Statement of ELCA Presiding Bishop on Augusta Victoria Hospital

STATEMENT OF ELCA PRESIDING BISHOP ON AUGUSTA VICTORIA HOSPITAL

We are saddened by the deaths and injuries of so many people, both
Palestinian and Israeli, in clashes prompted largely by the dispute over
the future status of Jerusalem.  We call on all sides to end the
fighting.  We urge Israeli and Palestinian leaders to negotiate a
lasting disengagement and cease-fire of armed forces and to use their
authority to promote an end to the violence.

We protest the disproportionate and excessive use of lethal force by
Israeli forces, their increasing use of live ammunition, their firing of
rubber-coated bullets into the faces and heads of Palestinian youth, and
their disregard for humanitarian institutions, such as the Augusta
Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives.  We wish to express the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's strongest objection to the use
of the Augusta Victoria Hospital premises by Israeli forces September 29
and 30, and demand that Israeli troops not use the perimeter of the
hospital nor the property of the Lutheran World Federation for military
activity.  Their presence is provocative and may lead to additional
clashes and casualties.

Progress in the negotiations concerning Jerusalem is crucial in both the
short and long term.  On September 6th, on behalf of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America, I joined a number of other heads of churches
here in the United States in writing to President Clinton about the
churches' campaign to promote the principle of sharing Jerusalem between
the two peoples and three religions.  This effort is based on our
steadfast commitment to an equitable, negotiated solution for Jerusalem
that respects the human and political rights of Israelis and
Palestinians as well as the three religious communities, Jewish, Muslim
and Christian. The churches' concern, brought to the fore again by the
recent violence, extends to the living communities of believers as well
as to the holy sites.

In the letter to President Clinton we raised a number of issues that
still must be addressed by the Israeli, Palestinian, and U.S.
negotiating teams.  The current situation of the closure of Jerusalem to
Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza, unless they obtain a permit for
entry from Israel, is made all the more painful when that closure is
extended to ambulances or private cars  attempting to bring wounded
children, women and men to Augusta Victoria Hospital and other hospitals
in Jerusalem.  A report received this morning indicates that access to
Augusta Victoria Hospital is still being blocked by Israeli forces.

On behalf of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America I would like to
express my condolences to all those who have lost loved ones in these
recent clashes and ask God to comfort them in their time of grief.  We
will continue to work and pray for an end to the violence, seek to
bolster those who search for a negotiated end to the conflict, and
support those who provide pastoral care, emergency medical assistance,
and other services in this time of crisis.

H. George Anderson
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html