|
Letter from Clifton Kirkpatrick
to President Bill Clinton
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-Shaarif/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 knell, 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 Middle 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 marked 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
cc: Secretary Albright
|
