PHILADELPHIA, PA -- January 25 -- American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) general secretary Mary Ellen McNish has endorsed an inaugural letter to President Bush appearing in the January 21 New York Times that urges him to seize the opportunity and bring his leadership to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Signed by 57 leaders of Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant and Evangelical churches and institutions, the letter will also be delivered to key officials in the Administration and to all Representatives and Senators. The letter expresses their concern for the security and freedom of Israelis and Palestinians and adds an appeal for the security and reputation of the United States itself.

"The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has become a threat to the people of the United States," the church leaders write in the open letter to the newly inaugurated President. "Every day the conflict continues, hatred of the United States government is fueled. With each news report of Palestinian suffering—whether the death of an innocent child, the demolition of a family's home, or the confiscation of farmland for the separation barrier—popular support in Arab and Muslim countries for terrorism grows and the threat of attacks directed at the United States increases."

"The continuing conflict has also resulted in suffering and loss of life among Israeli citizens," the leaders write. "We want Israelis, too, to live without fear or threat in their own country."

"AFSC’s long experience in the Middle East, reaching back to the end of World War II, convinces us that looking at issues of war and peace from an ethical and religious perspective can be useful and timely," McNish cites. "AFSC believes that focusing on the precious humanity of those in conflict with one another will open new ways for considering how peace might be achieved and sustained.

Recently returned from an annual meeting of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates in Rome, Italy, McNish penned a similar address to the gathering, where human rights and addressing the root causes of terrorism was the main focus.

The annual Nobel Summit brings individuals and organizations that have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize together to debate on current world problems. The American Friends Service Committee — internationally recognized for its humanitarian work in the aftermath of World Wars I and II — and its European counterpart, the British Friends Service Council, accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of Quakers worldwide in 1947.

The American Friends Service Committee is a faith-based organization grounded in Quaker beliefs respecting the dignity and worth of every person. The search for regional peace has been a major focus of the American Friends Service Committee’s highly regarded international affairs work and the group has a long history working for peace and reconciliation in an atmosphere of war.

In 1919 the Service Committee launched massive programs to feed millions of starving children in post-war Germany at the request of President Herbert Hoover, then director of the American Relief Administration. AFSC assisted more than 200,000 refugees in the Gaza Strip in the 1940s on behalf of the United Nations.

During World War II, AFSC provided temporary aid, housing and other assistance to Japanese-Americans in efforts to get them out of internment camps.

The Service Committee hosted fourteen Americans on a fact-finding working party that visited Israel, the Palestinian territories and neighboring countries. The working party included a Quaker, a Muslim woman, a Palestinian Christian, a Welsh poet, a scholar and more. Deliberations on what they saw and learned in discussions with more than 90 individuals are reflected in the new AFSC publication, "When the Rain Returns: Toward Justice and Reconciliation in Palestine and Israel."

The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization that includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace and humanitarian service. Its work is based on the belief in the worth of every person and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice.

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