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Bishop’s Holy Land diary


Note: From Dec. 16-23, 2009, I had the privilege of being part of a 19-person delegation from the National Inter-Religious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East (NILI). NILI has brought together the leaders of more than 30 religious denominations in the U.S. to work within our own denominations and with the U.S. government to support presidential and congressional initiatives for Arab-Israeli/Palestinian peace. Our delegation journeyed to Amman, Jordan, to Israel and to the West Bank to hear firsthand the perspectives of religious and governmental leaders in these areas, as well as their sense of challenges and opportunities for peace.

The following is the second part of a diary I kept during the trip; the first half appeared in The Evangelist's Jan. 7 issue.

MONDAY, DEC. 21
Today is the warmest day we've had, without a cloud in the sky. Restaurants will be able to serve their customers at their sidewalk cafes -- perhaps for the last time this year. We began at 7 a.m. with a breakfast meeting featuring Danny Seidman of IrAmin, a noted political analyst, who offered us a presentation on "the future of Jerusalem," a subject which he has studied since 1991.

Dr. Seidman noted that, until the beginning of the 20th century, Jerusalem was pretty much the old city; it would lock its gates at night. It wasn't until 1951 that a neighboring suburb was incorporated into the city of Jerusalem, even though it was only 100 yards from the city wall.

The last universal boundaries for Jerusalem came in 1947. It was called the Corpus Separatum; however, it was never implemented because no local parties approved it, only the international community. In 1948, the State of Israel was created, dividing Jerusalem into East and West. Jordan ruled over East Jerusalem and Egypt over the Gaza Strip.

In Jerusalem itself, there was one crossing point in the city, the Mandalbaum Gate. This division was an enormously traumatic experience both for Israelis and Palestinians. There were property and emotional losses for both sides. For most Israelis, there was the loss of the old city, especially the Western Wall.

In 1967, however, when Israel captured the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and annexed East Jerusalem, which was then under Jordanian rule, things changed dramatically. The criteria for the division was as much land as possible for the Israelis and as few Palestinians as possible. The borders were gerrymandered arbitrarily.

Although in 1967 the Israeli mantra became "Jerusalem, the undivided capital of Israel," the first law passed by the Israeli government was freedom of access to those sites held holy by Muslims and Christians.

Mr. Seidman suggested that virtually everything that has happened in East Jerusalem since 1967 has been dictated by the exigencies of the political struggle. Israel does not want Palestinians living in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, and those who do so are only residents, not citizens. Hence, Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem are not allowed to vote and, for the most part, don't want to vote.

Since 1967, Israel has expropriated 35 percent of East Jerusalem mostly from the Palestinians, added over one million Israeli homes and limited Palestinian construction. The Palestinian population has grown three times, but only a few building permits have been granted and there is an artificial cap on Palestinian development.

There are 190,000 Israelis living in East Jerusalem as compared to 290,000 Palestinians, but they live in separate neighborhoods and attend separate schools. There are more than 1,500 classrooms which have been denied Palestinians, inadequate sewage systems and other inequities.

According to Mr. Seidman, Jerusalem is and will remain a divided city. Israelis and Palestinians do not agree to share community in Jerusalem. Thus, political division is inevitable. No foreign embassies will recognize the status of Jerusalem.

In the past few years, Jerusalem has experienced a dramatically changed relationship because of the construction of the wall. It is the most radical change in Jerusalem since 1967. It has limited the access and mobility for the Palestinians. While deemed temporary but necessary for Israeli security, it has been abused in many ways.

Mr. Seidman believes the threats to a solution are graver today than ever before. He cited several principles which must guide any resolution to the Jerusalem issue:

* The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians ends in Jerusalem. If there is no negotiation about Jerusalem, there cannot be any resolution.

* Jerusalem will be a politically divided city. It reflects the reality today and for the foreseeable future. Thirty-five percent of the people are Palestinians who are disenfranchised and are not getting basic services like mail or adequate education.

* Israelis would love to drive the Palestinians into the desert, while the Palestinians would love to drive the Israelis into the sea. The operative principle is, "I want rid of you."

* Ninety-five percent of where Israelis walk today is Israel. Ninety-five percent of where Palestinians walk today is Palestine. This is the key to developing borders. The five-percent challenge is in the old city.

