wfn.org | ELCA Bishops Support Mideast Peace Efforts, Pray for all Involved

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

October 16, 2000

ELCA BISHOPS SUPPORT MIDEAST PEACE EFFORTS, PRAY FOR ALL INVOLVED
00-235-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America [ELCA] encouraged President Clinton to
continue his efforts to halt the violence in Israel and "forge a just
and comprehensive peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians."
The bishops also said the President and his negotiating team remain in
their daily prayers, along with Palestinians and Israelis who are
"suffering in so many ways these days."
     The Rev. H. George Anderson, ELCA presiding bishop, wrote to
Clinton Oct. 12 on behalf of the Conference of Bishops.  The letter to
the president was written a few days before an emergency summit meeting
in Egypt involving Clinton, Ehud Barak, prime minister of Israel, and
Yasser Arafat, chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization
(PLO).
     The Conference of Bishops is an advisory body of the ELCA's 65
synod bishops, the presiding bishop and ELCA secretary.  At its Oct. 5-10 
meeting here, the conference asked Anderson to write to Clinton
expressing its concerns about the current turmoil in the Middle East.
     "We have watched, heartbroken, as the numbers of killed and
injured rise," the letter said.  "We are particularly aware of the
impact the fighting is having on the Palestinian community, because of
our church's closeness to Lutheran congregations in and around Jerusalem
and our involvement with the Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of
Olives."
     In a statement Oct. 3, the ELCA called for an end to the fighting
and protested what it called "the disproportionate and excessive use of
lethal force by Israeli forces."  The church strongly protested the
presence of Israeli security forces on hospital property, during which
the Israeli forces were shooting at Palestinians.  The ELCA also
expressed deep concern that Israeli security forces continued to block
access of patients to Augusta Victoria.  The hospital is owned and
operated by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) , a global communion of
131 Lutheran churches representing 59.5 million members.  The ELCA is a
member of the LWF.
     The conference called on Clinton "to support a full, impartial,
international investigation of the recent violence" in the Middle East.
They asked Clinton to press Barak to restrain his troops and urge Arafat
to do all he can to stop the violence.
     The ELCA bishops said the excessive use of lethal force by the
Israeli military and their use of tanks and helicopters has helped
escalate the conflict.
     "We oppose Israel's use of U.S.-supplied Apache and Cobra
helicopters against Palestinian civilians and Israel's use of Blackhawk 
helicopters in its attack on the electrical grid in Lebanon in May," the letter 
said.  "We ask that the recently approved sales of Blackhawk and Apache 
helicopters by the United States to Israel be suspended."
     The Conference of Bishops said it appreciated Clinton's efforts at
the July 2000 Camp David Summit and the discussions on sharing Jerusalem
among Christians, Jews and Muslims.  However, they said, violence and
protests in Arab nations and at the United Nations made it clear that
the international community must be more involved to protect Jerusalem's
citizens.
     "We encourage you to be open to a greater role for the United
Nations in resolving Jerusalem's status and other issues such as the
future of the refugees," said the conference of Bishops' letter to the
president.
     In expressing hope for a lasting peace, the bishops said such an
agreement must provide for "an equitable solution for Jerusalem that
respects the human rights of Palestinians and Israelis as well as the
three religious communities."  Negotiations regarding Jerusalem must be
"firmly rooted in the United Nations Security Council resolution 242,
which calls for Israel's withdrawal from land occupied in 1967, and in
the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits an occupying power from
transferring its population into occupied territories and deals with the
protection of civilians under occupation," they said.
     Finally, the Conference of Bishops reminded Clinton that the
ELCA's Palestinian church partners have repeatedly appealed to the
international community for protection of the Palestinians in Jerusalem
and in Palestinian territories.
     "They fear for their safety because of the presence and activities
of armed settlers, often protected by Israeli troops, and vigilante
patrols," the ELCA bishops said. "We ask that you help to put into place
the protection that is needed for those who are vulnerable in this
context."
-- -- --
     The Oct. 12 letter is available at http://www.elca.org/ob/mideast2.html 
on the ELCA Web site.  The Oct. 3
letter is at http://www.elca.org/ob/mideast.html on the World Wide Web.

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