Colin Powell Meets ELCA Presiding Bishop, Others On Mideast

Colin Powell Meets ELCA Presiding Bishop, Others On Mideast
04-114-JB

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and more than 30 other prominent religious leaders met with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell June 1, urging immediate U.S. government action to jump start the "Road Map" for peace in the Middle East.
The 45-minute meeting with Powell concluded with a news conference at the State Department in Washington, D.C., Hanson told the ELCA News Service in an interview. The delegation of religious leaders, gathered as the National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East, included representatives of Christian, Jewish and Muslim faith groups. Combined, they represent about 100 million members.
The Road Map is a Middle East peace plan proposed in 2003 by the United States, European Union, Russia and the United Nations, also known as the "Quartet."
In their meeting with Powell, the religious leaders expressed grave concern about the recent violence in Gaza and the dangers for both Israelis and Palestinians if the cycle of violence there continues, said Hanson, who is also president of the 62-million member Lutheran World Federation, Geneva, Switzerland.
Unless the United States makes the Road Map an urgent priority, the continuing Middle East violence jeopardizes prospects for a two-state solution, further alienates European and Mideast Arab allies, exacerbates the conflict in Iraq and increases the terrorist threat to the United States, the religious leaders told Powell.
The leaders stressed that it is important that the United States not delay peace efforts with Israelis and Palestinians until after the presidential election this year, Hanson said. Powell responded that the Bush Administration's actions on the Road Map are not related to elections, Hanson said.
The religious leaders specifically asked for the United States to send an envoy now to the Middle East in an effort to restart peace negotiations, Hanson said. They asked Powell not to wait for "signs of peace" from either the Israelis or Palestinians to send an envoy, he said.
The leaders asked that the U.S. government "lead the way to find a neutral agency, such as the World Bank" to infuse humanitarian and economic aid in the region for the benefit of the Palestinians, who need it most, Hanson said.
The meeting also included discussion of how Israeli and Palestinian leaders can take concrete steps for peace. Peace actions and commitments "must be simultaneous," Hanson said. The leaders suggested the United States act to negotiate a timetable for specific reciprocal, simultaneous steps to be taken by leaders of the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government.
Hanson said the religious leaders told Powell that the key to peace in the Middle East is a just and stable situation between Israelis and Palestinians, and not necessarily a democratic and free Iraq, as some in the Bush Administration have said.
Hanson thought the meeting with Powell was worthwhile. "He heard our appreciation for the leadership he has given," Hanson said. "He heard that these broadly diverse, actively united religious communities have high expectations that the U.S. government will move the Israelis and Palestinians to bilateral negotiations."
"I am …convinced there will be no peace until both parties negotiate for themselves," Hanson said.
The leaders also made clear that they all have relationships with churches "on the ground" in the Middle East. For example, the ELCA has a relationship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (and Palestine), as do most Lutheran churches throughout the world.
In the meeting the leaders reiterated their call for "Twelve Urgent Steps for Peace," which they formulated and made public in 2003. They said the document closely reflects steps called for in a May 4 statement by the Quartet.
The National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East was formed in December 2003. Its goal is to advocate for direct U.S. leadership in the pursuit of peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
"It's amazing that this breadth of leadership has come together around this issue," Hanson said, noting the presence of key leaders representing many faiths, some of whom have specific but divergent interests in the Middle East.
The religious leaders committed themselves to communicate to their constituents what they are doing to promote peace in the Middle East, Hanson said. They hope to build "coalitions" in some eight to 10 cities in the United States to carry the message of Middle East peace to "the grass roots," he said.
The religious leaders also want to meet with President Bush to discuss progress on the Road Map and told Powell of their desire, Hanson said.
---
"The Twelve Urgent Steps for Peace" and other documents related to the National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East are at http://www.loga.org/interfaithdelegation.htm on the Web.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news