31 Christians, Muslims and Jews endorse 'twelve-step' plan

by Jerry L. Van Marter, Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE -- December 2, 2003 -- On the day after a new Middle East peace accord was signed in Geneva, 31 U.S. Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious leaders today announced in Washington a new collaborative effort -- "Walk the Road to Peace" -- to mobilize public and Bush Administration support for the plan.

In a Dec. 2 press conference and letter to President Bush, the group -- National Interreligious Leadership Delegation In Support of the Road Map to Peace in the Middle East -- urged the president to support their National Interreligious Initiative "to mobilize broad public support for active, determined and effective U.S. leadership in pursuit of peace between Israel, the Palestinians and Arab states."

In a statement, "Twelve Urgent Steps for Peace," sent with their letter to the President, members of the delegation called on the United States to take the following steps to renew momentum on the administration's "Road Map":

· Reiterate the Road Map's unequivocal call for an end to all acts of violence and work to achieve a ceasefire agreement;

· Return the special Presidential Envoy to the region and provide visible, public monitoring of steps required by both sides;

· Determine specific simultaneous steps that the two sides must take and set a timetable for taking them

· Support benchmark principles and ideas for mutually acceptable solutions developed in earlier negotiations and current civil society efforts for peace, including the Nusseibeh-Ayalon initiative and the Geneva Accord.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) is represented in the interreligious leaders group by General Assembly Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick. Also on the delegation is the Rev. John M. Buchanan, former General Assembly moderator and editor/publisher of Christian Century magazine.

In a prepared statement, Kirkpatrick said, "Those of us in the Presbyterian Church (USA) are delighted to join the leaders of other Christian and of Jewish and Muslim faith communities in the USA in this critical interreligious initiative for peace. Nothing could be more critical to our faithfulness to God, who intends a world of justice and peace. In the Presbyterian Church we are renewing our public witness to our government to be a leader in the cause of justice and peace between Israel, Palestine and the Arab states and are strengthening the bonds between our church and churches and other faith groups in the Middle East."

Growing among both Israelis and Palestinians for the new Geneva Accord constitutes a moral imperative for the president to exercise strong leadership in the Middle East peace process, the group said, calling this "a particularly important and hopeful time for determined leadership."

The religious leaders pledged to work within their communities and together to communicate and build support for their message.

The delegation said it is united "in support of a viable, independent and democratic Palestinian state alongside the existing Jewish state of Israel, with enduring peace and security for both peoples."

It expressed "deep concern" about what it called "the perilous lack of progress on the Road Map, the renewed cycle of violent attacks and counterattacks, and growing concern in the region and here at home about the seriousness of the U.S. commitment to pursue full implementation of the Road Map."

In addition to sending letters to President Bush, national security advisor Condoleezza Rice and secretary of state Colin Powell, delegation members said they will communicate and urge their constituents to communicate with members of Congress and other elected officials to urge non-partisan support for renewed, active U.S. leadership in the peace process.

Other ongoing activities planned by one or more of the organizations represented include:

· Utilizing the communications resources within the religious communities to build an active, broad public voice for peace during the coming election year;

· Publicizing Israeli-Palestinian civil society efforts for peace, including the Nusseibeh-Ayalon initiative and the Geneva Accord;

· Supporting regional and local interfaith religious leadership groups around the country; and

· Supporting the Walk the Road to Peace interfaith campaign in organizing a "Walk in Washington" in Spring 2004 and local "walking groups" around the country.

Christian leaders of the delegation include Kirkpatrick; Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Washington; William Cardinal Keeler, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Baltimore; Archbishop Demetrios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America; Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Bishop Sharon Zimmerman Rader, Secretary of the United Methodist Church's Council of Bishops; Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold III of The Episcopal Church, USA; the Rev. John H. Thomas, General Minister & President of the United Church of Christ; The Rev. Wm. Chris Hobgood, General Minister & President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); Buchanan; David Neff, Editor and Vice President of Christianity Today magazine; The Rev. Leighton Ford, President of Leighton Ford Ministries; and Richard J. Mouw, President of Fuller Theological Seminary.

