Children hold hands in Za’atri Refugee Camp in northern Jordan, caring for thousands of Syrian refugees.

Lutheran World Federation President Munib Younan, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land, released his Christmas message this week, urging people to think of Christmas as a time to remember the refugees among us, even as the Christ child was born to a refugee family.

We can see the faces of the Holy Family today in refugee families forced to flee from Syria into the Za’atri refugee camp in Jordan, in Somali refugee families in the Dadaab complex in northeastern Kenya, and in other refugees throughout the world. In Europe today, we see the Holy Family in the experiences of Roma communities. An ancient nomadic culture, Roma are still exposed to marginalization simply because they do not conform to dominant culture.

Many refugees are uprooted with little hope for a solution. I am one of them, a Palestinian who carries a refugee card. I know what it means to be rejected, neglected and stateless. My heart breaks for every refugee, for every family forced from their home. In this Christmas season, we know that Christ finds his manger in every person who seeks asylum, in each of the nearly 44 million refugees and internally displaced people throughout the world. Forced to escape Herod’s persecution, Christ experienced abuses of power and the effects of armed struggle.

The child of the manger continues to understand the plight of every refugee wherever they are. The duty of the church is to be a safe haven for all refugees, asylum seekers and migrants. To them we say, “Do not be afraid. A Savior is born to you and the whole world.” They must find a place in our inn.

We in the Lutheran communion continue to commit ourselves to accompanying God’s people, especially those who are marginalized and displaced. Our call is to provide refuge from violence and poverty, shelter in the storms, and shade from the heat. Today, the LWF is directly serving nearly 1.5 million refugees throughout the world. That means that each of our 143 member churches is responding to the needs of 10,500 refugees. This generous spirit reflects the strength of our communion working together to respond to God’s call to welcome the stranger.

Read the full Christmas message | Read LWF press release

From Pastor Fred Strickert of the English-speaking Redeemer Lutheran Church in Jerusalem comes a blog post, the Writing on the Wall:

A report “Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds,” was recently released by the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The report sees more hostile divisions within Israeli society between views of openness and exclusion.  It states, “At home Israel faces increasing social and political divisions between those who still cherish a vision” expressed by its 1948 founders versus “the growing demographic weight of the religiously conservative Haredim and settler movement.”

While concerns about the influence of fundamentalism and extremism in the Muslim world is a major topic in the Western Media–and of which we are very much aware and concerned–the following are concerns that confront us daily in the local Israeli press, as can be seen in a selection of Haaretz photos below.

A sign in West Jerusalem says “Lehava only hires Jewish Workers.”

Pastor Strickert takes us from photos wiping out Arab names on signs, to Death to Arab graffiti to a sign posted on the LWF Augusta Victoria property on the Mt. of Olives announcing that people have 60 days to comment on plans that are being fast-tracked to build an eight-story IDF college right next to Augusta Victoria in East Jerusalem.  Leaders of the Mt. of Olives Housing Project, which will serve the community by providing affordable housing, a community center, an elderly center and a sports complex, have been trying for years to get authorization and building permits to build their project, for which they already have significant funds raised.

httpv://youtu.be/TXMOYdNFGp4

Pastor Ashraf Tannous is the newest pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land.  He is serving the Lutheran Church in Beit Sahour.  Here he discusses his life and feelings as a Palestinian Christian from a refugee family.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bNqaZwXLVo&feature=share&list=UU9FKTVBng6XeDUEArww1S3g

Pastor Mitri Raheb of Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem shares an advent greeting from the Holy Land. Christmas Lutheran does a simulcast Christmas Service between Bethlehem and the National Cathedral in Washington DC each year.  Find out more about this year’s simulcast on Saturday, Dec. 22 at 10 am EST.   Check out the new website for Bright Stars of Bethlehem, a US organization that supports the work of DIYAR Consortium, begun by Pastor Raheb in cooperation with  the ELCJHL.

