How many sour notes does it take to render a piece of music impossible to listen to? While there may be no scientific answer, reasonable people can agree that too many ruins the tune. Such is the case with a report overwhelmingly adopted by the Presbyterian Church (USA) at its recent biennial General Assembly held in Minneapolis.
While removing some horrendous anti-Israel and anti-Jewish language from a 172-page report called "Breaking Down the Walls," significant one-sided anti-Israel bias remains.
Presbyterian Church representatives voted by a 4-1 margin (558-119) to adopt the report, which most disturbingly calls for withholding U.S. aid as a means to pressure Israel to make peace and cease settlement activity. Those who argue that the Church merely reaffirmed a longtime position are missing the point. Singling out Israel has always been insidious, particularly in today's environment where Israel is the target of well-orchestrated campaigns that question its legitimacy.
The General Assembly also approved an amended endorsement of a very troubling text produced by Palestinian Christians in 2009, "A Moment of Truth," also known as the Kairos Palestine Document. Kairos is a prime example of an effort to undercut the legitimacy of Israel as a Jewish State. It calls terror a form of legal resistance, it endorses boycotts and divestment against Israel, and it denies any connection between biblical covenants and the Jewish people. Unfortunately, the General Assembly chose not to confront these awful points.
Rather, the Presbyterian Church endorsed selected "positive" themes of "liberation, nonviolence, love of enemy, and reconciliation." It approved the study and distribution of the entire Kairos Document along with a study guide that is promised to be fair and balanced. We can hope this will be the case going forward. However, there are grounds for concern based on the bias of the original report of the Middle East Study Committee.
Even the revised study committee report remained silent on threats to Israel, such as the commitment of the terrorist group Hamas to the destruction of the Jewish State, and strongly denounced the Illinois-based company Caterpillar Inc. for what it calls "profit-making from non-peaceful uses of a number of its products" used by Israel. In addition, a joint interfaith report focused on improving theological relations between Presbyterians and Jews that was six years in the making was flatly rejected.
Still, some significant changes were made to "Breaking Down the Walls" during the convention, in no small part due to a committed and courageous group called Presbyterians For Middle East Peace. In the best spirit of interfaith dialogue, this group heard the grave concerns of the Jewish community about the MESC report and succeeded in obtaining a range of changes to remove some of the most problematic aspects of it.
As a result, the approved report declared Israel's right to exist "as a sovereign nation within secure and internationally recognized borders." The final report removed several distorted anti-Israel historical essays, which will be replaced in the future with four essays from Israelis and Palestinians. Horrible language likening Israel to Nazis was omitted. The 2004 call by the Presbyterian Church for selective divestment from Israel was allowed to lapse. Finally, the report recognized Israel's legitimate security need to maintain a blockade on military equipment and weapons entering Gaza. A proposal to link Israel's policies to apartheid was defeated.
Thanks and appreciation must be given to the many courageous Presbyterian leaders across the country who volunteered their time and resources to alert and educate their fellow Presbyterians about the horrendous bigoted, unfair and unbalanced anti-Israel provisions being proposed as church policy. They worked tirelessly to avert a severe rupture in Presbyterian-Jewish relations.
In the emotional aftermath of the convention battle, some involved in the struggle are publicly declaring the General Assembly results in revelational superlatives, while others paint it as a victory.
That would be a mistake. The PCUSA continues to apply a double standard when it comes to Israel. Singling out Israel for special punishment is simply unacceptable, and runs counter to the PCUSA's oft-proclaimed attempt to be a genuine voice of Christian conscience and reconciliation.
We must wonder why the original toxic report made it as far as it did to the convention, with the backing of 16 Presbyterian Church Moderators and the church's key executive leader.
And while we can understand that for some Presbyterians the official act of recognizing Israel's right to exist by the Church can be considered a major success, for Jews, 62 years after the United Nations declared Israel a sovereign state, this is not only underwhelming, but lowers the bar of expectations to an unacceptable level.
Moving ahead our focus must be on maintaining and building upon the wonderful respectful interfaith relationships made and reinforced during the past few months in the Presbyterian and Jewish communities. We must forge ahead to create strong grassroots relationships between local Presbyterians and Jews so that we can continue to learn from each other.
