The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
Washington, DC 20001
Dear Mr. President:
We write as bishops of the Episcopal Church, the United States-based member of the 80 million member worldwide Anglican Communion. As longtime advocates for peace and reconciliation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian territories, we stand in partnership both with the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East and with tens of millions of Christians, Muslims, and Jews around the world who dream of a future of peace and harmony in the land that is holy to all the children of Abraham. We have been, and remain, strong supporters of your Administration’s work toward a two-state solution in which a secure and universally recognized Israel lives alongside a secure, viable, and independent Palestinian state.
We write now, however, in a moment of true emergency in the life of the Gaza Strip and its more than two million residents. We’ve just learned that after nearly two decades of partnership, the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has abruptly terminated, without public justification, its contractual financial support for Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza City. This change was effective at the end of May and threatens to debilitate the hospital, its 120-person staff, and the many thousands of Gazans who rely on it for primary and urgent care and treatment.
Mr. President, we write to request your immediate and personal intervention with the relevant UN personnel to ensure the reversal of this decision, which threatens to have disastrous consequences for the more than two million residents of Gaza, already living in conditions of profound humanitarian need.
Al Ahli Hospital has been managed by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East since 1982. It provides primary and emergency care to the almost exclusively Muslim population in Gaza, and does so without proselytizing or discriminating on the basis of religion, ethnicity, politics, or social identification. It is the only facility of its sort in the Gaza Strip that is not run by the Hamas government and as such, it is able to provide care without any outside interference or political calculation. Its continued operation thus is in the inherent interests of the United States government. It is not hyperbole to say either that the humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip are as severe as any on earth, or that Al Ahli Hospital is a rare and absolutely vital source of genuine good news in that context. The decision of UNRWA to terminate its support for the hospital is utterly indefensible and must be reversed.
Until this month, UNRWA supported the hospital in the amount of $80 per occupied bed per day for its complement of 50 inpatient beds. This helped to cover surgery, medicine, anesthesia, and diagnostic services. It also has important implications for outpatient care. In supplement to this $80 per day, patients have paid $10 per day, with an additional $20 being provided by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, charitable organizations, and other donors from around the world. In sum, UNRWA’s support has amounted to approximately $1 million per year, or nearly half of the hospital’s $2.4 million budget serving 4800 inpatients and 42,000 outpatients annually.
Mr. President, in asking for your personal intervention, we appeal to you as a person of faith who has spoken stirringly of the need for reconciliation between the children of Abraham. Al Ahli hospital is doing the work you have articulated, but in order to continue, it needs the support of friends from around the world. The Book of Exodus speaks of the Israelites sojourning in the desert led by God, who fed them daily with manna that came each morning with the dew. While God surely could have provided them instantaneously with food for their full journey, he asked them instead to gather the manna daily and put their trust in the sufficiency of divine goodness and generosity to provide for their need on an ongoing basis. Many years later, in the same part of the world, the daily support of donors to efforts like Al Ahli hospital means life and death on a level no less consequential than the manna that fed the children of Israel. As professionally superb as the hospital is, it cannot survive without international donor support, the largest portion of which has heretofore come from UNRWA.
As you deliberate how to approach this important matter, please know that our Presiding Bishop, the Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, and our staff in Washington, are available to consult and assist as needed. They are in regular contact with the Anglican (Episcopal) Bishop in Jerusalem, the Right Reverend Suheil Dawani, who ultimately oversees the hospital’s operations.
Please also be assured that our prayers are ever with you, and that we remain
Your brothers and sisters in Christ,
The Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate
Alabama
The Rt. Rev. Henry Nutt Parsley, Jr.