In another article, Pastor Raheb reflects on the Christmas story in his hometown of Bethlehem:

Bethlehem at the birth of Jesus was a besieged city. Today Bethlehem is again a besieged city surrounded from three sides by a 25 foot high concrete wall.  So what if Jesus were to be born today in Bethlehem? If Jesus were to be born this year, he would not be born in Bethlehem. Mary and Joseph would not be allowed to enter from the Israeli checkpoint, and so too the Magi. The shepherds would be stuck inside the walls, unable to leave their little town. Jesus might have been born at the checkpoint like so many Palestinian children while having the Magi and shepherds on both sides of the wall.

Full article

On the way to celebrate what happened in Bethlehem 2000 years ago, let us not forget the people who yearn for peace with justice now in Bethlehem and all over the Holy Land. Here are some Advent reflections by various people and organizations to help us remember:

• Kairos Palestine’s Advent Devotions
• The Israel Palestine Mission Network Advent Devotional
• Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) Advent Reflections 2012

Recently, three amendments were proposed in the Senate which would have cut aid to Palestine, including $370 million for budget support for the Palestinian Authority.  This would probably have affected vital organizations like Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem. The amendments were in response to the successful bid by Palestine to become a non-member state in the UN.

Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) sent a letter to the 100 members of the Senate, urging others to do the same. J Street, the liberal Jewish pro-Israel group, rallied against the amendments, with followers sending nearly 15,000 letters to senators and making close to a thousand calls.

Tuesday, the National Defense Authorization Act passed without these amendments. Thanks to those who voiced their opposition to these moves which would have punished the Palestinian people. 

Other amendments favored by pro-Israel groups passed, including one approving additional funding for Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system and one tightening Iran sanctions. Read full article.

Here is CMEP’s letter:

Three amendments have been introduced to S. 3254, The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) namely SA 3171, SA 3139, and SA 3203, that would severely limit or eliminate US assistance to the Palestinian Authority under various conditions. We believe the amendments are ill-advised and should be opposed. This assistance totaling $490 million in FY 2012 is for security assistance carried out in cooperation with the U.S. and Israel; USAID humanitarian and civil society projects, and budget support for the Palestinian Authority.

Reducing or cutting off funds for these would leave Palestinians and Israel less secure, reverse economic, social and civil development in the Palestinian territories, and threaten the Palestinian Authority with financial collapse. These developments would cripple US diplomatic efforts to bring about an agreement to end the conflict and impose great human hardship.

When similar measures were proposed a year ago they were opposed by many groups including Israel’s Ambassador the U.S., Michael Oren. Israeli Defense officials said if cuts to US assistance to the Palestinian Authority were imposed, Israel would suffer. For all these reasons Churches for Middle East Peace urges that these amendments not be brought to a vote or defeated.

In this Haaretz article current plans for Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank are further explained. Check out this article for interactive maps that show settlement expansion over the years in Har Gilo, Har Homa, and Ma’aleh Adumim.

The outline in red shows the expansion of the settlement Har Homa since 2003. See the article link above for the interactive map that shows growth over time.

In a letter to President Obama on Nov. 26, ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson advocates for the US to support the upcoming Palestinian bid for non-member observer state status at the UN in the General Assembly:

With the present Palestinian effort to seek observer state status in the United Nations, the U.S. has another opportunity to demonstrate its support for self-determination and freedom. The U.S. should support these announced plans by the Palestinians when they come before the General Assembly later this month.

Over the past year, we have witnessed efforts to restart talks with the objective of achieving a two-state solution. We have also witnessed worrying developments on the ground which have inhibited those efforts, mainly the continuing expansion of illegal Israeli settlements and the increased displacement of Palestinians from their homes and villages. U.S. support for observer state status at the UN for the Palestinians would be an important signal to the parties that reaching a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement, where both communities may live in peace and security is still the fervent goal of our government.

The Lutheran World Federation urges all parties to honor the Gaza ceasefire and appeals for an immediate resumption of negotiations for a broader peace.

