As we approach Holy Week, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land’s Bishop Sani Ibrahim Azar shares his Easter message based on Mark 16:3 “Who will roll the stone away for us?”.
ELCA Blogs
As we approach Holy Week, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land’s Bishop Sani Ibrahim Azar shares his Easter message based on Mark 16:3 “Who will roll the stone away for us?”.
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.
On Jan. 20, Joseph R. Biden Jr. was inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States. The day marked the end of four unconstructive years of U.S. foreign policy under Donald Trump with regard to Israel and Palestine. President Biden now has the opportunity to round a corner in U.S. policy and support a just peace for the people of the region.
Trump’s policies supported the further entrenchment of Israel’s occupation, for example by backing the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied territories, cutting all funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)—the U.N. agency that supports 5.7 million Palestinian refugees across Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan—and ending assistance to other U.N. and humanitarian actors operating in the West Bank and Gaza. This assistance had been used to fund education, health care (such as through the East Jerusalem Hospitals Network, of which Augusta Victoria Hospital is a member), and other basic essential services for Palestinians.
President Biden needs to take decisive action to change the course of U.S. policy in Israel and Palestine, and to renew efforts to relieve the humanitarian crisis there. UNRWA, one of the largest health care providers in Gaza, said in November that the agency was facing its “worst financial crisis ever” and would be unable to pay full staff salaries without additional donor funding. COVID-19 continues to spread rapidly in the occupied territories because Palestinian health infrastructure is weak and maintaining hygiene and social distancing requirements is difficult. This makes humanitarian assistance critical.
President Biden’s campaign platform stated that he would “restore economic and humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people, consistent with U.S. law, including assistance to refugees.” His administration needs to make good on this promise by authorizing the resumption of funding to support UNRWA and by working with Congress to restore funding at least to the previous level of $225 million for bilateral humanitarian and development programs in the West Bank and Gaza.
Furthermore, President Biden must hold Israel accountable to its international obligations as an occupying power and strongly urge Israel to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are equally and fairly provided to Palestinians living under its occupation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. So far, Israel’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan covers only citizens of Israel, excluding the nearly 5 million Palestinians who live in the West Bank and Gaza Strip under Israeli military occupation. As noted in a joint statement signed by the Middle East Council of Churches, Article 56 of the Fourth Geneva Convention specifically provides that an occupier has the duty of ensuring “the adoption and application of the prophylactic and preventive measures necessary to combat the spread of contagious diseases and epidemics.” This duty includes providing support for the purchase and distribution of vaccines to the Palestinian population under its control.
Take Action Today: Urge President Biden to restore funding to UNRWA and bilateral assistance to Gaza and the West Bank, and ask him to strongly appeal that Israel provide COVID-19 vaccines to all residents living under its control.
This week, as the White House transitions, you can reach President Biden by email — copy and paste the sample letter below into the White House “Contact Us” form.
Dear President Biden,
Congratulations on your inauguration as the 46th President of the United States. I hope that your administration will round a corner in U.S. foreign policy with regard to Israel and Palestine.
It is critical that your administration pursue a different course than the past four years of the Trump administration and restore funding to UNRWA and humanitarian relief agencies in the West Bank and Gaza. This funding is essential and even more urgent as COVID-19 continues to spread, with Palestinian health services unequipped to manage the outbreak. The Lutheran World Federation’s Augusta Victoria Hospital (which Dr. Jill Biden visited on March 10, 2010) and others in the East Jerusalem Hospitals Network need this vital assistance from the United States.
In order to stop the spread of COVID-19, it is also vital that Israel be held accountable to its international obligations as an occupying power, ensuring that COVID-19 vaccines are equally and fairly provided to Palestinians living under its occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. So far, Israel’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan covers only citizens of Israel, excluding the nearly 5 million Palestinians living under Israeli military occupation. Article 56 of the Fourth Geneva Convention specifically provides that an occupier has the duty of ensuring “the adoption and application of the prophylactic and preventive measures necessary to combat the spread of contagious diseases and epidemics.” This duty includes providing support for the purchase and distribution of vaccines to the Palestinian population under its control.
I therefore ask you to: authorize the resumption of funding to support UNRWA; work with Congress to restore funding at least to the previous level of $225 million for bilateral humanitarian and development programs in the West Bank and Gaza; and strongly urge that Israel provide COVID-19 vaccines to all residents living under its control.
Thank you,
The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Rev. Dr. Mae Elise Cannon, executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace and a pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church, co-authored an op-ed published in Religion News Service on January 4, 2021.
They write, “The fundamental question is how Congress and the administration can help build peace. On the question of annexation, the Israeli government needs to hear more clearly than it has from some American lawmakers that annexation of current Palestinian areas of any kind — de jure or de facto — is unacceptable. Palestinian Lutheran Bishop Sani Ibrahim Azar said last May that, for Palestinians, annexation is “certain to have severe consequences for Israeli and Palestinian people” and, first and foremost, for peace. The bishop said the real issue is “liberation, not annexation.””
