Photo credit: LWF/Jerusalem

BACKGROUND

Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) is operated by The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Jerusalem. It started in partnership with the U.N. Relief and Works Agency in 1948 as a major medical facility in Jerusalem to care for Palestinian refugees. Today, most of the patients served by the hospital continue to be in social need and are seeking life-saving specialized care.

Augusta Victoria is the first and only hospital to provide radiation therapy for cancer patients in the Palestinian territories and is the only medical facility in the West Bank offering pediatric kidney dialysis. On a daily basis, these and other specialty services touch countless lives, both young and old, from communities across the Palestinian territories.

The Palestinian Authority continued to refer patients to AVH in 2016 for cancer treatments and other treatments not available in Gaza or the West Bank. The hospital had serious cash-flow problems in 2016 as well as prior years due to delayed payments by the Palestinian Authority to cover the costs for the cancer patients it refers to the hospital. LWF, the hospital, and the hospital’s board, together with LWF member churches and related agencies, continued their advocacy work in 2016 addressing the cash-flow crisis.

The LWF Jerusalem Program is pleased to report that in early 2017 the United States released $25 million for Palestinian Authority debts to East Jerusalem hospitals, of which Augusta Victoria Hospital received more than $11 million, reducing by approximately 30 percent the amount of money owed to AVH by the Palestinian Authority for the treatment of Gaza and West Bank patients referred to AVH.

Many thanks to everyone who advocated in 2016 on behalf of the funding for Augusta Victoria Hospital and the East Jerusalem hospitals! Your efforts are much appreciated.  The bipartisan support for the release of the U.S. funds was important and will be helpful in 2017 when the problem will most likely come up again.

Despite the U.S. payment and another from the European Union, the debt of the Palestinian Authority for health care in East Jerusalem remains unacceptably high. Therefore, the LWF will continue to encourage advocacy by friends and partners.

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Contact the Peace Not Walls team for additional information: peacenotwalls@elca.org.

Take action by sending a letter to your members of Congress here.

The LWF Jerusalem Program 2016 Annual Report is printed and ready to be sent out! The report details the activities of the LWF Jerusalem Program, highlighting news and updates from Augusta Victoria Hospital and the Vocational Training Program.

How do I get a copy?

Are you, your church, or your organization interested in reading about what we have been up to? We will happily send you a printed copy (or ten!) of the 2016 Annual Report by mail. Click below to submit your contact information.

Order a print copy here

Read it online here

Resurrection Joy in a Fearful World

Easter Message 2017

From Bishop Dr. Munib Younan

Matthew 28:5-8

“The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.This is my message for you.’ So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.”

***

Alleluia, Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia! Al-Masih qam! Hakkan qam!

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, on Palm Sunday morning, after being in church and feeling encouraged by the message of “Hosanna!” sung by the children and the congregation, I heard the sad news of the massacre of our sisters and brothers in two churches in Egypt. One cannot receive such horrific news except with tears. The feelings of great joy on our feast day, and great sadness over such a horror, are inseparable as much as the great joy and great fear of Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were inseparable as they ran from the empty tomb.

And so I must confess that as I prepared this Easter message from Jerusalem, the city of the crucifixion and resurrection, to the whole world, I had some doubts in my heart. I thought: What message can I bring this year that is different from past years? Has the Easter message lost its meaning, disregarded by Christians as well as others? Is it just a message of idealism, far from the lived experience of people today? What does the resurrection of Jesus have to say to us in the midst of the terrors, chaos, and uncertainty of today’s world?

But then I remember that the life of faith is not always one of assurances or certainties. Jesus’ own disciples struggled to understand his teachings and his journey to the cross. Peter denied Jesus three times. The guards at the tomb were so afraid that they became “like dead men.” Mary Magdalene and the other Mary ran from the tomb with fear and great joy. And on the walk to Emmaus, the disciples did not recognize the risen Christ until the breaking of the bread.

Therefore, there is no shame to admit that here in the Middle East it is a very challenging time to proclaim and live the Good News of the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus. The struggles we are facing are very real and are becoming even more complicated. We have good reason to feel confused! And still, the message of Easter comes to us very clearly: Christ is risen! The powers of sin and death have been defeated! And as the angel of the Lord has promised, the risen Christ now goes before us to lead the way in this broken and often frightening world.