Nothing has been more severely botched than resolving this issue. The question is not about real estate, but about holy sites which are the embodiment of three religious narratives, whose adherents are cohabitating one kilometer. In drawing maps, therefore, we have to address the fears and hopes of the peoples of three faiths.

Ninety-five percent of Jerusalem will be solely territorial sovereignty, Mr. Seidman believes. He advocates for a special regime whereby the Old City belongs to no one governmental entity. There would be ownership of sites and certain elements of territorial sovereignty, but authority would be ceded to a special regime.

This is an agenda that must be pursued by the faith communities. It will be up to the faith communities in Israel and to the Americans and Europeans to develop a road map which outlines what the traffic will bear.

Mr. Seidman also expressed grave concern about the flight of Palestinian Christians from the Holy Land, decreasing from 37,000 just 40 years ago to fewer than 10,000 today. These Christians are being overwhelmed by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and there is the transition of the Christian community in Jerusalem into a museum.

Mr. Seidman said that "the Christian community in Jerusalem is the canary in the coal mine" and a startling example of the disease that exists in the Mideast.

Mr. Seidman is convinced that the revitalization of the Christian community in the Mideast is desperately needed for peacemaking. He also believes that President Obama must demand the cessation of settlements or there will be no two-state solution. The status of Jerusalem has to be addressed first; otherwise, no progress can be made.

He called for bold moves on the part of the Obama administration and the other members of the quartet: the European Union, the United Nations and Russia. There is, Mr. Seidman suggested, a chasm between the politically impossible and the historically inevitable.

After breakfast, the rest of the delegation visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. Since both Cardinal McCarrick and I had visited the memorial previously, we decided to meet with the staff of Catholic Relief Services in their East Jerusalem offices.

In missing this opportunity, however, I was conscious of the visit made to the memorial last April by Pope Benedict XVI, where he prayed silently before the eternal flame in the Hall of Remembrance and stated that the suffering of the Jews during the Holocaust must "never be denied, belittled or forgotten."

In an address that explored the concepts of "name" and "remembrance," the twin themes of the memorial, our Holy Father called the holocaust an atrocity that disgraced humankind and said that the Church is committed to work tirelessly to insure that "hatred will never reign in the hearts of people again." Benedict also met with six holocaust survivors on that occasion.

It is ironic that today's news accounts report the intention of the Vatican to beatify both Pope John Paul II and Pope Pius XII. Pope Pius' beatification will serve to further strain Israeli-Vatican relations because many in the Jewish community believe that Pius was complicit, at least by his silence, in the Nazi persecution and killing of European Jews during World War II. Indeed, a plaque at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum makes this point.

The Vatican, on the other hand, believes Pius worked quietly and effectively through diplomatic channels to protect the Jewish community and facilitate their rescue where possible. Stay tuned!

Catholic Relief Services has offices in East Jerusalem, Hebron, Bethlehem and Gaza with an annual budget of $15-20 million. Its major purpose is to offer humanitarian assistance of food, clothing, employment, housing and education programs to the people of East Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank.

CRS provides food to approximately 100,000 individuals (16,000 families) each month and has been involved in rehabilitating farmland, building schools and clinics and developing agricultural roads and economic infrastructure.

CRS also supplies psychosocial intervention in the Gaza Strip -- helping young people especially, who have witnessed the death of family and friends as a result of the protracted Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The agency also fosters a peer-to-peer youth movement, advocating a nonviolent message of achieving peace through justice and fostering positive values like compassion, respect, responsibility and good citizenship.

Further, CRS advocates locally and in the U.S. for a just, peaceful resolution to the Palestinian conflict and is involved in the Catholic campaign which engages Christians, Muslims and Jewish leaders in peacemaking and dialogue.

In addition, CRS works with a human rights organization, "Visual Impact," which videotapes seldom-seen acts of violence committed by both sides of this conflict and provides this documented evidence to governmental authorities. I came away from this visit inspired by the great service CRS is providing in the region and proud of the support the agency receives from U.S. Catholics.

After our meeting with the staff at CRS, Cardinal McCarrick and I rejoined the rest of the delegation at the Hebrew Union College, where we heard three insightful panel presentations. The first presenter was Rabbi David Forman of Rabbis for Human Rights.

