ELCA Bishop Hansen's remarks on the Gaza conflict

January 7, 2009

ELCA Presiding Bishop Addresses Gaza Situation at Amman News Conference
09-004-JB

AMMAN, Jordan (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding
bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said
the United States government needs to take a more active role in
stopping the conflict in Gaza. Stopping the conflict needs to be
a top priority, and it must be accomplished as soon as possible,
he said.
Hanson, who also serves as president of the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF), said Israeli troops must withdraw from Gaza,
Hamas must stop rocket attacks on civilians in Israel, and
negotiations must be restarted for "a permanent peace with
justice and a two-state solution." The LWF is a global communion
of 141 churches in 79 countries, representing 68.3 million of the
world's Lutherans.
Humanitarian conditions for the people of Gaza must be
improved immediately, Hanson said. "We are deeply concerned that
food, medicine and other basic necessities are not getting to the
people in Gaza. We ask that borders be opened for humanitarian
aid to reach Gaza. This must be a long-term, sustained effort,"
he said.
Hanson, the Rev. Susan C. Johnson, national bishop of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), and the Rev. Munib
A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan
and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), addressed a news conference here
Jan. 5.
In response to a reporter's question, Hanson said he was
disappointed that the Bush administration vetoed a cease-fire
resolution in the U.N. Security Council and hoped that new
proposals would succeed. Israel needs to comply with U.N.
actions, he added.
Hanson, Johnson and Younan are leading more than 40 bishops
from the ELCA and ELCIC who arrived Jan. 6 in Jerusalem for a
week-long series of meetings with religious, political and
community leaders in Israel and the West Bank. A smaller group
of bishops from both churches arrived here Jan. 3 for similar
meetings in Jordan.
The Canadian government is deeply concerned about the
violence and loss of life in Gaza, and it wants humanitarian aid
to be available to people living there, Johnson said. "The
Canadian churches have stated that all attacks on civilians,
whether in pursuit of political ends or as a part of military
operations are unacceptable and must be deplored," she said.
Months ago the North American bishops made plans to travel
together to Israel, Jordan and the West Bank to demonstrate
support and encouragement for the ELCJHL, to learn about the
political and social situation in the region, and to advocate for
peace. The visit is the 2009 Bishops' Academy, an annual event
for study and reflection.
It is significant that the bishops are arriving at a time of
serious conflict in Gaza, Younan said. "It makes their visit more
significant and more important as they ... dare to come to stand
with the peoples of this (region), to stand with Arab
Christianity, and to tell the world that the voice of the manger
in Bethlehem is much stronger than the voices of cannons and
F-16s and bombs wherever they are in the world," he said.
Lutheran bishops met Jan. 5 with Zeid Al Rifai, president of
the Jordanian Senate, who said Israel's incursion into Gaza is
"mind boggling" and "inexcusable." He said "indiscriminate
killing ... will achieve absolutely nothing." The Gaza conflict
must serve as an incentive to revive the Israeli-Palestinian
peace process, Al Rifai added.
The bishops also met with leaders of the Jordanian
Interfaith Coexistence Research Center, and Jordan's Minister of
Islamic Affairs, Abdul Fatah Salah. The Lutheran bishops added
their signatures to a document addressing "Islamic-Christian
Interfaith Coexistence," which calls on both faith traditions to
cooperate, continue dialogue, and promote peace and justice in
the world. The bishops concluded activities Jan. 5 with an
evening reception for religious, political and community leaders.
Hanson, Johnson and Younan said they would meet Jan. 6 with
Jordan's King Abdullah II to talk about Gaza and other concerns
before traveling to Jerusalem.