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HCEF President Sir Rateb Rabie, KHS, and over 50 Christian Leaders Sign Letter to President Bush; Appeal for Practical Peacemaking Leadership in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

21-Jan-05
Contact: Jessica Snyder, Executive Assistant to the President
301.951.9400, ext.217
jsnyder@hcef.org

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 21, 2005

HCEF President Sir Rateb Rabie, KHS, and over 50 Christian Leaders Sign Letter to President Bush; Appeal for Practical Peacemaking Leadership in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

In a full-page ad in the New York Times on January 21, leaders of Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant and Evangelical Churches and institutions urge President Bush to have the courage to seize the opportunity and end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  In an open letter to the newly inaugurated President, the leaders ask: “Will Palestinians finally be free? Will Israelis be secure at last? As people of faith and hope, we say yes!”  The letter appeals to the President to place a high priority on Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking in his second term and emphasizes a point new to the churches’ advocacy -- that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict poses a threat to the people of the United States by fueling terrorism.  The 57 signers of the open letter to the President represent the broad spectrum of Christians in the United States.

HCEF President, Mr. Rateb Rabie, and HCEF Vice-President, Mr. Donald Kruse, co-signed the letter, with the confidence that the United States today has a unique opportunity to actively participate in and take practical steps toward the realization of peace in the Holy Land.  “I believe that this letter shows the united voice of Christian Americans in favor of justice and peace in the Holy Land,” said HCEF President Rateb Rabie.  He added that he hoped the letter would “encourage the President to take practical steps toward a resolution to the 38-year-old Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.”  

The letter was delivered this morning to President Bush and faxed to key members of the Administration, the Israeli embassy and the Palestinian Authority office in Washington. The letter was also published today as a full page ad in the national edition of the New York Times (which does not include the New York metropolitan area.) On Monday or Tuesday, the letter and a copy of the ad will be delivered to all members of Congress.

To see the full text of the letter, click on:  http://www.hcef.org/index.cfm/mod/news/ID/16/SubMod/NewsView/NewsID/1237.cfm

To see a the ad that appeared in the New York Times, click on:  http://www.hcef.org/publicfiles/News/NYTAD.pdf