Freedom to Worship, Freedom to Be: A Letter to President Biden

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

friends@fosna.org

FOSNA Calls on Biden to Support Christian Presence in Jerusalem

June 2022. USA. Over one hundred organizations and organizational leaders have endorsed a letter from Friends of Sabeel in North America (FOSNA) calling on President Biden to help protect and defend Palestinian Christian presence in Jerusalem and to meet with local Christian leaders.

The two-page letter signed by executive director Jonathan Kuttab specifies the Israeli government’s lack of seriousness in restraining harassment and insults against local Christians, including Christian clergy, as well as turning a blind eye to Israeli settler groups’ “campaign to take over church properties in the old city of Jerusalem.” The letter asserts that such extremist groups “are no longer fringe groups in Israel but are now openly represented in the Knesset and even within the ruling government coalition.”

In addition, the letter calls on the US president to ensure that the case of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh is seriously investigated and that the culprits are held accountable.

Finally, the Letter to President Biden calls for respect for the status quo stating: “The delicate balance enshrined in the historic Status Quo agreements should be meticulously observed, and exclusivist claims on behalf of any one of the three monotheistic religions must be resisted as a formula for disaster for all concerned. Jerusalem is too important to be the sole domain of any one group, and it must be shared by all.”


Freedom to Worship, Freedom to Be: A Letter to President Biden

5/24/2022

President Joseph R. Biden

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20500


Dear President Biden,

In your forthcoming visit to the Holy Land, it is our hope that you take time to address the concerns of local Palestinian Christians in Jerusalem. We hope that you would meet with local church leaders as well as representatives of local Christian organizations to hear of their desire for a shared Jerusalem, open and accessible to all and not the exclusive domain of Jewish Israelis.

Christian clergy in Jerusalem have complained for years about an ongoing series of assaults, attacks, insults, and harassment by Jewish extremists in the Old City, as well as the defacement of their churches, property, and graveyards. They have also experienced what seems to be a determined campaign by Jewish Israeli groups to take over church properties in and around Jerusalem, relying on harassment, pressure, secret deals with corrupt officials, and forgeries. The response by the Israeli authorities used to be that such activities constituted individual acts by a fringe group of Jewish extremists who hated Christians, and who were as much of a headache to the authorities as they were to the Christian Churches.

With spurious excuses, Israel also restricts Muslims and Christians access to Jerusalem and its holy places. Having illegally annexed East Jerusalem, it treats Palestinians from nearby Bethlehem, Ramallah, and the rest of the West Bank and Gaza as foreigners who cannot come into the Holy City without permission from Israel. The apartheid nature of the state of Israel leaves all power in the hands of a government dedicated only to Jewish interests, rather than the interests of all the peoples of the land. In the city of Jerusalem, such a policy only leads to hatred, conflict, and bloodshed. Jerusalem is important to Jews, but it is also vitally important to Christians and Muslims.

This year witnessed an escalation of settler encroachment and attacks by Jewish extremists, as well as increased evidence of direct Israeli government involvement. This Easter, and for the first time ever, Israeli police announced that they would restrict the number of worshippers at the Church of the Resurrection (Holy Sepulcher) for the Ceremony of the Holy Fire to 1000 (the church holds about 11,000) and would limit the number of Christians coming into the Old City on Easter to a mere 500. At the same time, a group of settlers who were escorted by Israeli police forcibly broke into and occupied church property near the Jaffa Gate (claiming that they had purchased these rights, in a shady deal that is being contested in the courts.)

The Israeli extremists behind these attacks are no longer a fringe group in Israel, but are now openly represented in the Knesset and even within the ruling government coalition. These religious fanatics are now framing their plans as being integral to the Zionist goal of exclusive Jewish control over Jerusalem, which they claim must be a Jewish city under the sole control of Israel. Meanwhile, secular Zionists who have no interest in a religious war with Muslims or Christians are nonetheless happy to assert exclusive Jewish claims to Jerusalem as a national, political goal.

