Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (FELM)

Activities

• According to its website, since FELM’s founding in 1859, its “work has included provision of various services, such as health care and education. Today, this is referred to as development cooperation.”
• FELM is “a mission organisation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF) and thus a part of an ecumenical and global network of churches.”
• One of the largest partner organizations of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.
• Member of the World Council of Churches and ACT Alliance.
  • Both the WCC and the ACT Alliance play key roles in mobilizing churches worldwide to support BDS campaigns against Israel.

Political Advocacy

• According to its website, FELM claims to “support[] the diaconal work of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL),” the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), and others that contribute to international efforts to demonize Israel.
• Publishes inaccurate water libels claiming that the “impact of Israeli settlement and settlers on Palestinian land and water resources is one element in a broad relationship of inequality and dependency,” ignoring evidence that Israel provides Palestinians in the West Bank with more water than required under the Oslo framework and that thieves are responsible for stealing up to 50 percent of supplies in some Palestinian areas.
• Blames Israel for the shrinking Christian population in the Palestinian territories, stating: “The indigenous Christian population in Israel and Palestine is shrinking, due in large part to Palestinian emigration to escape the economic, social, and political effects of Israeli occupation. The price of the Occupation is unbearably high for those living in Israel as well. The country is dominated by insecurity, fear and poverty, and at the same time social inequalities spiral out of control.” FELM thus ignores intra-Palestinian violence and Muslim attacks against Christians, as well as the increasing Christian population in Israel.
• Participated in the September 2014 World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel, organized by the World Council of Churches’ Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF), which targeted policy-makers, community groups, and local parishes regarding “the urgent need” to end the “illegal occupation and secure the legitimate rights and future of both peoples.” The 2014 theme was “Let My People Go,” in reference to “Palestinian political prisoners” – a term that, in PIEF’s usage, included terrorists convicted for attacks against civilians.
• Organizes a “Palestinian marathon” for “human rights,” which seeks to call attention to “problems related to the prevention, access to Bethlehem, and thus the difficulty of living in the West Bank.”