wfn.org | Israeli Soldiers Overrun Lutheran School of Hope, Ramallah

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

April 17, 2002

ISRAELI SOLDIERS OVERRUN LUTHERAN SCHOOL OF HOPE, RAMALLAH
02-091-MR/MJ**

     CHICAGO (ELCA)   Israeli Defense Force soldiers "invaded" the
Lutheran School of Hope, Ramallah, West Bank, April 16 at 11:35 a.m.
local time.  The school is operated by Lutheran Church of Hope, one
of six congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan
(and Palestine) (ELCJ).
     "Despite signs indicating the building is a Christian school,
the soldiers blasted open gates and the front door and entered the
school," according to a news release  the ELCJ issued April 16.  No
students, teachers, staff or guards were present in the school at the
time.  The school had been empty for more than two weeks.
     The incursion continued in the afternoon, despite the efforts
of the Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the ELCJ, the release said.
     Bishop Younan "called many people in the Israeli government and
military, as well as foreign diplomats and partner churches, in an
effort to stop the incursion as soon as possible," the ELCJ release
said.
     The Rev. Ramez Ansara, pastor of Lutheran Church of Hope and
school, "lives only a short distance away but is unable to go to the
school because of the curfew," said the release.  The whole city of
Ramallah is under a 24-hour curfew, "so neighbors could only watch
the soldiers' actions and telephone the pastor."  Neighbors also
reported "the sound of guns and sledgehammers being used inside the
Lutheran school, and hearing glass being broken."
     "Bishop Younan and the Lutheran church denounce such acts and
demand that the international community and the State of Israel
secure the protection and the sanctity of church compounds and
properties, including schools," the release said.
     "It seems that this is not a war against terrorism," Younan
said.  "This seems to be a war against the hope and the future of the
Palestinian people.  We demand that every institution that gives hope
to the Palestinians must be protected and strengthened.  We also
demand full withdrawal of the Israeli army from the re-occupied
territories in order that the Palestinian society may operate in the
normal way like other societies in the world, and that children and
youth may go again to school and university and revive the remaining
hope in them."

LWF DELIVERS FOOD TO WEST BANK
     Staff of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Jerusalem
reported that a convoy, made up of two trucks loaded with food
supplies, gained access into Bethlehem, Beit Jalla and Beit Sahur
April 15.  The trucks were accompanied by representatives of several
major international Christian agencies including LWF.
     The convoy was "an expression of solidarity with the people
living in the towns," according to an update Action by Churches
Together (ACT) issued April 15.  The people "warmly welcomed" the
convoy, according to ACT and LWF.  Food was distributed from "central
church-owned centers" in the three towns.  Convoys are planned for
Tulkarem, West Bank, April 17 and Ramallah, West Bank, April 19.  LWF
and ACT will participate in both convoys.
     LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition.  Founded in 1947, the LWF now has 133 member churches in
73 countries representing 60.2 million of the world's nearly 64
million Lutherans.
     The LWF, based in Geneva, Switzerland, is a member of ACT -- a
worldwide network of churches and related agencies meeting human need
through coordinated emergency response.  The ACT Coordinating Office
is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the LWF.  The
ELCA is a member of the LWF and the WCC.

** The Rev. Mary E. Jensen is communication assistant for the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (and Palestine).

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