Christian Zionists, who were close to the previous administration, also use religious arguments (if spurious) to support their political positions, claiming that support for Zionist goals in Jerusalem is somehow part of God’s plan for the End Times. It is shameful that such groups not only support Jewish religious extremists but evidence a clear hostility towards both Muslims and local Palestinian Christians. They would be delighted to see a bloody, catastrophic religious war that in their thinking will bring about Armageddon and hasten the Second Coming.

The assassination of Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American Christian journalist from Jerusalem, and the disgraceful behaviour of the Israeli police at her funeral highlight the need for an end to the Occupation, in accordance with international law. It likewise highlights the need that Palestinians living under Israeli rule have for international protection and the need to safeguard freedom of religion, free access to the holy places, and a peaceful sharing of the Holy City within the terms of the historic Status Quo arrangements, in existence prior to Israel’s assertion of total control over the city.

President Biden, we implore you to uphold your stated commitment to human rights and international law, supporting arrangements that uphold human dignity and freedom of religion for all the peoples of the land. We desire free access to the Holy Places for believers seeking to worship God “in spirit and in truth,” as opposed to those who would abuse God’s name by using it to assert exclusive political claims. The delicate balance enshrined in the historic Status Quo agreements should be meticulously observed, and exclusivist claims on behalf of any one of the three monotheistic religions must be resisted as a formula for disaster for all concerned. Jerusalem is too important to be the sole domain of any one group, and it must be shared by all.

We pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the safety and prosperity of all who hold it dear (Psalm 122:6).

Sincerely,

Jonathan Kuttab

Executive Director, Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA)


Endorsements

Committee for a Just Peace in Israel/Palestine

Disciples Palestine Israel Network

Episcopal Peace Fellowship-Palestine Israel Network

FOSNA Pittsburgh

Green Mountain Solidarity With Palestine

Indiana Center for Middle East Peace

Kairos USA

Middle East Justice and Peace Group of South Central PA

Pax Christi USA

United Church of Christ Palestine Israel Network

United Methodists for Kairos Response (UMKR)

 

The Rev. Fahed AbuAkel, Moderator of the 214th General Assembly of the PCUSA

The Rev Dr John Anderson, Co-Moderator of The Israel Palestine Mission Network (PCUSA)

The Rev. Lynn Bozich Shetzer, Presbyterian Church (USA)

The Rev Ruth Buxman, First Mennonite Church

Rabbi Meryl Crean, Christian-Jewish Allies for a Just Peace in Israel/Palestine

The Rev. Chad Collins, Valley View Church PCUSA

The Rev Katherine Cunningham, Christian Zionism Working Group of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

The Rev. Elice Higginbotham, United Church of Christ (retired)

The Rev. Dr. David Hindman, United Methodist Church

Dr. John Kane, Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies, Regis University, CO

Fr. George Makhlouf, Eastern Orthodox Archdiocese of North America

The Rev. Jennifer McKenna, Market Square Presbyterian Church, Harrisburg, PA

Sister Mary McMahon, Gray Nuns of the Sacred Heart

The Rev. Fredrica Meitzen, Retired Pastor, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

The Rev Sonya Reichel, Assistant Rector, Faith Episcopal Church

The Rev. Dr. V. Bruce Rigdon Rigdon, President Emeritus at Ecumenical Theological Seminary and Professor of Church History

The Rev. Lynne Rigg, Evangelical Lutheran Church in American, MN

The Rev Blake Rohrer, Pastor Midvale Community Lutheran Church

The Rev. Jo Roos, Co-Chair, Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA), Co-Convener of Mennonite Palestine Israel Network, Co-Founder and Publisher Emeritus of Sojourners Magazine

