HUMANITARIAN AID TO GAZA - ELCA ADVCACY
Since Mar. 2, after the collapse of the ceasefire, the Israeli government has continued to block humanitarian aid and most provision of water into the Gaza Strip. At this juncture, most food stocks at UN and International Nongovernmental Organizations (INGOs) warehouses inside the Gaza Strip are depleted, and obtaining water is becoming extremely difficult.
Why It Matters in the ELCA:
The critical situation in Gaza and the ongoing conflict continues to directly impact the ELCA’s Lutheran siblings in the Holy Land, in addition to putting the wider Christian community of the Holy Land at further physical risk. The conflict is also further eroding and destroying the interfaith relationship between all three Abrahamic faiths, which is impacting the ELCA’s interfaith relationships here in the United States.
What’s Next:
ELCA advocacy staff accompanied an U.S.-Egypt Dialogue delegation to their congressional and State Department meetings during the week of Apr. 28. During these meetings ELCA staff including the Executive Director of ELCA Service & Justice brought up the need for the United States to put pressure on the Israeli government to lift the blockade on Gaza and allow humanitarian aid into the enclave. Additionally, the issue of the bombing of the al-Ahli Arab Hospital on Palm Sunday was news to several members of Congress who requested additional information about the situation with the hospital and about the overall situation with healthcare in Gaza. ELCA advocacy staff will continue to follow up and provide this information and work to pursue a bipartisan letter from Congress to the White House demanding to understand the White House’s strategy for protecting the Christian community in the Holy Land moving forward.
