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Israeli Soldiers Release Lutheran Pastor in Bethlehem


From News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>
Date Thu, 4 Apr 2002 16:52:02 -0600

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

April 4, 2002

ISRAELI SOLDIERS RELEASE LUTHERAN PASTOR IN BETHLEHEM
02-072-MR

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Three groups of Israeli Defense Force soldiers
entered the compound of Christmas Lutheran Church, Bethlehem, April 4
and detained the Rev. Mitri Raheb, pastor of the church.  Christmas
Lutheran is one of six congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in Jordan (and Palestine) (ELCJ).
     Beginning at 1:45 p.m., local time, Israeli soldiers went from
room to room in the church compound for nearly two hours, according to
an April 4 news release issued by the ELCJ.
     When Raheb heard the soldiers enter church property, he telephoned
the Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the ELCJ, to alert him of the
"impending danger to the property, to him and his family," stated the
release.
     Younan immediately made telephone calls to Israeli military and
government authorities and various diplomatic corps, demanding that the
soldiers be removed from the church property and that Raheb and his
family be kept safe.
     "When soldiers heard Pastor Raheb speaking in Arabic on his
telephone, their treatment of him became more rude and rough, according
to the pastor's account of his experience.  He was then prevented from
using the telephone," said the ELCJ release.
     "A second commander arrived and ordered the soldiers out.  He
spoke kindly with Pastor Raheb and assured him that he and his family
would be kept safe.  The commander and some of the soldiers then secured
broken windows and doors facing the street, so the property would be
protected.  The gift shop could not be secured because two tank shells
had caused considerable damage," the release stated.
     The soldiers left the church property at 4:10 p.m.
     "The entry into Christmas Lutheran Church is one more sign to us
that there must be a cease fire immediately," the Rev. Mark S. Hanson,
presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA),
said April 4 in a series of media interviews.
     Humanitarian concerns are important, Hanson said, noting that
food, water, medicine and electricity have been cut off to residents of
several West Bank cities.  He called those conditions and invasions of
church property by military troops "totally unacceptable."
     Hanson wrote to President Bush April 2, urging Bush to use his
influence to bring about an immediate cease-fire in the occupied
territories of the West Bank and place an international presence in the
area to establish and maintain peace.  Hanson called on Bush and U.S.
Secretary of State Colin Powell to be "men of peace."
     Stopping the violence should be the primary goal of all leaders
involved in the conflict, he said.  "When a Passover meal becomes a
bloody massacre, when the site of Jesus' birth is turned into a place of
violence, when religious sanctuaries become battlegrounds for war,
people of faith cannot remain silent," Hanson said.
     Although Bush announced April 4 he will send Powell to the Middle
East, Hanson said Bush has not done enough to bring about a cease fire
in the Middle East.
     "I am disappointed President Bush has not exercised more
leadership," Hanson said.  "The U.S. government has been too complacent.
We can assert much more leadership to bring about a cease fire."
     "My deep concern for this situation has moved me to speak as loud
as I can," Hanson told one reporter.
     In an April 4 statement to the ELCA, Hanson called on the church's
5.13 million members to "pray fervently" for all people in the Middle
East, and to pray for and write to elected leaders, urging them to use
their influence for peace.
     In response to recent armed conflicts in the Middle East, members
of the ELCA sent $100,000 April 4 for emergency relief in Palestinian
territories in the Middle East.
     Funds from the ELCA International Disaster Response were sent to
Action by Churches Together (ACT).  Of the $100,000, ACT sent $50,000
for implementation by the Middle East Council of Churches and Near East
Council of Churches Committee for Refugee Work in Gaza, and $50,000 to
Augusta Victoria Hospital, operated by the Lutheran World Federation
(LWF).  The hospital, located near the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, is
open to all people but most of its patients are Palestinians.
     Coordinated through the ELCA Division for Global Mission,
International Disaster Response helps relief agencies provide funds for
food, medicine, drinking water, emergency shelter and other materials
and supplies.  Funds are also used to rebuild communities and to repair
structures destroyed by major disasters.
     ACT is a worldwide network of churches and related agencies that
meets human need through organized emergency response.  It is based with
the World Council of Churches (WCC) and LWF in Geneva, Switzerland.  The
ELCA is a member of both the WCC and LWF.
  ELCA International Disaster Response sent $20,000 this week
directly to the ELCJ for food, water, medicine and other supplies.
-- -- --
  The full text of Bishop Hanson's statement to the ELCA is
available at http://www.elca.org/ob/0404middleeast.html on the Internet.

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


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