CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The property of a Lutheran grade school in the West Bank town of Bethlehem was occupied by Israeli military forces March 9, resulting in damage to some of the school property and building. The Israeli troops later withdrew, only to return around noon on March 11, said the Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (and Palestine) (ELCJ).
Dar al-Kalima Model School, located on a hilltop in southern Bethlehem, is housed in a new building. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided a $150,000 gift to meet the costs of building the new facility. The Rev. H. George Anderson, former ELCA presiding bishop, participated in its groundbreaking in 1998. Currently, the school has about 240 students.
"Soldiers were seen entering the school buildings," said the Rev. Mitri Raheb, pastor of Christmas Lutheran Church, Bethlehem, and founder of Dar al-Kalima. "We also have reports that snipers have positioned themselves on the roofs," he said in a March 11 news release.
"As no one is allowed to get close to the site, we do not as yet have a full picture of what is going on in and around our school," Raheb added.
Younan said he had permission to visit the school March 10, but Israeli troops would not allow him to leave his car. "It was therefore not possible to enter the school yard or the buildings," he said.
"As far as we know no one has been injured or killed, due to the fact that there were no students in the school," said Younan. "Because of the ongoing heavy army operations all (three) schools in Bethlehem have remained closed since Friday (March 8)."
Younan emphasized that "no shooting has taken place, neither today nor in the past, from any of our premises in Bethlehem."
The ELCA Conference of Bishops, meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, at the time of the military occupation, is considering a response to the incident and to the heightened violence in the region. In recent days, many Israelis and Palestinians have been injured or killed.
The Conference of Bishops is an advisory body consisting of the church's 65 synod bishops, ELCA presiding bishop and ELCA secretary.
In a March 9 news release, Younan denounced the Israeli military occupation of the school property. He repeated a call for the Israeli military to withdraw from Bethlehem and other Palestinian-controlled areas.
"The occupation of our church property seems to be part of a pattern of military operations where schools, hospitals, ambulances and medical personnel have been attacked," Younan said. "These actions are clearly breaching international law. Of the more than 50 Palestinians killed since Thursday (March 8), six deaths were reported from the Bethlehem area."
During the period of the Israeli withdrawal, staff members were forbidden access to the school property, said the Rev. Sandra Olewine, a pastor of the United Methodist Church. Roads near the facility were cut up, she reported.
Olewine serves at the International Center of Bethlehem, an outreach ministry of Christmas Lutheran Church. It is operated by the ELCJ.
After worship March 10, where only a few members of Christmas Lutheran Church were able to gather, members walked to Manger Square in the city to join a peace procession led by the Rev. H.B. Michel Sabbah, Roman Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem, and Younan, Olewine reported.
Sabbah, Younan and several church leaders in the Middle East issued a statement in which they said they believe the key to peace is in the hands of both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority. "We believe that Israeli and Palestinian peoples are called to be partners in an historic peace," the statement said.
In August 2001, Israeli Defense Forces entered Beit Jala and occupied the property of Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Reformation. Soldiers were said to have been shooting from the church's rooftop at rock-throwing civilians. The occupation of the church property by military forces drew condemnations from Lutherans throughout the world. Israeli military forces withdrew one day later.
In fall 2000, Israeli security forces used Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem as a firing post against Palestinian protesters and then restricted staff and patients from entering the hospital. The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has run the hospital since 1950. The ELCA is a member of the LWF, which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and represents 60.5 million Lutherans in 133 churches around the world. -- -- --
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (and Palestine) maintains information at http://www.holyland-lutherans.org/ on the Web. The International Center of Bethlehem maintains a site at http://www.annadwa.org/ on the Web.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
- - -
About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