I think of the story of St. Augustine, who was full of doubt but prayed earnestly for the gift of faith in God. While he was praying, he heard the voice of a child saying, “Pick it up and read! Pick it up and read!” He thought this could be the Lord telling him to read the Holy Scriptures, so he searched and found a Bible. Then he opened it and read the first verse he saw, from the Letter of Paul to the Romans: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh or the gratification of your desires.” (Romans 13:14) The young Augustine read no further, for there was no need. He later wrote: “No sooner had I reached the end of the verse than the light of certainty flooded my heart and all dark shades of doubt fled away.”  (Confessions) Thanks be to God, the risen Christ always comes to us when we are full of doubt, and shows us the way of love and light! For this reason, even in the midst of our confusion and sadness over the killing of innocent Christians at prayer, we can say with certainty: There is no religion which accepts the killing of innocent worshipers, who were doing nothing but seeking closeness with God. These acts are untenable and unaccepted in any religion. We are grateful that the vast majority of Muslim friends also stand with us as equal citizens against such horrors.

Today we are also facing a horrible and confusing situation in Syria, in Iraq, and across the Middle East. We see the images of chemicals stealing the breath from children, and of cities lying in rubble, and we wonder, “What can we do?” At the same time, we see missiles flying and we are afraid of what comes next for Syria, and for the whole Middle East.

And again, although we may feel confused, because we have seen the risen Christ we know one thing for certain: Syria has no need of more weapons, more violence, or more massacres, or more extremism from anybody. This is creating international tension, straining relations between friends and partners, and we are afraid of what comes next. I urge world leaders to hear the words of Jesus to Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane, after Peter had cut off the ear of the high priest servant: “Return your sword to its sheath! For those who live by the sword will die by the sword.” Violence breeds violence, whether it is committed by terrorists or by governments. I call on the leaders of the world: Return your swords to their sheaths! Bring instead peace based on justice to Syria, to Iraq, to Palestine and to the whole Middle East. Bring a future for us and for our children.

As Christians in the Holy Land today, the turmoil in these many neighbor countries is very frightening. At the same time, here at home we are in our fiftieth year of occupation. Many Palestinian Christians are asking, “How long, O Lord? When will this end? Where do we belong?”

For this reason, I feel it is important to acknowledge that even as we sing our joyful “Hallelujahs” and celebrate Our Lord’s victory over death, some fear and confusion and doubts still remain. And yet, we must remember that we are not alone. These are the very same feelings the disciples felt after the resurrection of Jesus.

When our Lord was raised on that resurrection morning, the earth shook, an angel arrived in a flash of lightning, and the stone rolled away from Jesus’ tomb. It seemed the very foundations of heaven and earth had shifted. What we proclaim today as Good News, at that time was only confusing, frightening news! The guards, the women, and the disciples were all afraid of what they saw and heard. They were all afraid of what would come next. They wondered what the resurrection meant for their lives. And yet, this same earth-shaking event is the one that gives us hope today. The powers and principalities of sin and death could not overcome the love of God. Yes, they could crucify Jesus. Yes, they could bury Jesus. But they could not bury God’s love for the world!

In the midst of their confusion, the angel told the ones gathered at the tomb, “He is not here, He is risen! He is not here, He is risen!” In the midst of bombings, Christ is risen! In the midst of persecution, Christ is risen! In the midst of violence and occupation, Christ is risen! In the midst of poverty and sickness, Christ is risen! In the midst of war, Christ is risen! And in the midst of our families, our communities, and our churches today, Christ is risen!

This is our hope, and we must cling to it. The message of Easter is not idealism. Christ’s victory over sin, death, and despair, is the only hope that has kept Christians steadfast in this land for two thousand years. It is the only hope that carried the saints of every age through trials, struggles, and persecutions. And it is the only hope that today will carry us through these confusing times in the Middle East and throughout the world. The Good News of the resurrection gives Christians clarity and purpose, no matter where they are, and no matter what the future brings. Jesus, the Morning Star, goes before us to lead the way and the Way of Jesus is always the way of peace, justice, mercy, healing, reconciliation, respect for diversity, and living together as one people of God.

Therefore, Palestinian Christians will continue to be steadfast in our land. We will continue to carry the message of resurrection in the face of all who promote a culture of death. In the midst of power struggles, political maneuvering, and the growth of extremism in our world, we will only proclaim the culture of life and life abundantly, will full dignity for every human being.

As we celebrate Our Lord’s victory over death, in this 500^th year of the Reformation, let us trust that Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection have already liberated us by grace. We are not afraid! Despite all troubles and tribulations, let us go out from our churches and into the world with the joy of the resurrection, knowing that the risen Christ goes always before us. Let us encourage one another with the two-thousand-year-old Easter greeting of Jerusalem:

Hallelujah! Christ is risen! Al-Masih qam! Hakan qam!

