Episcopal Press and News
Episcopalians Join Celebration Over Israeli-Palestinian Accord
Episcopal News Service. September 17, 1993 [93155]
"I was on the verge of tears the whole time," Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning told his staff after returning from the White House lawn where he witnessed the historic signing of the first step towards peace between Israelis and Palestinians on September 13.
"It was such a symbolic, moving moment," Browning added in trying to describe his emotions as he watched President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Chairman Yasir Arafat walk together out of the White House door into history. "The speeches were marvelous, filled with hope and peace, with a deep sense of history and brokenness -- but also an accountability for the future," he said.
Browning said he ran into former Secretary of State James Baker with whom he had discussed U.S. Middle East policy on several occasions. The most notable encounter was when Browning met with President George Bush and Baker to oppose the move toward a military solution in the Persian Gulf crisis. The two men remembered that encounter and shared their amazement at the historic turn of events. Later Browning joined a small group of church leaders in a private conversation with Arafat.
Peace in the Middle East has been at the top of the presiding bishop's agenda for many years. Browning and his wife, Patti, have visited the area several times to express solidarity with Bishop Samir Kafity of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, a Palestinian who has been deeply involved in the peace process. Browning pressed for a two-state solution that would allow Israelis and Palestinians to live side-by-side in the area, a position endorsed by the church's General Conventions.
Browning and Kafity issued statements (see Newsfeature section), with Kafity expressing his conviction that the journey started with the signing of the accord will inaugurate "a new era of justice and peace in the Middle East" and "reach all of the towns and cities in the Palestinian territories."
The statements by Browning and Kafity were read at an interfaith service of thanksgiving and commitment at New York's Cathedral of St. John the Divine on September 13. Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders joined in prayers and scriptural readings. The aisles were filled with Arab and Israeli dancers and musical contributions featured opera singers, an Israeli singer and peace activist, as well as several choirs.
The high point of the service was when the Israeli and Arab dance troupes joined together into a single dance, weaving together and then encouraging the congregation to join them. Bishop Paul Reeves, Anglican observer at the United Nations, said that the "poignant moment" made it clear that "when we learn to dance together some our problems can be swept away."
Reeves, who gave the invocation at the service, called attention to "a God that is not defined by our divisions but a God who calls us to work for peace through justice." Just off an airplane from a meeting in Northern Ireland, Reeves added that the news of the Israeli-Palestinian peace accords was greeted there with enthusiasm, and those caught in the long, violent struggles between Protestants and Roman Catholics were openly wondering if a similar breakthrough was possible for them.