And we must remain vigilant and work harder to remove the continuing anti-Israel bias from church policies. Until then, the Presbyterian policy on the Middle East is simply painfully discordant.
Abraham H. Foxman is National Director of the Anti-Defamation League and author of "The Deadliest Lies: The Israel Lobby and the Myth of Jewish Control."
As a leader in the group you commended for our actions, Presbyterians for Middle East Peace, I read with interest your comments on the recent actions of the Presbyterian Church, USA General Assembly (GA). In contrast to yourr gloomy summary of the GA’s actions, I believe we are headed in the right direction.
At a time when many activists are seeking to delegitimize Israel’s existence, I am quite puzzled that you would see the GA’s re-affirmation of Israel’s right to exist as anything other than a very positive and significant action. Second, by insisting that the embargo against weapons to Gaza continue, how can you argue that we are not challenging Hamas’ violent and aggressive actions toward Israel? Third, the GA explicitly rejected the boycott and divest strategy called for in the Kairos document. These are all major accomplishments achieved as the PCUSA maintained its commitment to a two state solution.
There are a couple of factual errors in your article: the People Of God paper on Jewish-Presbyterian relations was referred to the next General Assembly,not rejected, for process issues; the call for selective divestment was not allowed to lapse. Divestment will remain a issue of debate going forward; the Kairos document was not approved for distribution to the denomination. It was “commended.”
I hope you will join me and others in recognizing the progress made at this General Assembly.
Rev. John Wimberly
Pastor, Western Presbyterian Church
Washington, D.C.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle+east-10646355
In the same sense that the Geneva Convention expressly prohibits expanding the Borders of a nation through conquest under any circumstances?
Pretty much the entire civilized world views it that way, as do most Israelis and American Jews.
Filthy? I think you are mistaking that word for "moral".
The question of Israel's legal borders has NEVER been adjudicated and thus, Israel claims legal sovereignty over East Jerusalem, as per the League of Nations Mandate on Palestine, which predated the United Nations by 20+ years and to which the United Nations has no jurisdiction to modify. The World Court is also inadequate for this task because it is an ancillary of the same United Nations which lacks jurisdiction, according to Article-80 of its charter. The belligerent parties would have to agree on a tribunal for that tribunal to hold jurisdiction to adjudicate the legal borders of the Jewish National Homeland. The law is NOT a matter of temporal popularity.
On May 31, 1948, the Committee of the Christian Union of Palestine issued an important statement in Jerusalem denouncing the destruction, profanation and desecration of Christian Holy Places in Palestine...
STATEMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN UNION OF PALESTINE
The war which started in the Holy City of Jerusalem was for all of us a real surprise and beyond our expectations. The Security Council, the United Nations Organization and the Consular Committee of Armistice had given us hope that the Holy City and its sanctuaries would be spared the horrors of war and its consequences of destruction and ruin, both belligerent parties having signed before the Consular Committee of Armistice and the representative of the International Red Cross an undertaking to cease fire for a duration of eight days starting from 9 p.m. on May 14,1948.
In compliance with this signed promise the Arab Command issued formal orders through loudspeakers to all its posts to cease fire, and complete peace prevailed on all Arab sectors.
But the Jews took advantage of this opportunity and immediately occupied the main strategical points from where they tried to attack the Arabs and to launch their attack on the Holy City. We immediately informed the Consular Committee of Armistice...... We then realized that the terrorists are controlling the Jewish movement....
http://www.palestine-encyclopedia.com/EPP/Chapter14_1of3.htm
Pointing out facts and complaining about the Zionists.
Daring to call Zionists what they were and are still - terrorists.
The real peacemakers, and those who have our best interests at heart, are groups like the Presbyterians, who are pressing for a just, long term peace in Palestine. Sometimes you have to speak truth to power, and Israel's supporters have all the power when it comes to this debate.
the whole equation boils down to who can spin the PR...and we know that Palestinians have no direct way to reach American Minds...it is not about who controls the media...it's who controls the debate. AIPAC controls any debate in congress and the rest o fteh story has to come out in pieces... truth hurts only on those whose actions are less than rightous. On both sides those who are in control hate peace...it would put them out of a job.
