ELCA NEWS SERVICE
February 10, 2006
ELCA Presiding Bishop, LWF President Urges Resolution of Hospital Tax Case 06-020-AL*
WASHINGTON, D.C. (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), urged U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to ask Her Excellency Tzipi Livni, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel, for resolution of a tax case involving Augusta Victoria Hospital. Rice and Livni were to have met this week.
In a Feb. 8 letter to Rice, Hanson said, "Augusta Victoria Hospital provides hospital and health services to Palestinian communities not otherwise served and [its] humanitarian efforts are both much needed and deeply appreciated by the Palestinian people."
"At this critical time of political unrest in the Holy Land all efforts to provide a foundation of good will should be encouraged and affirmed," Hanson said.
Augusta Victoria Hospital, which is operated by the LWF, is facing the possibility of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes to the State of Israel. In court proceedings in 2002 Israel sought to void a long-standing tax exemption the LWF has had for its humanitarian and health care activities in the region since 1966.
Israel won the case in 2002. The LWF appealed the verdict to the Israeli Supreme Court. LWF leaders are concerned the hospital's future may be jeopardized if the LWF loses the appeal.
"Our urgent request is that the tax case involving the government of Israel be resolved so that nonprofit providers, including the Lutheran World Federation's Augusta Victoria Hospital, can continue to provide care for Palestinian people who are in need," Hanson added.
* Annie Lynsen is director for grassroots advocacy and communication, ELCA Washington (D.C.) Office.
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