October 25, 2000
26 Tishrei 5761

TO: Rabbis & Presidents of UAHC Congregations

CC: Brotherhood Presidents

FROM: Mark Pelavin, Director, Commission on Interreligious Affairs
Rabbi Dan Polish, Director, Commission on Social Action

RE: Continuing the dialogue with Christian and Muslim religious leaders

At this time of crisis and uncertainty in Israel, we urge you to continue and strengthen dialogue with religious leaders in the Christian and Muslim communities. We must come together as an interfaith community and stress the importance of ending the violence. Our message is clear: peace is the only answer and peace will only be found at the negotiating table not in the streets.

One of the painful fallouts of the current crisis in Israel has been the response of many Christian denominations to the events. Some of the statements have been relatively balanced-such as the statement by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops/ U.S. Catholic Conference, which included such wording as:

This is not a time for blame and recrimination. It is a time to break the escalating cycle of violence, and to uncover the embers of hope that remain for a just peace. It is a time for moral leadership, at every level of Israeli and Palestinian society that can look beyond the crisis of the moment lest hatred and revenge today poison the opportunities for peace tomorrow.

However, too many of the denominational statements reverted to old patterns of one-sided support of the Palestinian cause and ill-concealed hostility of Israel. We cannot help but be troubled by statements like the following, excerpted from a letter from the Reverend Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.) to President Clinton, Vice President Gore and Secretary of State Madeline Albright:

While we deplore hostage taking and the brutalization and murder of Israeli soldiers, such acts simply do not justify the unconscionable, massive retaliation of the Israeli military, including indiscriminate shooting of children and adults on the streets, the denial of access to emergency medical care and relief supplies from the international community, and the rocket attacks on apartment buildings containing innocent civilians. Surely you can understand the frustrations of Palestinian Christians and Muslims forced to live under a clear form of apartheid, in which their land has been expropriated and turned into hostile illegal settlements, their workers denied access to their jobs, their homes destroyed and their basic human and civil rights denied.

Sadly, this statement is representative of too many that have crossed our desks this week.

We recognize in such statements the internal politics of the various denominational bodies. And we understand that they do not necessarily represent the opinions of the clergy of these denominations who may serve your neighboring congregations.

Instead of looking at these statements as a sign of despair and frustration, we must view them as a call to re-engage in the necessary work of interfaith dialogue.

We urge you to invite receptive Christian leaders to participate in pro-Israel and/or pro-peace process rallies in your communities. Explore interfaith forums that will be fair and balanced. In addition, if you have already established good relations with the clergy of neighboring churches now is an important time to sit down with them and discuss the situation. These conversations will be more productive in a face-to-face setting rather that over the phone or as part of a gathering of a clergy association. Suggest creating cooperative programs between Jewish leaders and sympathetic Christian leaders to advance the ideals we share. Encourage these Christian leaders to take action - ask them to write op-eds and letters to the editor so that the coverage is not simply of the Jewish community defending Israel time and time again. Through these leaders, perhaps, their denominations can find their way to a more balanced perspective.

When engaging in these suggested activities, please be sure to use the opportunity to stress the following points:

• Our common grief over the senseless loss of life in both the Israeli and Palestinian communities;
• Our belief that religious groups need to work together to educate about and promote peace;
• The nature of the Jewish commitment to Israel - and your own personal sense of connection;
• Our concern over the use of anti-semitic rhetoric and action - the use of radical rhetoric (i.e. jihad) and forums (i.e. services at the mosque);
• Our disappointment that the Palestinian leadership encouraged - and in some cases planned - the violence and weakened the prospects for peace at this time;
• Our sense that Israel's response, in the main, was not disproportionate but reflected its responsibility to protect its citizens;
• The religious basis of our connection to Jerusalem;
• Our deep commitment to the peace process and our conviction that even in the face of these tragic events we hope for a time of trust and peace between Israel and its neighbors.

We can still hope to influence the attitudes and perceptions of the Christian clergy who are our neighbors and friends. This crisis has not made us enemies of the peace, but instead has reinvigorated our commitment and religious obligation to the pursuit of peace.

Talking with Muslim clergy and leaders

Many of you are already in conversation with leaders of the Muslim community. You know what a delicate and challenging task this is. At the same time, it is of the utmost importance.

It will, of course, be different discussing the current situation in the Middle East with your Muslim neighbors and friends. They have the same investment and concern for their co-religionists there as you have for the Jews of Israel. Do reach out and raise the subject, but be prepared to move on to other subjects should the conversation prove too volatile. Later, when events and passions, have cooled you can return to what has been transpiring and what these events mean.

Be mindful of the fact that the Muslim community is still essentially an ethnic community. Mosques tend to be divided along the lines of country of origin much like the landsmanschaften of the Jewish community early in this century. The community leaders with whom you are in contact may or may not represent communities represented in the Middle East. Some mosques today have a multi-national constituency or are made up of American-born members. As you know Black Muslims and the Nation of Islam represent a very different phenomenon.

In your conversations, it is certainly appropriate to give voice to your sadness at the loss of life and the human suffering that is being experienced by Muslim and Arab families as well as by Jewish families. It is also appropriate to share the hope that the anger and enmity that are the political realities in the Middle East today not be turned into religious confrontation between Muslims and Jews around the world.

Most importantly, you should explore together ways that Muslims and Jews in this country can live and work together despite the anger that is roiling their kindred in the Middle East. There are issues and concerns that bind our two communities together despite the tragedies that now engulf that region. Among these are the experience of being a minority community; the challenges of assimilation; the work of keeping our young people within our community; the need to support family life; and the pain - and danger - of stereotypes.

Muslim and Jewish clergy who are able to do so may want to join in a call for reason and peace to prevail in the Middle East. Do not be disappointed if your partner in dialogue - no matter how open in private - does not want to go that far in public. More likely, you can join together to call on your respective communities here to resist the impulse to hostility and to avoid stereotypes. Together you can call on all members of your local community to live together in understanding and goodwill.

We recommend following the successful examples of your colleagues. Rabbi Bob Siegel in Fresno, CA wrote that the Jewish and Muslim communities of Fresno have been in dialogue and publicly signed an accord to work with each other in case of conflict. Since the outbreak of the recent violence in Israel, the accord has served as a unifying force within the community. In fact, the Muslim leadership saw to it that offensive signs were removed from a pro-Palestinian rally in Fresno in early October. In addition to this, the two communities are in communication with one another at least once a day are working to coordinate public statements

In addition, Rabbi Michael Feshbach and Dr. Khalid Qazi, in Buffalo, NY, released a joint statement calling upon "all the people of faith to return to conversation and not confrontation. We ask the Israeli and Palestinian authorities to act with restraint and responsibility. We ask President Clinton to redouble his personal efforts to bring the parties back to the negotiating table for a final settlement of this conflict."

These conversations and actions can constitute a significant contribution.

All of you who are talking to your non-Jewish friends and neighbors are engaged in difficult-but extremely important-- work. We stand ready to be of whatever assistance we can. Please feel free to call upon us at any time.

Mark Pelavin (202) 387-2800

Rabbi Dan Polish (212) 650-4160