The Rev Crystal Silva-McCormick, Church of the Savior, United Church of Christ

The Rev Keith Spencer, Trinity Lutheran Church Pembroke Pines

The Rev Martha Stone, Henrietta United Church of Christ

The Rev.Thomas Sweet, Market Square Presbyterian Church, Harrisburg, PA

The Rev. Nick Utphall, Advent Lutheran Church, Madison, WI

 

Judith Beck, Co-Convener, Christian-Jewish Allies for a Just Peace for Israel/Palestine

Allie Perry, Chair, United Church of Christ Palestine Israel Network Steering Committee

Barbara Wilhelm, Diversified People Solutions

Mike Butkiewicz, St Lawrence Catholic Community

Pauline Coffman, Chicago Faith Coalition on Middle East Policy

Joyce Cassel, Co-Chair, Chicago First Church of the Brethren

Jeff Wright, Co-Coordinator, Disciples Palestine Israel Network

Gail Hull, Adams County Human Relations Council

Elder Margaret D Kooistra, Market Square Presbyterian Church, Harrisburg, PA

Deacon Susan Lindberg Haley, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Skip Schiel, Friends Meeting at Cambridge (Quaker)

Roger Kulp, Answer Coalition 

Richard Burrill, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of York, PA

Leslie Lomas, Louis P. Singer Fund, Inc.

Wally Yazbak, Kiwanis International Lt. Governor Elect, GA District

Jane Thomas, First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Boulder, CO

Johnny Zokovitch, Executive Director of Pax Christi USA

Susan Rhodewalt, Clerk (Chairperson) of Ministry and Care, Quaker (Society of Friends)

Donna Barker, Voices for Justice in Palestine, Walnut Creek, CA

Abigail Abysalh Metzger, Pax Christi International representative to the NGO Working Group on Israel/Palestine at the United Nations

Gail Hull, Adams County Human Relations Council

Kendall Granberry, BYP100 Chicago

Mary Allen, Christian Jewish-Allies for a Just Peace in Israel Palestine

Jane Menocal, Director of Networking, Christian-Jewish Allies for a Just Peace in Israel/Palestine

Nora Burridge, Christian-Jewish Allies for a Just Peace in Israel/Palestine

Katherine Sullivan, Christian-Jewish Allies for a Just Peace in Israel/Palestine

Rich Gardner, Christian-Jewish Allies for a Just Peace in Israel/Palestine

Joan Hazbun, Christian-Jewish Allies for a Just Peace in Israel/Palestine

Rebekah Levin, Treasurer, Christian-Jewish Allies for a Just Peace in Israel/Palestine

Claudette Harring, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Linda Trout, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Donna Hicks, Episcopal Peace Fellowship-Palestine Israel Network

Jeff Curtiss, Episcopal Network for Economic Justice

Newland Smith, Episcopal Peace Fellowship-Palestine Israel Network

Priscilla Read, Episcopal Peace Fellowship-Palestine Israel Network

Randall Heyn-Lamb, Episcopal Peace Fellowship-Palestine Israel Network

Bo Fauth, Episcopal Peace Fellowship-Palestine Israel Network

Marilyn Sutton Loos, Author 

Janice Miller, Friends of Sabeel Colorado

Ray Doherty, Managing Director, Green Mountain Solidarity With Palestine

Noushin Framke, Israel Palestine Mission Network of the PCUSA

Marta Guttenberg, Jewish Voice for Peace

Margaret Kiekhaefer, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Judith Shelper, Market Square Presbyterian Church

Sandra Mackie, Middle East Justice and Peace Group of Central PA

Brad Schlegel, Peace Not Walls, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Mary Day Kent,.Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting

Lisa Bender, Chair, United Methodists for Kairos Response (UMKR)

Sherrill Futrell, Researcher of History, University of California, Los Angeles

Gerald Heidel, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights

Louise Lisi, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Philadelphia, PA

Alice Hatzenbeller, Director of Mission and Pastoral Care at Clement Manor, Milwaukee, WI

Many more individuals have also added their endorsement.


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