Sign-on Letter -- October 14, 2000

Stop the Mideast Cycle of Violence

The Presbyterian Washington Office has signed on to the following letter regarding the terrible cycle of violence unleashed in the Mideast in September-October 2000. Advocates are encouraged to use or adapt the text of the letter in their own communication with policy makers on this issue.

Following is a copy of the sign-on letter sent to the President, the Vice-President and the Secretary of State.

Dear President Clinton,

We are dismayed by the terrible cycle of violence that has been unleashed among Palestinians and Israelis as a result of the visit of Ariel Sharon, following noontime prayers, to Al-Haram Al- Shaaffi-The Temple Mount. The events of recent days have all but crushed the hopes and aspirations of people around the world that Palestinians and Israelis could learn to live together in safety. The havoc that has been wrought may, in fact, be the death knelt not only for what was achieved in Oslo, but also for the possibilities for your own massive investment in bringing about a peaceful resolution.

Numerous General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have expressed concern for the recurring conflict in the Middle East and have repeatedly supported, prayed for and affirmed every effort directed toward the establishment of a just and enduring peace. We have consistently called for the self-determination of Palestinians, including their right to an independent and sovereign state, security for Israel and a Jerusalem shared by both Israelis and Palestinians and freely open to their three religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam We have worked diligently to understand and to interpret a situation that is both difficult because of the region's historic complexity and hopeful because the religions of its peoples are grounded in the faith that God is sovereign over history and destiny.

While we deplore hostage taking and the brutalization and murder of Israeli soldiers, such acts simply do not justify the unconscionable, massive retaliation of the Israeli military, including indiscriminate shooting of children and adults on the streets, the denial of access to emergency medical care and relief supplies from the international community, and the rocket attacks on apartment buildings containing innocent civilians. Surely you can understand the frustrations of Palestinian Christians and Muslims forced to live under a clear form of apartheid, in which their land has been expropriated and turned into hostile illegal settlements, their workers denied access to their jobs, their homes destroyed and their basic human and civil rights denied.

We are writing to you with special concern over the fact that the United States has stood for many years in a unique position of opportunity in resolving the conflict in the Mddle East. There has been much rhetoric about the desire of the U.S. to be "an honest broker" between the parties. We regret to say that in recent months, that possibility seems to have faded in the face of what many in the Middle East and around the world see as a bias toward Israel and as a declaration of support for Israel's continued occupation of Palestinian land and of Israel's intention to use extraordinarily violent means to stop the backlash against their abuse of the Palestinian people. In this regard, we call upon you to disassociate yourself from the stance that appears to blame the victims of this long-term oppression, as the primary cause of the violence.

We urge you in the strongest possible terms to use whatever influence is left to you in this situation, working with the United Nations and the whole international community, to find a resolution to this conflict that is muked by justice for the Palestinian people, without which there will never be peace in the region. We pray that as you enter the pending summit in Cairo, you will be prepared to insist on the right of the Palestinian people to independent existence in their own sovereign state with a capital of their own choosing, to the security of the people of Israel and a Jerusalem that is shared by Israelis and Palestinians alike, open to the great faiths of Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

May God grant you the strength and the courage to do everything possible in the cause of a just and lasting peace.

Respectfully,

Clifton Kirkpatrick
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)