American Jewish & Christian Leaders to Visit Israel over Conflict with Palestine

The U.S.'s Jewish and Christian leaders will travel together in an unprecedented joint-planned trip to the Israel and Palestinian territories to help mediate in serious disagreements over Israel’s security barrier as well as the use of divestment by Mainline Protestant groups to instigate change in the conflict.
|TOP|
The 17-strong delegation representatives of eight Christian denominations and national organisations, including the Vidette Bullock Mixon, director of Corporate Relations and Social Concerns of the United Methodist Church and Rev. Dr. Shanta Premawardhana, Associate General Secretary for Interfaith Relations at the National Council of Churches.

Six national Jewish organisations and religious movements will be represented by Jewish members of the visiting group, including Rabbi Gary Bretton-Granatoor, Director of Interfaith Affairs of the Anti-Defamation League and Dr David Elcott, U.S. Director of Interreligious Affairs of The American Jewish Committee.

The five-day trip will run from 18 – 22 September is designed to find a common dialogue between American Jews and Mainline Christians in the search for peace, as well as design ways in which Palestinians and Israelis working toward the goal of a two-state settlement can be better supported.

The visit was planned jointly by the group, with each group planning two days each, and will include meetings with Israeli and Palestinian public officials, religious leaders and scholars in Jerusalem, Ramallah and Bethlehem. The delegation will also meet with victims of the conflict to hear their stories of suffering.

“I pray that our peace mission to Jerusalem will help overcome our disagreements over specific policies. We owe it to our respective religious communities to pursue peace, and to support those in Israel and the Palestinian territories who are committed to two independent states living side by side in the Holy Land,” said Dr Elcott.