Denominations promote idea of 'Shared Jerusalem'

As Israeli and Palestinian negotiators struggle over the issue of control of Jerusalem, a U.S. church-based coalition is continuing its campaign for a "Shared Jerusalem."

United Methodists are among the denominations that form Churches for Middle East Peace, based in Washington.  The effort was begun in 1984 as a means of expressing concerns and experiences about Middle East issues to the government and diplomatic community.   In December 1996, the coalition placed a "Christians Call for a Shared Jerusalem" message in full-page ads in the New York Times and other major newspapers.

At that point, according to Corinne Whitlatch, the organization's director, the idea of sharing Jerusalem "was not part of the debate" in the United States.  The first goal was to get policy makers to include the concept as a possibility for discussion.

"It's not up to us to put forward what the political solution should be," she explained.  "We're urging that the principle of a Jerusalem that's shared by two peoples and three faiths...form the basis of an agreement."

The July negotiations at Camp David have demonstrated that the concept of sharing Jerusalem "is becoming more a part of the debate," Whitlatch said.

Churches for Middle East Peace released new congregational resources for its "Shared Jerusalem" program this spring.  More than 16,000 sets were distributed through members of the National Council of Churches who also are coalition members, including the United Methodists, United Church of Christ, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Church of the Brethren, The Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Reformed Church in America.

The United Methodist General Conference, the denomination's highest legislative body, supports the idea of an open Jerusalem.  A 1996 resolution notes that "Jerusalem is sacred to all the children of Abraham: Jews, Muslims and Christians.  We have a vision of Jerusalem as a city of peace and reconciliation, where indigenous Palestinians and Israelis can live as neighbors and, along with visitors and tourists, have access to holy sites and exercise freedom of religious expression."

That resolution, according to Peggy Hutchison, an executive with the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, originated at the local level.  "In many ways, I think it's reflective of our grass roots," she said.

The United Methodist perspective on Jerusalem has been shaped by the relationships church members have formed "on the ground" with Palestinian Christians and Muslims and Israeli Jews, she added.

Hutchison believes Israelis have more than one opinion about the issue of Jerusalem.  The fact that a discussion about the status of the city has occurred "indicates an interest in the Israeli Jewish community of a shared Jerusalem," she said.

The coalition acknowledges that Palestinians and Israelis, as well as Christians, Muslims and Jews, have different opinions on what constitutes the city of Jerusalem.

"At a minimum, it is the walled city of historic Jerusalem - the subject of prayers and hymns of worship - that is predominant in everyone's mind," Whitlatch wrote in an April article posted on the coalition's Web site.  "Yet this most revered portion of Jerusalem constitutes only one percent of the present city.  Over half of today's Jerusalem was not part of Jerusalem at all before 1967, but part of Bethlehem and 28 West Bank villages occupied in the war."

An estimated 12,000 indigenous Christians remain in Jerusalem.  Three of their leaders, representing the Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic churches, recently sent a plea to negotiators at Camp David that the city's Christian communities not be separated as a part of a future peace agreement.

"No issue will make or break public acceptance of a negotiated agreement, by both Israelis and Palestinians, more that the status of Jerusalem," Churches for Middle East Peace has stated.

More information is available on the coalition's Web site,http://www.cmep.org.