(C) RELIGIOUS LEADERS WEIGH MEASURES TO GENERATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TEL AVIV 000498

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/28/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV KIRF KPAO EAID IS KPAL ISRAELI SOCIETY ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS
SUBJECT: (C) RELIGIOUS LEADERS WEIGH MEASURES TO GENERATE
GRASSROOTS SUPPORT FOR PEACE, THREE YEARS AFTER ALEXANDRIA
DECLARATION

REF: 04 TEL AVIV 6271

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Gene A. Cretz for reasons 1.4 (b
,d).


1. (U) This message was coordinated with and cleared by
ConGen Jerusalem.


2. (C) Summary: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religious
leaders of the Permanent Follow-up Committee for the
Implementation of the Alexandria Declaration ("the Alexandria
Group") met in East Jerusalem January 24 to review ways to
fulfill commitments they made in Alexandria, Egypt three
years earlier. Renewing their support for the principles
outlined in the declaration, they decided to take practical
steps, and focus on ways to take advantage of the current
opening provided by new Israeli and Palestinian governments
and other developments since Yassir Arafat's death to
generate widespread grassroots support for the formal peace
process within their own communities. Without blaming any
one group, many admitted that their efforts and results as a
group were so far disappointing. They endorsed in principle
the creative and positive proposal advocated by Sheikh Imad
Faluji of Gaza that they should try from now on to speak with
one voice to the world community and should establish,
register, and staff NGO offices in the West Bank and Gaza
that could "shorten the road to peace" by delivering
much-needed messages of moderation and religious tolerance to
counter religious extremism prevalent in their communities.
End summary.


3. (SBU) The "Alexandria Group" of Jewish, Christian, and
Muslim religious leaders convened in East Jerusalem's
Christmas Hotel January 24 in a meeting attended by Embassy
Tel Aviv and ConGen Jerusalem officers, midlevel Israeli and
Palestinian officials, and NGO representatives. The occasion
for the group's plenary meeting, formally known as the
"Follow-up Committee for Implementation of the Alexandria
Declaration," was to mark the third anniversary of the
Declaration, and review and endorse measures proposed at a
smaller December 5th gathering (reported reftel) to increase
grassroots support for the formal peace process. Both the
December and January meetings were funded under an Embassy
Tel Aviv grant to the International Centre for
Reconciliation, Canon White's UK-based NGO for ongoing
Israeli-Palestinian inter-religious dialogue.

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Attendees
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4. (U) Jewish delegates included Rabbi David Rosen (who
chaired the meeting) Rabbi David Brodman, Israeli Chief
Rabbinate Director-General Oded Wiener, and Rabbi Michael
Melchior (Labor-Meimad MK, recently appointed Deputy
Education Minister). Muslim delegates included Sheikhs
Taysir Tamimi and Talal Sidr from the West Bank and Sheikh
Imad Faluji from Gaza. Christian delegates included Greek
Orthodox Archbishop Aristarchos, Syrian Orthodox Bishop Mar
Sewerios Malki Murad, Armenian Bishop Ariv Shrivanian, and
PLO Executive Committee and Palestinian Legislative Council
member Dr. Emil Jarjoui, as well as the Archbishop of
Canterbury's Special Middle East Representative, Canon Andrew
White. ConGen Jerusalem and Embassy Tel Aviv POL and PD
officers observed, along with Rabbi Ron Kronish of the
Inter-religious Coordinating Council in Israel, Gita Hazani
from MK Melchior's NGO Mosaica, Belaynesh Zevadia, counsellor
from the MFA Religious Affairs Bureau, and visiting George
Mason University Professor of World Religions and Conflict
Resolution Marc Gopin.

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Plan for Increased Effectiveness:
One Voice, and Three Offices
--------------


5. (C) Sheikh Imad Faluji of Gaza briefed the group on the
proposals discussed and approved by a smaller group of
Alexandria participants at a meeting held December 5, 2004 in
west Jerusalem. The Alexandria Declaration had not yet lived
up to its promise, he said, due to "laziness and a lack of
seriousness." Those shortcomings could be addressed if the
religious leaders now took concrete actions:

-- (C) First, to be taken seriously, the Alexandria Group
should speak with one voice at international conferences on
religions for peace, or not at all. There was no point in
having three separate statements with each leader speaking
only for his own religion, he said. "Among ourselves, we can
argue and dissent and express ourselves openly. But if we
want world support for our efforts for peace in the holy
land, we should clearly identify ourselves as one group, not
three, and deliver one united message at public gatherings."
Doing this will "shorten the road" to peace.
-- (C) Second, the Alexandria Group's task is different than
President Abu Mazen's and Prime Minister Sharon's. As
religious leaders, Faluji said, "we should address the right
people - people in our own communities - directly." In order
to succeed in that public outreach, the Alexandria leaders
should establish and register NGO offices in the West Bank
and Gaza that could mirror the existing NGO "Mosaica" in
Jerusalem founded by Rabbi Melchior and Elie Wiesel after the
January 2002 Alexandria Declaration. Such NGO offices would
be public outreach centers for peace and tolerance education
and moderate religious interpretation to counter the much
more well-organized and well-financed extremist offices that
currently spread destructive messages in our region, he
emphasized. All three could be known by the same name,
"Mosaica." One office could be opened in Gaza, under Sheikh
Faluji's direction, and another in the West Bank, near
Jerusalem. (West Bank locations being considered are
Bethany/Azariyah, under Sheikh Tamimi, or possibly Bethlehem,
under one of the Christian leaders.)

