Letter: Mel Copeland to President Obama,
"Council for Peace in Jerusalem"
Follow-up letter:
September 2009
President Barack H. Obama,
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
This is in follow-up to my letter of January 31, attached, which proposed a new approach to attaining peace in Israel and (therefore) the world. I proposed conducting a separate conference with religious leaders with the objective of reconciling the various documents that govern the beliefs and politics of the Holy Land. I am confident I can obtain a landmark agreement among those who compete to control the Holy Land. The agreement will affect attitudes around the world and change the conversation in Islam and the foundations upon which Islam is based.
To appreciate the scope of my proposal, you might ask Jewish and Islamic (Palestinian) leaders in Jerusalem why the Golden Gate of the Temple Mount has been closed. I am confident that I can get the gate opened. The opening of this gate that has been closed since the Crusades will be evidence of a great reconciliation among the combatants over Jerusalem (and God).
My letter of January 31 points out that efforts to make peace in the Holy Land will be to no avail without addressing the issues I intend to reconcile. I made this same prediction in letters to Presidents Reagan, Carter, Bush I, and Clinton as well. So far none of you have made any progress in bringing peace to Jerusalem.
Attach me to the secretary of state’s office and allow me to do my work under the radar, as it were. It will cost you nothing. You should have someone interview me.
Sincerely yours,
Mel Copeland
January 31, 2009
President Barack H. Obama,
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
A
s your special envoy, former Senator George Mitchell, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and you work towards making a lasting peace in Israel, please keep in mind the fact that since President Carter (1978-1980) initiated that process at Camp David the prospects have gotten gloomier. The shared dream of Israel’s Prime Minister Begin and President Sadat of Egypt, as expressed by the prophet Isaiah, seems even more distant: “And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” Let us work together, we must never forsake that vision, they both attested.
Beginning with President Carter and each of the presidents thereafter (except President George W. Bush) I sent a letter proposing a new direction towards the peace talks, with the admonition that unless a certain approach were taken the peace talks would be doomed to failure. So far my admonitions or prophesies have held true.
There is a season for every endeavor, and perhaps we have reached the time when my approach can be carried out. I outlined it in a small book, “Philistia triumph thou because of me,” (1993). Unlike efforts of previous regimes, I approached the problem from the standpoint of the contractual apparatus governing each side in the dispute over the Holy Land. As a constitutional lawyer, you can appreciate the foundation “Philistia triumph thou..” takes, of reviewing the history and covenants that brought forth Israel and the nations that we know today in the Middle East. Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt and Syria were all part of the agreement of nations following WWI that resulted in their independence as sovereign states. In effect, in exchange for the creation of Israel they were given their independence.
Apart from these covenants we have others to consider, particularly those of the Holy Books upon which these governments are based and the heritage of their leaders from the Hijaz (holy land of Mecca and Medina). As you may recall, while Saddam Hussein was launching missiles at Israel, he also expressed the (pan-Islamic) concern that Israel intends to occupy all of the lands promised to Abraham “from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates.” To address this concern and others like it we need to examine the holy documents upon which such fears are based: the Koran and the Bible. Since the Koran claims to confirm the Bible, it further behooves us to review exactly that contract in the Bible, what it says as relating to the inheritance of Israel.
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After I put “Philistian Triumph thou...” on the internet in August 1994, sometime in the late 90’s aljazeera.net placed a link to it and kept it there until after they revised their website subsequent to 9/11. My document was one of about seven or eight links on aljazeera.net. “Philistia Triumph thou because of me..” recalls all of the covenants behind the state of Israel: the Biblical covenants, International and UN covenants, including “founding fathers” of the modern states of Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan (Transjordan) and Israel; the Koran and fathers of Zionism.
Just as there are many documents, philosophies and precedents behind the formation of the US Constitution so too are there legal arguments relating to the peace of Jerusalem. I know all of them, as well as expressed objections, and propose leading a conference or synod of Islamic scholars and leaders, rabbis and Israeli leaders, and others in exploring the real contractual relationship of Israel to the Holy Land. I propose walking the synod precept upon precept through the arguments and am confident I will bring them to an agreement, as expressed in “Philistia triumph thou..”
Here is what I propose: Assign me to Senator Mitchell. Under his auspices let me gather together the synod in a hall in Jerusalem and let us go through the documents. This would be done separately, and somewhat under the radar, to any other work by Mitchell.
There have been many efforts to reconcile Islam with the other “religions of the Book,” spawned under the auspices of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and recently through the Vatican. The synod outlined by “Philistia triumph thou..” would build on those efforts but put them into a more refined focus.
You are a constitutional lawyer by training and thus should be able to understand “Philistia Triumph thou…” in that context, as it reviews the series of contracts and precepts that point to a contractual solution to the Middle East Crisis and beyond.
If I work with Mr. Mitchell, a major step forward towards peace and reconciliation with the Moslem world will occur. The referenced book above has been on the internet since 1994: http://www.maravot.com/Philistia_Triumph_thou.html. (Google: philistia triumph thou.) The book, incidentally, is part of a thousand-page conversation between me and Wm. F. Buckley Jr. (National Review, Firing Line) 1992-1995. With me is a Great Troop of the world’s great thinkers, as Mr. Buckley found.
The first thing I will ask the principals at the synod to affirm is that “the Koran claims that it confirms the Bible.” Many peace-bringing precepts lead from that one precept. You will be surprised how it will change conversations and the advantage it will bring.
Sincerely yours,
Mel Copeland