Letter to President Bush from Campaign for American Leadership in the Middle East Regarding Resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, November 23, 2005

Dear Mr. President:

We, the undersigned, believe that resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is critical to U.S. national security interests and essential to reduce the threat posed by international terrorism. We write to underscore American public support for your efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We encourage you to make this a central and sustained objective of American foreign policy. A peaceful resolution of the conflict will enhance our efforts to build a secure, stable, and more democratic Middle East, and in so doing, serve U.S. national security interests.

It is only right that the United States use all the resources at its disposal to help Israelis and Palestinians overcome the differences and fears that divide them in order to reach a settlement that will provide true security for Israel, help the Palestinians to achieve their own democratic state and lead to peace and prosperity for all the peoples of the region.

Although details can only be agreed through negotiations by the two sides, the basic elements of settlement are both achievable and clear: a two-state solution, rigorous security guarantees and the protection of human rights and access to holy sites.

We urge you to mobilize international support for that goal and to pursue progress with determination, fairness and creativity until success is achieved. We fully understand the potential obstacles ahead. We also understand the consequences of failure. Failure must not be an option. You have our strong support to stay the course.

CALME Initial Signatories (as of November 23, 2005):

Mr. S. Daniel Abraham, Chairman, Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation

Mr. Dan Adler, Founder, Media Eagles, Inc.; Board of Governors, American Jewish Committee; Board of Directors, Civitas Initiative, Teach for America/LA, Rock the Vote, Ryman Arts, and the Aleph Society

Mr. James B. Adler, Managing Partner, Adler Associates; and Board of Governors, American Jewish Committee

Ms. Karen R. Adler, Chief Executive Officer, Bromor Management LLC, the family office for the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies

The Honorable Madeleine K. Albright, former Secretary of State

The Honorable Dennis W. Archer, Chairman, Dickinson Wright; and former Mayor of Detroit

Dr. Ziad Asali, MD, President of The American Task Force on Palestine

Mr. Dawud A. Assad, former President, Council of Mosques, USA

The Honorable Ambassador Harriet C. Babbitt, Senior Vice President, Hunt Alternatives Fund; former Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS); former Deputy Administrator of USAID; Board Member, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)

Dr. Diane Balser, Professor, Boston University; and incoming Chief Executive Officer, Brit Tzedek v Shalom

Dr. Craig R. Barrett, Chief Executive Officer, Intel Corporation

Mr. Lawrence Bender, Movie Producer, Founder, A Band Apart Productions

Mr. Jack Bendheim, President, Phibro Animal Health Corp.; and former Vice President, AIPAC

Mr. Nasser Beydoun, President, Project Control Systems, Inc. (PSCI); and former head of the Arab American Chamber of Commerce

The Honorable James Blanchard, former Governor of Michigan; and former Ambassador to Canada

Mr. Kenneth Bob, President, Ameinu: Liberal Values. Progressive Israel

Mr. Ernie Bogen, Chairman Emeritus, Ark Restaurant Corporation; Board of Directors, Americans for Peace Now; and Board of Directors, Friends of Hebrew University

Ms. Louisa Bohm, President and CEO, Shleppers Moving Company; and former Public Information Director for the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs

Mr. Lee Bollinger, President, Columbia University

Mr. Martin Bresler, Board of Governors, American Jewish Committee; and former partner, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan

Mr. Eli Broad, Founder, The Broad Foundations

Dr. Rachel Bronson, Ph.D., Director, Middle East Studies, Council on Foreign Relations

Dr. Gerald Bubis, Professor Emeritus and founding Director of the School of Jewish Communal Service, Hebrew Union College, Los Angeles and past National Co-chair of Americans For Peace Now

The Honorable Richard Burt, Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany; Chairman of Diligence Inc.

