CMEP supports a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based in justice, peace, and human rights, and guided by international law and conventions. The solution must include an end to the violence, security for all peoples, an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, and an agreement on Jerusalem that allows the city to be shared by the two peoples and three faiths.
Israel: CMEP supports a secure state of Israel. We have long believed the best way to achieve long term security for Israel is through a negotiated two-state solution as part of a comprehensive Middle East peace. CMEP recognizes that Israelis have legitimate security concerns.
Palestine: CMEP supports the creation of an independent, secure, and viable Palestinian state living in peace alongside a recognized and secure Israel. CMEP recognizes that Palestinians too have legitimate security concerns, as well as economic and human rights concerns.
We believe that working towards a just and durable solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict would not only serve the cause of peace and justice in the Holy Land but also promote peace in the Middle East region in general. A just peace would take away from those who take advantage by exploiting this conflict to serve their own motives, thereby compounding the perpetuation of injustices.
CMEP believes that U.S. engagement to help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict requires leadership of the administration, accompanied by bipartisan support from Congress and U.S. public opinion. CMEP urges members of Congress to support sustained and high-level diplomatic action by the administration to urge Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, together with a comprehensive Israeli-Arab peace initiative, as a top policy priority. CMEP supports robust U.S. diplomacy with both Israelis and Palestinians to bring the two parties together for negotiations and a resolution of the conflict.
For decades CMEP has pursued a vision of two viable states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace within secure and recognized borders. We remain supportive of these efforts, as it could be a basis for a negotiated, just, and durable solution for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. It is also grounded in international law, including UNSCR 1850 and previous resolutions. CMEP realizes that other just and durable solutions for peace may be possible, and would support them if they are freely negotiated by the acknowledged representatives of Israelis and Palestinians.
CMEP believes a negotiated, just, and durable peace between Israelis and Palestinians needs a negotiated, just, and durable solution for Palestinian refugees, both inside and outside Israel/Palestine, as per UNSCR 242. The U.S. government can and should assist the several governments and authorities involved to reach these solutions, solutions that will also contribute to the wider regional peace we seek. The U.S. should continue contributing to UNRWA until such comprehensive solutions are implemented.
CMEP advocates for the end of the occupation in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. CMEP opposes the existence and the expansion of Israeli settlements, which are illegal according to the Geneva Conventions and UNSCR 2334. CMEP also opposes the related settler-only bypass roads that create severe limitations on Palestinian self-determination, freedom of movement, and economic activity. These and other aspects of the occupation make a negotiated, just, and durable peace more difficult.
CMEP also advocates for an end to the blockade and closure of Gaza. Since before 2006, the political and humanitarian crisis in Gaza has become an urgent problem for the two million Palestinians living there. The blockade limits the import of basic necessities and materials desperately needed to rebuild after repeated wars in Gaza. The restrictions on travel have limited Palestinians’ access to health care, religious holy sites, and educational institutions outside of the Gaza Strip.
CMEP also strongly condemns all violence, regardless of the perpetrator.
The continuing occupation of Palestinian lands beyond the 1967 borders, and measures and laws that continue to constrain and control the Palestinian population, all in contravention of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, must end. These actions prevent economic and social development and constrain the exercise of political rights. Our nation needs to focus on bringing a new sense of equality, inclusivity, and mutual respect among all the citizens of the Land regardless of religious affiliation or ethnicity.
CMEP also opposes Israeli annexation of the occupied Palestinian territories, whether partial or full, and especially any U.S. support for it. Annexation of any kind undermines efforts to reach a negotiated solution, and thus are also obstacles to a just or durable peace.
The existence and continuing expansion of Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands run counter to the Fourth Geneva Convention and UNSCRs 2334, 465, and 446. They increasingly dim the hopes and realistic prospects for a two-state solution and are a major threat to peace. CMEP:
CMEP supports the sharing of Jerusalem by the two peoples and the three faiths and urges the Administration to work with Israelis, Palestinians, and the international community to guarantee access to Jerusalem’s holy places and religious liberty for all peoples.
We believe that unilateral actions in East Jerusalem and incitement to violence create tensions that undermine trust and make resuming meaningful negotiations more difficult. Such unilateral actions and incitement threaten religious freedom.
CMEP is concerned for religious freedom and access to holy sites for all religions. While CMEP and its member communions are concerned for all, we as churches and church-related organizations have a natural and particular connection and felt concern to Christian communities in Israel-Palestine and the broader Middle East. As the years pass without a peace agreement, lack of freedom of movement, deterioration of local economies, and the realities of the occupation drive Palestinian Christians to emigrate in large numbers. Through our supporters, CMEP consistently brings Palestinian Christians’ plight and hopes of peace to the attention of lawmakers and policymakers in Congress and the White House.
Palestinian Christians: CMEP has a special connection to the Palestinian Christians, their churches, and institutions and has long expressed concern that a healthy future for this community requires a negotiated resolution of the conflict. The indigenous Christian community is increasingly emigrating due to ongoing political and economic instability and the burdens of occupation. CMEP emphasizes the important role that Christians have to play in prospects for pluralism, religious freedom, and democracy in Palestinian society and throughout the region. CMEP maintains an ongoing dialogue with Congress and the Administration about actions by both Israeli and Palestinian governments that have a detrimental effect on the dwindling Christian community. CMEP raises serious moral concerns about the impact of particular Israeli measures (including checkpoints, permit systems, route of the security barrier, travel restrictions, residency requirements, home demolitions, and closures).