He described Israeli fears of massive missiles being launched into their territories and the security that the Wall provides them. He recognized, however, that the Palestinian narrative is just the opposite.

Rabbi Forman is afraid that Israel could go down the path of the violation of basic human rights. Yes, the Jewish people have suffered injustices, he maintains, but they should not adopt the tactics of their enemies.

Rabbi Forman's group, founded after the first intifada, is in stark contrast to some of the extreme voices in Israel, fueling nationalism with religion. It is totally opposed to the unjust demolition of homes and refugee camps, especially in East Jerusalem.

Its members advocate on behalf of Palestinians who are being prohibited from harvesting their lands by Jewish settlers. Group members often serve as a human shield to protect the farmers when they are harvesting their crops.

His group advocates on behalf of those who are being unjustly denied social benefits and addresses issues of education. They teach Talmudic tracts on human rights in both public and private schools.

The second presenter was a young man, Dan Amerson from Peace Now, which was founded in 1978 when 328 senior Army reserve officers and combat soldiers wrote a letter urging the Begin government to conclude a peace treaty with Egypt and Jordan.

More recently, the organization is trying to convince the Israelis of the urgent need for peace. Most Israelis are open to peace; it is the "now" part which is harder to grasp. The urgency is being dictated by demographics, namely, the 300,000 Palestinians in the West Bank. Without a resolution, Israel will no longer be a majority Jewish state.

Also, they emphasize that the financial burdens of the present status is unsustainable. Further, it will be future generations who will have the challenge of fighting wars and living in constant fear and tension.

Peace Now is a foremost authority on Israeli settlement activities in the West Bank. It seeks to raise public awareness about the financial, diplomatic and moral costs of obstacles to peace. The basic principle of Peace Now is that only a negotiated settlement with Israel and its Arab neighbors can make Israel a secure and prosperous nation and only a two state solution can enable Israel to survive as a Jewish democratic state for generations to come.

While Peace Now works primarily amongst the Israeli public, it has also been developing dialogue and joint activities with Palestinians.

The third panelist was Rabbi Ron Kronish, director of the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel. Rabbi Kronish expressed pessimism about the present state of the peace process. He maintained there is a two-fold need: for peacemakers, developing treaties and agreements between governments and implementing them; and peace builders -- people-to-people interaction.

The Israelis and Palestinians must come to know one another and learn how to live together. The emphasis is on de-demonizing the other. It involves education and trust building.

Rabbi Kronish pointed out that people both within Israel and the Palestinian Authority and those looking at the issue want to know the answer to the problem. He suggested, however, that there are no easy answers or quick solutions.

Even if treaties or agreements are developed, a political solution, the Rabbi maintained, is not enough. We will need a lot more peace education done by the non-governmental organizations, but even more important by systemic leadership on the part of the religious community.

Following these panel presentations, we met over lunch with first-year Rabbinic students from the U.S. It was uplifting to encounter their zeal, passion and enthusiasm and willingness to learn.

We proceeded from the Hebrew College to the American Consulate in Jerusalem, located in a beautiful compound which was formerly a monastery. The counsel general was unavailable but his deputy, Craig Marchese, and his staff briefed us.

There are about 80,000 U.S. citizens living either in Israel or in the Palestinian Authority. The mission of the consulate is to foster a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

A major task is to assist the Palestinian Authority to become a functional civil entity able to provide security and all governmental services. The staff believes significant progress is being made in this direction.

U.S. aid channels $800 million annually in assistance to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. When members of our delegation stated we had heard that reconstruction aid was lagging, the staff acknowledged that the process is slow because all projects and materials have to be approved by the Israeli Government. There is also a special challenge in dealing with governmental officials in Gaza.

We also noted that we had received reports about CIA involvement in the torture of persons imprisoned both by Hamas and Fatah. The staff stated vehemently that this is not official U.S. policy and would not comment further.

In response to an inquiry about dealing directly with Hamas, the staff stated that it was contrary to U.S. policy to interact directly with Hamas, since it does not recognize Israel's right to exist and has not abandoned its commitment to terrorism.

Finally, it was noted that in addition to trying to bring the Israelis and Palestinians to negotiations, they have also been promoting people to people interaction through the arts, education and dialogue. It is important, they stated, that Israelis and Palestinians look at the situation not only through their own religious and historic narrative, but through the lens of others as well.

