Group calls on PCUSA to stop
taking sides in Israel-Palestine conflict
The Layman , March 16, 2010
Joining a chorus of criticism on the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s Middle East Study Committee report on the Israel-Palestine conflict, a group of Presbyterian ministers and laity has urged the General Assembly to reject it and seek a different strategy for peace.
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On March 15, Presbyterians for Middle East Peace (PFMEP), self described as an ad hoc group with a “strong desire for the PCUSA to be an effective peacemaker in the Middle East,” announced its concern about the report’s objectivity and “a disturbing shift in policy direction.”
Released in several parts from March 5 to March 10, the “Breaking Down the Walls” report affirms Israel’s right to exist, but urges it to end occupation of disputed territories and advocates restricting U.S. aid to Israel. Most of the report’s critics have labeled it pro-Palestinian.
The PFMEP is urging the denomination to stop taking sides and have a mediating role. To continue on the current path will jeopardize Presbyterian-Jewish relationships and Israel’s security, the group claims.
“Presbyterians for Middle East Peace is not surprised at the radical conclusions of the costly report given that seven of the committee’s nine members had evidenced a strong bias toward a one-sided Palestinian narrative,” the news release states. “The prejudicial slant of the committee’s composition ignored the mandate from the denomination’s General Assembly that the committee’s membership represent the diversity of opinion on the Middle East that exists within the denomination as a whole. One member of the committee resigned after the first meeting, in part, to protest the overwhelmingly slanted makeup of the committee.”
In concluding its call to action, PFMEP asks the General Assembly, which meets July 3-10 in Minneapolis, Minn., to discuss then reject the report.
“It would set the PCUSA on a tragically partisan political course rejected by previous General Assemblies,” the group said. “After spending much time and money to produce this report, it is sadly, an offense to serious-minded peace-makers.”
The organization’s Web site is still under development, but has a stated goal of providing information about:
- The denomination’s historical position on Middle East issues;
- A timeline of how those positions have been developed and changed over the years;
- Current events that will influence the direction of PCUSA policy in the future
The group is led by a steering committee that includes the following Presbyterians: the Rev. Dr. Bill Harter, the Rev. Dr. John Wimbley, Elder Gary J. Green and James Roberts.
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