Read the full op-ed here.
The Lutheran World Federation’s Augusta Victoria Hospital earned the “Beyond the Call of Duty for COVID-19” Response Recognition Program for proactively responding with outstanding and innovative actions in facing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Check out this video showing AVH’s response to COVID-19.
Learn more about AVH:
AVH and East Jerusalem Hospital Network Questions and Answers
On December 11, 2020 the ELCA joined 16 Christian denominations and organizations in calling for the incoming Biden administration to change the course of U.S. policy and undertake renewed efforts to bring peace to the Holy Land. The letter requests that the administration take six concrete steps to “build towards a future where human rights violations are ended and there is equality between Palestinians and Israelis.”
Read about hose six steps in the complete December 2020 Biden Transition Letter here.
ADVENT SERIES ANNOUNCEMENT
During the Advent season we often talk a lot about the Holy Land of the past without talking much about the Holy Land of the present. What is going on in Bethlehem today? How are we called to accompany our Palestinian siblings in love, joy, hope, peace, and justice? What does this mean for our own advent journey?
Join ELCA Young Adults and ELCA Peace Not Wal
ls starting Nov 30 for an Advent Pilgrimage in Palestine. This is a young adult led initiative that can be used by people of all ages.
Over the course of the 4 weeks of Advent young adults from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land will lead us on this pilgrimage through story, education, and theological reflection.
Every Monday of Advent we will share a video reflection and every Wednesday of Advent we will share a written blog post, accompanied by discussion questions and actionable items you can use with small groups.
Register here to receive Advent Pilgrimage in Palestine resources by email and/or to register for our opening educational webinar on Monday, November 30 8:30-9:30pm EST.
Follow at #AdventInPalestine!
Email peacenotwalls@elca.org
Liberation Not Annexation | ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton
In response to the government of Israel’s plan to annex parts of the West Bank, Bishop Eaton calls on the church to accompany the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land in being a disturbing presence for peace through prayer, action, and advocacy with our elected leaders. Watch Bishop Eaton’s video here.
Take Action: Use the Peace Not Walls sample letter to urge your Senators to join Sen. Chris Van Hollen and his colleagues in standing up for international law and democracy by preventing U.S. aid to Israel to fund West Bank annexation.
“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:
You can take action:
Send your members of Congress a message using this sample letter: Tell Congress: No to annexation, and no to continued occupation (June 2020)
ELCA:
“Amplifying the Message in Word and Deed: Liberation not Annexation” by Kathryn Lohre #DisturbingPresence (June 24, 2020)
Living Lutheran article: ELCA presiding bishop responds to annexation statement (June 18, 2020)
ELCA presiding bishop issues response to President Trump’s “Peace to Prosperity” document (January 28, 2020)
ELCA Ecumenical:
Faith Leader letter opposing annexation June 2020: ELCA Presiding Bishop Eaton joined 26 faith leaders in a June 2nd letter to Congress about the annexation of West Bank land by Israel. (June 2, 2020)
#ChurchesAgainstAnnexation CMEP Campaign : Bishop Eaton tweets #ChurchesAgainstAnnexation (June 29, 2020)
Letter to Congress about Peace to Prosperity Plan (February 25, 2020)
ELCJHL and Palestinian Christians:
“Statement on Unilateral Israeli Annexation Plans” by the Patriarchs and Heads of Local Churches of Jerusalem (May 7 2020)
Liberation, Not Annexation: A Statement and Pentecost Message from Bishop Azar (June 9, 2020)
The Other Side of the Wall: A Palestinian Christian Narrative of Lament and Hope, a book by Pastor Munther Issac (June 16)
“This is the Holy Land (Exodus 3:5). It Needs Justice and Only Justice,” a statement by three former Heads of Churches in Jerusalem on the Israeli annexation plans (June 18, 2020)
LWF:
Annexation will undermine Peace in the Middle East: The Lutheran World Federation with World Council of Churches (WCC), the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) and the Action by Churches Together (ACT) Alliance issued a statement on 29 June calling for an end to the occupation and for a resumption of dialogue to build lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis. (June 29, 2020)
International Agencies Warn Israeli Annexation Will Deepen Suffering and Poverty: The Lutheran World Federation and 9 other humanitarian, development and religious organizations serving Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. The statement calls on U.S. Congressional leaders and the U.S. Administration to oppose Israeli annexation of territory in the West Bank and warns that such annexation will deepen suffering and poverty. (June 22, 2020)
Statement: Peace can never be unilaterally imposed (January 29, 2020)
NGOs warn U.S. Middle East Plan risks exacerbating instability and rights violations (January 2020)