Mr. Landon Butler, President, Landon Butler & Company

Dr. Nancy Cantor, Chancellor and President, Syracuse University

The Rt. Rev. Otis Charles, Retired Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah

The Honorable William S. Cohen, former Secretary of Defense

Mr. Lester Crown, Chairman, Henry Crown and Company

Mr. John Cullinane, President, The Cullinane Group

Mr. Rafi Dajani, Executive Director, American Task Force on Palestine

Ms. Debra DeLee, President and CEO, Americans for Peace Now

Ms. Barbara B. Dobkin, The Founding Chair of JWA's Board of Directors; founder and Chair of Ma'yan: the Jewish Women's Project of the JCC in Manhattan; and Chair of the Board of The Hadassah Foundation

Rabbi Elliot Dorff, Rector, University of Judaism

Mr. Seth Dubin, Counsel, Satterlee Stephens Burke & Burke

The Honorable Lawrence S. Eagleburger, former Secretary of State

Professor Peter Edelman, Professor of Law, Co-Director, Joint Degree in Law and Public Policy, Georgetown Law

Ms. Sara Ehrman, Senior Advisor, Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation

Dr. David Ellenson, President, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion

Rabbi Jerome M. Epstein, Executive Vice President, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism

Rabbi Marla J. Feldman, Director, Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism

Rabbi Harvey Fields, Rabbi Emeritus, Wilshire Boulevard Temple, Los Angeles; and former Chair, Joint Commission of Worship of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) - Union of American Hebrew Congregations Ms. Sybil A. Fields, Vice President, Smith Barney

Dr. Hani Findakly, CEO of Potomac Capital Inc.; former Director of the Investment Department of the World Bank; and former faculty member, MIT's School of Engineering and The Center for Policy Alternatives

The Reverend Leighton Ford, President, Leighton Ford Ministries

The Honorable Richard Fairbanks, former Ambassador-at-large under President Reagan; former Chief U.S. negotiator for the Middle East peace process; former Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations; and current CSIS Trustee

Mr. James Fitzpatrick, Senior Partner, Arnold & Porter

The Rt. Rev. Leopold Frade, Diocesan Bishop of Southeast Florida, The Episcopal Church

Ms. Marcia Freedman, President of the Board of Directors, Brit Tzedek v' Shalom; and past Member of Knesset

Ms. Cynthia Friedman, Vice-President, Co-owner, Union Real Estate Company of Pittsburgh; and former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities

Mr. Zev Furst, Chairman and CEO, Furst International Resources

Mr. Sanford and Dr. Linda Gallanter, President of the San Francisco-based Aspen Group; and Board Members, Jewish Family and Children Services

Mr. Larry Garber, Executive Director, New Israel Fund; and former director of the West Bank and Gaza mission of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Mr. Norman Gelman, Public Policy Consultant; former Executive Vice President, Newmyer Associates Inc.; and Vice Chairman, American Jewish International Relations Institute

The Honorable Edward W. Gnehm, Shapiro Visiting Professor of International Affairs at the Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University; and former U.S. Ambassador to Jordan

Mr. David Goldberg, Co-Chairman of the Board of Ohio Savings Bank

Dr. Norbert Goldfield, MD, Executive Director, Healing Across the Divides, Inc.

Mr. Charles Goodman, Director, General Dynamics Corporation; and Vice Chairman, Henry Crown and Company (diversified investments)

Mr. Richard Goodwin, Ph.D (hc), Chairman of the Board, The Middle East Peace Dialogue Network

Ms. Susan Thomas Goodwin, President, The Middle East Peace Dialogue Network

Ms. Sally Gottesman, Chair, Moving Traditions

Mr. Steve Grand, Director, Middle East Strategy Group, The Aspen Institute

Mr. Thomas R. Green, Attorney-at-law, Law Offices of Thomas R. Green

The Most Reverend Frank T. Griswold III, Presiding Bishop, Episcopal Church

Rabbi Marc Gopin, Ph.D, Director, Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution, Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University

The Honorable Marc Grossman, former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs

Mr. Richard Gunther, former Board Member, American Jewish World Service; and former Board Member, Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, Los Angeles

Mr. and Mrs. Mimi and Peter Haas, Miriam & Peter Haas Fund

Mr. Iftekhar Hai, President, UMA Interfaith Alliance

The Honorable Lee Hamilton, former Member of Congress; and former Vice-Chair of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (a.k.a., the 9-11 Commission)

The Honorable John J. Hamre, President and CEO, Center for Strategic and International Studies; and former Deputy Secretary of Defense

The Honorable William C. Harrop, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Zaire; Director, American Academy of Diplomacy

Mr. Gary Heiman, President, Standard Textile Co., Inc.

