WASHINGTON (CNS) — The chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace has joined other American Christian leaders in calling on President-elect Barack Obama to make lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace a priority during his first year in office. Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of Albany, N.Y., is among 40 signers of a Dec. 1 letter developed by Churches for Middle East Peace and sent to Obama’s transition team. The letter urges Obama’s incoming administration to “provide sustained, high-level diplomatic leadership toward the clear goal” of establishing a viable Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel. In a statement, Bishop Hubbard said the continuing conflict between Palestinians and Israelis undermines “the social, economic and spiritual fabric of the lives of all persons in the region, including Christians who have lived in the Holy Land since the earliest days of our faith.” The full text of the letter is available online at www.cmep.org/letter.