The staff pointed out further that the vast majority of people in the United States do not understand what is happening in Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and urged our delegation to promote greater comprehension of the complexity of the issues involved within our own faith communities in the U.S.

On Monday evening, we met with two members of the Parents Circle Family Forum, an organization of more than 500 people who have lost a member in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The first speaker, an Israeli woman, lost her son, David, as a result of a sniper attack while he was teaching philosophy at Tel Aviv University. Subsequently, the sniper was captured. The woman has now forgiven her son's killer and has advocated with the Israeli government for his release from prison.

The mother of the second woman who presented, a Palestinian, was a leader of Fatah in Hebron who was incarcerated several times during this woman's youth. Consequently, she had to become the mother for her younger brothers and sisters. One brother was shot by an Israeli settler and another by an Israeli soldier.

Both of these women are victims and have the same taste of tears. They are in agreement, however, that if we give people a chance to know each other as human beings, having the same hopes, desires and basic needs, there can be peace.

The work of the Parents Circle is primarily education. Last year, they made more than 1,000 presentations in both Israeli and Palestinian classrooms, telling their stories and entering into dialogue about how to break the vicious cycle of vilence. Members tell stories about pregnant mothers or children who died on the way to the hospital because the ambulances couldn't get them through the checkpoints quickly.

Recently, they conducted a project which brought 140 Israeli and Palestinian children to the Yad Vashem Museum so that Palestinians could understand Jewish history better and so that Palestinians could tell their story of what happened to them when they were displaced as a result of the creation of the State of Israel.

Then they break the larger gathering into small groups, and share with each other their family stories. All have been able to learn from each other's narrative as well as from each other's hurt and pain.

The Parents Circle has also developed a new project called "A Crack in the Wall," a kind of crisis hotline where people can call each other and share their stories and experiences. The group has developed as well a close working relationship with Georgetown University and Harvard to expand their project. Members are convinced that reconciliation must be a part of the peace process.

In conclusion, these two extraordinary women said: "Don't be pro-Israel or pro-Palestine. Rather, be concerned about both communities. For Israel won't be free until Palestine is free."

Our evening drew to a close with a delightful meal in the Armenian section of the old city.

TUESDAY, DEC. 22
As we departed Jerusalem on another sunny day, we drove past the Mount of Olives for our last view of the old city. I was struck by the words of the responsorial psalm from today's morning prayer: "Your light will come, Jerusalem. The Lord will dawn on you in radiant beauty. The Lord will see his glory within you."

At 8 a.m., we stopped at the Augusta Victoria Hospital, located at the foot of the Mount of Olives. This edifice was built by Kaiser Wilhelm at the outset of the 20th century and named after his wife.

During the first World War, it was the headquarters for the Ottoman Emperor; then it became the headquarters for the British Army in Palestine. Later, it became the headquarters for the high commissioner who exercised the mandate over Palestine. Between the First and Second World Wars, the building served as a hostel for German pilgrims.

In 1947, the Lutheran World Federation was formed and it began a 170-bed hospital at this site to care for Palestinian refugees from East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. The staff of almost 300 is 90 percent Palestinian.

Originally the hospital provided primary and secondary care, but more recently has become a specialized hospital caring for cancer patients and those in need of kidney dialysis.

Patients coming from Gaza often need permits to get to the hospital, which can take anywhere from 20 to 90 days. Some do not need inpatient or long-term care, but to avoid the problems of sending them back to Gaza and reapplying for permits the hospital, has opened a kind of "Ronald McDonald House."

Because of the length of time it takes to bring cancer victims from Gaza, the hospital medical personnel have to deal with acuity and chronicity in a way that they might not if access were easier.

It is also the desire of the Lutheran Federation to build a housing project of 80 units on their property for Palestinian Christians (which currently is less than 10,000 in the entire region). Affordable housing is a helpful way to retain the Christian presence in Jerusalem. However, after six years of trying, the federation has not been able to secure permits from the government to erect these units, even though the money is available.

The CEO of the hospital, Dr. Kawfig Nasser, has overseen the transition of the hospital from primary care to specialty care. Without this type of specialty care, the Palestinians would have to go to Jordan or Egypt for service.

