Winkler, Edgar meet with Palestinian President Abbas
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Jim Winkler |
May 27, 2005A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom* Two
United Methodists were among the religious leaders who met May 26 with
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, after his White House Rose
Garden press conference with President Bush in Washington. During
that press conference, Bush "warmly praised" Abbas and his commitment to
democracy, according to The New York Times, and announced that the
United States would direct $50 million to the Palestinian Authority to
build housing in Gaza after the Israeli withdrawal there. "It was
clear he (Abbas) felt his trip here had been quite successful," said
James Winkler, chief executive of the United Methodist Board of Church
and Society. Winkler, a board member of Churches for Middle East
Peace, and the Rev. Robert Edgar, chief executive of the National
Council of Churches, attended the meeting with Abbas at the Ritz-Carlton
Hotel in Georgetown. Other denominations and organizations represented
included the Armenian Orthodox, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Mennonites,
Church of the Brethren, Roman Catholics, Episcopalians and World Vision.
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The Rev. Robert Edgar |
Edgar noted that the Palestinian leader's optimism about the U.S. visit
was not just because of the $50 million in aid but "the warm reception
by the president and the White House that has really helped solidify the
administration's commitment to peacemaking."That optimism was
in contrast to the experiences of Winkler and Edgar during an official
NCC delegation to the Middle East earlier this year. Both had felt
discouraged by the effect of the separation wall being erected by Israel
and its profound impact on Palestinian life. Edgar, who had
first toured the region as a young congressman in 1977, characterized it
as his "saddest" visit yet. "We ought to be building bridges of peace
and reconciliation as opposed to walls that divide," he told Abbas. Winkler
said the Palestinian leader acknowledged the support of U.S. churches
over the years for Palestinian self-determination and a peaceful
solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "When we go to the
Middle East, political leaders and religious leaders there know who we
are, and they know what our churches have said and done," Winkler told
United Methodist News Service. After the NCC's most recent visit
to the Middle East, the ecumenical body wrote to both Abbas and Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, asking for a meeting to discuss the issues
of peace, security and justice in the Holy Land. On May 24, the
NCC's governing board also issued a letter to Abbas and Sharon
expressing "deep concern" for the well-being of Israeli and Palestinian
people as well as hope for a peaceful and just solution to the conflict.
Edgar delivered copies of the letter to Abbas and to the Israeli
Embassy. "We continue to see a viable two-state solution as the
only equitable resolution to this conflict," the letter said. "And we
continue to condemn any and all violence that prevents the attainment of
this goal. Noting a "glimmer of hope," the letter supports
"Palestinian leadership in calling for an end to suicide bombings
against Israeli citizens, and we applaud Israeli disengagement from
Gaza, as first steps toward such a resolution." "Those with
political authority and those in positions of religious leadership have a
special responsibility to work for peace with justice," the letter
concluded. "May God strengthen us all to live up to this responsibility,
for the sake of all Jews, Christians, Muslims and people of other
faiths who live in the Holy Land." *Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York. News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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