November 11, 2004
By Alexa Smith

LOUISVILLE - Upon learning of the death of Yasser Arafat, the following letter was released by denominational officials to two Palestinian leaders, Dr. Nasir Al-Kidwa, ambassador of Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations; and Prime Minister Ahmad Qrei'a.

The letter is signed by John Detterick, executive director of the General Assembly Council; the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA), and Rick Ufford-Chase, moderator of the 216th General Assembly.

It reads as follows:

Grace and peace to you.

We are writing to you upon learning of the death of President Yasser Arafat. We want to assure you of our heartfelt prayers for Mr. Arafat's family and for all of you who mourn his passing, that God in divine mercy will give comfort and aid to you in every possible way. We also pray for you in the midst of the transition and much feared uncertainty during these present days of securing new leadership.

Even as we know you are mourning, we recognize this particular time as a watershed moment that offers the potential for increased violence - within and beyond the Palestinian territories - or the opportunity to renounce violence and walk firmly on the path toward peace. To that end, we share with you our many hopes.

We hope you will have the opportunity to experience self-determination and choose your own leadership, and that new leadership will offer a vision of a just, peaceful, and secure future for Palestinians and Israelis. May liberation leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Desmond Tutu, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, and Martin Luther King, Jr., serve as models of creative, mercy-filled leadership that transforms enemies into neighbors through a principled commitment to non-violent strategies as the only appropriate path to peace.

We hope new leadership will be instrumental in bringing both an end to the grinding violence of Occupation and to terror attacks on Israeli civilians. May you experience a reconciliation that precludes violent retribution and using violence as a tactic, not just because of its immorality, but its tragic consequences for Palestinians and Israelis.

We hope you will remain part of the world community. Many people of conscience around the world share your just cause for dignity and security and are acutely aware of your international rights, as guaranteed through United Nations' resolutions and the Fourth Geneva Convention. We in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are among them.

We hope new leadership will continue to value the small, but important, Christian community in your midst. Over the past fifty years, Christians have gone from nearly 20% to less than 2% of the Palestinian population. As our brothers and sisters in Christ, in the land of Christ's birth, the Palestinian church has special significance. Over the centuries, Christians in the Middle East have been an agent of reconciliation and stability. We affirm the importance of Christian presence and witness in Palestinian society and pray it will continue to be honored.

Our deepest hope is for a just, peaceful, non-violent future for all peoples in the Middle East. As Christians, we believe God calls us to show love, seek peace, and pursue justice. In particular, we believe God has given us the ministry of reconciliation so that the whole world might be transformed into the image of God's peaceful kingdom. These beliefs have guided our actions and witness to Israel and Palestine for several decades, and we recommit ourselves anew to them now.

In all these things, we give glory to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, whom we worship in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.

The. Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly

Elder Rick Ufford-Chase
Moderator, 216th General Assembly (2004) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Elder John Detterick
Executive Director, General Assembly Council

Presbyterian News Service