Religious leaders talk to Powell about Middle East violence
6/8/2001
NOTE: A photograph is available with this report.
WASHINGTON (UMNS) - Secretary of State Colin Powell met with a delegation of church leaders June 7 to hear their concerns about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The seven clergymen and three staff members delivered a letter in which they voiced support for Powell's efforts to end the violence and rebuild trust in this area. Two of the clergy members were United Methodists. The letter was signed by 26 Protestant, Roman Catholic and Orthodox leaders.
Their conversation with Powell, scheduled to last 30 minutes, grew to 45.
"We had a very good meeting with the secretary of state," said the group's leader, Bishop Frank T. Griswold, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. "All of us talked about our concerns," he told news reporters outside the State Department.
Griswold said Powell, an active Episcopal layman, was very receptive to the group. "As he spoke, it was impressively clear how very deeply he has thought about all the nuances and dimensions of this and how very committed he is." Several of the clergymen praised Powell as an attentive listener.
The delegation included Episcopal, Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Methodist and Lutheran church people. Their letter was built on experiences some of the group shared when they were part of an ecumenical group that traveled to Israel and Palestinian areas last December. United Methodist Bishop William B. Oden, immediate past president of the denomination's Council of Bishops, led that delegation.
"The security of Israel is very important to the United States, as is the freedom of Palestine," Oden said. "These are family members that must live together. Neither is going to win victory over the other, and peace is the only option."
The Rev. John McCullough, a United Methodist and director of the National Council of Churches' Church World Service agency, said Powell asked the churches to pray and speak out for peace. "And," Griswold added, "to join with him in an absolute condemning of violence on both sides."
"We spoke to the secretary about use of weapons in this situation," McCullough said, "and called for consideration of a suspension on new weapons being made available to the Israelis because we do feel there is disproportionate violence in the region."
Delegation members voiced hope for a cooling-down period that would provide a greater opportunity for rational discussion and lead to a lasting peace, he said.
"We are very much concerned about the economic conditions that are confronting the Palestinian people and the high level of unemployment, which is now in excess of 70 percent," McCullough added. He added that much of Palestinian employment has been in service industries, which have been adversely affected by limitations on movement.
In addition to the seven church leaders who met with Powell, the letter was signed by 18 others, including Bishop Melvin Talbert, ecumenical officer of the Council of Bishops, and the Rev. Bob Edgar, top staff executive of the National Council of Churches. Both are United Methodists.
Powell had read the delegation's letter before their conversation. In the letter, the church leaders assert that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is "a cancer that threatens the health of the whole region, U.S. relations with Arab and Muslim countries, and interfaith relations worldwide." The writers said they are praying for and encouraging the work of peace.
"Few things have done more to destroy the hope and pursuit of peace through negotiations than Israel's unrelenting settlement activity," the church leaders stated. "Each [U.S.] administration has spoken in opposition to the settlement activity, only to watch the settlements increase and expand as Israel ignores the advice."
Griswold noted that delegation members clearly stated how much they deplore the suicide bombings carried out by young Palestinians. The other members of the delegation added their agreement. They also voiced concern about their churches, institutions and humanitarian projects in Palestine, some of which have been damaged or destroyed by Israel's retaliation, often with U.S.-made weapons.
Bishop Vicken Aykazian, ecumenical officer for the Armenian Orthodox Church, reminded the secretary about what is happening to Christians in the area, Oden said.
Aykazian noted that in 1926, 52 percent of the Palestinians were Christians, but today the amount is less than 2 percent.
In the letter, the church leaders expressed concern for both Israelis and Palestinians. "Although our concern extends to each person suffering from this conflict, we are extremely worried about our Palestinian Christian brothers and sisters," they wrote. "Facing daily threats from violence and economic deprivation and lacking hope for peace and a viable Palestinian state, many feel the pressure to emigrate."
The church leaders, through the letter and their meeting with Powell, voiced support for finding a fair means for the world religions that share the heritage of Abraham - Judaism, Christianity, Islam -- to live equitably in the land all three consider holy.
Korean News
