Title: Lutheran Bishop Delivers Peace Message to Israeli Ambassador
ELCA NEWS SERVICE
April 23, 2001
LUTHERAN BISHOP DELIVERS PEACE MESSAGE TO ISRAELI AMBASSADOR
01-099-FI
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Theodore F. Schneider, bishop of the
Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America (ELCA), was among an ecumenical delegation who delivered a
message calling for "mutual renunciation of violence in the Holy Land"
April 23 to David Ivry, Israeli ambassador to the United States. The
delegation of capital-area Christian leaders plans to meet May 1 with
Hasan Abdel Rahman, chief representative of the Palestinian National
Authority in the United States.
"We grieve over the fear and suffering that seem to pervade the
lives of all those living in Israel and the Occupied Territories. We
deplore the violence that maims and kills persons on both sides of the
conflict," said the message.
"We maintain that a fundamental cause of the violence is the
illegal occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem,
and the expansion of settlements in that area. This occupation and
settlement construction are in violation of the Geneva accords and U.N.
Security Council resolution 242, both of which have been agreed to by
the United States Government.
"This illegal occupation regrettably provokes the Palestinians to
use violence to regain their lands, and the Israelis to retaliate with
excessive force. We deplore violence on either side. We think that it
is counterproductive. Violence unites and hardens the opposition;
non-violence divides and softens it. Occupation can lead to abuse of
human rights and confiscation of property. Efforts to right these
wrongs do not morally justify actions of snipers or suicide bombers.
"Each party to the conflict has a gift to give the other: security
and independence, and a future of increasingly, friendly cooperation.
We commend those on both sides who continue to work for peace. We call
for an extraordinary effort toward reconciliation of differences.
Specifically, we call for simultaneous and mutual renunciation of
violence. We call for the ending of closures that prevent Palestinians
from access to food, medicine, jobs, schools and places of worship. We
call for the ending of home demolitions, collective punishment and the
uprooting of olive groves. We call for a commitment to end the
occupation.
"We affirm that a just peace requires adherence to international
law and continued effort in peace making by all parties. We pray to the
God of the three Abrahamic faiths to bring peace to this land," said the
message.
In addition to Schneider, the delegation included: Bishop Vicken
Aykazian, Armenian Apostolic Church; the Rt. Rev. Allen Bartlett,
assisting bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C.; Jack Edmonston,
Unitarian Universalist Association; Dr. Duncan McIntosh, executive
minister, Washington, D.C., Baptist Convention; the Rev. Theodore K.
Nace, National Capital Presbytery; the Rev. Peter Ruggere, Maryknoll
Office of Global Concerns; John Salzberg, Friends Meeting of Washington,
D.C.; Dr. Wallace Charles Smith, Shiloh Baptist Church, Washington,
D.C.; the Rev. Ron Stief, Justice and Witness Ministries, United Church
of Christ, Washington, D.C.; and the Rev. J. Philip Wogaman, Foundry
United Methodist Church, Washington, D.C.
Aykazian, Bartlett and Schneider have each visited the Middle East
in the past four months.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html
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