A recent statement by eight prominent Christian leaders urging President Clinton to pressure Israel to limit its presence in Jerusalem has promoted sharp criticism from Israeli leaders and Jewish activists.
Jewish groups, including the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, immediately fired off statements denouncing the Christian leader’s words.
And in Jerusalem, Mayor Ehud Olmert swiftly responded, reiterating Israel’s position that Jerusalem is the “sole capital of the state of Israel and the Jewish people.”
Asserting that the “future of Jerusalem is open to peaceful negotiations,” the Christian leaders asked the president to use his influence “to prevent his issue from being settled by force of events or the creation of facts on the ground.”
“If issue centering on Jerusalem are not dealt with openly and directly by all affected parties, they have the potential to derail the peace process.” the statement said.
The church leaders criticized Israel’s assertion that Jerusalem will remain the “eternal and undivided capital of Israel.” They further accused Israel of violating international law by expanding Jewish settlements in Jerusalem.
The statement also accused Clinton of “failing to recognized and support Palestinian rights and interests in Jerusalem.”
Echoing the sentiments expressed by several Jewish organizations, Avi Gramot. counselor for interreligious affairs at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, said, “We felt offended that there was no process of consultation”
“Our partners in a dialogue took a position without considering the validity of these statements,” Granot said.
Granot pointed out that the status of Jerusalem is slated for negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel begging as early as 1996. He said the embassy will look for an opportunity to meet with the church leaders.
The Jewish organizations struck an angry tone in their statements, expressing “shock,” “disappointment” and “dismay.”
They emphasized that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital, admonished the Christian leaders for not consulting the Jewish community about the statement and said it could be detrimental to the peace process.
“The statement includes assertions that are based on inaccurate assumptions and misinformation,” said Lester Pollack, chairman of the Conference of Presidents, and Malcolm Hoenlein, its executive vice chairman. “It advocates a biased, one- sided position that distorts reality and does a disservice to the current Middle East peace process.”
The Anti-Defamation League agreed. A statement issued by David Strassler, ADL national chairman, and Abraham Foxman, ADL national director, also said:
“We are deeply disappointed and saddened that after so many years of Christian- Jewish dialogue, church leaders failed to reach out to the Jewish community on the sensitive issue of Jerusalem and chose instead to issue a public statement condemning Israeli policies in the Holy City.”
The National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council is organizing meeting of Jewish leaders with one of the signatories, Cardinal William H. Keeler, president of the National Council of Catholic Bishops.
The meeting, being arranged at Keeler’s request, is scheduled for early next week at Keeler’s residence in Baltimore, according to Martin Raffel, NJCRAC’s associate executive vice chair.
The meeting will address Jewish concerns over the church leaders’ statement.
“We want to address our concerns with Cardinal Keeler, who has been a longstanding friend of Israel and the Jewish community,” Raffel said. “We think the best way to respond is to have a dialogue.”
In addition to Keeler, the Christians’ statement, released Monday, was signed by Monsignor Gerald Brown, president of the Roman Catholic Conference of Major Superiors of Men’s Institutes; the Most Rev. Edmond Browning of the Episcopal Church; the Rev. Herbert Chilstrom of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Kara Newel, executive director of the American Friends Service Committee; Archbishop Iakovos of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America; Metropolitan Philip Saliba, Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America; and Robert Seiple, president of World Vision.
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