Jewish Leaders of the delegation are: Rabbi Janet Marder, President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis; Rabbi Jerome M. Epstein, Executive Vice President of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism; Rabbi Amy Small, President of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association; Rabbi Elliot Dorff, Rector of the University of Judaism; Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies; Rabbi Paul Menitoff, Executive Vice President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis; Rabbi Harry K. Danziger, Vice President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis; Rabbi David N. Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; Rabbi Peter S. Knobel, Former Member of the Board of Trustees of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations; Rabbi Merle S. Singer of Temple Beth El in Boca Raton, FL; and Rabbi David E. Stern ofTemple Emanu-El in Dallas.

Muslim Leaders of the delegation are Sayyid Muhammad Syeed, Secretary General Islamic Society of North America; Naeem Baig, General Secretary of the Islamic Circle of North America; Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, Leader The Mosque Cares; Iftekhar A. Hai, Founding Director & Director of Interfaith Relations for United Muslims of America; Imam Yahya Hendi, Muslim Chaplain at Georgetown University; Dawud A. Assad, Former President of the Council of Mosques, USA; Seyedeh Nahid Angha, Co-Founder of the International Association of Sufism; and Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, Founder of the ASMA Society.

For more information about "The Walk the Road to Peace" interfaith campaign, visit the website www.walktheroadtopeace.org.

(Information for this story furnished by delegation co-chairs Bruce Wexler, president of A Different Future, and Ronald J. Young, executive director of the U.S. Interreligious Committee for Peace in the Middle East)

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The full text of the delegation's Dec. 2 letter to President Bush and other U.S. government officials:

Dear Mr. President:

We are Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious leaders united in support of active, determined U.S. leadership in pursuit of peace between Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab states -- the kind of leadership to which you committed the United States at Aqaba in support of the Road Map to Peace. Evidence of public support among Israelis and Palestinians for civil society peace efforts such as the Nusseibeh-Ayalon intiative and the Geneva Accord makes this a particularly important and hopeful time for determined leadership.

As you know, we hope to meet with you in the very near future to discuss ways we and our constituents can support U.S. leadership for peace in the coming months. At the same time, we are communicating with members of Congress and other elected officials to urge broad, non-partisan support for fair, firm U.S. leadership for peace.

As Palestinian and Israeli leaders consider their options, we believe renewed high level U.S. engagement will be essential to help both sides take the bold steps necessary to rebuild hope that peace is possible. We fear if the Road Map is allowed to fail Israelis and Palestinians will sink even deeper into cycles of violence and counter violence that could escalate into regional confrontation, undermine the global campaign against terrorism, and threaten vital U.S. security interests in the region and worldwide.

As representatives of religious traditions rooted in the Middle East and leaders of communities with deep ties to people on both sides of this tragic conflict, we believe working together for peace reflects a central, shared moral imperative of our Abrahamic religious traditions. We believe the vast majority of Americans, as well as majorities of Israelis and Palestinians, will support more active, determined U.S. and international engagement, including consistent, visible presence of the special Presidential envoy and much more vigorous public monitoring of the steps that each side must take.

We support the Road Map's goal -- the goal you articulated more than a year ago -- of a viable, independent and democratic Palestinian state alongside the existing Jewish state of Israel, with enduring peace and security for both peoples. Achieving this goal is essential to comprehensive, just and lasting peace between Israel, the Palestinians and Arab states based on U.N. Security Council Resolutions, 242, 338, and 1397.

We support the Road Map's unequivocal call for an end to all acts of violence as essential to building peace. We are encouraged by evidence from polls that majorities on both sides understand that the fundamental aspirations of each side - real security for Israelis and the end of occupation for Palestinians - cannot be achieved by violence, but only by negotiations. We believe pursuing peace requires dialogue and other efforts by people on each side seeking to understand the real fears, grievances, and legitimate aspirations of people on the other side.

We support the Road Map's call for reciprocal, simultaneous steps to be taken by the Palestinian Authority and by the Israeli Government to help restore hope and make tangible progress toward peace in the areas of Security, Palestinian Institution Building, Humanitarian Response, Civil Society and Settlements. So far the steps taken by both sides have been far too timid and the monitoring process practically invisible. In the enclosed document we recommend twelve "Urgent Steps for Peace." We believe U.S. insistence on these steps would be supported by large majorities in our communities, by majorities of Israelis and Palestinians, and would win substantial moral and political support worldwide.

