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Critical. Clergy

Socially-conscious local Christian clergy have entered the Middle East fray.

Their trips to `the Holy Land' and their
public perceptions raise questions among

Israel's friends.

■ Reverend R. Stewart
Wood led a
controversial trip to the
Middle East.

ALAN HITSKY

Associate Editor

28

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1990

NV

hen Rev. R.
Stewart Wood
signed a let-
ter last
spring com-
plaining about a mosque
burned near Nablus, he
believed he was defending
human rights.
And when he led a delega-
tion of Christians, Moslems
and two Jews on a visit to
the Holy Land last summer,
he knew he was doing the
right thing. But a number of
supporters of Israel are not
so sure.
The letter suggests Israel
was to blame for the events
or could have prevented
them. Rev. Jim Lyons of the
Ecumenical Institute for
Jewish-Christian Studies in
Southfield labels it "pure
PLO propaganda."

Rev. Wood is the bishop of
the Episcopal Diocese of
Michigan, the leader of 160
congregations with 50,000
members. Equally as promi-
nent are the other signers of
the letter: Executive
Presbyter Edward Gehres Jr.
and Rev. William Gepford of
the Presbytery of Detroit,
Bishop Judith Craig of the
Michigan Area United
Methodist Church, Auxil-
iary Bishop Thomas
Gumbleton of the Catholic
Archdiocese of Detroit, and
Nile Harper of the
Ecumenical Center at the
University of Michigan.
The letter, written by Rev.
Gepford of Littlefield Pres-
byterian Church in Dear-
born, was addressed to the
Israeli ambassador to the
United States and appeared

in the Detroit Free Press
April 25. It cited six
suspicious or arson fires at
mosques in recent years,
including one in 1974,
and called on the Israeli
government "to prevent
such events from happening
in the future, assuring the
protection of all sacred
places . .."
While not personally
aware of the circumstances
of the fires, Rev. Wood
signed the letter when asked
to "by people I respect." On
his trip to Israel's ad-
ministered territories and
east Jerusalem in June, he
was also accompanied by
people he respects.
"I thought the trip would
be helpful," says Bishop
Wood, "not to relive the life
of our Lord but to encounter
present life in the Middle
East with people who repre-
sent Detroit and work for
peace. We went with honest
intentions."
Given the experiences and
peace activism of the group
— the two Jewish represent-
atives, Rudy Simons and
Leonard Grossman, are in-
volved with international
peace organizations — the
tour made arrangements to
meet officials and dig-
nitaries through the Middle
East Council of Churches.
High on the list were Pales-
tinian activists, church
leaders and Israeli peace
groups. The bishop says the
tour also met with represen-
tatives of Israel's Likud and
Labor parties.
"We want to build a net-
work of folk who appreciate
the need to be responsible
partners in the peace pro-
cess," the bishop says.
Before leaving in July, the
organizers issued a state-
ment supporting Israel's
right "to live in peace within
secure and well-defined
borders." However, the
statement adds, "Most of us
believe that the Palestinians
have a right to establish a
state in the occupied ter-
ritories and that a two-state
solution holds the greatest

promise of bringing peace
and justice to the Palestin-
ians and Israelis."
"They had a set statement
before the trip began," says
Sharona Shapiro, area direc-
tor of the American Jewish
Committee. "It was handed
out to people when they were
approached about going on
the trip. Nobody was given
an itinerary and there was
no contact with Jewish
organizations to make ar-
rangements to meet with
Israel government represen-
tatives."
Upon returning to Detroit
July 25, the group issued a
statement calling for:
• The United States to
resume direct negotiations
with the Palestine Libera-
tion Organization;
• Support for Israelis and
Palestinians working for
peace "and defending their
right to speak and be heard
in the U.S."
• Asked the United States
to rescind its veto of United
Nations human rights moni-
tors in the West Bank and
Gaza;
• Called for support of
Israelis who would end
Israeli settlements in the
"occupied territories," and
called for the withdrawal of
Israeli troops from the ter-
ritories, re-opening of Pales-
tinian universities and ex-
tending equal rights "to all
who live within the pre-1967
borders of Israel."
They called on the United
States to affirm national
rights and secure borders for
"both peoples" and that a
two-state solution was
necessary to prevent war.
All of the points call for ac-
tion by Israel or the United
States to affirm peace in the
Middle East; none call for
action by the Palestinians.
The group did agree that
"the Palestinian people
have the right to self-
determination, which in-
cludes the right to be repre-
sented by their chosen
leadership, the Palestinian
Liberation Organization."
Supporters of Israel are

