Lutheran Bishop: "The position of the Palestinian Christian community is precarious"

ELCA bishop visits White House to discuss Israeli-Palestinian conflict
11-136-MRC

Source: http://www.wfn.org/2011/11/msg00041.html

CHICAGO (ELCA) - The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), attended a Nov. 8 meeting
at the White House as part of a group of ecumenical faith leaders. They
asked that the United States take a stronger stance in its opposition to
the rapid expansion of Israeli settlement construction in East Jerusalem
and the West Bank. The construction threatens the viability of a future
Palestinian state, thus precluding a two-state solution and support for a
shared Jerusalem.

Hanson and the other faith leaders met with Dennis Ross, special
assistant to President Barack Obama, and Catherine Powell, director for
human rights, Office of Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights in the
National Security Council. The meeting took place before Ross announced
his resignation Nov. 10.

The faith leaders discussed U.S. policies towards the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict and problems facing Palestinian Christians in the
Holy Land. They expressed hope for a high-level U.S. administration visit
to the Middle East, especially in Bethlehem, which would include meetings
with Christian leaders.

According to Hanson, continued meetings with the Obama
administration are "a priority because of our commitment to our
companions in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy
Land. It is also carried out in the commitment we have made in the ELCA's
Churchwide Strategy for Engagement in Israel and Palestine.

"As we began our conversation with Mr. Ross, I expressed
disappointment. We hear our Christian partners in the region question the
United States' commitment. They wonder why the U.S. has not been more
vocal about the increased settlement construction. I told Mr. Ross that
we repeatedly hear Palestinian churches say they see this as a moment of
abdication by the U.S. administration."

Reflecting on the meeting, Hanson said, "More progress must be made
toward the goal of a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.
Since our meeting a year ago, the prospects for peace seem to have
diminished with the expansion of settlements and the absence of face-to-face
negotiations."

According to a Nov. 10 news release from Churches for Middle East
Peace, the church leaders who attended the Nov. 8 meeting said they are
disappointed with developments since their 2010 meeting at the White
House.

"The position of the Palestinian Christian community is precarious,"
stated the release. "There are constant problems of obtaining visas for
clergy who must travel outside Jerusalem and the West Bank. Restriction
on movement between Bethlehem and Jerusalem is a problem that undermines
Christian life. Church leaders are humiliated at check points."

Ecumenical leaders at this year's White House meeting included
Hanson; Katharine Jefferts Shori, presiding bishop and primate of the
Episcopal Church; Denis James Madden, auxiliary bishop of Baltimore and
chairman-elect of the Committee for Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs of
the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Neil Irons, executive secretary
of the Methodist Council of Bishops; and Sara Lisherness, director of
compassion, peace and justice for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A).

The meeting was arranged by Churches for Middle East Peace, a
coalition of 24 national church denominations and organizations working
to encourage U.S. government policies that promote a just and lasting
resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.