Five Bay Area rabbis are among 60 Jewish clerics nationwide who signed an open letter in support of the newly launched Middle East peace efforts, reports j., Northern California's Jewish weekly.

The letter states that the signers support a "peace process that will achieve a two-state solution, which we believe offers the best hope for the futures of both Israel and the Palestinian people, as well as bolstering regional stability and American strategic interests in the area." It is timed to the opening of direct talks between Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbass and endorses efforts by J Street, a new dovish Jewish-American advocacy group, to bring the peace to the region.

Local signatories to the letter include Rabbis Martin Weiner, Stuart Kelman, Sheldon Lewis -- all of whom are retired and therefore don't need to worry about facing their congregations with harsh words on Israel -- as well as Judy Shanks of Lafayette’s Temple Isaiah, and Julie Saxe-Taller of San Francisco’s Congregation Sherith Israel.