A joint statement issued by Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan, Charles M. Watt, president of the Christian Council of Metropolitan Atlanta, and Rabbi Jacob M. Rothschild, president of the Atlanta Rabbinical Association, urged that special prayers be offered last weekend at all Metropolitan Atlanta churches and synagogues in behalf of the passengers and crews of the hijacked planes now being held as hostages in Jordan.

The public was urged to attend services on Saturday and Sunday and offer prayers in behalf of these innocent victims.

The statement issued by the three religious bodies called on all men of good will to pray for the safe release of the air passengers, regardless of nationality or religion, for the cessation of further acts of terrorism such as perpetrated by the hijackers, and for just peace in the Middle East.

The statement further noted that on Friday afternoon, September 11, a “National Day of Prayer” was called jointly by the Catholic Archdiocese of New York, National Council of Churches, and the Synagogue Council of America, and a special interdenominational service was held in front of the United Nations building in New York City.