Insight •Vo.••••• ■ Ideas & Issues -: Remember When Standing Strong From the pages of the Jewish News from this week 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 years ago. Christian Zionists show staunch support for Israel. At a Havdalah service at the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., President Bill Clinton addresses the B'nai Kith on the importance of religious freedom in America. DON COHEN Special to the Jewish News A nationwide network of Christians issued a strong statement supporting Israel at the conclusion of a four-day meeting in Detroit Oct. 16-19. The statement of the executive committee of the National Christian Leadership Conference for Israel (NCLCI), defended Zionism, reaf- firmed Israel's readiness for peace and put the onus for Middle East violence squarely on the actions of the Palestinian and Arab leadership. The statement will be distributed to 1,000 religious and political leaders nationwide. The executive committee meets twice a year, and often comes to Detroit because the national head- quarters of NCLCI moved here with David Blewett four years ago when he became director of the Ecumenical Institute for Jewish Christian Studies. Blewett serves as national director of the 26-year-old organization that unites Christians from diverse denominational, theo- logical, political, ethnic and racial backgrounds who share a commit- ment to the security and well-being of the Jewish state. According to the NCLCI, the group "does not involve itself in Israel's internalpolitics. Instead, it tries to influence public opinion in America by encouraging Christians generally and people of influence particularly to learn about Israel and respect the rights of Israelis to live as they choose in the peace and securi- ty of their homeland." Previous NCLCI statements have called for Vatican recognition of Israel, demanded the U.N. rescind its "Zionism is racism" resolution and protested Syrian involvement in Lebanon. Several statements have condemned terrorism, hate crimes and anti-Semitism, supported the peace process, and declared support for a united Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Asked the what impact he hopes its recent statement will have, Blewett says, "We hope it makes people think." NCLCI statements are sent to every church headquarters and church directors relating to Middle East, interfaith or social justice issues as well as to all members of Congress. The series of local meetings included sessions on "The Growing Conservative-Liberal Divide in the Church," "Church-Israel Relations," planning for a trip to Israel and a briefing by Israel Consul General for the Midwest Moshe Ram, and dis- cussions on Mel Gibson's upcoming film, The Passion of Christ, which many fear will stoke anti-Semitism and erase important gains made in Jewish-Christian relations. The meetings began with breakfast IssuEs on page 30 Statement Of Christian Support 7 he National Christian Leadership Conference for Israel (NCLCI), a broad-based ecumenical network of Christian organizations and lay and clerical lead- ers united in support for Israel, issued the following statement at its October 2003 meeting of the Executive Committee in Detroit. 1. The responsibility for the intensi- fication of hostilities between Palestinians and Israelis at this time rests squarely on the shoulders of Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority, who rejected the generous peace offer of Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Barak in July 2000 without pre- senting a counter-offer, and instead intentionally initiated the current vio- lent intifada uprising. 2. Major responsibility for the tragic loss of life rests with Arab govern- ments who have expressly encouraged terrorism and homicide bombings and have remunerated bombers' families. 3. Future possibilities for peace are being consistently undermined by the continued teaching of hatred for Jews among Palestinians in their schools, mosques, mass media and by those in the Middle East and other nations who do not clearly call for the cessa- tion of these teachings. 4. It is a myth that the state of Israel has ever denied the Palestinians a state of their own. At the time of its incep- tion in 1948, Israel accepted a U.N.- proposed Palestinian state that was to have existed side-by-side with Israel. This proposed state was rejected by Arab nations -- not by Israel. A majority of Israelis continues to sup- port this concept today 5. We call upon our fellow Christians and all people of good will to recognize that Zionism is the kgiti- mate national liberation movement of the Jewish people in our day, that the State of Israel provides the legitimate framework of the expression of that movement, and that contemporary anti-Zionism should be recognized as insidious anti-Semitism. 6. It is frustrating and regrettable that a fence must be erected to defend Jewish and Arab Israelis against terror- ism and homicide bombings. It should be clear to all persons of good common sense that if terrorism ceased, the fence could come down. Out of profound concern for the future of the Palestinian people, we call upon the Palestinian leadership and its supporters to recognize that continued violent confrontation rather than an authentic pursuit of peace is morally indefensible. This strategy can only diminish the hopes, aspirations, stature and status of Palestinian nationhood. sxn p < „..x