X Bishop of Alabama
Arizona
The Rt. Rev. Robert Reed Shahan
IV Bishop of Arizona
Arkansas
The Rt. Rev. Larry R. Benfield
Bishop of Arkansas
The Rt. Rev. Larry E. Maze
XII Bishop of Arkansas
California
The Rt. Rev. Mary Gray-Reeves
Bishop of El Camino Real
The Rt. Rev. John Bruno
Bishop of Los Angeles
The Rt. Rev. Diane M. Jardine Bruce
Bishop Suffragan of Los Angeles
The Rt. Rev. Mary D. Glasspool
Bishop Suffragan of Los Angeles
The Rt. Rev. Barry L. Beisner
Bishop of Northern California
The Rt. Rev. William E. Swing
VII Bishop of California
Colorado
The Rt. Rev. Robert O’Neill
Bishop of Colorado
Connecticut
The Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas
Bishop of Connecticut
The Rt. Rev. Laura J. Ahrens
Bishop Suffragan of Connecticut
District of Columbia
The Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde
Bishop of Washington
The Rt. Rev. James B. "Jay" Magness
Bishop Suffragan for the Armed Services and Federal Ministries
The Rt. Rev. John Bryson Chane
VIII Bishop of Washington
Florida
The Rt. Rev. Philip Duncan
Bishop of the Central Gulf Coast
Note: the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast also includes portions of Alabama
The Rt. Rev. Charles L. Keyser
Assisting Bishop of Florida
The Rt. Rev. Leo Frade
Bishop of Southeast Florida
The Rt. Rev. J. Michael Garrison
Assisting Bishop of Southwest Florida
The Rt. Rev. Barry R. Howe
Assisting Bishop of Southwest Florida
The Rt. Rev. Rogers S. Harris
III Bishop of Southwest Florida
Georgia
The Rt. Rev. J. Neil Alexander
Bishop of Atlanta
The Rt. Rev. Scott Anson Benhase
Bishop of Georgia
Hawaii
The Rt. Rev. Richard S. O. Chang
IV Bishop of Hawaii
The Rt. Rev. Donald P. Hart
III Bishop of Hawaii
Idaho
The Rt. Rev. John S. Thornton
XI Bishop of Idaho
Illinois
The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey Lee
Bishop of Chicago
The Rt. Rev. C. Christopher Epting
Assisting Bishop of Chicago
The Rt. Rev. John Clark Buchanan
Bishop of Quincy
Indiana
The Rt. Rev. Catherine M. Waynick
Bishop of Indianapolis
The Rt. Rev. Edward S. Little, II
Bishop of Northern Indiana
The Rt. Rev. Francis C. Gray
VI Bishop of Northern Indiana
Kansas
The Rt. Rev. Dean E. Wolfe
Bishop of Kansas
The Rt. Rev. William E. Smalley
VIII Bishop of Kansas
The Rt. Rev. James Adams
IV Bishop of Western Kansas
Kentucky
The Rt. Rev. Terry A. White
Bishop of Kentucky
The Rt. Rev. David B. Reed
VI Bishop of Kentucky
Louisiana
The Rt. Rev. Morris K. Thompson, Jr.
Bishop of Louisiana
Maine
The Rt. Rev. Stephen T. Lane
Bishop of Maine
Maryland
The Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton
Bishop of Maryland
The Rt. Rev. Joe Goodwin Burnett
Assisting Bishop of Maryland
The Rt. Rev. A. Theodore Eastman
XII Bishop of Maryland
The Rt. Rev. John Rabb
Bishop Suffragon of Maryland (Ret.)
Massachusetts
The Rt. Rev. M. Thomas Shaw III, SSJE
Bishop of Massachusetts
The Rt. Rev. Roy F. (Bud) Cederholm Jr.
Bishop Suffragan of Massachusetts (Ret.)
Michigan
The Rt. Rev. S. Todd Ousely
Bishop of Eastern Michigan
The Rt. Rev. Wendell N. Gibbs, Jr.
Bishop of Michigan
The Rt. Rev. Rayford Ray
Bishop of Northern Michigan
The Rt. Rev. Edward L. Lee
VII Bishop of Western Michigan
Minnesota
The Rt. Rev. Brian N. Prior
Bishop of Minnesota
The Rt. Rev. James L. Jelinek
VIII Bishop of Minnesota
The Rt. Rev. Sanford Z. K. Hampton
Bishop Suffragan of Minnesota (Ret.)
Mississippi
The Rt. Rev. Duncan M. Gray III
Bishop of Mississippi
Montana
The Rt. Rev. C. Franklin Brookhart, Jr.
