wfn.org | LWF Council 11-2005 LWF Leaders Meet with Israeli President

["Frank Imhoff" <Frank.Imhoff@elca.org>]

LWF Leaders Raise Concerns about Augusta Victoria Hospital with Israeli
State President 
Appeal for Government Intervention in AVH Tax Exemption Case 

LWF Council Meeting in Jerusalem/Bethlehem, 
31 August * 6 September 2005

PRESS RELEASE N0. 11-2005

JERUSALEM/BETHLEHEM, 6 September 2005 (LWI) - In a meeting with Israeli
President Moshe Katsav, September 5, leaders of the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) discussed prospects for Middle East peace and pressed
specific financial concerns about the future of the LWF-run Augusta
Victoria Hospital (AVH) in East Jerusalem. 

LWF President Bishop Mark S. Hanson, General Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael
Noko, and Vice-President for the Asia region, Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan,
met with Katsav in Jerusalem. They are attending the LWF Council meeting
in Jerusalem and Bethlehem August 31 - September 6.

Hanson, also presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America, told Katsav that Lutherans were pleased with the Israeli
government's decision to withdraw settlements from Gaza. The LWF
Council "came here out of our commitment to strengthen
Jewish-Christian relationships and Christian-Muslim relationships," he
said.

Calling the withdrawal from Gaza "an historic opportunity," the
Israeli president said the government's decision to withdraw was
painful and divided Israeli society. He said the "gap" between
Israelis and Palestinians "has never been as small as now."
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, whom the LWF leaders met
with September 3, has the ability to stop terrorism against Israeli
civilians, Katsav said. 

According to Katsav, terrorism was key to why Palestinian people were
suffering injustice, unemployment and poverty. He said Israel did not
want an escalation of bloodshed, and noted that if Abbas could stop
terrorism, it would benefit the Palestinian people.

Hanson said "stopping terrorism and violence is a major challenge,"
and affirmed Lutherans' rejection of violence, and their "support
for a just and lasting peace for all." Lutherans were concerned about
the "massive struggle" of the Palestinian people to rebuild Gaza,
and freedom of movement for people in the West Bank so that they are not
separated from their jobs and families, the LWF president told Katsav.

Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the
Holy Land, told Katsav that Israel's security was dependent on
justice, peace and reconciliation for Palestinians. He said local
religious leaders have started a "Council for Religious Leadership in
the Holy Land" to promote greater religious understanding. 

"I believe that if the Lutheran church can contribute positively by
stopping terrorism, we can renew political negotiation and dialogue,"
the Israeli president said.

Noko said the LWF's contribution to peace and international
understanding included its 1984 action to renounce the anti-Jewish
writings of Martin Luther, the German church reformer who started the
Protestant Reformation. 

The AVH represents the LWF's commitment to peace and humanitarian
service, Noko said. Presently the hospital is facing the possibility of
paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes to the State of Israel.
In 2002 Israel took the LWF to court seeking to void a longstanding tax
exemption the hospital has had since 1966 with Jordan. The exemption was
continued under the State of Israel in 1967. 

Israel won the case in a district court, and the LWF appealed the
verdict to the Israeli Supreme Court. The LWF leaders are concerned that
the hospital's future may be jeopardized if the LWF loses the appeal.
"It's a difficult situation for us to continue with humanitarian
services with the imposition of taxes. We hope that we can find a
solution," Noko said.

Hanson cautioned that if the government of Israel did not intervene and
solve the tax case fairly, it could have negative consequences for
Israel. He said more and more people were watching this case and its
implications for the hospital, including the German president and prime
minister of Norway, both of whom have expressed concern to the Israeli
government. 

Katsav's adviser, Avi Granot said the AVH was registered as a
hospital not a religious institution, and was taxed like all hospitals
in Israel. But Rev. Mark B. Brown, director of the Jerusalem-based LWF
Department for World Service (DWS) regional program said Israeli
hospitals could qualify as teaching hospitals and receive subsides for
which the AVH could not qualify.

"The hospital is unique. We're serving people who are not part of
the national health insurance who have little or no capacity to pay,"
Brown said of the AVH's services that include cancer treatment and
kidney dialysis. 

The LWF leaders also had brief courtesy visits September 5, with
Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Silvan Shalom; Israel's
Minister of the Interior, Ophir Paz-Pines; and Jerusalem Mayor, Uri
Lupolianksi. (745 words)

*There are around 170 participants in this year's Council meeting,
including representatives from the LWF member churches on the 49-member
governing body. Also attending are officials from LWF partner
organizations, invited guests, stewards, interpreters and translators,
and LWF staff. The Council is the annual governing body meeting between
Assemblies held every six years. The current Council was appointed at
the July 2003 Tenth Assembly in Winnipeg, Canada. It comprises the
President, Treasurer and 48 persons elected by the Assembly. Other
members include advisors, who are ordained and lay persons representing
the different LWF regions. 

During the Council Meeting, the LWF Office for Communication Services
can be reached at mobile telephone No. +972 52 378 1673.

*	*	*

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 140
member churches in 78 countries all over the world, with a total
membership of nearly 66 million. The LWF acts on behalf of its member
churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith
relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights,
communication, and the various aspects of mission and development work.
Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service.
Unless specifically noted, material presented does not represent
positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the
dateline of an article contains the notation (LWI), the material may be
freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]

*	*	*

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