wfn.org | Lutheran Bishop, Palestinian Christians, Call for End to Israeli Occupation

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Title: Lutheran Bishop, Palestinian Christians, Call for End to Israeli Occupation
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

>December 11, 2009  

Lutheran Bishop, Palestinian Christians, Call for End to Israeli Occupation
09-275-JB

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- At least 16 Palestinian Christians, including a
Lutheran bishop, prepared and released Dec. 11 a detailed document
calling for an end to the occupation of Palestine by Israel.  The Rev.
Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and
the Holy Land, Jerusalem, is one of the authors and signers of a document
commonly known as "The Kairos Palestine Document."

Younan explained previously that in 2007, the World Council of
Churches, Geneva, initiated the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum
(PIEF).  PIEF is an international, interchurch advocacy organization to
help Palestinian Christians strengthen their presence in the Holy Land
and mobilize churches around the world for peace with justice in the
Middle East, he said.

PIEF has been working on a joint statement to reflect the forum's
vision, patterned after the "Kairos Document," a 1985 statement by South
African theologians.

"Our Kairos document is an expression of the aspirations of
Palestinian Christians inspired by our common spiritual heritage," Younan
said.

In the document, the Palestinian Christians raised a series of
concerns about the conditions under which Palestinians live, leading to
their conclusion that Israel must end its occupation of Palestinian
territories. "Then they will see a new world in which there is no fear,
no threat but rather security, justice and peace," the Christians wrote.

The Christians addressed their letter to members of their churches
in Palestine, religious and political leaders in Palestine, Israeli
society, the international community and "Christian brothers and sisters"
in churches around the world.

The Christians wrote that after prayer, reflection and an exchange
of opinion "(we) cry out from within the suffering of our country, under
the Israeli occupation, with a cry of hope in the absence of all hope, a
cry full of prayer and faith in a God ever vigilant, in God's divine
providence for all the inhabitants of this land."

They wrote that the document was released "because we have reached a
dead end in the tragedy of the Palestinian people."  They criticized
decision-makers whom they said seem more content with managing the crisis
versus solving it.  They questioned what the international community is
doing, what political leaders in Palestine, Israel and the Arab world are
doing, and what the church is doing to resolve the crisis for
Palestinians.

"The problem is not just a political one.  It is a policy in which
human beings are destroyed, and this must be of concern to the Church,"
the Christians wrote.

The Kairos Palestine Document addresses a series of "realities" for
Palestinians, beginning with the assertion that "the reality is one of
Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, deprivation of our freedom
and all that results from this situation."

In a written statement, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and president of the
Lutheran World Federation, Geneva, said "the ELCA has received with
somber, yet hopeful hearts this authentic word from our brothers and
sisters in the Palestinian Christian community.  Their perspective on the
current conflict between Israel and the Palestinians warrants our respect
and attentiveness."

Hanson noted the document is an appeal from an ecumenical group of
theologians and church leaders, directed to members of their own
churches.  "It is primarily a word of hope in a time of overwhelming
pessimism in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a pessimism that could
lead to despair.  Recalling earlier Kairos documents, we join these
leaders in their search for signs of hope and positive responses in the
midst of a dire and seemingly intractable situation," he said.

The document's writers specifically addressed concerns about the
separation wall on Palestinian territory, Gaza, Israeli
settlements, "daily humiliation" for Palestinians at military
checkpoints, separation of family members, restriction of religious
liberty, lack of freedom of access to holy places, Palestinian refugees
and prisoners, the status of Jerusalem, "Israeli disregard" for
international law and international resolutions, "paralysis" of the Arab
world and the international community, discriminatory policies, and the
emigration of young people.

The Christians criticized the State of Israel, which they said
justifies its actions as self-defense. "In our opinion this vision is a
reversal of reality.  Yes there is Palestinian resistance to the
occupation.  However, if there were no occupation, there would be no
resistance, no fear, no insecurity," the Christians wrote.

The Christians noted that Palestinians have responded in a variety
of ways: through negotiations and through armed resistance. The "tragedy"
worsened through internal conflicts among Palestinians and the separation
of Gaza from rest of the Palestinian territory, they wrote.

"We call on the people of Israel to be our partners in peace and not
in the cycle of interminable violence. Let us resist evil together, the
evil of occupation and the infernal cycle of violence," they wrote.

The Palestinian Christians expressed gratitude to churches of the
world for the solidarity they have shown, and invited them to "come and
see."  They asked the international community "to stop the principle
of 'double standards' and suggested possible "economic sanctions and
boycott be applied" against Israel to reach "a just and definitive peace"
to end the occupation.

The Christians also called on Jews and Muslims to join them for
peace and to rise above political positions; said education is important
for Palestinians; appealed to Jews and Muslims not to make a religious
state but a state "for all its citizens"; asked for an end to division
among Palestinians; and noted the importance of Jerusalem to Christians,
Jews and Muslims.

>---

The Kairos Palestine Document is at http://bit.ly/8WURim on the Web.

For information contact:

John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog