wfn.org | Israel/Palestine: 'The Things that Make for Peace'

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

Working for Reconciliation in Israel/Palestine

GENEVA, 22 June 2001 (LWI) - At its 2001 meeting here, June 12-19, the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Council conducted its business in a way that
kept the impact of the conflict in Palestine/Israel in focus. The theme of
this year's meeting "The Church: Called to a Ministry of Reconciliation,"
chosen by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (ELCJ) permeated the
Council's plenary and committee discussions.

During a press meeting at the United Nations offices here, June 15, speakers
including Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko, LWF general secretary, ELCJ Bishop Munib A.
Younan, a Palestinian and an Israeli mother Mrs. Huda Abu Gharbieh and Mrs.
Daliah Landau respectively presented perspectives on their work and
commitment toward justice in the Holy Land.

"Our church pledges to work for justice, peace and reconciliation until they
are realized," Younan who is well known as an outspoken advocate for peace
in the Middle East and for the rights of the Palestinian people even beyond
the Lutheran communion told journalists. In January the Christian Peace
Movement of Finland awarded Younan the Finnish Peace Prize for the year 2001
recognizing his efforts to promote peace, co-existence and dialogue among
Christians, Jews and Muslims in the Middle East and worldwide.

The Lutheran bishop stressed that the world community must have one standard
for the implementation of international agreements and referred especially
to UN resolutions 242 and 338, and the General Assembly resolution 194,
emphasizing the international legitimacy of the Palestinian people as a
nation. He called for an end to occupation, closures, sieges and violence,
and a halt of the construction of Jewish settlements. Younan underlined that
the Mitchell Commission report (which points to reasons for the outbreak of
violence in the territories and recommends the resumption of negotiations
between Israel and Palestine) on the continuation of the peace process
should be fully implemented in order to build confidence.

The Palestinian Lutheran church wants Israelis to live in security and
Palestinians to have their freedom and self-determination; both are mutually
dependent on each other, said Younan, who also pointed out that the conflict
is not religious, but political. Speaking also for other churches in
Jerusalem, he reiterated that Jerusalem must be shared between Palestinians
and Israelis as well as between Jews, Christians and Muslims.

Noko's strong affirmation of basic requirements for peace in the Middle East
resonated well with Younan's call. The general secretary noted that the LWF
as an international expression of a family of churches "which includes an
indigenous Palestinian church," and as the provider of essential health
services to the wider Palestinian community in the West Bank and East
Jerusalem, "has many reasons to raise its voice against injustice and
violence in Israel-Palestine." The 3,000-member ELCJ with congregations in
Jerusalem, Jordan and Palestine is one of LWF's 133 member churches. The
Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem is run
by the LWF through its Department for World Service.

For the sake of Israeli and Palestinian children alike, dialogue and
negotiation must be resumed, the "grossly excessive use" of armed force must
stop, civilian populations must be protected and not attacked, the economic
stranglehold on the occupied Palestinian territories must be loosened, the
construction and expansion of the intensely provocative settlements must
cease, the attacks upon Israeli civilians must be brought to an end, and,
ultimately, the occupation must be abandoned, Noko urged. These essential
concerns "are the things that make for peace," he stressed.

Landau, a teacher living in Jerusalem where she runs a meeting center for
Jews and Palestinians, and Gharbieh, director for support services at the
AVH, spoke of their personal experiences as women and mothers and their
involvement in the conflict and search for peace.

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 133 member
churches in 73 countries representing over 60.5 million of the 64.3 million
Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas
of common interest such as ecumenical 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 information service of the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF). 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 acknowledgement.]

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