Following-up a meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a delegation led by His Eminence, Cardinal McCarrick and representing the National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace met with Under Secretary for Political Affairs, R. Nicholas Burns on May 17 and reiterated their concerns in a letter May 31.* Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders of the Interreligious Initiative that includes heads of twenty-five national organizations expressed strong support for Secretary Rice’s commitment to make Arab-Israeli-Palestinian peace a top priority for the remaining two years of the Administration. They believe that active, fair and firm U.S. leadership for peace, in coordination with the Quartet (EU, Russia, U.N. and U.S.), is essential at this time not only for the sake of Israelis and Palestinians, but also because progress toward peace in Jerusalem would help restore U.S. credibility, encourage regional stability and reduce support for extremism.

Deeply troubled by the deteriorating situation on the ground, including renewed intra-Palestinian violence, continuing Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel and Israeli military counter attacks, the religious leaders called for immediate, urgent U.S. efforts to achieve a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire in Gaza and the West Bank. The leaders called for active U.S. diplomacy to encourage steps by the Arab states and by Israel to build on the Arab Peace Initiative, and for direct U.S. talks with Syria and Israel to restart negotiations for peace. The leaders’ policy concerns are based on their December 2006 consensus statement, “Arab-Israeli-Palestinian Peace: From Crisis to Hope,” available at: www.usccb.org/sdwp/international/interreligious.htm.

The religious leaders believe the current, very dangerous situation on the ground, including more persons killed and wounded, makes it all the more important that the United States work urgently for a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza and the West Bank to halt both intra-Palestinian and Palestinian-Israeli violence. A ceasefire would relieve suffering and reduce fears on both sides; and help create a context in which it would be more possible to achieve other essential steps, including more effective security coordination, release of Israeli Corporal Shalit and Palestinian prisoners, a halt to expansion of settlements, and a reduction in military checkpoints.

The religious leaders agreed with Under Secretary Burns that the Arab Peace Initiative is an important positive development and urged that the United States engage in active diplomacy to encourage steps by the Arab states and by Israel, including possible support for an international conference, to help the Arab Initiative become a bridge to an effective peace process for comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace. In this context and appreciating that Secretary Rice recently met with the Syrian Foreign Minister about Iraq, the interreligious delegation urged direct U.S. talks with Syria and Israel to help restart Syrian-Israeli negotiations for peace.

The delegation expressed appreciation and support for Secretary Rice’s pledge to travel to the region regularly to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders as a tangible expression of her personal commitment and priority to actively pursue a negotiated two-state solution. The religious leaders continue to believe that at some point it would be helpful for a fulltime envoy focused on comprehensive peace to be appointed to represent the Secretary and the President on the ground continuously to press for and monitor commitments by both sides.

The religious leaders recalled that in their earlier meeting, Secretary Rice expressed the view that there should be informal talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders about principles and ideas, such as those in the unofficial Geneva Accord, for possible compromise solutions that could resolve final status issues, including borders and security, settlements, refugees and Jerusalem. The interreligious delegation expressed their hopes, despite current negative developments, that this process of informal talks about ideas for resolving final status issues is being pursued. The leaders are committed to building public awareness and support for these ideas for compromise, including mutually acceptable, negotiated solutions for the issues of refugees and Jerusalem.

(A Summary of the Geneva Accord is available by e-mail from usicpme@aol.com.)

The religious leaders thanked Under Secretary Burns and Secretary Rice for their commitment to pursue Arab-Israeli-Palestinian peace as a top priority and for their invitation to the National Interreligious Initiative to participate in ongoing dialogue. The leaders agreed to be in touch about a date for the next meeting.

* In addition to His Eminence, Cardinal McCarrick, representing the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Interreligious Leadership Initiative delegation included representative leaders of the Armenian Orthodox Church in America, the Episcopal Church, Lutheran Church (ELCA), Presbyterian Church (USA), Union for Reform Judaism, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, the Islamic Society of North America, and the Palestinian American Muslim Chaplain of Georgetown University.

See December 2006 consensus statement and List of Signers at
http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/international/interreligious.htm