U.S. Church Leaders React To Bush Middle East Plan
Friday, April 16, 2004
In another foreign policy disaster the Bush Administration has abandoned the international sponsored peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Center for American Progress reports:
In a dramatic shift on Wednesday, President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon put out a plan to unilaterally settle the future of Israeli settlements in Gaza and the West Bank. In doing so they have created an imbalance in the Middle East peace process. Seemingly abandoning the United States' traditional role, as an evenhanded negotiator in the peace process, Bush appeared to endorse Israel's long-standing claim to parts of the West Bank and suggested that Palestinian refugees should never expect to return to their homes in Israel. Wednesday's announcement drew immediate and sharp criticism from around the world and came at a time when U.S.-Arab relations are at an all-time low. Although Arab support for American policies in Iraq and the Middle East is critical right now, analysts say Bush's new policy will likely undercut U.S. goals in the region.
The decision by President Bush drew immediate criticism from a broad spectrum of American religious leaders. Churches for Middle East Peace issued a statement:
Corinne Whitlatch, executive director of the coalition, stated, “We had hoped that the Gaza withdrawal could be a first forward step toward peace.” Whitlatch continued, “Instead, President Bush has betrayed decades of diplomatic advances, undercut the future of the Road Map peace plan and ignored its cosponsors - the U.N., the European Union and the Russian Federation. His repeated assurance that he wants a viable Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel is losing credibility. The President’s blatant disregard for Palestinian and Arab participation and sentiment places a future peace and our own security as risk.” “The President’s decision,” said Father Drew Christiansen, S.J., a member of CMEP’s Leadership Council and an editor of the Jesuit magazine America, “makes U.S. policy hostage to Prime Minister Sharon’s expansionist goals. Legitimating West Bank settlements is a recipe for protracted conflict which will continue to impact adversely the dwindling Christian presence in the Holy Land.”Fr. Christiansen asked the President to consider the consequences of his decision on Christians in the region, saying, “Mr. Sharon has talked about his unilateral initiative delaying negotiations for another generation. But this is a generation in which, under the pressure of endless conflict, the endangered indigenous Christian population in the Holy Land could well disappear. I doubt this is an outcome that President Bush would like to see, but it is very likely one that he is setting in motion.”
Other church leaders questioned whether the “war on terrorism” itself may have blinded President Bush to the possible outcomes of his actions on Israelis and Palestinians.
Jim Winkler, General Secretary of the United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society, observed, “President Bush responded yesterday to a reporter that ‘the best way to achieve peace is to fight terror.’ I disagree. The way toward peace is to work for a just resolution of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. That will lead to the end of the terror of suicide bombers and targeted assassinations.
Winkler continued, “Instead of telling Prime Minister Sharon that it’s ok now to violate international law and United Nations resolutions, President Bush should be pressuring both sides to stem the violence and start talking again. President Bush has effectively told the world that what Israel has taken by force from the Palestinians is now acceptable. This is a road map to war."
Churches for Middle East Peace is a Washington-based program of the Alliance of Baptists, American Friends Service Committee, Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese, Catholic Conference of Major Superiors of Men’s Institutes, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Church of the Brethren, Church World Service, Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Franciscan Mission Service, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Maryknoll Missioners, Mennonite Central Committee, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, Presbyterian Church (USA), Reformed Church in America, Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church.