(ENI) NEW YORK — Nearly 40 U.S. Christian leaders from traditional and Evangelical churches have joined in urging President George W. Bush to renew efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian stalemate, saying that ending the conflict needs to be an “urgent priority” for the United States.
In a Jan. 23 letter, the leaders from Orthodox, Roman Catholic, “mainline” and Evangelical Protestant traditions said that resolution of the seemingly “intractable” Israeli-Palestinian division would have “positive repercussions” that would “go well beyond” the Middle East.
The leaders said the vision of a “viable, contiguous Palestinian state living as a peaceful neighbor alongside the state of Israel, with both nations secure and recognized by their neighbors” could “re-ignite a passion for peace that can overcome the appeal of violence, vengeance and exclusivity.”
Those signing the letter included Katharine Jefferts Schori, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal (Anglican) Church; Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); and the Rev. Robert Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches.
Link to Letter text: https://www.cmep.org/documents/Ecumenical_letter_to_Bush.pdf