Middle East Christians: CMEP is very concerned about the rise of extremism that targets Christians and religious minorities in the Middle East. We are especially concerned about the impact of recent events on Christian communities and others in Syria, Iraq, and Egypt. CMEP is committed to the building of inclusive societies based on citizenship rights where persons of all religions can live together in harmony and peace and calls on the U.S. government to support political solutions that can secure such a reality.
A lasting and sustainable peace requires a negotiated settlement and political process that also integrates robust restorative, trauma-healing, and peacebuilding activities. Religious traditions contain many resources for this work in their scriptures, traditions, and within the life of their faith communities. We will call for more investment in these peacebuilding approaches.
Culturally sensitive restorative processes focus on the harm done and how to heal that harm. Effective practices include victim-offender conferencing, family conferencing, peacemaking circles with a broader set of key stakeholders, as well as truth and reconciliation commissions. These processes better meet the needs of all parties, better reduce recidivism, address underlying causes of harm, build trust, and ensure a more sustainable just peace.
Women have played a critical role in global peacebuilding initiatives and often are underrecognized and underutilized. There are specific initiatives seeking to elevate the role of women in conflict situations such as the efforts of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) of Palestine and other similar organizations.
As an organization composed of churches and church-related bodies, we maintain strong support for free speech and religious liberty. As part of this support, we affirm and defend the right of churches and organizations to witness using economic measures in the specific case of Israel-Palestine, and endeavoring to find appropriate ways to exert economic leverage on commercial and governmental actors to end unfair and unjust practices and policies which violate international laws and conventions. Such actions have precedence among churches in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement and in many other times and locations.
CMEP member communions are united in raising concerns about the use of violence and the effects of this violence on communities, the region, and the possibility of a lasting and just peace. Despite differences between just peace, just war, or pacifist theology and ethics of violence, together we recognize the many powerful, effective, and humanizing efforts of nonviolent resistance to challenge unjust situations.
CMEP has welcomed the Arab League Peace Initiative as a hopeful development and opportunity for increased regional dialogue and diplomacy. CMEP believes that U.S. national security interests and Middle East stability will be strengthened by a resolution of the Arab-Israeli-Palestinian conflict. CMEP believes a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace will require agreements for peace between Israel and all its Arab neighbors, including normalization of relations as foreseen in the Arab League peace initiative.
CMEP also is concerned about other conflicts in the region, including the potential for war, and promotes diplomacy, peacebuilding, and demilitarization as ways to resolve all of the region’s conflicts.
CMEP believes that engagement from the United States and other nations to help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict requires humanitarian assistance and commitment to equitable development in order to foster reform and contribute to building stable institutions and a thriving civil society for Palestinians. CMEP supports robust U.S. development and humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, including via NGOs, as a critical component to creating a climate conducive to progress toward peace.
The U.S. government should deliver aid directly and through trusted non-government organizations including faith-based organizations, and never use humanitarian aid as a political instrument.
The Christian community is well known for providing a range of services including schools, hospitals, clinics, social services, and economic development projects. We have a responsibility to encourage and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance into and within the territories to alleviate suffering and advocate for a just peace for all people in the region.
CMEP believes all parties should be held accountable for human rights violations to the full extent of the law. The Middle East is experiencing record numbers of refugees and displaced persons. Their rights must be respected and protected in accordance with the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 302 (IV) of 8 December 1949, which established the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), as well as the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.
CMEP opposes the acquisition of land by force, economic exploitation, illegal settlement construction, and the inhumane treatment of Palestinian people in contravention of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the Geneva Conventions.
We encourage civil society and community leaders and politicians to take a strong stand against anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, and anti-Islamic actions. As humans and as Christians, we must exemplify our love for our neighbor and speak out against injustice and hate.
Anti-Semitic Actions
We oppose all forms of anti-Semitism towards the Jewish people and are alarmed by the
increased attacks against the Jewish community and other minority groups in the United States and abroad. CMEP maintains the notion that criticism or opposition to Israeli policies is not inherently anti-Semitic. By conflating anti-Semitism with legitimate critiques of Israeli policies, it devalues the issue of anti-Semitism and the real threat anti-Semitism poses.
Anti-Islamic Actions
Especially since 2001, Muslims in the United States have experienced increased discrimination, marginalization, hatred, and exclusion from American Society. CMEP opposes all forms of anti-Islamic actions and stands against inflammatory rhetoric, discriminatory actions, and negative behavior toward Muslims and people from Muslim-majority countries.
Anti-Christian Actions
In recent years, there has been an alarming surge in anti-Christian actions against Christians living in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. CMEP opposes all forms of discrimination against Christians and condemns the hate crimes and desecration of holy sites. CMEP stands with Church Leaders and Christians in the Holy Land in solidarity against anti-Christian attacks and calls on community leaders and politicians to advocate for religious freedom and protection for all people in the region.
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