The Presiding Bishop andConference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, thePresiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church on behalf of its House of Bishops, andthe United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committees on InternationalJustice and Peace and Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs together wish toraise their grave concern that the Trump Administration has apparently decidedto halt further U.S. humanitarian assistance to hospitals in East Jerusalem aspart of a wider curtailment of U.S. funding that has been assisting thePalestinian people for many years.
The four medical institutionsassociated with us include: Augusta Victoria Hospital (Lutheran) St. John ofJerusalem Eye Hospital and Princess Basma Rehabilitation Centre (bothAnglican/Episcopal), as well as St. Joseph’s Hospital (Catholic), together withMakassed Islamic Charitable Hospital, and Red Crescent Maternity Hospital, areproviding invaluable medical care for the most vulnerable populations,including Palestinians living in East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank. Weconsider them integral parts of our common commitment to ministry in the HolyLand.
These hospitals providelife-saving and, in some cases, unique forms of health care not availableotherwise to Palestinians. For example, Augusta Victoria provides kidneydialysis for children and state-of-the-art cancer care. St. John of Jerusalemis the only charitable provider of expert eye care in the West Bank, Gaza, andEast Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Princess Basma Centre provides services forchildren with a wide range of disabilities and has become one of the pioneeringrehabilitation centers in autism treatment in the West Bank, East Jerusalem,and Gaza. St. Joseph’s is a 73-bed general hospital serving the Palestinianneighborhoods of East Jerusalem. All of these institutions provide extensiveoutreach services throughout the West Bank.
Each has benefited from U.S.assistance for decades and, therefore, this decision to discontinue thatfunding leaves the patients, the wider Palestinian community, and usdisappointed and perplexed. It is difficult for us to understand why thishumanitarian assistance is being brought to a halt, given that lives are beingthreatened unnecessarily.
Calling the decision “a blowto the health of the city”, more than a dozen Israeli doctors recently said, “asudden and significant cut of support for medical services will cause imminentand serious harm to the health and wellbeing of those residents of the city whoare well-served by these hospitals and medical centers.”
In addition to being a morallycorrect thing to do, U.S. funding is key to paying pharmaceutical suppliers ofmedications, paying staff, and avoiding any interruption in the treatment ofpatients. We call on the President to restore this vital funding so that thesepatients will continue to receive the treatment and care they need.
The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Chair
The Rev. William O. Gafkjen
Bishop, Indiana-Kentucky Synod
Chair, ELCA Conference of Bishops
The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry
Presiding Bishop
The Episcopal Church
Most Reverend Joseph C.Bambera
Bishop of Scranton
Chair, USCCB Committee forEcumenical and Interreligious Affairs
Most Reverend Timothy P.Broglio
Archbishop for the MilitaryServices, USA
Chair, USCCB Committee onInternational Justice and Peace
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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