Your creative, determined leadership in the coming weeks and months will be crucial for overcoming the bitter legacy of violence and for building confidence that even in the face of setbacks the Road Map can work. We encourage you to be steadfast as you face the challenges from those, motivated by fear and hate or mere political partisanship, who will seek to block the road to peace. We pray you will have the resolve and strength to persevere.

The God of Abraham gives all of us hope to believe that peace between Israel, the Palestinians and Arab states is possible. We believe that the principles and ideas discussed in official and unofficial talks between Israelis and Palestinians, and also in earlier negotiations between Israel and Syria provide realistic benchmarks for mutually acceptable solutions and that achieving a just, comprehensive peace in the Middle East is essential for progress in the global campaign against terrorism and for the future of world peace. We believe that the land which was the birthplace of all three Abrahamic religions can once again become a source of hope, justice and reconciliation for the whole world and that Jerusalem can become the city of peace.

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Twelve Urgent Steps for Peace
December, 2003

The United States, in coordination with the Quartet, should immediately take the following steps to renew momentum on the Road Map:

1) Strongly reiterate the Road Map's unequivocal call for an end to all acts of violence and work actively with the Palestinian Authority, the Israeli Government and Arab states to achieve and maintain a ceasefire agreement.

Comment: Ending violent attacks and counter attacks is essential to making progress on the Road Map. During the several week period following the Aqaba Summit when there were no violent attacks the Road Map began to develop traction and people on both sides began to believe that the Road Map could work. The United States, in coordination with the Quartet, should work actively with the Palestinian Authority, the Israeli Government and the Arab states to avoid any further escalation of violence and to achieve a ceasefire agreement, including an effective system for monitoring and publicizing violations by either side.

2) Exercise active, determined U.S. and Quartet engagement, including consistent, visible presence of the special Presidential Envoy and larger scale, public monitoring of implementation required by both sides.

Comment: Given the legacy of three years of violent confrontation, the level of mistrust between the parties, and the pressures on Israeli and Palestinian leaders, there is need for active high level, public engagement by the United States and the Quartet, including consistent, visible presence of the special Presidential Envoy, in pressing for implementation of steps required by both the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli Government. The monitoring system for measuring implementation needs to be larger, more vigorous and visible.

3) Determine with more specificity steps which each side must take and set a timetable for taking them. (See below for Specific Steps to be taken by the Palestinian Authority and Israel.)

Comment: The Road Map is clear in calling for parallel and simultaneous steps by each side to begin to address the core concerns of the other side. The United States, in coordination with the Quartet, should spell out specific steps each side must take, along with an explicit timetable for taking them. Monitors should report publicly on the performance of each party in relation to these expectations.

4) Support benchmarks for possible mutually acceptable solutions based on the principles and ideas generated by Israelis and Palestinians in earlier official negotiations and in current civil society peace efforts, such as the Nusseibeh-Ayalon initiative and the Geneva Accord.

Comment: Reflecting the vision articulated by President Bush on June 24, 2002, the Road Map's goal is the emergence (by the year 2005) of a viable, independent and democratic Palestinian state living side by side in peace with the Jewish state of Israel. The Road Map views progress toward this goal as "a vital element of international efforts to promote a comprehensive peace on all tracks, including the Syrian-Israeli and Lebanese-Israeli tracks." The goal of comprehensive Arab-Israeli-Palestinian peace requires that the United States and the Quartet work to restart negotiations on all tracks. The principles and ideas discussed in formal and informal negotiations (Israeli-Palestinian negotiations at Taba, Egypt in 2000-01and currently in the civil society projects such as the Nusseibeh-Ayalon initiative and the Geneva Accord; and Israeli-Syrian negotiations at Wye, Maryland in 1995 ) provide important hopeful benchmarks for possible mutually acceptable solutions. Focusing public attention on these ideas can help allay fears on both sides and build support in the Middle East and here for realistic compromises on crucial, sensitive issues, including security, refugees and the future of Jerusalem.

The United States, in coordination with the Quartet, should insist that the Palestinian Authority:

1) Continue and deepen the process of democratic reforms and financial accountability.

