In a joint statement issued today, LWF President Bishop Mark S. Hanson and General Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko describe the man, who dominated Palestinian politics for over 40 years as a leader who will be remembered in radically different and often contradictory ways. While many considered him the personification of the Palestinian struggle for self-determination and independence, a freedom-fighter, heroic leader and father figure, others saw him as an implacable foe and obstacle to peace, Hanson and Noko observe. But, they point out, whatever the divergent views about Arafat, “his death removes from the scene an indisputably pivotal figure in the political landscape of the Middle East.” Arafat died aged 75, in a Paris hospital, to which he had been brought from Ramallah on October 29. A funeral will be held in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, before his burial in Ramallah on Saturday, November 13.
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has paid tribute to Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat as a strong supporter of the religious rights and freedoms of Palestinian
Christians, and “always attentive to their place and importance in the Holy Land.” Arafat died early this morning.
In a joint statement issued today, LWF President Bishop Mark S. Hanson and General Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko describe the man, who dominated Palestinian politics for over 40 years as a leader who will be remembered in radically different and often contradictory ways. While many considered him the personification of the Palestinian struggle for self-determination and independence, a freedom-fighter, heroic leader and father figure, others saw him as an implacable foe and obstacle to peace, Hanson and Noko observe. But, they point out, whatever the divergent views about Arafat, “his death removes from the scene an indisputably pivotal figure in the political landscape of the Middle East.”
Arafat died aged 75, in a Paris hospital, to which he had been brought from Ramallah on October 29. A funeral will be held in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, before his burial in Ramallah on Saturday, November 13.
The LWF President and General Secretary note that while the consequences of Arafat’s death are unpredictable, it presents opportunity as well as risk. They call on the Israeli and Palestinian leadership to grasp this moment as an opportunity to return to a renewed and active commitment to dialogue instead of violence. “For the children of Abraham, both Israelis and Palestinians, there is no alternative to peaceful co-existence,” they stress.
They also call on the Government of the United States of America and the other members of the Quartet – the United Nations, European Union and Russia – involved in shaping an international policy toward resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict, to re-engage in the search for peace.
In the statement, Hanson and Noko offer their prayers for the LWF member church in the region, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (ELCJ) and its bishop Dr Munib A. Younan, as well as the essential humanitarian Work carried out by the LWF Department for World Service program in Jerusalem and the West Bank. “We pray that they will continue to be strengthened for their witness and mission, and for their role as bridge-builders and peace-makers.”
Full text of the statement from LWF President Mark S. Hanson and General Secretary Ishmael Noko on Yasser Arafat’s death:
Statement by
Bishop Mark Hanson, President
and Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, General Secretary
The Lutheran World Federation
11 November 2004
Yasser Arafat was a man who will be remembered in radically different And often contradictory ways. For many, he was the personification of the Palestinian struggle for self-determination and independence, a freedom-fighter, an heroic leader, a father figure. For others he was
an implacable foe, an obstacle to peace. For Palestinian Christians, he was a strong supporter of their religious rights and freedoms, and always attentive to their place and their importance in the Holy Land. Time will probably not reconcile these divergent views. But whatever opinion one may hold of Yasser Arafat, his death removes from the scene an indisputably pivotal figure in the political landscape of the Middle East. His 40 year domination of the Palestinian polity outlasted successive generations of leaders in most other parts of the world. The brief moment of hope, when he and Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin signed the Declaration of Principles
agreement in Washington in September 1993, was tragically obscured in a welter of attacks and counter-attacks and a long final confinement in the Palestinian Authority compound in Ramallah.
Yasser Arafat’s death is a seismic event in both Palestinian and Israeli history, the consequences of which are unpredictable. However, opportunity as well as risk invariably accompanies such a change. In this new era in the entangled history of Israelis and Palestinians in the Holy Land, a renewed and active commitment by leaders of both communities to dialogue instead of violence can yet bring peace to a land wracked by conflict. Israelis and Palestinians must together find a way to peace – a genuine peace that is secured by justice, mutual acceptance and reconciliation. They must find a way to break the mutually self-destructive cycle of violence. Both peoples share a land, a heritage and a promise. For the children of Abraham, both Israelis and Palestinians, there is no alternative to peaceful
co-existence.
We pray that God will loosen hatred’s grip on human hearts, and that God’s peace will descend on the land of Christ’s birth. We pray that Israelis And Palestinians will work together for peace. We call on the Palestinian leadership and the Government of Israel to grasp the opportunity for
change and for a return to dialogue. And we call on the Government of the United States of America, the other members of the ‘Quartet’, and all members of the international community to re-engage in the search for peace in Israel-Palestine and to accompany its peoples and their leaders on the path to peace.
In this time of uncertainty, we pray for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan, its bishop Munib Younan, and all its members in Israel-Palestine. We pray that they will continue to be strengthened for their witness and mission, and for their role as bridge-builders and peace-makers. And we pray for the essential humanitarian work of the LWF in Jerusalem and the
West Bank, for the staff that carry it out, and for the people and communities they serve.
