AMBASSADOR WARREN CLARK

Saturday, January 9, 2010
9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Lancaster Church of the Brethren • 1601 Sunset Avenue • Lancaster PA

Warren Clark met with the Middle East Interest Group on January 9, 2010, from 9:00-11:00 AM to talk about the Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) and the search for a "just peace" in the Middle East. CMEP is the Washington DC advocacy arm on Middle East affairs for 23 U. S. denominations and church bodies, among them Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant. It began its work in 1984 and seeks "to maintain an ongoing dialogue" with Congress, the Obama Administration and the diplomatic community.

A brief summary of the address follows:

"Saying that you're (working) on the Israeli-Palestinian question sounds pretty straightforward, but it's really not, since most parties are on one side or the other," he explained.

CMEP enjoys strong support from Israeli and Jewish peace groups, Clark pointed out. It believes "that sound United States policy is crucial to achieving and maintaining just and stable relationships throughout the Middle East."

In addition to the imbalance of power in the region there is great asymmetry in the political influence in the U. S. The American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) annual budget is over $60 million. The annual budget of J Street, a more moderate Jewish voice, is only four million dollars, and the CMEP budget, the voice of the churches, is less than $400,000. In the recent House vote on the Goldstone report on Gaza, 350 voted to criticize the Goldstone report. 15 voted no and 15 voted present. Members of US congress are just poorly informed about the Middle East, and do not hear enough support from constituents for rational approaches to a just peace attentive to the grievances of all parties to the conflict.

CMEP has maintained support for a two state solution, Israel and Palestine. If the total Israeli and Palestinian population of Gaza, Israel and West Bank is combined, (Presently around 5.5 Israelis, and 5.4 Palestinians) Israelis claim a one state solution would compromise expectations for a Jewish state. The dilemma is if Israel is Jewish, it could not be democratic. If it is democratic it could not be viewed as Jewish. Negotiations are complicated by the 300,000 Israelis in West Bank settlements and the tightening settlements around the east, north and south sides of Jerusalem. Israelis likewise reject Palestinian claims to Jerusalem as the capital for Palestine.

The current Christian population in Jerusalem is down to two-four per cent, down from approximately 14 per cent in all Palestine in 1948.

Clark is hopeful that the younger generation of American Jews active in J Street will eventually strengthen hopes of American Jews for a peaceful settlement.

Clark, in his years with the State Department, served in the Middle East, Europe, Canada and Africa and at the United Nations. He was charge d'affaires in Lagos, Nigeria; served as the U.S. ambassador in Libreville, in the nation of Gabon; and was principal deputy assistant secretary of state for Africa in Washington. In 2005, Clark earned a master's degree in theological studies from Virginia Theological Seminary.

Contributions can be mailed to Churches for Middle East Peace - 110 Maryland Ave., NE #311 - Washington, DC - 20002, The CMEP website is www.cmep.org