For more information contact Adrainne Gray at agray@elcjhl.org and visit www.elcjhl.org

Text provided by the ELCJHL

The Certificate and Gold Medal

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land is pleased to announce that on Monday, 20 February The Right Rev. Dr. Bishop Munib Younan was named the 34^th recipient of the distinguished Niwano Peace Award for his work toward interreligious dialogue among Christians, Muslims, and Jews in Jerusalem and worldwide.

Each year The Niwano Peace Foundation (NPF) of Japan recognizes an individual or organization that has dedicated their service and scholarship to promoting peaceful cooperation among religions particularly in places of difficulty. NPF focuses on peace within the fields of culture, science and education.

“In a world characterized by leaders who seek to emphasize difference and hatred, Bishop Younan has consistently strived for the opposite. His work emphasizes peace over power and unity over monotheistic domination,” the NPF International Committee wrote.

“The aspiration of the Niwano Peace prize is that it be a spiritual equivalent to the Nobel Peace Prize,” wrote Niwano International Committee member Katherine Marshall in a 2011 Berkley Center for Religion blog about the prize.

The International Center for Data on Awards (ICDA) ranks the Niwano Award in category three out of five as one of the world’s most prestigious awards. The ranking is based on factors such the award’s international influence as practitioners of award giving, the recognition of award recipients, and as models for other awards.

The NPF International Committee is honoring Bishop Younan for his cultural work in the Middle East and globally of fostering and participating in interfaith dialogue with Jerusalem’s three Abrahamic faith leaders and their communities despite historic tensions among the groups. He was instrumental in leading the Evangelical Lutheran Church in support of ELCJHL women in establishing and adopting gender justice policy in 2015.

Last year, as part of The Marrekesh Declaration, Bishop Younan was strongly promoting equal citizenship that embraces diversity in the Arab and Muslim world.

Bishop Younan is a founding member of several Middle East interfaith groups, Council for Religious Institutions in the Holy Land (CRIHL), The Jonah Group, Al-Liqa’ Center for Religious Studies, and is currently serving two other interfaith groups, The Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research Center, and The Prize Giving Committee of the Jordanian World Interfaith Harmony Week.

In 2014 Bishop Younan, who is also the President of the Lutheran World Federation was awarded an honorary doctorate of theology from the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universtät Münster. In a statement about Bishop Younan’s contributions to peace, the university’s Protestant Theological Faculty said, “Munib Younan acts as an Evangelical theologian and as a reconciling, bridge-builder between both religions and ethnic groups in a very conflict-laden area.”

“He lives and practices his Evangelical perspectives in a very meaningful way, through forgiveness and reconciliation.  Though Bishop of a small church, he has high theological power to make his Evangelical voice active in the Middle East, in active reconciliation work, ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, and through the educational ministries of his church.”

Bishop Younan’s strong witness for interfaith harmony, for the equal dignity and respect for all people, for non-violence, and for a just peace between Israel and Palestine are qualities that are being recognized.

A ceremony for Bishop Younan will take place in Tokyo, Japan on Thursday, July 27^th.

“I come to the table of dialogue with different religious leaders from the three faiths. I come with the suffering of my people under my skin. I come to speak on the future of the people who are living in this land. Religious leaders have a responsibility. Peace and dignity will come with how we educate and how we dialogue and we can reflect this to the politicians,” Bishop Younan said.

Text from: ELCJHL

Media Kit

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Representative in Jerusalem, Mark Brown shares the following good news regarding US funding for the LWF’s Augusta Victoria Hospital:

“I am pleased to report that the U.S. recently released 25 million USD for the payment of Palestinian Authority (PA) debts to East Jerusalem hospitals.  LWF’s Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) received over 11 million USD on 22 January 2017, substantially reducing the amount of money owed to AVH by the PA for the treatment of Gaza and West Bank patients referred to AVH by the PA.  This funding was released by Congress for disbursement by USAID earlier in the month.  (It was not part of the 220 million USD for the Palestinian Authority released by President Obama on 20 January 2017.)

Many thanks to everyone who advocated on behalf of the funding for AVH and the East Jerusalem hospitals!  Your efforts are much appreciated.  Once again we have avoided any interruption to the life-saving cancer and kidney treatment provided by AVH.  The bipartisan support for the release of this funding was important and will be helpful later in the year when the matter will most likely come up again.

Please encourage your Members of Congress to visit Augusta Victoria Hospital if they are coming to Jerusalem in 2017 and to see for themselves the impact that U.S. investments have had on the development of AVH as a cancer center and what that means in the lives of so many West Bank and Gaza Palestinians.

Thank you!”

For more about the Lutheran World Federation programs in Jerusalem click here.

