Berkley hopes Mideast trip will help educate

Thursday, July 31, 2003 | 9:51 a.m.

Rep. Shelley Berkley said that she will leave for a tour of the Middle East on Saturday with the twin goals of educating fellow Congress members about the region and furthering peace in a part of the world plagued by upheaval.

Berkley, D-Nev., said she was glad that President Bush is paying attention to the Middle East. Bush met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at the White House on Tuesday.

"I am glad the Bush administration has become engaged in this process," Berkley said Wednesday. "The United States is the only nation that could bring any kind of stability or hope to these factions."

While Bush has stated that peace is the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority, the president also urged Sharon to ease restrictions on Palestinians and to restrain Israel's own actions.

Berkley is one of the leaders of the week-long tour. As a member of the House International Relations Committee and the Middle East Subcommittee, she will accompany more than 25 members of the House of Representatives -- an unprecedented number of participants for such a trip to the region.

By the end of August, Berkley noted, 10 percent of Congress will have visited Israel.

"This is a critical junction for peace in the Middle East," Berkley said. "If we are successful, the entire region will have the ability to back away from this horrible past."

The U.S. delegation is scheduled to meet with Sharon and Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and to visit ancient sites.

"We need to stay the course and ensure the Palestinian people that their dream of a Palestinian state can become a (reality) if they are willing to dismantle terrorism," Berkley said.

The group will also visit the northern border, "so we can see for ourselves what is going on over there," she said.

Berkley said she takes pride in her role of representing the estimated 80,000 to 85,000 Jewish residents of Southern Nevada.

Berkley said a sense of historical significance is everywhere in the Middle East.

"It doesn't matter if you are a Jew, a Christian or a Muslim, there is an incredible identity with the land," she said.

"The three main religions have their genesis in the same place. You're walking on stones people walked on thousands of years ago. I am walking on the same stones as Jesus Christ walked on, and the same stones Jewish patriarchs walked on."