Truth hurts, doesn't it ?
Why doesn't Israel practice it's faith rather than just preaching it ? Why doesn't it obey international laws instead of breaking them. Why doesn't it stand on it's own instead of relying on others all the time ?
Why can't it behave as a civilized nation if it wants to treated like one ? If it did, all the "bias" would disappear on it's own.
Now, here's the link to what the Methodists of Britain who were sent to investigate the situation and report back had to say
http://www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/coun-1014-israel-palestine-190110.pdf
The Presbyterian church is doing the right thing, they are asserting the same principles that Christ would, and are simply agreeing with international law as set forth by the Geneva convention (which expressly forbids settlements under any and all circumstances).
Boycott Israel, make contributions to the settlements illegal, and suspend all US aid until the settlements are ended completely. CONTINUING this support as Israel heads on a damaging, ill advised and even suicidal mission is anti Israel.
ADL is built to deflect and defend Israel criticism in no matter what form. ADL is more of a political wing of Israel then going against inustices taking place in the US and around the world.
It is not a crime to criticize Israel. Why is it so hard for a tiny miniority to accept the truth that the current Israeli policies are breaking international law? It's seems difficult to accept the harsh reality of Israeli actions domestic and abroad.
Just not registered as they should be.
Much of what we have said to our American Jewish friends we say to you. We are strong advocates for Israel’s secure existence. The fact that we are deeply troubled by Israeli policies should not diminish this advocacy in any way, shape, or form. We continue to speak out against anti-Semitism, knowing that it is an evil which our forbears in faith inflicted upon you and your ancestors. We are fervent in our hope that Israel would continue to be a homeland for the Jewish people.
We say all this because we believe it. And we stand by it in word and in deed. Our corporate engagement process has been handled carefully so as to focus our attention on companies who profit from practices we do not support. We have also encouraged positive investment in the region, including companies whose policies and practices of coexistence within Israeli society’s diverse tapestry and between Israelis and Palestinians are ones we can wholeheartedly support.
We grieve when anyone is a victim of violence, but especially civilians, be they Palestinian or Israeli. The number of casualties may give evidence to the imbalance in the conflict; however, each person is created in the image of God. We know that God’s heart must be the first to break. Trauma is trauma, no matter who experiences it. They cannot compete with one another; instead, our hope is that trauma may lead to healing across divides, bound by a common humanity.
continued
And just as we have spoken and acted against our own society’s vision of itself as a nation when it behaved as though it were “above the law,” we will do the same for Israel. We both have a place in the community of nations. Let us act as though we do.
We truly yearn for the day when Israel is secure, and when Israel and Palestine live side-by-side in peace and justice and mutual respect. And we will continue to work for that vision. We hope that we can work together in this endeavor.
“If I were a Palestinian I would have rejected Camp David as well”
Both Bill Clinton and Dennis Ross who were present at the negotiations utterly refute that nonsense.
And this is before any clear agreement on the question of refugees and the right of return!
I read it, and found (among other things), this demonstration of the "terrible bias" of the report:
"Condemns, as a matter of principle, the interference of one government in the internal politics of another country, such as Iranian support for Hamas and Hezbollah, American complicity in the Israeli occupation, Syrian interference in the Lebanese political process, and Egyptian collaboration in the enforcement of the blockade of Gaza."
Sounds pretty even-handed to me... and sounds like pretty good advice, too.
"A scene that I witnessed, at the end of their Auschwitz visit, is a sort of game in which each of the ADL members has to name five non-Jewish friends who would hide him if someone came knocking at their door – with reference to the Nazis passing from house to house looking for Jews. As the game continued and none of them could think of five gentiles who would protect them, they then go down to three, then one … and sadly, they cannot think of a one righteous soul who would come to their aid. The lesson is, as Foxman's book is appropriately titled, "never again". I am happy to say that, at least in in my Tel Aviv social circle, this is not a very popular game; in fact, I was quite shocked to have witnessed it in Auschwitz. But it was a great insight into that mindset."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jan/25/israel-race