Today the Institute for Global Engagement’s (IGE) founder, Ambassador Robert Seiple, and president, Dr. Chris Seiple, joined Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant leaders in signing an ecumenical letter to President Barack Obama urging his continued leadership in bringing a lasting peace to the Holy Land. The ecumenical letter, issued by Churches for Middle East Peace, will be delivered to President Obama following his return from his historic visit to the Middle East.

This effort is the latest in IGE’s ongoing leadership on this issue. In December 2008, IGE joined Christian leaders in signing a ecumenical letter to President-elect Obama urging him to make peace in the Holy Land a priority. In November 2007, IGE joined prominent Christian leaders in issuing a comprehensive statement on the Middle East peace process. The organizers of the statement had previously organized a similar letter sent to President Bush in July 2007 (correcting the widespread view that evangelicals are opposed to a two-state solution), which was covered by CNN. IGE also facilitated a discussion between evangelical leaders and then Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice in October 2007, to discuss the peace process.

More recently, IGE led a delegation of American evangelical faith leaders to Syria in April to meet with Syrian faith and political leaders of both the Muslim and Christian faith.

And last month, IGE signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Kairos Project, a newly-formed organization dedicated to educating faith communities in the United States about peace in the Middle East.