1. United States
2. Letter

I am writing to request that you embrace the urgent call from the Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP) in its May 22 letter to the leaders of the G7 “to highlight the importance of civil society peacebuilding work as an integral part of any viable process to end the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.” You are scheduled to meet with the other G7 leaders June 13-15 in Apulia, Italy. I plead with you to support the ALLMEP initiative and to make it a priority of your administration. It has already been endorsed by Pope Francis who will attend the G7 conference in support. Due to the intractable mutual hostility of both Hamas and the Netanyahu government over many years, a citizen’s initiative of the sort proposed by ALLMEP seems like the only path forward in the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict. The 160 Israeli/Palestinian peace organizations affiliated with ALLMEP represent the few remaining repositories of good will among these beleaguered and beset populations. As such they represent the last best hope for fashioning a lasting peace built on reconciliation and a restored trust. I believe that embracing such an initiative will be recognized as a step forward by the voting public. The alternatives are too grim to contemplate. Thanks.