In a letter to President Obama, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori “expresses deep concern for the circumstances surrounding Israeli forces’ interception of a flotilla of ships bound for the Gaza Strip earlier this week.” Other church leaders have issued statements including The Rt. Rev. John Chane, Bishop of the Diocese of Washington, and the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Jefferts Schori writes,
Rather than tacitly backing an ill-advised blockade, the U.S. should work with its ally, Israel, to promote constructive new policies toward Gaza that serve the aims of peace and security. These should include continued efforts to halt violence, and credible long-term strategies to support Palestinian leaders who are actively working for peace. Nevertheless, any long-term successful Palestinian government with the capacity to safeguard peace and security must draw support and legitimacy from across Palestinian society.
Hanson’s statement said,
We therefore call for a full, international and independent investigation into this matter. While we condemn all violence in the resolution of political disputes, this incident raises a number of questions related to the just use of force. It is not clear that, in this incident, all alternatives were explored prior to the use of military force.
Chane wrote,
Regardless of the differing and sometime conflicting accounts, what happened is unacceptable and must elicit a global response from the United Nations and most importantly the United States government, Israel’s strongest ally. The global community must rise up and say ENOUGH of this killing and enough of the ongoing foot-dragging seeking a peace long overdue between Israel and Palestine.
Read the letter by Jefferts Schori at ENS.
Read the ELCA press release here.
Read Chane’s statement here.