The Reverend Dr. Katharine Henderson, Executive Vice President, Auburn Theological Seminary

The Honorable Theodore H. Kattouf, former Ambassador to both the United Arab Emirates and Syria

Imam Yahya Hendi, Chaplain, Georgetown University

The Reverend Chris Hobgood, General Minister and President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Mr. Frederick C. Hof, CEO, AALC Ltd.; and former Chief of Staff of the Sharm el-Sheikh (Mitchell) Fact-Finding Committee

Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt, Jr., President of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA; and President of the World Methodist Council of North America

Ms. Arianna Huffington, a nationally syndicated columnist and author of 10 books; Co-host of "Left, Right & Center," Public Radio's political roundtable program

Ambassador Karl S. Inderfurth, former Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia

The Honorable Martin S. Indyk, Director, Saban Center for Middle East Policy, and Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies, The Brookings Institution Avraham Infeld, President, Hillel

Mr. Walter Isaacson, President and CEO, Aspen Institute; and former Chairman and CEO, CNN

Dr. Bruce W. Jentleson, Director, Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy and Professor of Public Policy and Political Science, Duke University

Mr. Peter Joseph, General Partner, Palladium Equity President, Lancer Industries; Incoming Chair, JCC of Manhattan; Trustee, Citizens Budget Commission; and Member, University Council, Cornell University

Ms. Mona Aboelnaga Kanaan, Senior Managing Director, Overture Asset Managers, LLC; Director, Arab Bankers Association of North America (ABANA); and Director, American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA)

The Honorable Thomas Kean, former Governor of New Jersey; and former Chair of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (a.k.a., the 9-11 Commission)

Mr. Zahi Khouri, Chairman, Welfare Association Consortium for Palestinian NGO's

Mr. Jonathan Klein, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Getty Images

Rabbi Peter S. Knobel, Board of Trustees, Union of American Hebrew Congregations (Reform)

Mr. Victor Kovner, former Corporation Counsel of the City of New York

Mr. Luis Lainer, Chair, Americans for Peace Now; and Vice President, Lainer Development, Inc.

The Honorable Ilene Leff, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Avraham Infeld, President, Hillel

Dr. Scott Lasensky, United States Institute of Peace; Georgetown University

Mr. Jeffrey Laurenti, Senior Fellow, The Century Foundation

Mr. Marvin Lender, Vice Chairman, M&M Investments; Chair, Israel Policy Forum; Former Treasurer, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; and Past Chair, National UJA

Mr. Larry Lewin, Executive Consultant

Mr. Geoffrey Lewis, Attorney, Prince, Lobel, Glovsky & Tye; Board Member, Israel Policy Forum; Immediate past President, Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston

The Honorable Samuel Lewis, U.S. Ambassador to Israel, 1997 - 1985

Mr. Robert K. Lifton, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Medis Technologies Ltd.

The Reverend Canon J. Fletcher Lowe, Executive Director, Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy

Admiral James M. Loy, former Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security

Mr. Daniel Lubetzky, Founder and CEO, Peaceworks

Mr. Frank Mankiewicz, Vice Chairman, Hill and Knowlton

Ms. Stephanie L. Mann, Crime and Violence Prevention Consultant; Author of 3 National Crime Prevention books

Mr. Theodore R. Mann, Board Member, Israel Policy Forum; Past Chair, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; Past Chair, Jewish Council of Public Affairs; Past President, American Jewish Congress; and Past Chair, National Conference on Soviet Jewry

Ms. Yaffa Martiz, Board Member, Foundation for Early Learning in Seattle; Founder, Listenening Mothers