The hospital offers not only medical treatment but also education: for example, breast cancer is still stigmatized in Arab society, so there must be education about the nature of this disease. The Hospital also gets help from Hadassah and other hospitals in the West Bank so that there can be a more coordinated approach to services.

There is an East Jerusalem Interfaith Network which tries to coordinate care, but this network is under regulations both by the Israeli government and Palestinian Authority, and at times these regulations create a logistic nightmare.

It is Dr. Nasser's contention that the focus must not be on politics but on patient rights. He noted that Palestinians are suffering because of the unreasonableness of the security systems in place.

These obstacles, Dr. Nasser stated, are creating great anger both for patients and the medical personnel at the hospital. Mobility, he pointed out, must not only be for medical treatment but for access to trade, employment, education and social interaction.

As we drove from the Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem to Bethlehem, the beautiful hymn of this Advent season came rushing to my mind: "Behold, a rose of Judah/ from tender branch has sprung,/ From Jesse's lineage coming,/ as men of old have sung./ It came a flower bright/ amid the cold of winter,/ when half spent the night./ Isaiah has foretold it/ in words of promises sure,/ And Mary's arms enfold it, a virgin meek and pure./ Through God's eternal will/ she bore for men a savior/ at midnight calm and still."

Bethlehem is less than 10 miles from Jerusalem, but with checkpoints and backups on the way it can take a couple of hours for non-Israelis to travel. Arriving at the University of Bethlehem was like a homecoming because its vice president, Brother Jack Curran, FSC, a Troy native and LaSalle Institute graduate whose family still attends St. Pius parish in Loudonville, was our host for the day.

Also present were two seminarians from our Diocese, Jay Atherton and Michael Taylor, who are in an exchange program with Our Lady of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein outside Chicago to study for three months at Bethlehem University.

The Christian Brothers have been in Bethlehem for 150 years. In 1973, the university was founded under the sponsorship of the Holy See and with the oversight of the Brothers of the Christian Schools of the United States. It is the first university in the West Bank and the only Catholic university in the Holy Land.

At the outset of our visit, we paused to pray before a memorial at the entranceway, erected to remember students killed as a result of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the university's inauguration.

As of 2008, Bethlehem University has had more than 10,000 graduates in the areas of the arts, business, accounting, education, religious studies, the sciences and hotel management. In 1989, the University established an institute for community partnership with a water, soil and environmental research unit, a nursing program and an heredity research laboratory.

The Millennium Building, which houses the auditorium where we gathered, had been built with assistance from U.S. aid. During the occupation of the Basilica of the Nativity earlier this decade, this building was bombarded by Israeli missiles provided, ironically, by the United States.

The mission of the university is to meet the needs of the Palestinian people. They face the problem of checkpoints, occupation and the limitation of movement and employment. The restrictions for permits are intolerable.

In October 2009, for example, Ms. Berlanty Azzam, a 21-year-old Christian woman who has been business student at the university since 2005, was arrested by Israeli military, blindfolded, handcuffed and moved from Bethlehem to Gaza against her will.

She said: "Since 2005, I refrained from visiting my family in Gaza for fear that I would not be able to return to my studies at the university. Now, just two months before graduation, I have been arrested and taken to Gaza in the middle of the night, with no way to finish my degree."

She was scheduled to complete her bachelor's degree in December 2009. She was removed from Bethlehem and taken to Gaza because her address is listed as the Gaza Strip, even though she has lived in Bethlehem since 2005.

In November, on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, I wrote to Michael Oren, the ambassador of Israel to the United States, for a review of her case. To date, the problem has not been resolved.

In addition to its academic curriculum, the university provides outreach to the community including student mentoring, youth development, community activities and fostering relations between Christians and Muslim students. The economic income in the West Bank and Gaza is very low. However, the university has an excellent scholarship and subsidy program which permits many to matriculate who otherwise would be ineligible.

We heard presentations from three students. They said they don't support Hamas, are not committed to revenge, but want to move forward. Unfortunately, however, most are pessimistic because their families have been living under occupation for more than 60 years.

The increasing Israeli settlements are a major challenge and a source of discouragement. Nevertheless, despite the manifold challenges they face, I left the University uplifted by what the Christian Brothers and their colleagues are doing and hopeful that this is the type of activity which will serve as a foundation for a better tomorrow.