--------------
Agreement in Principle; Debate on Methods
--------------


6. (C) Dr. Jarjoui complained that although he, Sheikhs
Faluji and Sidr, and Rabbis Melchior and Smadja, had agreed
in principle of the need for such NGOs on the Palestinian
side during the December meeting, no one present besides
Canon White and Sheikh Faluji appeared to have received a
draft proposal or budget for the creation of such offices. He
recommended, and all concurred, that written draft proposals
and budgets be circulated to the group before they give
formal concurrence to establishing the NGOs and seeking
international financial support for their work. After a long
procedural debate that reflected the leaders' concern for
maintaining their own relevance as the Alexandria Group,
participants agreed that a smaller "Executive Committee" of
five to six specific leaders could serve as the body that
would formally approve the NGOs' establishment. They also
agreed to Canon White's proposal to formally empower the
Executive Committee to serve as a "rapid response mechanism"
that could resolve and defuse potential conflicts between
religious communities, in addition to its role of handling
routine decisions between larger plenary sessions.

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Sheikh Tamimi: "Choose Life"
--------------


7. (C) Sheikh Tamimi greeted his Muslim colleagues on the Eid
al-Adha, and his Christian and Jewish colleagues on Tu
B'Shvat (the new year for the trees) and the recent Orthodox
Christian Epiphany and New Year. He said he considered the
Alexandria Group as friends whose personal relationships
could help "realize the lost peace in this holy land." The
group should continue its implementation of the declaration
so that history will record that we did something positive
for the peace process, he said. He was pleased that the
leaders could say they were at least on a path toward
stopping bloodshed and protecting humanity. "We all live
together, and hurt for any individual among us who is killed
regardless of their faith," he continued. However, Tamimi was
"depressed" because the Alexandria Group's efforts were not
producing any movement in the peace process. He pointed out
that Abu Mazen had achieved real progress in extensive
meetings the last seven days, and was close to reaching a a
cease-fire by all Palestinian factions, dependent on Israel's
doing its part to help him by declaring a corresponding
cease-fire from its side. Such a development could help all
peoples live in love and reconciliation and give a chance to
peace. "It's our luck and destiny to live together," he said.
"We can choose intelligently, and choose to live in peace,
tranquility, and love, or we can choose the opposite,
continuing killing and destruction."

--------------
Melchior Outlines Actions within GOI
--------------


8. (C) Rabbi Melchior, who was warmly addressed throughout by
Sheikhs Falouji and Sidr as "our friend, Chacham (Rabbi)
Melchior," encouraged all present to take heart from, and
take advantage of, the new opening for peace that was
presented by the formation of new Palestinian and Israeli
governments since their December 5, 2004 meeting. He made an
impassioned plea for the leaders to move beyond the
theoretical and work toward practical, visible results in
their communities: through education, humanitarian
assistance, and getting their messages of peace and tolerance
out publicly so that citizens at the grassroots would be
encouraged to demand that their leaders make every effort for
peace. "I suggest this because I am being practical. As
religious leaders, we know that a political peace is just
that -- a political peace. A religious peace would go deeper,
addressing and healing the sources of the conflict." He
mentioned that in his interfaith dialogue work inside Israel
since the Alexandria Declaration, there is an expanding group
of rabbis committed to the Alexandria Group's work and to
implementing what is agreed to on both "the political and
religious tracks."


9. (C) With Labor back in the government and Melchior back in
a Deputy Minister position, he promised to work hard to
resolve the travel permit issue that was causing
embarrassment and humiliation to the Palestinian religious
leaders and interrupting their ability to be full players in
support of the peace process. He undertook to seek blanket
permits for Alexandria Group members, adding, "this doesn,t
depend on us (Labor) alone, but it is a top priority."
Tamimi remarked, "I am glad you are in the government again,
because you are a man of peace."

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Sidr and Melchior Take Dialogue on the Road
--------------


10. (C) Rabbi Melchior and Sheikh Talal Sidr briefed
participants on their recent joint trip to Brussels for a
large conference of Rabbis and Imams organized by a French
organization under the direction of an individual named Alain
Michel. Jarjoui protested that the Brussels meeting - the
location and date of which were changed many times before it
was finally held in early January - should have included
Palestinian Christian leaders from the Alexandria Group.
Melchior said the meeting was not held under the framework of
Alexandria, but was instead the initiative of a well-meaning
Frenchman with limited awareness of the intricacies of the
Israeli-Palestinian situation. It was focused on the need for
expanding dialogue and understanding between Jewish and
Muslim populations in Europe, and as such, had its use. He
added that he, as a Jew who emigrated from Europe, understood
how Palestinian Christians feel about being excluded, being a
small minority in their land. He committed to continue
lobbying, as he had before Brussels, for full participation
by Palestinian Christians in such inter-faith meetings.


11. (SBU) In December 2004, Sidr and Melchior traveled on a
joint speaking tour in the UK arranged by Canon White, which
included meetings with the Archbishop of Canterbury and
senior officials in the British Foreign Office, as well as
public sessions. White informed Embassy and Consulate PD and
POL officers January 19 that Congressman Lantos recently
invited the two to speak jointly at a public Congressional
hearing March 1, 2005.

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