Bishop Mark Hanson urges the president not to block Palestinian statehood

Here is a message from ELCA Peace Not Walls...

Bishop Hanson to Obama: Don’t block Palestinian Statehood Posted: 23 Sep 2011 08:30 AM PDT In a letter today, the Rev. Mark Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA, urged President Obama not to block the Palestinian bid for statehood at the UN. US officials have vowed to use the US veto power to block the Palestinian initiative asking for full member status at the UN. In preparation for a meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a settlement freeze, one of the Palestinian demands for renewing negotiations, would not happen. The Heads of Churches in Jerusalem recently issued a statement calling for two states having justice, peace and security, a shared Jerusalem and renewed negotiations to those ends. They also urged restraint on both sides in anticipated protests after the bid is introduced. Read Haaretz Article | See more resources at Churches for Middle East Peace website BBC Q and A about Palestinian statehood

CMEP: Palestinians at UN & the Situation on the Ground Posted: 23 Sep 2011 08:27 AM PDT The most recent CMEP bulletin from September 16 focuses on the events leading up the Palestinian request for statehood and full inclusion at the UN. It gives some background of the different positions and statements made by leaders in the weeks prior to this historic event. It also includes reports on the current situation on the ground concerning the forceable relocation of bedouins and the most recent “price tag” events carried out by Israeli settlers in response to outposts being demolished by the Israeli government. You can read the newsletter here. --- --- --- To receive regular bulletins from Ann Hafften, sign up at my blog - A Texas Lutheran's Voice for Peace: http://www.voicesforpeace.blogspot.com/