Rabbi J. Rolando Matalon, Congregation Bnai Jeshurun, New York City

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington

Rabbi Paul Menitoff, Executive Vice President, Central Conference of American Rabbis

Ms. Ruth Messinger, former Manhattan Borough President

The Honorable George J. Mitchell, former Senator from Maine

Ms. Harriet Mouchly-Weiss, Founder and Managing Partner, Strategy XXI; and Board Member, American Greetings Inc., Viisage Technology, Inc., UJA Federation of New York

Dr. Richard J. Mouw, President, Fuller Theological Seminary

Ms. Millie Meyers, Director of Special Projects, U.S. Mission to the United Nations

Mr. David Neff, Editor and Vice-President, Christianity Today

The Honorable William Nitze, President, GEMSTAR Group; and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Environment, Health, and Natural Resources

The Honorable Sean O'Keefe, Chancellor, Louisiana State University; and former Administrator of NASA

Ms. Debra Pell, President, ArbaOne-Seed Investment in Israel; and former Chair, UJA Young Leadership Cabinet

Mr. Louis Perlmutter, Executive Managing Director, Lazard Freres & Co.

The Honorable Thomas R. Pickering, Former Under Secretary for Political Affairs The Honorable John Podesta, President and CEO, Center for American Progress; and former White House Chief of Staff

Ms. Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Author

Mr. Alan Potamkin, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO, Planet Automotive Group, Inc.

Bishop Sharon Zimmerman Rader, Immediate Past Secretary, Council of Bishops, The United Methodist Church

General Joseph W. Ralston, former Supreme Allied Commander, Europe and Commander, U.S. European Command

Mr. Albert Ratner, Co-Chairman, The Board of Forest City Enterprises

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, Founder, American Sufi Muslim Association.

Mr. Seymour D. Reich, President, Israel Policy Forum; Chair, International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations; Past Chair, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; Past Chair, American Zionist Movement; and Past President, B'nai B'rith International

Bishop John H. Ricard, SSJ, Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee and Chair of the Committee on International Policy, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Ms. Jeri Rice, Founder, Jeri Rice Boutique; Member, University of Washington Academic Medical Council; and Founding Board Member, Center for Women and Democracy at the University of Washington

Mr. Ronald Richard, President of the Cleveland Foundation

Ms. Lilly Rivlin, Co-Chair, Meretz USA; author; and film maker

The Honorable William Rogers, Vice Chairman, Kissinger Associates; and Senior Partner, Arnold & Porter

Mr. MJ Rosenberg, Director of Policy Analysis, Israel Policy Forum

Dr. Henry Rosovsky, former Dean, Harvard University

Ms. Mara Rudman, Senior Partner, Quorum Strategies; Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress; former Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and former Chief of Staff for the National Security Council

The Honorable Warren B. Rudman, former Senator from New Hampshire

Mr. Martin Sage, Author

Ms. Sybil Adelman Sage, Author

Mr. George Salem, Chairman, Arab American Institute

Dr. Cecil O. Samuelson, President, Brigham Young University

Dr. Lamin Sanneh, D. Willis James Professor of Missions and World Christianity, Yale University

Rabbi David Saperstein, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

The Rt. Rev. Victor Scantlebury, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago

The Rt. Rev. Alan Scarfe, Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Iowa

Dr. Michael Schwartz, President, Cleveland State University

Mr. Henry Siegman, Senior Fellow and Director for the U.S./Middle East Project at the Council on Foreign Relations, and former Executive Director, the American Jewish Congress

The Honorable Robert Seiple, Founder, Institute for Global Engagement

The Honorable Jeanne Shaheen, former Governor of New Hampshire

The Honorable Donna E. Shalala, President, University of Miami; and former Secretary of Health and Human Services

Mr. Harold M. Shapiro, President, Meretz USA; and Executive Committees, Americans for Peace Now and Givat Haviva Educational Foundation