Before leaving the town of Bethlehem, our bus pulled into Manger Square to visit the Basilica of the Nativity. What an awesome privilege: to visit the place of Christ's birth two days before Christians throughout the world celebrate this miraculous event.

On Christmas Eve, our seminarians, Michael and Jay, would join Latin Patriarch Fouad Twal to march in procession through the square and to celebrate the sacred liturgy on this very spot where the Word was made flesh.

The Basilica of the Nativity is erected over the place where Jesus was born. It was built in the early fourth century by St. Helen, the mother of the emperor Constantine. The place of Christ's birth is in a small cave beneath the main altar where you must bend over and stoop into in order to venerate the sacred site.

Immediately adjacent to the crèche is the manger, which contains a small altar, and a few feet away is the hermitage where St. Jerome labored for years to prepare the Vulgate translation of the Scriptures, which has illumined Christians down through the centuries.

At this special place I prayed for peace in the Mideast; for peace in the world; for peace in our Diocese; for peace on behalf of all suffering from poverty, racism, violence, oppression and illness of any sort. During this Year for Priests, I prayed for all the priests in our Diocese and for the victims of clergy sexual abuse.

My Christmas celebration this year would be affected dramatically by being privileged to have been in this place where divinity united with humanity, and the shepherds, angels and magi came to pay homage to the newborn Prince of Peace.

My last memory of Bethlehem, unfortunately, was exiting the city through the forbidding and oppressive wall and of the armed guards who boarded our bus for a final security check. It is a reminder that 2,000 years after the birth of the Prince of Peace, the peace He came to bring to earth still remains elusive.

In the 90-minute bus drive from Bethlehem to Jaffa for our next meeting, it was fascinating to experience the topography change. In just a few short miles, we went from the barren rock formation around Bethlehem to the lush vegetation of the mountain range and plains as we drew nearer to the Mediterrean Sea.

Arriving in Jaffa, majestic waves dashed against shores of this ancient city and we were greeted by a driving rainstorm.

After refreshing ourselves with pastry, ice cream and coffee, we proceeded to the U.S. embassy in neighboring Tel Aviv to meet with the U.S. ambassador to Israel, James Cunningham. (It should be noted that all government embassies to Israel are located in Tel Aviv, not Jerusalem, because of the international resolution about maintaining the 1967 borders).

Tel Aviv is the cultural and commercial center of Israel, with the arts, theatres, concert halls, the port, airport and stock market.

Our entrance to the embassy was marked by a gorgeous pink-streaked sunset over the Mediterrean.

Ambassador Cunningham gave his overview of what has happened since the outset of the Obama Administration. He pointed out that the president began his term with many challenges on his plate: two wars (Iraq and Afghanistan), the collapse of the Mideast peace process and the recent Gaza conflict, and a major domestic and international economic crisis.

Even now, after a year, some of the positions needed to staff our embassies have not been approved in Washington. The ambassador noted that by appointing former senator George Mitchell and ambassador Holbrooke, the president is seeking to address the whole Middle East region, from India and Pakistan through Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon and all the Arab states.

The central challenge is what to do about Iran and its destabilizing influence in the region. The administration's goal is to develop a regional vision and regional cooperation. More specifically, the administration has put together a package that would help advance the Israeli-Palestinian and Arab-Israeli relations.

The Goldstone report issued during the course of this year, assessing war crimes committed both by Israeli and Palestinian forces during the 2008 Gaza conflict, threw a bomb onto the scene. The report was seen by the Israelis as an attack upon its very existence. Meanwhile, the Palestinians became angry with their leader, Abbas, because he did not immediately press that the Goldstone report be submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The Netanyahu government has initiated a 10-month moratorium on new construction. This is a major step toward building trust about the seriousness of the Israelis entering into peace negotiations. The moratorium doesn't go as far as the U.S. wants, but it is seen as a positive first step.

Palestinian president Abbas, however, is not moved by Israeli initiative and the U.S. government is trying to convince him that it is worthwhile to try to restart negotiations.

President Abbas' political future is still unclear. He states he won't run when new elections are set, but left unsaid is what will happen between now and then. The U.S. is pressing for negotiations to resume.

