wfn.org | LWF Leaders Praise Arafat For Support Of Palestinian Christians

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

November 11, 2004

LWF Leaders Praise Arafat For Support Of Palestinian Christians
04-210-LWI*/JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), based
in Geneva, Switzerland, paid tribute to Palestinian Authority
President Yasser Arafat as a strong supporter of the religious
rights and freedoms of Palestinian Christians and "always
attentive to their place and importance in the Holy Land,"
according to a statement issued by LWF leaders Nov. 11.
     Arafat, 75, died Nov. 11 in a Paris hospital.  He was
brought there Oct. 29 from Ramallah, West Bank, for treatment.
A funeral will be held in Cairo, Egypt, before his burial in
Ramallah Nov. 13.
     In a public statement, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, LWF
president and presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America, and the Rev. Ishmael Noko, LWF general secretary,
describe Arafat -- who dominated Palestinian politics for more
than 40 years -- as a leader who will be remembered in radically
different and often contradictory ways.
     While many considered him the personification of the
Palestinian struggle for self-determination and independence, a
freedom-fighter, heroic leader and father figure, others saw him
as an implacable foe and obstacle to peace, Hanson and Noko said.
They point out, however, whatever the divergent views about
Arafat, "his death removes from the scene an indisputably pivotal
figure in the political landscape of the Middle East."
     Hanson and Noko noted that while the consequences of
Arafat's death are unpredictable, it presents opportunity as well
as risk. They called on Israeli and Palestinian leaders to grasp
this moment as an opportunity to return to a renewed and active
commitment to dialogue instead of violence.
     "For the children of Abraham, both Israelis and
Palestinians, there is no alternative to peaceful co-existence,"
they stressed.
     They also called on the United States and the other members
of the "Quartet" -- the United Nations, European Union and Russia
-- involved in shaping an international policy toward resolution
of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to re-engage in the search
for peace.
     The LWF leaders offered their prayers for the LWF-member
church in the region, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan
(and Palestine) (ELCJ) and its bishop, the Rev. Munib A. Younan,
as well as the humanitarian work carried out by the LWF
Department for World Service program in Jerusalem and the West
Bank.  The ELCJ has congregations in the West Bank and Jordan.
Younan is also LWF vice president for the Asian region, and will
represent the World Council of Churches (WCC), Geneva, at
Arafat's burial in Ramallah.
     "We pray that they will continue to be strengthened for
their witness and mission, and for their role as bridge-builders
and peace-makers," the statement said.
     The LWF is a global communion of 138 Lutheran churches in 77
countries representing 65 million Lutherans.  The WCC is a
fellowship of 342 churches in more than 120 countries.
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     The complete text of the statement from the LWF leaders is
at http://www.lutheranworld.org/News/LWI/EN/1556.EN.html on the
LWF Web site.

*Information provided by Lutheran World Information, Geneva,
Switzerland.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news