Christians Have Special Role In Mideast Peace Effort, HCEF President Tells Conference

 HCEF President Rateb Rabie Welcome Speech

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    Christians must work actively for peace in the Holy Land because peace is part of the Christian vocation, Rateb Rabie, President of the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation, told participants at the organization’s ninth annual conference.  The HCEF event was held in Washington DC in late October under the theme, “Walking the Path of Peace.”

    In remarks of welcome, Mr. Rabie stated, “Jesus, our Lord and our Teacher, placed us on the path of peace when He said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.”  And we know that He is walking that path with us, for He told us, “My peace I leave you, my peace I give you.” 
    
    The HCEF president stressed his belief that the Christians of the Holy Land have an important and special role to play in building peace in their region, for the following reasons:

    “First, no other group in the Holy Land has anything to fear from us Christians,” he said.  “We are a small minority; we control no territory and do not want to do so.  We have no armies, no militia, no weapons of war.  We do not control great wealth or mass media.

    “Second, our agenda is simple, transparent, and unselfish.  We want the Holy Land to be a free, open, safe, prosperous place where people of all faiths will feel at home.  We do not seek the advancement of any one religious or ethnic group at the expense of any other.

    “Third, we have the great moral strength that comes from a commitment to justice and peace, not based on any desire to gain land, wealth or prestige.  We thus stand in the tradition of Mohandas Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, three persons of faith who are moral giants of our age.  Their great accomplishments would have been impossible if they had controlled political, military, or financial power.

    “And finally, we have a mandate from our Master to forgive those who hurt us.  That means that those from whom we seek justice need not fear vengeance or retribution from us if they grant it.”

    The text of HCEF President Rabie’s welcome speech may be found at www.hcef.org.