On a more positive note, Israel's economy is doing well. Prime minister Netanyahu enjoys great political support domestically and has developed strong ties with Cairo.

The United States is trying to get greater Arab support for renewed Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

Ambassador Cunningham indicated that there are two hot-button issues which need to be addressed constructively if we are to have successful negotiations: Jerusalem and the refugees. The U.S. government believes that the Israelis are going to have to swallow hard and share Jerusalem, while the Palestinians must recognize that there is not going to be a wholesale refugee return.

Part of the problem that exists is that neither Israelis, Palestinians nor Arabs are willing to tell their own people the harsh realities that must be addressed if peace is to become a reality.

President Obama's view is that it is urgent for the peace negotiations to proceed expeditiously. The president is engaged in following the issue closely. Unless something is done soon, it will probably have a bad result for Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the whole region.

Unfortunately, many Israelis believe the Palestinians aren't really ready for a formal agreement and vice versa. Further, the whole process will never work out amicably if the wider Arab community doesn't support the Palestinians and the whole international community must support a political solution for Jerusalem.

It is interesting that the ambassador picked up on a point made by Rabbi Ron Kornish yesterday at the Hebrew University: namely, that this conflict can't end simply with an agreement, but only with a commitment to implement the agreement through peace-building and reconciliation.

CONCLUSION
Following a week of praying together and meeting Jordanians, Israelis and Palestinians, our delegation of U.S. Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious leaders returned home with a new sense of urgency and united in pursuit of peace in the Middle East.

We are further convinced of the need for active, fair and firm U.S. leadership to restart negotiations for a two-state solution, involving an end to occupation and security for Israel and Palestine. Our trip reinforced our commitment to NILI's goal of comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace, including peace agreements between Israel, Syria and Lebanon.

Believing steps on the ground are needed to restore hope, our delegation is united in calling on the Obama administration and Congress to be catalysts for achieving an effective, sustainable ceasefire; for allowing the flow of urgently needed humanitarian and reconstruction assistance into Gaza; for improving the capacity of the Palestinian Authority to increase security and economic development; for continuing negotiations for prisoner exchange; and for freezing all settlement expansion, including Jerusalem.

While recognizing the complexity of the situation and the realities involved, we are hopeful and believe peace is possible.

As Cardinal McCarrick said, "We heard two messages repeatedly from Palestinians and Israelis with whom we met: first, that time is running out for a viable two-state solution; and second, that people on both sides know the difficult compromises that will be necessary for peace and most people are prepared to accept them."

Rabbi Paul Menitoff, executive vice president emeritus of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, noted: "Even on the most emotional issues of refugees and Jerusalem, we believe most Palestinians understand that they will have to accept a negotiated solution regarding refugees that does not jeopardize the Jewish majority in Israel; and most Israelis understand that they will have to accept a negotiated solution regarding sharing Jerusalem that includes provision for both Israel and Palestine to have their capitals in Jerusalem."

Dr. Sayyid Syeed, national director of the Islamic Society of North America, observed: "Of course, it is the parties themselves that must make the negotiated agreements for peace, but most people we met believe that active, fully engaged U.S. leadership is essential to making that happen. We are united in support of such U.S. leadership for peace."

The delegation was encouraged by present negotiations for freeing a young Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, captured by Hamas in 2006 in exchange for the release of a number of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins, general minister and president of the Christian churches (Disciples of Christ), noted this exchange has the potential to remove significant moral and practical obstacles to the resumption of peace negotiations.

For myself to be part of such a delegation was a gift and blessing which I hope will lead to further interfaith dialogue on the Israeli-Palestinian questions both in our Diocese and in my own leadership responsibilities as chair of the U.S. bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace.

I am convinced that Israel must be assured that the Palestinian Authority is able to govern itself and either with its own resources or with the help of international forces provide security to Israel from terrorist attacks.

Further, there must be greater access and mobility for the Palestinian people, to remove the daily obstacles to employment, family contact and economic development.

If these conditions can be achieved, and for the well-being of all, they must and soon, then I foresee the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophetic vision.

ISAIAH 11
"Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them. The cow and the bear shall be neighbors, together their young shall rest; the lion shall eat hay like the ox. The baby shall play by the cobra's den, and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair."

i(01/14/10)

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