In a statement today by LWF President Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan and General Secretary Rev. Martin Junge, the LWF said that the recent conflict has cost innocent human lives and injuries on both sides. The need for a broader peace is urgent, they said.

The LWF reiterated its call for an immediate lifting of the economic blockade against the Gaza Strip, urged international efforts to relieve the suffering there and appealed to all parties to refrain from violent or provocative actions.

“The humanitarian situation facing the 1.6 million people living in Gaza is dire. Children, the elderly, and other vulnerable people have been bearing the brunt of the conflict,” the LWF leaders said.

Read the full LWF Press Release

In addition, ELCJHL Bishop Munib Younan issued this video message:

httpv://youtu.be/yd9E7E5Yhg4

Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mt. of Olives in Jerusalem is the only facility available in the West Bank for pediatric dialysis and state-of-the-art radiation oncology treatment.

Six hospitals in East Jerusalem, including the Lutheran World Federation’s Augusta Victoria Hospital, face difficulties because of the Palestinian Authority’s financial crisis.   The PA is dependent upon foreign aid, which has been reduced from the Gulf States and Washington.  Washington withheld $192 million because President Abbas has said he would continue to strive for observer status at the UN.  The PA has built up debts of $18 million to the specialized healthcare centers this year.  The World Bank forecasts a $1.5 billion deficit in the 2012 PA budget due to the shortfall in foreign aid.

“The moment the PA faces any financial difficulty, it stops paying. But the hospital must still take in patients,” Tawfiq Nasser, head of the Augusta Victoria Hospital, told Reuters. “We can no longer offer the same services and that is putting patients at risk, endangering their lives.”

The East Jerusalem hospitals signed agreements with the PA in 1997 to admit patients from the West Bank and Gaza according to specialist referral. Costs were to be paid every month.  Ten months ago, the money stopped but patients kept coming.

Read full story at Haaretz

A delegation from the group “The Elders” visited Palestine recently to see and hear about the situation on the ground and see the work of the Lutheran World Federation in Jerusalem.  The Elders is an independent group of respected leaders who work together for peace and human rights. Founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007 and chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Elders work to find solutions to some of the world’s most challenging political issues.

Members from the group visited with LWF President Bishop Munib Younan of the ELCJHL and a roundtable of others he had assembled to hear more about faith and life under occupation.  Read more about this visit.

President Jimmy Carter led the group to the LWF Jerusalem campus.  Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson and Gro Harlem Brundland, former Prime Minister of Norway and former Director-General of the World Health Organization, were a part of the group.

Members of The Elders, led by former President Jimmy Carter, visit Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem. Photo by Anna Johnson.

Dr. Tawfiq Nasser, CEO of Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH), and Rev. Mark Brown, the Regional Representative of the Lutheran World Federation in Jerusalem and the Middle East, received the guests and spoke about the work of the Lutheran World Federation in areas of education and health, as well as the issues of access to healthcare facing Palestinians.  Dr. Nasser and Rev. Brown emphasized the role of Augusta Victoria Hospital as a specialty care facility providing treatment for Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza. In some cases, such as specialized cancer treatment and juvenile dialysis, AVH is the only place in the West Bank where such care is provided.

The delegation visited the $4.9 million medical linear accelerator provided by USAID and housed in a radiation-safe facility built with support from the Norwegian Government, as well as the hospital’s Specialized Center for Child Care, where they met young Palestinian children receiving dialysis or cancer treatment at AVH.

In a statement on The Elders website about their visit, Prime Minister Brundtland stated:

“As a medical doctor, I was particularly affected by our visit to Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem, a Palestinian model of excellence for the entire region which faces enormous difficulties in treating those people nearest to it from the West Bank – never mind Palestinians from Gaza – due to Israeli travel restrictions. It tragically illustrates the direct human impact of the present deadlock.”

– From the LWF Jerusalem story – Read full LWF story