CLINTON PROJECT: "THE HOLY SITES INITIATIVE"

February 25, 2009
To my readers:

The following information was brought to our attention by one of my linked blogspots: 51 REASONS TO SAY NO TO GLOBAL GOVERNANCE. The ramifications of this project are immense and there will be much more to say about it on all our sites, but I thought you should start looking. I thank "SAY NO TO GLOBAL GOVERNANCE" for timely bringing this to our attention!

Constance

Commitment Announcement
Focus Area:
Religion, Conflict, and Reconciliation
Project:
Funding for the "Holy Sites Initiative"
Commitment By:
S. Daniel Abraham
Partner:
Search for Common Ground (SFCG), “The Holy Sites Initiative”
Value:
$42,000
Objective: To promote religious reconciliation and in particular a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace.
Commitment: To provide funding for select projects to further efforts in peace and reconciliation projects. “The Holy Sites Initiative”, lead by Search for Common Ground (SFCG), aims to allow key Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders to find common ground regarding the holy sites in the Holy Land.The Holy Sites Initiative will lead to a declaration by religious leaders of the three faiths across the Middle East that formally recognizes and respects the attachments of the faiths to their respective sites. The declaration will include issues of access, preservation, education for mutual respect and a concrete mechanism for dealing with joint concerns. This declaration is to be signed in the presence of world religious leaders at a large international gathering.
Background: Search for Common Ground (SFCG), a non-partisan, non-profit, international NGO, is launching a regional Middle East project whereby key Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders are finding common ground regarding the holy sites in the Holy Land.The Initiative requires the involvement of top religious leaders from five key Arab constituencies: the Palestinians, Egyptians, Saudis, Jordanians and Moroccans, as well as the Israeli religious leadership, and the heads of the Christian churches in the Holy Land. This involvement would take place with the full knowledge of their respective political leaders.Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering is convening the project through SFCG’s Jerusalem offices. Presently the Senior Vice President for International Relations of the Boeing Company, Ambassador Pickering is a highly experienced diplomat who has held positions as U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs and as former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Israel, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Russian Federation, among others. SFCG has also brought together a group of influential religious leaders of the three faiths, who are directly involved in inter-religious reconciliation in the region, to provide guidance and advice on the process.Benefits of the Holy Sites Initiative:1. Demonstration of “common ground” between faiths over contentious and sensitive issue2. Provides the political process with positive ground for movement on Holy Sites3. Counterpoint to global misunderstandings between “East and West”4. Furthers possibility of local cooperation between religious leaders in Jerusalem
Points of Contact:
Sharon Rosen, Senior AdvisorSearch for Common Ground Emad Omar, Senior AdvisorSearch for Common Ground Search for Common Ground
Geographic Scope:
Middle East
Anticipated Launch Date:
June 2005