Bishop of Montana
Nevada
The Rt. Rev. Dan Edwards
Bishop of Nevada
New Hampshire
The Rt. Rev. Douglas E. Theuner
VIII Bishop of New Hampshire
New Jersey
The Rt. Rev. Mark Beckwith
Bishop of Newark
New Mexico
The Rt. Rev. David Bailey
Bishop of Navajoland
Note: the Navajoland Area Mission also includes portions of Arizona and Utah
New York
The Rt. Rev. Stacy F. Sauls
Chief Operating Officer
of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Episcopal Church
The Rt. Rev. Lawrence C. Provenzano
Bishop of Long Island
The Rt. Rev. Mark S. Sisk
Bishop of New York
The Rt. Rev Andrew M L Dietsche
Bishop Coadjutor of New York
The Rt. Rev. Andrew D. Smith
Assistant Bishop of New York
The Rt. Rev. Prince Singh
Bishop of Rochester
The Rt. Rev. Jack M. McKelvey
VII Bishop of Rochester
The Rt. Rev. Gladstone B. Adams, III
Bishop of Central New York
North Carolina
The Rt. Rev. Clifton Daniel III
Bishop of East Carolina
The Rt. Rev. Michael B. Curry
Bishop of North Carolina
The Rt. Rev. William O. Gregg
Assisting Bishop of North Carolina
The Rt. Rev. J. Gary Gloster
Bishop Suffragan of North Carolina (Ret.)
North Dakota
The Rt. Rev. Harold A. Hopkins
IX Bishop of North Dakota
Ohio
The Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth, Jr.
Bishop of Ohio
The Rt. Rev. Arthur B. Williams, Jr.
Assisting Bishop of Ohio
The Rt. Rev. Thomas E. Breidenthal
Bishop of Southern Ohio
Oregon
The Rt. Rev. Bavi Edna Rivera
Bishop Provisional of Eastern Oregon
The Rt. Rev. Robert L Ladehoff
VIII Bishop of Oregon
Pennsylvania
The Rt. Rev. Frank T. Griswold
XXV Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Rt. Rev. Nathan D. Baxter
Bishop of Central Pennsylvania
The Rt. Rev. Michael W. Creighton
IX Bishop of Central Pennsylvania
The Rt. Rev. Charlie F. McNutt, Jr.
VIII Bishop of Central Pennsylvania
The Rt. Rev. Charles M. Bennison
Bishop of Pennsylvania
The Rt. Rev. Rodney R. Michel
Assisting Bishop of Pennsylvania
The Rt. Rev. Allen L. Bartlett, Jr.
XIV Bishop of Pennsylvania
The Rt. Rev. Sean Rowe
Bishop of Northeastern Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
The Rt. Rev. George N. Hunt
XI Bishop of Rhode Island
South Carolina
The Rt. Rev. W. Andrew Waldo
Bishop of Upper South Carolina
South Dakota
The Rt. Rev. John T. Tarrant
Bishop of South Dakota
Tennessee
The Rt. Rev. George D. Young, III
Bishop of East Tennessee
The Rt. Rev. Charles G. vonRosenberg
III Bishop of East Tennessee
The Rt. Rev. Don E. Johnson
Bishop of West Tennessee
Texas
The Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle
Bishop of Texas
The Rt. Rev. James E. Folts
VIII Bishop of West Texas
Utah
The Rt. Rev. Scott B. Hayashi
Bishop of Utah
The Rt. Rev. Carolyn Tanner Irish
X Bishop of Utah
The Rt. Rev. Otis Charles
VIII Bishop of Utah
Vermont
The Rt. Rev. Thomas C. Ely
Bishop of Vermont
Virginia
The Rt. Rev. Shannon S. Johnston
Bishop of Virginia
The Rt. Rev. David Colin Jones
Bishop Suffragan of Virginia (Ret.)
Washington
The Rt. Rev. Gregory H. Rickel
Bishop of Olympia
Wisconsin
The Rt. Rev. Ed Leidel, Jr.
Bishop Provisional of Eau Claire
The Rt. Rev. Russell E. Jacobus
Bishop of Fond du Lac
The Rt. Rev. Steven Andrew Miller
Bishop of Milwaukee
Wyoming
The Rt. Rev John S. Smylie
Bishop of Wyoming
The Rt. Rev. Bob G. Jones
VII Bishop of Wyoming