ELCA NEWS SERVICE

March 29, 2007  

LWF Council Calls for Cooperation with Palestinian Leaders, End to Blockade
07-048-LWI*/JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Council of the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) called on the international community to
cooperate with the new Palestinian government and to end an
international economic blockade.  The council asked LWF members
to pray on Thursday of Holy Week (April 5) for Christians in the
Middle East.
     The council also "affirmed that the core problem in the
Middle East is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which, if not
solved, is a threat to peace not only in the Middle East but
throughout the world."
     The LWF governing body stated its position while approving
recommendations from its Program Committee for International
Affairs and Human Rights at the conclusion of the council's March
20-27 meeting in Lund, Sweden. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, LWF
president and presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America, chaired the council meeting.
     The meeting coincided with events to mark the 60th
anniversary of the LWF in the city where it was established in
1947. The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition, with 140 member churches in 78 countries
throughout the world, representing nearly 66.7 million
Christians. It is based in Geneva.
     "We welcome the fact that a Palestinian government of
national unity has been established and stress the LWF Council's
expectation that the new government will respect all previous
agreements concerning or relevant to the search for peace in the
region. We call on the international community to cooperate with
the new Palestinian government and to end the international
economic blockade in order to restore the health, education and
welfare situation of the Palestinian people and the
infrastructure of the Palestinian Territories," according to the
March 26 council action.
     The LWF governing body called "upon the State of Israel to
comply with international humanitarian law and United Nations'
resolutions concerning the occupation of the Palestinian
Territories." It called for an international conference to be
convened to resolve the long-standing issues between the parties,
such as the status of Jerusalem, the return of refugees,
settlements, borders and water resources.
     The council noted the planned ecumenical commemorations,
under the leadership of the heads of the local churches in
Jerusalem, in June 2007 on the occasion of the 40th anniversary
of the occupation of the Palestinian Territories.
     "We call for actions by the international community to end
the illegal occupation and for the LWF member churches to join
ecumenical coalitions for that purpose, such as the World Council
of Churches'-initiated international week of action to end the
occupation June 3-9, 2007."
     "We welcome the initiative to create an interfaith Council
of Religious Institutions in the Holy Land, as a sign of shared
commitment to building mutual trust and understanding among the
faith communities and their peoples, and to call for this Council
of Religious Institutions in the Holy Land to work to build peace
among the two nations, and that it become a reference group for
Palestinian and Israeli negotiators in any future negotiations,"
the council action said.
     The LWF Council commended to the LWF member churches "The
Jerusalem Declaration on Christian Zionism" issued by the heads
of churches in Jerusalem in August 2006.
     "We express deep concern about the continued emigration of
Christians from Palestine and the entire Middle East, and call on
the LWF member churches to pray on Maundy Thursday (Thursday of
Holy Week, April 5) for Christians in the Middle East and for
their continued presence and ministry in the region in accordance
with the call from the Fellowship of Middle East Evangelical
Churches (FMEEC)," the council's action said.
     The council reiterated the LWF's continued support to its
member church -- the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and
the Holy Land -- "in its struggle to be a witness for peace and
justice in the region through its educational, ecumenical and
interfaith activities."
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*This report on the LWF Council meeting was supplied by Lutheran
World Information, Geneva.

     Information about the LWF and the LWF Council meeting in
Lund, Sweden, is at http://www.lutheranworld.org/ on the Web.

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