Presbyterian group says PCUSA falsely portraying Israeli-Palestinian conflict
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, June 27, 2005
A Presbyterian group that listened to all sides involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict says the Presbyterian Church (USA) has used false information to defend the 2004 General Assembly’s one-sided call for divestment of funds in corporations doing business with Israel.
After a trip to the Mideast, eight leaders in the Presbytery of the New Covenant in Houston and one from the Mission Presbytery in San Antonio signed a letter to denominational letters criticizing the General Assembly and the PCUSA staff’s defense of the divestment policy.
“We are saddened that our church has not presented the issues in the Middle East in a more fair and balanced way,” they said. “It appears that the biases of some staff members are driving the church with little concern for all parties in this conflict.”
The letter, dated May 12, 2005, went to Moderator Rick Ufford-Chase, Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick and John Detterick, executive director of the General Assembly Council.
Describing the Israeli-Palestinian standoff as complex, the group from the two presbyteries cited a “few” examples of “misleading information [that] has been disseminated by our church,” including:
- In the Church and Society publication, A Wall of Security, A Barrier to Peace, at least eighteen pictures clearly show a concrete wall, while only three show the actual security fence. Since only 5% of the separation barrier is actually a concrete wall, even the title and picture on the front of this publication are pejorative.
- Israeli officials explained that the barrier is electronically monitored, not “electrified,” yet page two of this publication refers to “an electrified fence portion.”
- The publication refers to the barrier as being “permanent” on page 13, but the Israeli government has already demonstrated its temporariness as it moved the barrier in compliance with its Supreme Court ruling.
- In addition, the publication addresses the issue of divestment on page five stating, “It [the church] does not wish to support an apparatus of death (emphasis added) that is created by the occupation. (Here, it must also be stated that if the church’s investment committee were to discover that we have shares in companies whose business contributes to supporting Palestinian violence, the same criteria would have to be applied…)”
The Presbyterians, who are part of an effort known as “Presbyterians in Dialogue for Peace,” made the trip to Israel and Palestine with three Jewish leaders. Their assessment of the Mideast confrontation was starkly different from that made by a 24-member Presbyterian delegation to the Mideast led by the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy.
The ACSWP group made its trip in October 2004. One of its meetings was with Hezbollah, a reputed Lebanese terrorist group that the U.S. has accused of bombings that killed 270 Americans — the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983 and the U.S. Embassy annex in Beirut in 1984. ACSWP member Ron Stone, a retired seminary professor, said during an interview on a Hezbollah-friendly news broadcast, “As an elder of our church, I’d like to say that, according to my recent experience, relations and conversations, with Islamic leaders are a lot easier than dealings and dialogue with Jewish leaders.”
The Israeli government refused to be talk with the ASCWP group after that statement was aired.
Presbyterians in Dialogue said they heard from Palestinians, Israeli government officials, Arab and Israeli youth, a victim of terror, new immigrants and Christian leaders.
“The main thing that we all learned is how complex the situation in the Middle East is,” they said. “Slogans such as ‘end the war now’ are naïve and hollow.”
They said some of the denomination’s commitment to divestment was moving forward for lack of information. “One of our group attended the workshop on the divestment issue at the conference held in February for middle governing bodies. … When she brought up the issue of looking at companies that launder the money of the terrorists, members of the Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) Committee seemed surprised and said that they had not considered that aspect. She also asked them if we could use our money in a more positive manner, i.e. investment in the economy to assist both Israelis and Palestinians. She was told that only a small percentage of our investment money was used in that manner and that issue had not been considered in relationship to the issue of the Middle East.”
“Members of our dialogue group in Houston are interested in finding positive ways to move the peace process forward. We believe that there must be ways to help, especially the Christian communities in both Israel and Palestine. We heard from Christians in Nazareth who feel abandoned by us, and we know that the Christians in Bethlehem and other parts of the West Bank face many hardships. The Palestinian people have suffered unbelievably as their own leadership has done little for them. We have a small window of opportunity with the new leadership of the Palestinian Authority. We believe that the current opportunity for peace depends totally on the willingness and ability of leaders on both sides to compromise and act responsibly, not a one-sided action. Instead of punishing one of the parties in the conflict, perhaps our church should be looking for positive ways to help both sides. Investment instead of divestment could be one positive method.”
While the denomination has condemned the separation barrier between Israel and Palestinian areas, the Presbyterians said it might have saved their lives.
“The evening that we flew into Tel Aviv we landed at just about the same time that a suicide bomber succeeded in killing and injuring innocent victims in that city. Later, we learned that on two different days suicide bombers were stopped from entering Jerusalem while we were there. The barrier may have saved our lives. Being there and experiencing that makes a difference. While we are not intellectually in favor of divisions, we know that the barrier saves lives. We pray for those who suffer the hardships that it has created. We also pray for the day when terrorism is no longer a daily threat and the fence can be safely removed.”
The Presbyterians made five recommendations:
1. Balanced, fair and accurate information should be disseminated from the PCUSA. Corrections should be made where necessary.
2. When testimony is given in GA committees, resource personnel should strive to include representatives from various groups affected by the motions being considered.
3. Recognizing that you cannot change directives from the GA, the MRTI Committee should be urged to consider investigating whether we have investments in companies involved in funding terrorism. Since house demolitions have ended in Israel, the General Assembly Council should advise the MRTI Committee that the concerns presented by Caterpillar no longer exist, and therefore it should redirect its energy to a more positive investment initiative.
4. A statement recognizing that the purpose of the security barrier is to save lives without violence, that it is working, and that Israel has the right and obligation to defend its citizens should be included in publications that address the hardships that the barrier has caused the Palestinian people.
5. Engage our church in ongoing, open, and collegial dialogues with Jewish and Muslim leaders at the national and local levels.
The letter was signed by:
- Dr. Susan McPhail Wittjen, former moderator, Presbytery of New Covenant · Rev. Mike Cole, general presbyter, Presbytery of New Covenant.
- Rev. Maricarmen Castro, pastor, St. Giles Presbyterian Church, Houston.
- Dr. Carolyn Hartnett, elder, First Presbyterian Church, Texas City.
- Mr. Robert Hartnett, elder, First Presbyterian Church, Texas City.
- Rev. Jane MacColl, pastor, Presbytery of New Covenant.
- Rev. Gene Price, associate pastor, Woodlands Community Presbyterian Church, Woodlands.
- Rev. Elizabeth McGregor Simmons, pastor, University Presbyterian Church, San Antonio.
- Mr. Carl Wickizer, elder, Woodlands Community Presbyterian Church, Woodlands.