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Amidst Upheaval in Middle East, LWF Calls for Just Peace in Holy Land

Posted in: News, Resources, Statements

The Islamic cemetery immediately behind Rachel's Tomb, with a section of the separation wall that cuts off the burial grounds from the holy site. © ELCJHL/E. McHan

General Secretary: Fundamental Injustices Must Be Redressed

GENEVA, 24 February 2011 (LWI) – The general secretary of The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Rev Martin Junge, has urged the Lutheran communion to support those advocating for peace with justice in the Holy Land.

In a statement on the 18 February United States veto of a United Nations Security Council resolution calling on Israel to cease all settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Junge noted that such settlements were a violation of international law and undermined the prospects for peace and the stability in the region.

“Fundamental injustices must be redressed, if peace is to be more than just a word,” he said. The LWF affirmed the responsibility of the international community to support Israelis and Palestinians in the search for a just peace in the Holy Land.

Junge urged Lutherans and all others to “encourage and pray for those who work for a peaceful resolution to the conflict,” particularly in this time of tumult and upheaval in the Middle East and North Africa. (186 words)

The full text of the “Statement on Israeli Settlements and the US Veto” follows:

Statement by Rev. Martin Junge

General Secretary,

The Lutheran World Federation

on Israeli Settlements and the U.S. Veto

Since it was founded in 1947 in the wake of the Second World War, the Lutheran World Federation has been committed to human dignity, to the rule of law, to international standards, to the promotion and protection of human rights and to peace rooted in justice.  Based on these principles, for more than 60 years the LWF has affirmed the responsibility of the international community to accompany, support and encourage Israelis and Palestinians in the search for a just peace in the Holy Land.  Fundamental injustices must be redressed, if peace is to be more than just a word.

The LWF has long called for a two-state solution, the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel, and peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.  Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories are obstacles to these goals and a violation of international law.  Israel’s ongoing efforts to sustain and increase the illegal settlements lead to substantial human rights violations, exacerbate an already tense situation, and are the source of much of the current violence between Palestinians and Israelis.  The settlements undermine the prospects for peace and the hopes for stability in the region.

Accordingly, I am dismayed and deeply troubled by the United States veto in the United Nations Security Council on 18 February 2011.  The proposed resolution, which had the support of 14 out of 15 Security Council members, would have called on Israel to stop constructing illegal settlements on Palestinian land.  If passed, it would have re-engaged the wider world community—through the United Nations—in the quest for peace.

In this time of tumult and upheaval in the Middle East and North Africa, it is all the more important to support and encourage and pray for those who work for a peaceful resolution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.  I urge Lutherans and all others to do so.

24.2.2011

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