May 27, 2005
Dear President Bush,
Thank you for your public
statements in support of the Road Map as a way to lasting peace in
the Middle East. Your meeting with President Abbas on May 26, 2005
was an encouraging sign of the renewed energies you are giving to
bringing about the peace for which so many pray, long, and work.
As president of the Lutheran World
Federation and presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America, I represent two large church bodies with deep ties to
the Palestinian Lutheran Christian community and a long standing
commitment to a just two- state solution to the ongoing Middle
East crisis.
After listening to the press
statements you and President Abbas made yesterday, I called Bishop
Munib Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan
and the Holy Land, to express my hopefulness in light of your
sustained efforts. He reminded me that the challenge now is to see
the manifestation of that commitment for the life of the people in
their local communities. Several things—consistent with the Road
Map—are essential in the movement toward peace: the end of all
violence, cessation of the expansion of the settlements, removal
of the checkpoints, a halt to the construction of the separation
barrier/wall on Palestinian lands, aid for humanitarian relief,
and economic development. I urge you to continue your strong
public and private leadership, urging both sides toward such
resolution.
In the midst of these larger
issues, we as Lutherans continue to be concerned about the
unresolved tax case of Augusta Victoria Hospital. This health care
facility on the Mount of Olives has for decades provided health
care for the Palestinian people. It is a marvelous example of the
cooperation of people of differing faiths for the sake of the
healing of humanity. As your Administration is aware, an important
decision on this case is scheduled to be made in September 2005.
Anything that you or representatives of your Administration can do
to urge the Israeli Government not only to resolve this lingering
tax case, but also to permit Augusta Victoria Hospital to continue
its vital work would be greatly appreciated.
God’s blessings upon you as you
continue to lead in these most challenging times.
Living in God's amazing grace,
Mark S. Hanson,
Presiding Bishop
