Religious leaders urge 2-state solution for Middle East peace
May 23, 2011
A group of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim leaders--including Cardinal Theodore McCarrick--wrote President Barack Obama on May 20 “to offer our united support for urgently needed strong, sustained US leadership, in coordination with the Quartet, to press for agreement on a two-state peace agreement before it is too late.”
The religious leaders’ letter came one day after President Barack Obama declared that “the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states.”
“If the opportunity for a two-state solution is missed, there almost inevitably will be renewed violent conflict with more suffering for Israelis and Palestinians, and increased dangers of extremism,” the religious leaders continued.
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Further information:
- Religious Leaders Urge Strong US Leadership for Israeli-Palestinian Peace Before It’s Too Late (USCCB)
- Remarks of President Barack Obama: “A Moment of Opportunity” (White House)
- Quartet on the Middle East (Wikipedia)
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Posted by: impossible -
May. 23, 2011 11:09 PM ET USA
Anything involving Cardinal McCarrick should be taken with a grain of salt, better yet, with outright suspicion. The essential starting point is for the Arab/Muslim/Jihadist/Terroristic nations of the middle east to formally proclaim that the State of Israel has the right to exist and that Jews have the right to live. They have consistently held just the opposite.
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Posted by: Chestertonian -
May. 23, 2011 7:34 PM ET USA
I can imagine Israel saying, "You first," pointing to our acquisition of lands previously held by Mexico. And while we're at it, shall we let the South secede after all? Returning to the 1967 lines would be no more reasonable, and we are once again interfering in the internal affairs of a sovereign state--and supposed friend. Let the Palestinians have a state, but don't expect Israel to sacrifice the lands won when Arabs attacked them. Gaza and Sinai will do just fine.