Bishop Dr. Munib A. Younan, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, sent the following letter to President Trump about his recent executive order about refugees and immigrants:

An Open Letter to President Donald Trump From a Bishop of Jerusalem 1 February 2017

Jesus said: “I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.” (Matt 25:35)

 The President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500  

Dear Mr. President,

Salaam and grace to you from Jerusalem, in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

I write to you from the Holy City of Jerusalem in a spirit of prayer. I pray that your presidency will be a fruitful one. I pray that under your leadership, the United States of America will continue to uphold and promote its time-honored values of diversity, equality, pursuit of happiness, and of liberty and justice for all.

I pray that as President, you will uphold and promote these values, not only for the citizens of your country, but also for your neighbors. May your commitment to the foundational values of your country extend also to those living in areas of conflict and suffering. I offer this prayer from my office in Jerusalem, where we are still praying and working for a peaceful, just solution for the two peoples and three religions of this land. We long to realize the liberty, justice, and equality in diversity that your country exemplifies for the world.

I have heard about the recent executive decisions you have taken regarding immigrants and refugees, and I am worried.

I am worried, because for nearly 250 years, the world has looked to your country as an example of how diverse races and nationalities can possess one American identity. Your country has led the way in promoting civil rights, always hearkening back to the principle of equal citizenship, with liberty and justice for all. This is the reason so many refugees and immigrants have looked to the United States as a beacon of hope.

I am worried, not only for those who can no longer enter your country, but for the safety of my neighbors in this region. I am afraid that the decision to deny entry for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries while suggesting preferential treatment for Christians from those same countries will be harmful to many smaller communities in the region. This approach will be especially harmful to Arab Christians. In the Arab world, Christians have a long history of living side by side with our Muslim neighbors. We reject any move to divide Arab society along religious lines, and continue to see ourselves as deserving equal citizenship with equal rights and equal responsibilities.

I am worried, because I myself am a refugee, and know firsthand the struggles refugee families face. At the same time, as a Lutheran bishop, I know that turning away refugees of any religion contradicts the message of Jesus Christ. Jesus himself was also a refugee, who sought refuge and safety with his family in Egypt. Throughout his life, through his teaching and his actions, Jesus showed concern for the stranger and the outcast. In her pastoral letter of 30 January, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton of our partner church, the ELCA, has said:

“Our Lord not only commanded us to welcome the stranger, Jesus made it clear that when we welcome the stranger into our homes and our hearts – we welcome him.” (Matt 25:35)

For this reason, welcoming the stranger is not optional for Christians. It is one of our foundational values.

In November 2013, a group of diverse religious leaders from around the world gathered in Vienna to sign “Welcoming the Stranger: Affirmations for Faith Leaders.” This historic document pledges support for refugees, internally displaced and stateless persons, and to work against xenophobia. More than 600 delegates from the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim faiths attended the event, a powerful witness to the fact that concern for refugees is not exclusive to one religion, but is at the heart of every religious tradition.

As the Lutheran Bishop in Jerusalem, as a refugee, and as a global citizen, my plea is that you will reconsider your recent decisions regarding refugees and immigrants. I urge you to reflect upon the foundational values of the United States and of Jesus, and to seek a different path toward the twin goals of security and opportunity in the land of the free.

Most respectfully,

Bishop Dr. Munib A. Younan Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land

cc: Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton – Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

The original text can be found here.

To learn more about the ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and Holy Land click here.

At the 2016 Churchwide Assembly the ELCA voted in favor of two actions related to peace with justice in Palestine and Israel. This document provides answers to frequently asked questions about both the “Peace with Justice in the Holy Land (Category C1)” action and the “Justice for the Holy Land through Responsible Investment (Category C2)” action.

Join ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton and 20 other Christian leaders of national denominations and organizations in calling upon the major 2016 presidential candidates to pledge, if elected, to take urgent and vigorous new steps to seek creative political solutions that will foster a just and lasting peace in Israel and Palestine.

Click here to add your name today!

The text below is an ELCA News Story that can be found here

CHICAGO (Sept. 8, 2016) – Voting members of the 2016 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Churchwide Assembly in New Orleans Aug. 8-13 approved two memorials that address concerns over human rights in Israel and Palestine. The assembly also affirmed the ELCA’s inter-religious partnerships and efforts to address anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and other forms of hatred based on religion and reaffirmed actions of previous assemblies regarding responsible investment in Israel-Palestine.

Through the first action – “Peace with Justice in the Holy Land” – the assembly reaffirmed the commitment of the ELCA to continue its awareness-building, accompaniment and advocacy for  a peaceful resolution of the Israel and Palestine conflict, as well as seeking ways to support Palestinians and Israelis in restorative-justice dialogue.

