On December 13, 2021 the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem issued a Statement on the Current Threat to the Christian Presence in the Holy Land.
On December 13, 2021 the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem issued a Statement on the Current Threat to the Christian Presence in the Holy Land.
ELCJHL Bishop Ibrahim Azar speaks to us from the Old City of Jerusalem about the ongoing impact of the pandemic and the inequitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines. Watch the video here.
Respond by taking action:
Tell President Biden to defend Palestinian human rights. The administration must urge the Israeli government to ensure free and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
Use the ELCA Peace Not Walls action alert to quickly send your message to President Biden.
Invite others to respond to this call for advocacy as well.
“They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying, ‘Peace, Peace,” when there is no peace.” – Jeremiah 6:14
The international partners of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) at their virtual meeting on June 30, 2020, expressed their great concern about the current political situation in the Holy Land. The members of the Coordination Committee of Overseas Partners of the ELCJHL (COCOP) unanimously declared that the current plans of the Israeli government to annex the Jordan Valley and other parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territories are against international law. The concern is that the annexation plans will lead to more political instability.
The members of COCOP express their concern for peace and the well-being of the people living in Israel and Palestine; Jews, Christians, and Muslims. They confirm their solidarity with their sister church as well as with all other Christians in the Holy Land. They also affirm their commitment to interreligious cooperation and partnership in the Holy Land and beyond. They are afraid that the annexation plans will lead to even more Christian emigration because through annexation many parishioners will lose their land. That means the Christian presence and witness in the Holy Land would continue to diminish. This would cause direct effects also on the spiritual life of the people and on the interfaith dialogue.
They are aware that other organization and churches in different countries have already expressed their deep concerns, such as Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Canada, and the USA, where the COCOP partners come from. They are aware of the Statement of Patriarchs and Heads of Local Churches of Jerusalem of May 7, 2020 as well as the Statement of the Bishop of the ELCJHL, ‘Liberation, Not Annexation,” from Pentecost 2020. In addition, there are many other statements, including an Ecumenical Statement from the Lutheran World Federation, the World Communion of Reformed Churches, the World Council of Churches and ACT Alliance dated June 29, 2020.
The members of COCOP call upon:
It is the hope of the international partners of the ELCJHL that – together with other churches and church related organizations – all those calls will be heard and the requested actions will be taken. The members of COCOP will continue to stand in solidarity with their sister church, especially in her effort to pray, preach, work, and teach the value of life, understand, and coexistence, and to continue to advocate for their liberation and freedom. The partners together with the ELCJHL will continue to work and pray for reconciliation and peace with justice in Israel and Palestine.
Signed by:
On March 26, 2020 ELCJHL Bishop Azar shared a letter of comfort and assurance. Please find the full letter here.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land has issued a statement on COVID-19 in Jerusalem and the West Bank: ELCJHL Statement on COVID-19
In this video high school students share about their experience learning at the Lutheran Schools in the Holy Land. The 4 ELCJHL schools (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land) start with preschool and continue to Grade 12 with co-educational classrooms and curriculum designed to support inquiry, creativity, leadership with inter-faith dialog and peace resolution.
Learn more about how to support the schools here.
The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem shared an Easter message: read it here.
In her Aug 6 letter to Bishop Azar of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), Presiding Bishop Eaton joins Bishop Azar in calling on the Israeli Knesset to rescind the recently adopted law titled: “Basic Law: Israel as the Nation State of the Jewish People”.
Bishop Azar’s statement on the Jewish Nation-State law calls “on the many citizens of Israel and all people of goodwill to voice their objection to this law, and to stand for a future in which all the people in the land will enjoy equal rights, with equal responsibilities.”
In Bishop Eaton’s letter she writes “Like you, I am quite disturbed about several aspects of this new law. It excludes ethnic and religious groups that have been living in this land for centuries, restricts the international human right to self determination solely for Jews within Israel, determines the status of Jerusalem outside of any negotiation or international agreement, sets forth one language as that of a multilingual nation, and encourages Jewish settlement, which appears to be not restricted to within the de facto pre-1967 borders. A number of these provisions effectively codify a second-class status for all who are not Jews, yet who are citizens or residents of areas under the control of the State of Israel. This is a violation of fundamental democratic principles and internationally-recognized human rights.”
Bishop Eaton calls “upon my own elected officials to object to this law and its intent. I encourage the members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and our ecumenical and inter-religious partners to continue together in the urgent pursuit of a future of peace with justice in Israel and Palestine.”
In a statement issued May 15, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) Bishop Sani-Ibrahim Azar condemns the killing of unarmed protesters in Gaza and asks “people of faith around the world to join us in prayer, as well as in advocacy with your respective governments.”
Bishop Azar writes “Israel’s violent action against unarmed protestors at the Gaza border has resulted in the deaths of at least 60 human beings and more than 2000 injuries among whom are children and women. Our church, the ELCJHL, strongly condemns these killings and the unjustified and disproportionate use of force against unarmed civilians, as we condemn all violence.”
In response, ELCA presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton shared a pastoral message about the situation in Gaza.
Bishop Eaton writes:
“Like so many here in our country and around the world, I am appalled and saddened by yesterday’s escalation of Israeli military action against protestors in Gaza. Many reports indicate that at least 60 Palestinians, including six children, have died and more than 2,000 have been injured as a result of Israel’s disproportionate use of force. Our church will support a planned medical mission from The Lutheran World Federation’s Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem to Gaza to assist the wounded.
I join Bishop Sami-Ibrahim Azar of our partner church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), who today said:
We mourn with the families of the dead and dying and pray for the recovery of the injured. We believe that violent actions against the Palestinian civilians will hinder the potential for peace and reconciliation efforts between Israel and Palestine and will only lead to more violence and bloodshed.
I endorse his call “upon the Israeli government to show restraint and to pursue negotiations with Palestinian leaders rather than choosing violent action against unarmed protestors.”
Yesterday’s events should also be seen in the context of the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. When that decision was announced late last year, I said:
This unilateral action would not support the cause of peace and a two-state solution but rather would unnecessarily create further tensions and possible violence that would make efforts to bring them back together for talks much more difficult.
I also support the ELCJHL’s long-standing position, affirmed by Bishop Azar today, that “any final status agreement will include Jerusalem as a shared city for Jews, Christians and Muslims with free access to holy sites for all and that it must serve as capital of both Palestine and Israel.”
Always, but especially in this time of deep distress, I urge us all to join his call to “continue to pray, advocate and faithfully work towards a peaceful and just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.””
Bishop Sani Ibrahim Azar Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land shares a statement concerning the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem:
“The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land stands in strong opposition to the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem. This move is in violation of international law and reverses decades of foreign policy regarding Israel and Palestine. Such a unilateral decision undermines any potential for achieving just peace based on the UN Resolutions, and in fact has increased tensions and conflicts throughout the region.
Jerusalem is a very special city, holy to three religions, and therefore it should be a place of peace, justice, and reconciliation. Our church continues to pray and advocate for a peaceful and just solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict in accordance with the International Law. We want to see two viable and sovereign independent states, living side by side with agreed upon borders, and with Jerusalem as a shared city for Christians, Jews, and Muslims. We insist that there should be freedom of access to holy sites for all.
We are deeply concerned about what the opening of the US Embassy means for the future of this city and of the Holy Land. Nevertheless, we will continue to pray, to advocate, and to work for peace, justice, and reconciliation for all the people of Jerusalem.
We call upon our partner churches to urge their governments to respect the International Law concerning Jerusalem.”
Find a PDF of the full statement from the ELCJHL on the US Embassy move here.
