wfn.org | Lutheran Hospital on Alert in Jerusalem; Medical Supplies Needed

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

October 9, 2000

LUTHERAN HOSPITAL ON ALERT IN JERUSALEM; MEDICAL SUPPLIES NEEDED
00-231-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- People are "tense," and there is uncertainty
over what may occur in Jerusalem next, said Craig Kippels, chief
executive officer, Augusta Victoria Hospital, Jerusalem, in a phone
interview Oct. 9.  Kippels' comment referred to an ultimatum delivered
this weekend by the prime minister of Israel, in which he threatened
stepped-up Israeli military action as early as Oct. 9 to quell violent
confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli security forces.
     Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) is owned and operated by the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF) based in Geneva, Switzerland.  LWF is a
global communion of 131 Lutheran churches, representing 59.5 million
members, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
based in Chicago.
     There was little activity in Jerusalem Oct. 8-9  primarily because
of Yom Kippur, a Jewish holiday.  Still, the hospital remains in a state
of emergency readiness, Kippels said.
     Israeli military personnel remain around the perimeter of the
hospital property and are not allowing people onto the hospital grounds,
Kippels said.  At times they blocked the access of United Nations
personnel to the hospital, he said.
     "Every day, we go out to where the soldiers are and object to
their presence," Kippels said. "We tell them their presence is causing
conflict, not preventing it.  They tell us they have their orders to
remain in place."  The presence of Israeli military forces near the
hospital brought strong protests last week from the LWF and ELCA.
     When possible, the hospital has been sending medical teams to
sites where fighting has occurred in an effort to treat patients as
quickly as possible, Kippels said.
     Augusta Victoria, which primarily serves Palestinians, has cared
for more than 100 patients wounded in clashes with Israeli military
forces, Kippels said.   On  Oct. 6 the hospital received 24 casualties
from renewed fighting, 19 of which were the result of rubber-coated
bullet wounds to the head, chest, neck and other parts of the body.  Two
casualties were the result of severe beatings, a hospital news release
said.
     "The severity of injuries to the patients becomes more acute," the
hospital said. "AVH has also started to receive blood from donors who
are coming to the hospital."
     Augusta Victoria Hospital needs money to purchase emergency
medical supplies, Kippels said.  Lutheran World Relief, based in
Baltimore, announced Oct. 6 it is sending $10,000 to Augusta Victoria
for medical supplies.  Lutheran World Relief is the overseas relief and
development ministry of the ELCA and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
     "Keep us in your prayers," Kippels added.
     Violence in and around Jerusalem has continued since a
controversial visit Sept. 28 to a site in Jerusalem by Ariel Sharon,
leader of Israel's opposition Likud Party.  Sharon took nearly 1,000
Israeli riot police with him to a site considered holy to Jews and
Muslims.  That same day the hospital grounds became involved when
Palestinians and Israeli security forces clashed.  The clashes included
gunfire and rock-throwing, and spilled onto the hospital grounds.
     Nearly 80 people have been killed in the violence since fighting
in and around Jerusalem began.
     Meanwhile, two ELCA pastors serving an English-speaking
congregation in Jerusalem called for Christians to "remember the plight
of the Palestinians in your prayers and the small but living Christian
community in the Holy Land" as violence continued there.  The Rev.
Michael P. Thomas and the Rev. Susan P. Thomas also called for prayers
"for strength and courage for the Israeli human rights and peace
organizations."
     The Thomases serve Lutheran Church of the Redeemer through the
ELCA's Division for Global Mission.  Their comments were part of a
widely circulated Oct. 5 letter to friends, in which they reported their
family is safe.
     "Pray that hearts might be converted, justice done, peace made and
repentance shown," the Thomases said. "Pray individually and pray
together in your congregations."
     "It has meant a great deal to receive your concerns and prayers,"
their letter continued.
     Concerned Christians may wish to address their concerns directly
to the prime minister of Israel and the chairman of the Palestinian
Liberation Organization (PLO), the Thomases said.
     When writing to Ehud Barak of Israel, they said: "Implore him to
call back the heavy offensive weaponry, such as helicopter gun ships
used these past few days, from the especially tense sites in the West
Bank.  Urge him to seek security in justice rather than in overpowering
military force, so that both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace
and reject their parents' prophecy that life is war."
     PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat should be urged "to seek all available
avenues for a just peace, to quell incendiary language among would-be
leaders, to be dedicated to the good and welfare of all Palestinians,"
the Thomases added.
     This weekend the United Nations Security Council, meeting in New
York, approved a resolution that deplored the "excessive use of force"
against Palestinians as well as the "provocation" that caused the
protests.  The United States abstained.  The resolution was
supported by Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), a Washington, 
D.C.-based coalition of 15 denominations and church organizations, including
the ELCA.
     CMEP, in a news release Oct. 4, deplored use by Israeli forces of
helicopter gun ships and antitank missiles against Palestinian
protestors.  It called for cancellation of sales of military helicopters
to Israel that were approved last month. The sales were made possible by
$1.03 billion in U.S. military assistance funds and include 35 Blackhawk
and 8 Apache Longbow attack helicopters, the CMEP release said.
     CMEP said it remains committed to the principle of sharing
Jerusalem among Israelis and Palestinians, and Christians, Jews and
Muslims.
-- -- --
     A copy of the Churches for Middle East Peace news release can be
found at http://www.loga.org, the Web site for the ELCA's Lutheran
Office for Governmental Affairs.  Bishop Anderson's statement on Augusta
Victoria Hospital can be found on the ELCA's Web site at
http://www.org/ob/mideast.html

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html