UMCOR Assists Overwhelmed Palestinian Hospital

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) has come to the aid of a Palestinian hospital overwhelmed by the recent violence in Jerusalem.

During an Oct. 10 meeting with new directors, the Rev. Paul Dirdak, UMCOR’s chief executive, said the agency had responded to a request from Augusta Victoria Hospital (left), a Palestinian institution registered with the Israeli authorities by the Lutheran World Federation. An emergency grant was sent to purchase medicine and medical supplies.

The hospital had treated more than 60 emergency patients as a result of the fighting between Palestinians and Israeli troops, according to information received by UMCOR. The soldiers had restricted access to the hospital and had even shot Palestinians within its grounds, Dirdak reported.

In an Oct. 3 statement, the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) strongly objected to the entry of Israeli forces onto the hospital property on Sept. 29 and their continued presence on the grounds.

Bishop H. George Anderson protested "the disproportionate and excessive use of lethal force by Israeli forces, their increasing use of live ammunition, their firing of rubber-coated bullets into the faces and heads of Palestinian youth, and their disregard for humanitarian institutions such as the Augusta Victoria Hospital."

Churches for Middle East Peace, a coalition of 15 denominations and church organizations, including the ELCA and United Methodist Church, has deplored the Israeli forces’ use of helicopter gunships and antitank missiles against Palestinian protesters. In an Oct. 4 statement, the coalition reiterated its call for a shared Jerusalem between Israelis and Palestinians and among the three religions that revere the holy city.

How to Help

You can help by contributing to UMCOR International Disaster Response, #982450. UMCOR encourages you to give through your local United Methodist Church. Gifts may also be sent to: UMCOR, 475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. To make a credit card donation, call 1-800-554-8583.

October 12, 2000

The photo of the Augusta Victoria Hospital in the fog was taken by Mike DuBose, UMNS, December 2000.