Comment: It is essential for progress in negotiations and for the future of a Palestinian state that the process of democratic reform and financial accountability continue, including support for a Prime Minister and Cabinet level ministers with real authority, the development of a constitution, free press, free and fair elections, consolidation of security forces, and progress on other judicial, administrative and economic benchmarks, as established by the International Task Force on Palestinian Reform. The U.S. and Quartet should adopt a realistic, balanced approach of pressing for continuing the democratic reform process, while not appearing to dictate the choice of leadership for the Palestinian people.

2) Take effective action to halt violent attacks against Israelis, punish those who commit any such acts, and gain commitments from all factions to cooperate in implementing the Road Map.

Comment: The Palestinian suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism not only are morally indefensible and generate tremendous fear, frustration and anger among Israelis, but also have very seriously hurt the legitimate interests of the Palestinian people. The new Palestinian Prime Minister, the Interior Minister and the Palestinian Authority as a whole must find ways to prevent these attacks and to gain agreement from all Palestinian factions on supporting, or at least not interfering with, the steps required by Palestinians in implementing the Road Map.

3) Cooperate with regional and international efforts to cut-off aid to and dismantle those groups which persist in planning or carrying out acts of violence against Israelis.

Comment: The Palestinian Authority should consider individuals or groups which persist in planning or carrying-out violent attacks against Israelis to be illegal and against the fundamental interests of the Palestinian people. In such cases, the Palestinian Authority should cooperate with international efforts to cut-off any funds to such individuals or organizations, and effectively dismantle those organizations.

4) U.S., regional, and international support and (effectively monitored) economic aid should be increased to bolster the Palestinian central authority's capacity to consolidate and strengthen its security forces, prevent terrorist attacks; and to deliver humanitarian aid, vital services, and development assistance to the Palestinian people.

Comment: Three years of violent attacks, counter-attacks and military reoccupation have taken a terrible toll on the capacity of the Palestinian Authority to provide security or vital social services. Increased U.S. and international (effectively monitored) economic aid is essential to rebuilding and enabling the Palestinian Authority to carry out its responsibilities in implementation of the Road Map, including consolidating security forces, preventing terrorist attacks and becoming the reliable, primary source of services and aid to the Palestinian people.

Simultaneously, the United States, in coordination with the Quartet, should insist that the Israeli Government:

1) Take effective action to dismantle all unauthorized settlement outposts established since March 2002 and freeze expansion of existing settlements.

Comment: The Israeli government's continued support for expansion of settlements in the West Bank and Gaza is a major threat to the viability of a future Palestinian state, directly undermines Palestinian confidence in the peace process, compounds Israeli security problems, and represents an additional economic burden on a seriously hurting Israeli economy.

2) Exercise measures, such as lifting curfews and easing restrictions on movement within the West Bank and Gaza, to improve the humanitarian situation of Palestinians.

Comment: Reports have documented the terrible humanitarian crisis Palestinians face as a result of the three years of violent confrontation and reoccupation of Palestinian areas. There are measures which the Israeli Government can and should take, such as lifting curfews and easing restrictions on the movement of people and goods within the West Bank and Gaza, which would improve the humanitarian situation.

3) Halt construction of the Security "Fence" or "Wall" beyond the Green Line around settlements in areas which require confiscation of more Palestinian land and threaten the viability of a future Palestinian state.

Comment: It is understandable, even if it is no solution, that Israeli frustration over continued violent attacks by Palestinians led to support for building a Security "Fence" or "Wall" to separate Israel from the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. However, the actual and proposed route of the Wall is complicated by Israel's commitment to defend Jewish settlements. The Wall has been and is being constructed in some areas which require confiscation of more Palestinian land, effectively encage the local Palestinian population, and threaten the viability of a future Palestinian state.

4) In coordination with the Palestinian Authority demonstrating capacity to prevent violent attacks, withdraw Israeli military forces from areas reoccupied since September 2000.

Comment: As the Palestinian Authority demonstrates increased capacity to prevent violent attacks against Israelis, Israel should withdraw its military forces from areas reoccupied since September 2000. Achieving real security for Israelis and ending the occupation for Palestinians are the twin essentials for building peace. The United States needs to engage directly with the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority at a high level to develop specific steps and a timetable for this process.