The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and president of the Lutheran World Federation, released this statement today on recent remarks by the President of Iran:

"In recent days, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, has been widely quoted as saying the Holocaust is a "myth," and that the State of Israel should be relocated to Europe, Canada, or Alaska.  Earlier, he was quoted as saying Israel should be "wiped off the map."

I join with other religious leaders in condemning these remarks.  The historical record of the Holocaust is clear and has stood up under legal and scholarly scrutiny.  We have listened carefully to the eyewitnesses, many of whom have lived among us for the last half century.  We know and grieve the awful truth of the Shoah.  No reasonable person can stand by
while any nation's leader makes such outrageous and unacceptable claims. The remarks represent a sadly different path for Iran, which in 2001 initiated the International Year of Dialogue among Civilizations at the United Nations.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran World Federation have worked tirelessly to promote a just and lasting peace in the Middle East for all people.  Our efforts have involved conversations with Israeli and Palestinian leaders as well as with Jewish, Muslim, and Christian leaders.  We shall not cease our work to seek balanced and
reasonable solutions that ensure peace, safety, and security for all people in that troubled land.

In the United States, I have joined with Christian, Jewish, and Muslim leaders in a 12-point plan for Middle East Peace.  The plan emphasizes a two-state solution, and it calls on the government of the United States to do more to promote a lasting peace in the Middle East.  The ELCA Churchwide Assembly in 2005 implemented a Middle East strategy that calls
for peace with justice between Israelis and Palestinians.

Moreover, we as Lutherans are committed to a relationship with the Jewish community that is open and honest.  At the 1984 Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation, held in Budapest, the presence of Dr. Gerhard Riegner, then General Secretary of the World Jewish Congress, signaled a new start in the dialogue between Jews and Lutherans at the global level, addressing the lamentable reality of Martin Luther's anti-Judaic writings and the tragedy of the Shoah.  At that time, we jointly affirmed the integrity and dignity of both faith communities and pledged to work together against all
forms of racial prejudice.

 In its 1994 document, "Declaration of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to the Jewish Community," the ELCA acknowledged the pain caused by Luther's anti-Judaic diatribes and his violent recommendations against the Jews.  The ELCA expressed its "deep and abiding sorrow" over the tragic effects of these writings on subsequent generations.

In the declaration the ELCA said that "we express our urgent desire to live out our faith in Jesus Christ with love and respect for the Jewish people.  We recognize in anti-Semitism a contradiction and an affront to the Gospel, a violation of our hope and calling, and we pledge this church to oppose the deadly working of such bigotry, both within our own circles and in the society around us.  Finally we pray for the continued blessing of the Blessed One upon the increasing cooperation and understanding between Lutheran Christians and the Jewish community."

Nothing can be gained by condemning or showing disrespect for any person, much less an entire people.  As Lutherans, we will continue to work with the Jewish people, we will work with the Palestinian people, and we will work with all other people of good will in the Middle East.  Together we will continue our quest for mutual respect, hope, and peace for all people
in this world."

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson
Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
President, The Lutheran World Federation

Bishop Hanson's statement is at http://www.ELCA.org/bishop/m_051219.html on the ELCA Web site.

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