Separation Wall in Palestine

ELCA Church Council Action CC05.04.19

Passed by the 2005 ELCA Church Council.

Resolved
To acknowledge the urgent call of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) for action regarding the continuing construction of the separation wall in Palestine;

To encourage members, congregations, and synods to become aware of the effects of the separation wall on the lives of Palestinians, including a. the threat to future hopes for peace; and b. the threat to the ministries of the ELCJHL and other churches;

To call for the immediate cessation of construction of the Israeli separation wall and the removal of all existing portions of this wall on Palestinian land;

To request the Division for Church in Society to intensify its advocacy relating to this critical situation, in accord with the Churchwide Strategy for ELCA Engagement in Israel and Palestine;

To request that members of this church and synods meeting in assembly respond to the request of the ELCA’s companion church in the Holy Land for bold advocacy that calls for construction of the separation wall to cease; and

To direct appropriate churchwide staff to provide information related to this issue for use by members, congregations, and synods.