Middle East: Visiting U. S. church leaders say peace is imperative for all 
The Lutheran World Federation, Lutheran World Information
December 18, 2000
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Prayer vigil for peace in Middle East 

JERUSALEM /GENEVA, 18 December 2000 (ELCA NEWS/LWI) - A high-level delegation of American church leaders to the Middle East said that peace, which is imperative for all Israelis and Palestinians, can only be achieved on a firm foundation of justice. 

In a press statement issued at the end of a December 7 to 12 visit, the delegation which included participants from the National Council of Churches, the United Church of Christ and the Armenian Apostolic, Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Greek Orthodox, Mennonite, Presbyterian, Quaker and United Methodist churches also urged the community of nations and all people who love mercy to recognize and condemn this new apartheid that oppresses the 
Palestinian people. 

The delegation visited the Middle East to express solidarity with Christian churches and to lend their voices to a growing chorus calling for renewed efforts to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in the region. The team stated it is necessary that Israel withdraw from Palestinian areas to the 1967 borders in fulfillment of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. This also includes complying with all other pertinent resolutions such as U. N. S. C. 194, affirming the right of return for Palestinian refugees. 

Former bishop Herbert Chilstrom of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) said the impression that American churches tend to give greater support to the Israelis is sometimes based on a reading of Scripture that says that this land should belong to the Jews. Chilstrom stated that he come to the conclusion that, this is a justice issue. He said Palestinians whose families go back centuries are being uprooted. We are here to protect their rights while advocating the rights of the Israelis, he said. 

Bishop Margaret Payne of the ELCA's New England Synod said that she had seen the damage that violence does to all parties and was convinced that all parties must cease violent acts to give peace a chance. 

The delegation met with senior Israeli and Palestinian political and religious leaders to discuss the escalation of violence and collapse of the peace process. They also spoke of difficult issues such as the future status of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements in Gaza and the West Bank, refugees and the protection of human rights. 

The delegation's final statement said that they had heard the voices of people, seen the impact of Israeli settlements that strangulate and isolate the Palestinian people from one another, heard the terror in the voices of the Israeli Jews and Palestinian Christians and Muslims alike. We believe that our faith calls us to tell the truth of what we have seen and that, unless we share with the world what we have seen, the stones will cry out. We are persuaded that the peace which must come for all Israeli and Palestinian alike can only be achieved on a firm foundation of justice. 

The visit of the U. S. delegation to the Middle East came at a time when many of the churches in the United States are involved in a Prayer Vigil for Middle East Peace. The vigil, which began on the first Sunday of Advent, December 3, will continue until the violence ends and a peace agreement emerges. 

For details of the Prayer Vigil for Middle East Peace, go to 
www.loga.org/PrayerVigilHome.htm on LOGA's Web site.