The memorial also called for assisting the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) and other Christians to sustain their endangered presence in the Holy Land and promoting the economic empowerment of Palestinians, including through investment, prayer for the ELCJHL and the work of The Lutheran World Federation Jerusalem program.

The action reaffirmed the need to protect the human rights of Palestinians and Israelis and oppose all violence and actions that discriminate or deny any people their freedom, dignity or human rights.

It also urged the church’s members, congregations, synods, agencies and presiding bishop to call on their members of Congress and the administration to require that, to continue receiving U.S. financial and military aid, Israel comply with internationally recognized human rights standards as specified in U.S. law, stop settlement building and the expansion of existing settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, end its occupation of Palestinian territory, and enable an independent Palestinian state.

Dennis Frado, director of the Lutheran Office for World Community, said that these actions “called for greater accountability by the U.S. government on the basis of international human rights standards for Israeli practices in order for Israel to continue to receive foreign and military assistance.”

Frado emphasized that these laws apply to all U.S.-aid recipients. “The ELCA has made similar calls for accountability for U.S. aid with respect to the civil war in El Salvador in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as well as signed a letter to Congress in May 2016 concerning military aid and sales to several Middle East nations, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt as well as Israel,” he said.

In the second action – “Justice for the Holy Land through Responsible Investment” – the assembly called on the church to reaffirm the actions of the 2005, 2007, 2011 and 2013 ELCA churchwide assemblies regarding responsible investment in Israel-Palestine. The memorial directed the ELCA’s corporate social responsibility review team to develop a human rights social criteria investment screen based on the social teachings of the church and on human rights concerns raised in the ELCA Churchwide Strategy for Engagement in Israel and Palestine, adopted by the ELCA Church Council in 2005.

The memorial also encourages ELCA members, congregations, synods, agencies and institutions to increase positive investment in Palestine and other under-resourced areas where human rights abuses materially impact the well-being of all people and to engage in shareholder advocacy in support of human rights.

The ELCA’s social criteria investment screens provide a guide for this church with regard to corporate social responsibility. They delineate areas in which the ELCA would like to invest or refrain from future investing and provide criteria to evaluate the scope of corporate social responsibility work. The social criteria investment screen policy was approved by the ELCA Church Council in 2006 and revised in 2012.

“The Churchwide Assembly voted to develop a human rights social criteria investment screen taking into account the concerns raised in the ELCA Churchwide Strategy for Engagement in Israel and Palestine. It did not vote to divest,” said Frado.

The assembly welcomed two guests who brought greetings and shared their respective commitments to partnering with the ELCA and others opposing hatred based on religion and to building peace.

Rabbi David Sandmel, director of interfaith affairs of the Anti-Defamation League, told those gathered, “All of us who are people of faith, who are proud to identify with a particular tradition, must stand together and speak out, to act, and to protect those at home and around the world who suffer because of their religious identity. This is one of the great challenges of our generation, one that we can only address together.”

Dr. Sayyid Syeed, national director of the Islamic Society of North America’s Office of Interfaith and Community Alliances, commended the ELCA’s shared vision of a society where “different religious are working together, and different religions – shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand – are creating and translating our religious ideals of equality, respect, and of peace and justice together.” Both guests received a standing ovation and warmly embraced each other.
Sandmel lifted up the ELCA’s 1994 “Declaration to the Jewish Community,” which repudiated Luther’s anti-Judaic diatribes, denounced anti-Semitism, and reached out to Jewish neighbors.

“This declaration serves as the framework for our church’s Jewish relations – past, present and future,” said Kathryn Lohre, ELCA executive for ecumenical and inter-religious relations. “The actions of the assembly must be understood in relationship to these commitments – as challenging the policies of the government of Israel– and not as an affront to Judaism or the Jewish people. Therefore, we must continue to engage in dialogue seeking mutual understanding and collaboration for the common good.”

All the legislative updates of the 2016 ELCA Churchwide Assembly are available at ELCA.org/ChurchwideAssembly.

At the 2016 Churchwide Assembly the ELCA voted in favor of two actions related to peace with justice in Palestine and Israel.

On August 12 the assembly voted in favor of the “Peace with Justice in the Holy Land (Category C1) ” memorial. The vote was done by electronic ballot: 751 (82.26%) in favor and 162 (17.74%) opposed.

On August 13 the assembly voted in favor of the “Justice for the Holy Land through Responsible Investment (the Category C2)” memorial. The vote was done by card. The vote was in favor by a very large majority and many observers at the assembly suggest it was 90+% in favor.