Preamble
We are American Christians seeking to serve the cause of peace in the Middle East. We have heard the agonized cries of Palestinians--Christian and Muslim--who have been driven from their ancestral homes and/or deprived of their fundamental rights. We have heard from Jews of the fear which grips their hearts and the vision which inspires their hope. We have listened to the accounts of trial endured by the Christians of the holy land, whose churches have existed from the time of Christ. And with these laments in our ears, we have struggled to hear the word of God for this situation so that the church of Jesus Christ may fulfill its calling to be an agent of justice and a bearer of peace.
In our quest, we are not striving to solve directly the public political questions of nation states, but rather to address fundamental human and religious concerns which affect the peoples of the Middle East and the world....
I. Questions for the American church
In our struggle to hear, discern, and to act, we have raised these questions.
A. We question biblically the vision of nationalism and statehood limited to any particular people as the means for building a durable and just peace in the holy land. We long, rather, for the vision of land and peoplehood secured for both Israeli people and Palestinian people in the holy land.
B. We question how Christians can believe that the Old Testament gives to the modern state of Israel divine and unconditional ownership of the land of Palestine, to the exclusion of the indigenous people. We believe that an honest, open, and comprehensive understanding of the Bible prohibits these claims and raises the priority of God's justice for all people as the means to nourish the hope of reconciliation between Israeli and Palestinian.
C. We have also come to question a United States foreign policy which restricts Palestinians from traveling to, speaking freely within, and remaining in the United States, limiting the opportunity of free expression of opinion to the American people; a foreign policy which directs 43 per cent of its foreign aid to the nation of Israel; and a foreign policy which refuses even to speak with representatives of the Palestinian people.
II. Our commitments
Recognizing that our confession and faith must be grounded in our actions and lifestyles, we invite others to join us in the following commitments.
A. Hearing the cries of the people involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict we are called to pray daily for all our brothers and sisters who struggle in the Middle East.
B. Realizing the need for greater awareness and understanding of the current situation in Israel and Palestine, we will strive to make balanced information available to local media and the members of our communities and church families.
C. Recognizing that there can be no security and therefore no freedom for Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Israel or Palestine so long as people are afraid, we commit ourselves to working to overcome all fear.
1. Specifically, we pledge to root out any and all signs of anti-Semitism in our own lives, our culture, and our society.
2. We pledge to respond to any and all invitations from our Jewish and Palestinian brothers and sisters which will help us understand their concerns.
D. Confessing our share in the historical heritage which culminated in the holocaust and sent refugee Jews to Palestine rather than providing them with safe and secure homes in Europe and the Americas, we are called to shoulder our fair burden in building a just peace.
1. Specifically, we pledge to use our persuasive powers to convince all parties to adopt nonviolent strategies to resolve their conflicts;
2. We pledge to lift up and denounce all forms of violence whether covert military operations, overt military maneuvers, or illegal seizures of property and intimidation of persons;
3. We pledge, if invited, to find U.S. Christians willing to serve as peacemakers and agents of reconciliation in Israel and Palestine.
E. Recognizing United States complicity in the suffering of the Middle East, we are called to regularly contact our legislators and State Department officials, urging them to cease military aid and to equalize humanitarian aid to the Palestinian and Israeli peoples.
1. Specifically, we are called to persistently work to urge the U.S. government to curtail subsidies to the government of Israel until Israel ceases all illegal seizures of property, establishment of settlements on Palestinian lands, and expulsion of Palestinians....
III. Our call to the American Christian church
Recognizing our responsibility in the body of Christ, we are called to unceasing efforts within our local and denominational church communities on behalf of justice, reconciliation, and peace in the holy land. Therefore, we ask, hope, and pray that the churches in our own land will commit themselves to these goals.
A. To inform and educate their people of the historical roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the anguish of Palestinian dispossession of home, land, and rights, and the depth of Jewish hopes and fears. To this end, we urge the publishing in periodicals, the teaching in colleges and seminaries, and the instruction throughout the denominations of these facts and realities.
B. To make real our communion with the Christian congregations in the holy land today as the body of Christ suffering under oppression. To this end we urge individuals and congregations to establish links with families and religious communities in the holy land today, to make concrete this unity, to nurture faithful discipleship, and to further the ministry of justice and reconciliation.
C. To encourage dialogue with other Christians as well as Jews and others concerning the priorities of peace in the holy land. To this end, we hope that Palestinians will be encouraged to share their experiences which so often have not been heard with specific Christian congregations in the United States, and that churches might offer themselves as the local arena of reconciliation between the opposing factions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
La Grange II organizers were seeking 10,000 signatures in support of this declaration by December, 1981 when this article appeared.
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