wfn.org | Israeli Troops Reoccupy Bethlehem Lutheran School

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

March 11, 2002

ISRAELI TROOPS REOCCUPY BETHLEHEM LUTHERAN SCHOOL
02-046-JB/FI

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The property of a Lutheran grade school in the
West Bank town of Bethlehem was occupied by Israeli military forces
March 9, resulting in damage to some of the school property and
building.  The Israeli troops later withdrew, only to return around noon
on March 11, said the Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Jordan (and Palestine) (ELCJ).
     Dar al-Kalima Model School, located on a hilltop in southern
Bethlehem, is housed in a new building.  The Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America (ELCA) provided a $150,000 gift to meet the costs of building
the new facility.  The Rev. H. George Anderson, former ELCA presiding
bishop, participated in its groundbreaking in 1998.  Currently, the
school has about 240 students.
     "Soldiers were seen entering the school buildings," said the Rev.
Mitri Raheb, pastor of Christmas Lutheran Church, Bethlehem, and founder
of Dar al-Kalima.  "We also have reports that snipers have positioned
themselves on the roofs," he said in a March 11 news release.
     "As no one is allowed to get close to the site, we do not as yet
have a full picture of what is going on in and around our school," Raheb
added.
     Younan said he had permission to visit the school March 10, but
Israeli troops would not allow him to leave his car.  "It was therefore
not possible to enter the school yard or the buildings," he said.
     "As far as we know no one has been injured or killed, due to the
fact that there were no students in the school," said Younan.  "Because
of the ongoing heavy army operations all (three) schools in Bethlehem
have remained closed since Friday (March 8)."
     Younan emphasized that "no shooting has taken place, neither today
nor in the past, from any of our premises in Bethlehem."
     The ELCA Conference of Bishops, meeting in Vancouver, British
Columbia, at the time of the military occupation, is considering a
response to the incident and to the heightened violence in the region.
In recent days, many Israelis and Palestinians have been injured or
killed.
     The Conference of Bishops is an advisory body consisting of the
church's 65 synod bishops, ELCA presiding bishop and ELCA secretary.
     In a March 9 news release, Younan denounced the Israeli military
occupation of the school property.  He repeated a call for the Israeli
military to withdraw from Bethlehem and other Palestinian-controlled
areas.
     "The occupation of our church property seems to be part of a
pattern of military operations where schools, hospitals, ambulances and
medical personnel have been attacked," Younan said.  "These actions are
clearly breaching international law.  Of the more than 50 Palestinians
killed since Thursday (March 8), six deaths were reported from the
Bethlehem area."
     During the period of the Israeli withdrawal, staff members were
forbidden access to the school property, said the Rev. Sandra Olewine, a
pastor of the United Methodist Church.  Roads near the facility were cut
up, she reported.
     Olewine serves at the International Center of Bethlehem, an
outreach ministry of Christmas Lutheran Church.  It is operated by the
ELCJ.
     After worship March 10, where only a few members of Christmas
Lutheran Church were able to gather, members walked to Manger Square in
the city to join a peace procession led by the Rev. H.B. Michel Sabbah,
Roman Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem, and Younan, Olewine reported.
     Sabbah, Younan and several church leaders in the Middle East
issued a statement in which they said they believe the key to peace is
in the hands of both the Israeli government and the Palestinian
Authority.  "We believe that Israeli and Palestinian peoples are called
to be partners in an historic peace," the statement said.
     In August 2001, Israeli Defense Forces entered Beit Jala and
occupied the property of Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Reformation.
Soldiers were said to have been shooting from the church's rooftop at
rock-throwing civilians.  The occupation of the church property by
military forces drew condemnations from Lutherans throughout the world.
Israeli military forces withdrew one day later.
     In fall 2000, Israeli security forces used Augusta Victoria
Hospital in East Jerusalem as a firing post against Palestinian
protesters and then restricted staff and patients from entering the
hospital.  The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has run the hospital
since 1950.  The ELCA is a member of the LWF, which is based in Geneva,
Switzerland, and represents 60.5 million Lutherans in 133 churches
around the world.
-- -- --
     The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (and Palestine)
maintains information at http://www.holyland-lutherans.org/ on the Web.
The International Center of Bethlehem maintains a site at
http://www.annadwa.org/ on the Web.

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