisters. We believe the potential
for a Holy Land devoid of its indigenous Christian community has
implications not only on religious and cultural grounds but also for U.S.
national security interests, making your work to bring peace, stability
and security through a just and lasting two-state solution even more
urgent. Indeed, Christians play a critical role in the formation of a
democratic and pluralistic Palestinian state. Their presence is necessary
for Jerusalem to remain an interreligious city and
their
active participation in civil society and the continued good work of
Christian schools, hospitals and other humanitarian institutions is
an important element of a stable Middle East.
Ineffective peace efforts have allowed a dangerous combination of rising
extremism, expanding settlements, and spiraling violence and terror to
fester, leaving the searing wound of a separation barrier that cuts off
Bethlehem from Jerusalem and severs the Holy Land’s historic Christian
villages and religious narrative. Palestinian Christians, a small and
dwindling community that is today less than 2 percent of the Palestinian
population, are disproportionately affected by the ongoing conflict,
occupation, political upheaval and economic deterioration. Lacking hope
for a positive future for their children, many Christians are emigrating
in search of a more stable situation. While ultimately only a political
agreement can preserve the Holy Land’s Christian community and
longstanding religious diversity, we urge you to address several specific
issues as part of the Administration’s broader efforts to resolve the
conflict.
Restrictive
Israeli residency and “family unification” laws and regulations in East
Jerusalem, combined with severe limits on housing including the demolition
orders you cited during your March trip, are interfering with Christian as
well as Muslim, family life in Jerusalem. Palestinian East Jerusalemites
are at risk today of losing their residency rights if they obtain
citizenship from another country or if they reside elsewhere for more than
a few years, even if their family has lived there for generations. In
addition, a “temporary order” on family unification, dating back to 2003,
froze the process by which West Bank residents were able to acquire
residency in East Jerusalem and stipulated unworkable age requirements,
thereby hindering marriages. These policies are contributing to the rapid
decline of Jerusalem’s Christian population, from 31,000 in 1945, down to
less than 8,000 today.
Moreover, the church institutions that hold the Christian community
together are themselves facing dire challenges. Israeli visa and permit
restrictions currently inhibit the movement of several hundred Arab
clergy, as well as other religious personnel, in and out of the Holy Land
and between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and raise concerns about the ability
of the Church to continue to fulfill its mission.
Finally, while Palestinian Christians maintain generally good relations
with their Muslim neighbors and with the Palestinian Authority, as a
minority community they are vulnerable and will benefit from further
efforts to strengthen the rule of law in the West Bank and Gaza.
We believe
that concrete steps to address the situation of
Palestinian Christians will bolster your comprehensive peace effort and
can be acted on in a manner that fully respects Israel’s security needs
while helping to build the foundation for a viable Palestinian state with
effective governing institutions. Through
your persistent diplomacy we hope this broken land can one day soon become
a model for good relations – an antidote to rising intolerance and
fundamentalism – and a place where all the children of Abraham can live
together in peace with dignity and security.
Sincerely,
Bishop
Wayne Burkette
Moravian
Church in America
Paula
Clayton Dempsey
Minister for Partnership Relations
Alliance of Baptists
James Fine
Legislative
Secretary for Foreign Policy
Friends
Committee on National Legislation
Catherine
Gordon
Representative for International Issues
Presbyterian Church, (USA), Washington Office
Mark W.
Harrison
Director,
Peace with Justice Program
General
Board of Church and Society
United
Methodist Church
Robin Aura
Kanegis
Director of
Public Policy and Washington Office
American
Friends Service Committee
Rev.
Michael Kinnamon, Ph.D.
General
Secretary
National
Council of Churches USA
Peter
Makari
Executive,
Middle East and Europe
Global
Ministries
United
Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ
Rev. John
L. McCullough
Executive
Director and CEO
Church
World Service
T. Michael
McNulty, SJ
Justice and Peace Director
Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM)
The Very
Rev. George Rados
Antiochian
Christian Orthodox Archdiocese of N. America
Marilyn
Rouvelas
Greek
Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Rachelle
Lyndaker Schlabach
Director, Washington Office
Mennonite Central Committee U.S.
Maureen
Shea
Director,
Office of Government Relations
Episcopal
Church
Rev. John
Sullivan, M.M.
Associate,
Middle East Issues
Maryknoll
Office for Global Concerns
Russell
Testa
Franciscan
Friars (OFM)
English
Speaking Conference JPIC Council
Reverend
Marlin P. Vis
Reformed
Church in America
Rev. Susan
P. Wilder
Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America
Jay
Wittmeyer
Executive
Director, Global Mission Partnerships
Church of
the Brethren
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