Lutheran Hospital on Alert in Jerusalem; Medical Supplies Needed

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- People are "tense," and there is uncertainty over what may occur in Jerusalem next, said Craig Kippels, chief executive officer, Augusta Victoria Hospital, Jerusalem, in a phone interview Oct. 9. Kippels' comment referred to an ultimatum delivered this weekend by the prime minister of Israel, in which he threatened stepped-up Israeli military action as early as Oct. 9 to quell violent confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli security forces.
Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) is owned and operated by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) based in Geneva, Switzerland. LWF is a global communion of 131 Lutheran churches, representing 59.5 million members, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) based in Chicago.
There was little activity in Jerusalem Oct. 8-9 primarily because of Yom Kippur, a Jewish holiday. Still, the hospital remains in a state of emergency readiness, Kippels said.
Israeli military personnel remain around the perimeter of the hospital property and are not allowing people onto the hospital grounds, Kippels said. At times they blocked the access of United Nations personnel to the hospital, he said.
"Every day, we go out to where the soldiers are and object to their presence," Kippels said. "We tell them their presence is causing conflict, not preventing it. They tell us they have their orders to remain in place." The presence of Israeli military forces near the hospital brought strong protests last week from the LWF and ELCA.
When possible, the hospital has been sending medical teams to sites where fighting has occurred in an effort to treat patients as quickly as possible, Kippels said.
Augusta Victoria, which primarily serves Palestinians, has cared for more than 100 patients wounded in clashes with Israeli military forces, Kippels said. On Oct. 6 the hospital received 24 casualties from renewed fighting, 19 of which were the result of rubber-coated bullet wounds to the head, chest, neck and other parts of the body. Two casualties were the result of severe beatings, a hospital news release said.
"The severity of injuries to the patients becomes more acute," the hospital said. "AVH has also started to receive blood from donors who are coming to the hospital."
Augusta Victoria Hospital needs money to purchase emergency medical supplies, Kippels said. Lutheran World Relief, based in Baltimore, announced Oct. 6 it is sending $10,000 to Augusta Victoria for medical supplies. Lutheran World Relief is the overseas relief and development ministry of the ELCA and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
"Keep us in your prayers," Kippels added.
Violence in and around Jerusalem has continued since a controversial visit Sept. 28 to a site in Jerusalem by Ariel Sharon, leader of Israel's opposition Likud Party. Sharon took nearly 1,000 Israeli riot police with him to a site considered holy to Jews and Muslims. That same day the hospital grounds became involved when Palestinians and Israeli security forces clashed. The clashes included gunfire and rock-throwing, and spilled onto the hospital grounds.
Nearly 80 people have been killed in the violence since fighting in and around Jerusalem began.
Meanwhile, two ELCA pastors serving an English-speaking congregation in Jerusalem called for Christians to "remember the plight of the Palestinians in your prayers and the small but living Christian community in the Holy Land" as violence continued there. The Rev. Michael P. Thomas and the Rev. Susan P. Thomas also called for prayers "for strength and courage for the Israeli human rights and peace organizations."
The Thomases serve Lutheran Church of the Redeemer through the ELCA's Division for Global Mission. Their comments were part of a widely circulated Oct. 5 letter to friends, in which they reported their family is safe.
"Pray that hearts might be converted, justice done, peace made and repentance shown," the Thomases said. "Pray individually and pray together in your congregations."
"It has meant a great deal to receive your concerns and prayers," their letter continued.
Concerned Christians may wish to address their concerns directly to the prime minister of Israel and the chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), the Thomases said.
When writing to Ehud Barak of Israel, they said: "Implore him to call back the heavy offensive weaponry, such as helicopter gun ships used these past few days, from the especially tense sites in the West Bank. Urge him to seek security in justice rather than in overpowering military force, so that both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and reject their parents' prophecy that life is war."
PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat should be urged "to seek all available avenues for a just peace, to quell incendiary language among would-be leaders, to be dedicated to the good and welfare of all Palestinians," the Thomases added.
This weekend the United Nations Security Council, meeting in New York, approved a resolution that deplored the "excessive use of force" against Palestinians as well as the "provocation" that caused the protests. The United States abstained. The resolution was supported by Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), a Washington, D.C.-based coalition of 15 denominations and church organizations, including the ELCA.
CMEP, in a news release Oct. 4, deplored use by Israeli forces of helicopter gun ships and antitank missiles against Palestinian protestors. It called for cancellation of sales of military helicopters to Israel that were approved last month. The sales were made possible by $1.03 billion in U.S. military assistance funds and include 35 Blackhawk and 8 Apache Longbow attack helicopters, the CMEP release said.
CMEP said it remains committed to the principle of sharing Jerusalem among Israelis and Palestinians, and Christians, Jews and Muslims. -- -- --
A copy of the Churches for Middle East Peace news release can be found at http://www.loga.org, the Web site for the ELCA's Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs. Bishop Anderson's statement on Augusta Victoria Hospital can be found on the ELCA's Web site at http://www.elca.org/ob/mideast.html

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