Church, find your voice We can find agreement in the Middle East As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19:41-42). Even as Jesus wept over Jerusalem centuries ago, the city today calls us to public lament. Weeping is not the only possible response to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict by U.S. Lutheran Christians. As we seek to sort out the tangled historical roots and ever-changing political dimensions of this strife, certainly there is something upon which we can agree. I hope we can agree that: • There must be a place for Palestinian Christians in this land of Jesus’ birth, public ministry, death and resurrection. Munib Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, says the future of Palestinian Christians is at stake. Because of economic hardships and the continuing Israeli occupation, they are emigrating from their homeland. • Jerusalem must be a city in which Jews, Muslims and Christians can worship, live, work and move freely. • All forms of violence perpetrated by anyone must be condemned and must stop. We continue to debate the validity of comparisons between the violence of suicide bombers who bring death to innocent people and the actions of occupying Israeli defense forces. But we must not let that debate silence our call for an end to all violence. • Israel has the right to exist with secure and internationally recognized borders. The failure of the Hamas leadership to reject violence and affirm Israel’s right to exist jeopardizes a secure and free future for both Israelis and Palestinians. Lutherans must continue to reject anti-Semitic attitudes and actions today, even as we rejected Martin Luther’s anti-Semitic writings in 1993. We must distinguish anti-Semitic attitudes from criticism of the Israeli government’s policies and practices. • Palestinians have the right to enjoy sovereignty in their own independent, viable and contiguous state within secure and recognized boundaries. Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza is a positive first step. Yet the continued expansion of Israeli settlements, restrictions on movement for Palestinian people, and the impact of the security wall on the lives and livelihoods of Palestinians make the path to peace extremely difficult. Further, the results of the recent Palestinian elections should not increase suffering for the Palestinian people.We must reject anti-Islamic attitudes and actions, distinguishing them from criticism of the Palestinian government’s policies and practices. The late senator Paul Simon once said, “Church, find your voice.” Although he was not speaking specifically about this conflict, his words are an appropriate challenge to us. Let us find our voices as we deliberate about what makes for a just and lasting peace. I encourage you to become familiar with the Churchwide Strategy for ELCA Engagement in Israel and Palestine (click here to download) and the ELCA social statement For Peace in God’s World. Let us find our voices as we advocate for a just and lasting peace by writing to our government leaders. The ELCA e-advocacy program allows your voice to be heard in Washington, D.C. May our conversations include Jews and Muslims in our local communities, even as this church partners with Jewish, Muslim and Christian leaders for peace in the Middle East. Let our witness and work for peace bereflected in our words and deeds. It is critically important to keep open Lutheran World Federation programs such as Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives and health clinics and employment-training programs on the West Bank. It is important that support for ELCJHL members, ministries and schools remain a high ELCA priority. Consider support for the housing project for Jerusalem Palestinian-Christians (see "Buliding on the Mount of Olives"). We will continue to weep over Jerusalem. For a lasting and just peace between Israelis and Palestinians, let us work and pray with new resolve: “Church, find your voice.” |
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