wfn.org | ELCA Presiding Bishop, Other Leaders Criticize Palestinian Evictions

[<NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

Title: ELCA Presiding Bishop, Other Leaders Criticize Palestinian Evictions
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

>August 12, 2009  

ELCA Presiding Bishop, Other Leaders Criticize Palestinian Evictions
09-184-JD

WASHINGTON (ELCA) - In an Aug. 7 letter to U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop, Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), and 17 other U.S. religious leaders
expressed "grave concern about the eviction of 50 Palestinians from their
homes." They also urged the U.S. Department of State to insist on
the "immediate reversal of this ill-considered eviction and on the
restoration of these houses to their former residents."

Such an action undercuts U.S. peace-making efforts, the religious
leaders wrote. They thanked Clinton for her comments on Aug. 3 when she
said that "the eviction of families and demolition of homes in East
Jerusalem is not in keeping with Israeli obligations." The letter was
issued through Churches for Middle East Peace, a coalition of 22 public
policy offices of Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox church bodies and
organizations.

Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper, reported that the homes in question
were Jewish-owned for more than 80 years, and the courts ordered an
eviction because the Palestinian tenants violated the terms of their
rental contracts. The Palestinians were removed from their homes Aug. 2 in
the Sheikh Jarrah section of East Jerusalem near the 1949 Armistice Line
or Green Line.

The religious leaders wrote, "While the legal issues in the case
are disputed, it is clear that carrying out this eviction order at this
time is provocative." They also wrote that the order "at this time and in
this place" raises significant international political issues.

The religious leaders said the action also diminishes U.S. efforts
for advancing talks for a peace agreement. They noted that the action
contradicts terms of the Road Map brokered by the U.S. and agreed to by
both Israeli and Palestinian representatives. "For these reasons a U.S.
response that is limited to official protests is not sufficient," the
religious leaders wrote.

The Rev. Susan P. Wilder, director for Middle East policy, ELCA
Washington Office, said, "As I understand it, the Palestinian families
had not been paying rent because they contested the validity of the
Israeli landlord's ownership claim.  Their legal battles are part of a
larger, ongoing situation in East Jerusalem where Palestinians are pushed
out, for example through evictions and home demolitions.  These cases
would be more appropriately decided in the context of an overall peace
agreement that would resolve the status of Jerusalem."

"The letter to Secretary Clinton comes at a critical time
politically, when every new 'fact on the ground' -- such as the removal
of Palestinian residents from East Jerusalem and the repopulation of the
neighborhood with Jewish settlers -- can complicate the Obama
administration's efforts toward peace," said Wilder.

"Beyond the politics, it is deeply troubling to think of dozens of
people, including children, being made homeless through this eviction,"
she said.

>---

The text of the letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is
at http://cmep.org/letters/Sec_Clinton_Home_Evictions_August7.pdf 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