Ms. Maureen Shea, Director of Government Relations, Episcopal Church USA; former Chief of Staff, People for the American Way; former Special Assistant to the President for outreach to the religious community

Mr. Stanley Sheinbaum, Publisher, New Perspectives Quarterly

Ms. Evely Laser Shlensky, Board Member, Union of American Hebrew Congregations; Former Chair, Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism

The Honorable Alan Simpson, former Senator from Wyoming

Rabbi Merle S. Singer, Temple Beth El, Boca Raton Florida

Rabbi Amy Small, President, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association

Mr. Frederick W. Smith, Chairman, President and CEO, FedEx Corporation

Mr. Alan Solomont, Chairman and CEO of Solomont Bailis Ventures, Chairman of the Board of Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston Dr. Steven L. Spiegel, Professor of Political Science, UCLA; and Director of Mideast Regional Security Programs for UCLA's Burkle Center for International Relations

Mr. Richard E. Stearns, President, World Vision U.S.

Mr. Gregg. M. Steinberg, President, International Profit Associates / Integrated Business Analysis

Bishop Walter F. Sullivan, Bishop Emeritus, Catholic Diocese of Richmond; Past President of Pax Christi, USA

Mr. Joel Tauber, Chairman, Tauber Enterprises; Member of the University of Michigan's President's Advisory Board; National Chairman, Tel Aviv University: American Council; past Chairman of the United Jewish Appeal; and Immediate past Chairman of the Executive Committee of the United Jewish Communities

Dr. Shibley Telhami, Ph.D., Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development, University of Maryland, College Park

The Rev. John H. Thomas, General Minister and President, United Church of Christ

Mr. Roger Tilles, Chairman, Director, Tilles Investment Company; Chairman of the Board, Long Island University; Board Member, Union of American Hebrew Congregations, Long Island Philharmonic and Long Island Regional Planning Board; past president of Temple Beth-El

Mr. Sidney Topol, former Chairman of the Board, Scientific Atlanta, Inc.

Mr. Robert S. Tyrer, Former Chief of Staff, Department of Defense

The Honorable Nicholas Veliotes, former U.S. Ambassador to Jordan and Egypt

Mr. William Vendley, Ph.D. Secretary General Religions for Peace

Ms. Toni Verstandig, Senior Policy Advisor, Center for Middle East Peace

Mr. George Vradenburg, former Vice President, America Online

The Honorable Ned Walker, President, Middle East Institute

Mr. Bert W. Wasserman, former CFO, Time Warner Inc.

Ms. Lynne Wasserman, Vice President, Wasserman Foundation

Ms. Sandra Wasserman, Vice President, Bert & Sandra Wasserman Foundation; and Board Member, Baruch College, Suffolk Jewish Community and Hecksher Museum

Dr. Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, Ph.D., Professor Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Mr. Melvyn I. Weiss, Senior Partner, Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman LLP

Mr. Marvin Weissberg, Real Estate Developer; Member, Board of Directors, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs; and Member, Urban Land Institute's International Counsel, World Affairs Counsel, InterAmerican Dialogue, and Roosevelt Institute

Dr. Bruce E. Wexler, MD, Professor Yale University School of Medicine; and President of a Different Future

Mr. B. Joseph White, President, University of Illinois

The Honorable John C. Whitehead, former Deputy Secretary of State

Ms. Corinne Whitlatch, Executive Director, Churches for Middle East Peace

The Honorable Philip C. Wilcox, Jr., President, Foundation for Middle East Peace

Mr. Douglas Wilson, former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs

Mr. Jay Wintrob, President and Chief Operating Officer, SunAmerica

Ms. Jane B. Wishner, Chair, Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism

The Honorable Frank G. Wisner, Vice Chairman of External Affairs, AIG; and former U.S. Ambassador to India

Mr. Alan Wurtzel, Founder, Circuit City

Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, President, Union for Reform Judaism

Mr. Ronald J. Young, Coordinator, National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East

Mr. Leo Zickler, former CEO, Oxford Development

Dr. James J. Zogby, President, Arab American Institute