March 20, 2009

CHICAGO – After three attempts in five weeks, three bishops from Jerusalem were allowed to enter the Gaza Strip March 10 to visit churches and humanitarian projects. The three were the Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), the Rt. Rev. Suheil Dawani, Anglican bishop in Jerusalem, and Greek Catholic Archbishop Elias Chacour, according to an ELCJHL news release.

On Feb. 4 Dawani and Younan – part of a delegation of five bishops – were denied entry at the Erez Crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip. The ELCJHL said Younan and Dawani were the only Palestinians in the delegation. Both said they had obtained permits from Israeli officials to enter the region.

Younan, Dawani and Chacour later applied for permission to enter the Gaza Strip on Feb. 24 but were denied for undisclosed reasons.

On the March 10 trip the bishops visited the Anglican Al Ahli Hospital, which served more than 400 patients and causalities during the war between Israel and Hamas. They were briefed by hospital director Suheila Tarazi and Dr. Maher Ayad. The bishops visited staff and patients. In the hospital chapel they prayed for the war dead and wounded, and for peace and justice, the ELCJHL report said.

Constantine Dabbagh, director, Near East Council of Churches Refugee Works, updated the bishops about its outreach. The clinic was bombed during the conflict in the Gaza Strip, forcing the organization to resume its work in a small provisional center, the release said. Other personnel are working in one of the most impoverished areas of Gaza City to restart programs for women and children, as well as a program for malnourished children.

"We urge our partners to continue to support our diakonia and relief work in Gaza," Younan said. He called for the implementation of international law and human rights in Gaza "so the border points will be opened and all the necessary building material will be allowed in for rebuilding," the ELCJHL release said.

Younan, Dawani and Chacour also asked all parties to abstain from acts of violence and to work for a peaceful, negotiated resolution to the conflict based on justice and international law.

After Younan and Dawani were denied entry into the Gaza Strip, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, sent a letter Feb. 5 to Israel's ambassador to the United States. They expressed "grave concern" and requested help to determine why Younan and Dawani were denied entry. They asked that the bishops be allowed into the area for a pastoral visit.

A March 10 news release from the Embassy of Israel said the bishops were denied entry into the Gaza Strip "because both bishops are legal residents of the State of Israel."

"Israeli citizens and legal residents are prohibited from entering the Gaza Strip for security reasons and out of concern for their safety," the Israeli news release said.

The March 10 visit by Younan, Dawani and Chacour was facilitated by Israel, the embassy's release added.

Information about the ELCJHL is at http://www.elcjhl.org/, on the Web.

ELCA News Service
Allison Schmitt is communication assistant with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land.