An Analysis
Fox appointed to henhouse guard
By Parker T. Williamson, The Layman, October 29, 2010
In September, a Layman Online analysis reported that a new Middle East Monitoring Group appointed by General Assembly Moderator Cynthia Bolbach (with a little help from former Moderator Bruce Reyes-Chow) appears to have been loaded with anti-Israeli, pro-Palestinian liberationists. That appearance has now taken a giant leap toward reality.
On Oct. 25, The Rev. Jeff DeYoe, one of Bolbach’s appointees and the “Advocacy Chair” for a Presbyterian Church (USA) denominationally sanctioned group called the Israel/Palestine Mission Network (IPMN), announced that his organization will boycott Ahava Cosmetics, King Solomon Dates and Jordan River Dates because they are produced in Israeli settlements. Also on its hit list, according to Presbyterian columnist Viola Larson, are intellectual boycotts of published material and visiting professors. These are only IPMN’s “first” targets, for IPMN is investigating various corporations that do business with Israel, and it promises to “expand the boycott list if needed, at a later date.”
A losing lobbyist
During the 2010 General Assembly, IPMN lobbyists, including DeYoe, campaigned vigorously to win the PCUSA’s condemnation of Israeli self defense, divestment of Caterpillar, Inc. stocks and bonds, the cessation of U.S. military contracts and foreign aid to Israel, and the adoption of a “Kairos Palestine” document that accuses Israel of “apartheid.”
IPMN failed to achieve its objectives on these counts. Instead, the General Assembly reaffirmed its position that the state of Israel has a right to exist, chose not to divest itself of Caterpillar (although it did chastise the corporation), declined to call for the termination of U.S. aid to Israel and chose not to endorse the Kairos Palestine document as policy. The General Assembly did, however, choose to distribute it “for study,” in order that Presbyterians might be informed of opinions held by some Palestinian Christians.
The General Assembly not only declined to adopt IPMN’s recommendations, it dissolved a previous task force that shared IPMN’s lopsided position. The Assembly then called on Bolbach to create a new, balanced Middle East group whose task would be to monitor the implementation of PCUSA policy in the region. Amazingly, this is the group to which DeYoe was appointed.
Foxy news
Bolbach’s appointment of IPMN’s advocacy chair reeks of the proverbial fox-over-hen-house strategy. How can one whose organization blatantly defies the General Assembly’s Middle East Policy faithfully serve a group whose mission is to ensure adherence to the General Assembly policy?
IPMN describes itself as “a grassroots organization established in 2004 with a mandate from the denomination’s General Assembly.” That mandate, according to IPMN is to address “the conditions that erode the humanity of Palestinians.” Capitalizing on the vagaries endemic in such a mandate, IPMN creates its own list of conditions that in its opinion erode Palestinian humanity and then unleashes its activists against them in utter disregard for, and even opposition to the policies of its progenitor.
A popish projection
Employing its full name, “The Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (USA),” this organization projects an ex cathedra impression. Only those who endure its self description to the end will stumble across the disclaimer that it “speaks TO the church, not FOR the church.”
One suspects that few, if any of those who read the screed will get to its disclaimer, and if they do, what they read will be false. The target that DeYoe and his colleagues have in mind is only tangentially denominational. They’re not speaking to the church, but through the church to the U.S. State Department, the Pentagon and the U.S. Congress. That is where they hope to turn the screws on Israel.
Confronted by bullies at every border, the tiny state of Israel struggles to ensure its survival. In that effort, only one nation state openly provides life support. DeYoe and his allies in historically mainline power structures are working hard to pull the plug.
Parker T. Williamson is Editor Emeritus and Senior Correspondent for The Layman.