During the course of the past year, the Presbyterian Church USA, the World Council of Churches, the Episcopal Church of U.S.A., the United Church of Christ, two regions of the United Methodist Church, and the Anglican Consultative Council have passed resolutions encouraging divestment from Israel. The actions by these denominations have profound political and economic implications.
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The language of the resolutions varies, but they all:
- single out Israel for condemnation;
- portray Israel's efforts to defend itself against terrorism in the harshest terms possible; and
- appear unwilling to acknowledge the motive and consequence of Islamic terror on Israeli society.
According to Dexter Van Zile, the director of the Judeo-Christian Alliance "[d]ivestment resolutions are putatively religious documents that have political consequences…. Lay members of Protestant churches in the U.S. have not exercised appropriate oversight over their leaders. Despite protestations that general assemblies and synods do not speak for entire denominations, resolutions passed by these bodies contribute to the notion that Christians in the U.S. are turning against Israel."
The primary source of this anti-Israel narrative in the mainline churches is the Jerusalem-based Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center (Sabeel). Sabeel routinely characterizes Israel's efforts to defend itself as human rights tragedies, but has never offered a condemnation of Palestinian attacks against Israel, nor has it spoken honestly about the threats to human rights posed by Palestinian terrorists. Sabeel takes the suffering of Palestinian Christians and lays it at Israel's feet and uses deicide imagery to encourage hostility toward the Jewish state, portraying it as a modern-day Christ killer.
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For additional information on this issue please read the following reports:
MAINLINE CHURCHES
Lutherans Move on Israel Boycott
JTA Staff- JTA- August 16, 2007
Lutheran Church of America to Boycott Products from Israeli Settlements
Israel Insider Staff- Israel Insider- August 16, 2007
US Lutherans Consider Israel Boycott
Haviv Rettig- The Jerusalem Post- August 15, 2007
Fair Witness Condemns ELCA Churchwide Assembly Action
Sr.Ruth Lautt, O.P., Esq.- Religion News Service- August 15, 2007
Methodists for Divestment
Mark D. Tooley- Frontpagemagazine.com- July 6, 2007
ADL Lists Top 10 Issues Affecting Jews in 2006
Anti-Defamation League- December 22, 2006
Divestment From Israel, The Liberal Churches, and Jewish Responses: A Strategic Analysis
Eugene Korn - The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs- December 22, 2006
The Methodists’ Rebbe
The Jewish Week- October 6, 2006
Christian Century Magazine
Dexter Van Zile- CAMERA- September 13, 2006
Chief Rabbi Attacks C of E Over Disinvestment Decision
www.ekklesia.co.uk- September 6, 2006
Archbishop of Canterbury and Israel's Chief Rabbis Sign Historic Agreement
Ekklesia – UK- September 6, 2006
Chief Rabbis to Visit Archbishop
Johnny Paul- The Jerusalem Post- September 3, 2006
International Christian Concern Weekly News Update
International Christian Concern- September 1, 2006
The Vampire's Kiss
Jon Haber - The Jerusalem Post- August 31, 2006
Canadian church opposes divestment
www.jta.org- August 21, 2006
Canadian church group drops anti-Israel divestment program
Hilary Leila Krieger- THE JERUSALEM POST- August 21, 2006
Back in balance--United Church retreats from precipice on Israel stance
Ezra Levant- The Calgary Sun- August 21, 2006
Right Move by Church
Toronto Star- August 19, 2006
United Church backs off plan to divest from Israel
Mary Vallis- National Post- August 18, 2006
Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies
Encouraged By United Church of Canada Position - August 18, 2006
Methodists for Move On
Mark D. Tooley- FrontPageMagazine.com- August 4, 2006
Mideast Fighting Strains Fragile Interfaith Ties
Marc Ballon- The Jewish Journal- August 4, 2006
B'nai Brith rips church
SHARON HO- TORONTO SUN- July 5, 2006
From Columbus: Peace in Israel/Palestine is Focus of Committee Hearing
Matthew Davies- Episcopal News Service- June 15, 2006
Catholics in New Outreach to the Jewish Community
Jennifer Siegel- The Forward- May 26, 2006
Middle East Peace and the Protestant Churches
Eugene Korn- Winter, 2005
Divestment Bad for Israelis, Palestinians
Rev. Mark D. Stuart - The Jewish Journal of greater L.A. - Winter, 2005
The divestment snowball
Amiram Barkat- www.haaretz.com- Winter, 2005
Christian, Jewish Leaders Work Together Despite Strained Relations
Elaine Spencer - The Christian Post- September 26, 2005
Conversation with…Ethan Felson JCPA point man with Christian community discusses key issues
Doug Chandler - Connecticut Jewish Ledger- December 15, 2005
ADL Dismayed By World Council of Churches Decision to Pursue Divestment As Means to Punish Israel
ADL- February 22, 2005
Coalition For Responsible Peace in the Middle East: A Primer on Divestment in Mainline Churches
Coalition For Responsible Peace in the Middle East- December 12, 2005
Unfairness against Israel
Jacques Cukierkorn and Scott Myers - December 8, 2005
Voice your Opposition to Divestent by Mainline Protestant Churches
December 7, 2005
Mainline Decline
Mark A. Adomanis- The Harvard Crimson- September 21, 2005
The Present Campaign of the Churches is Not About The Wall Nor About Divestment: It is About Israel's Right to Life
Professor Paul C. Merkely- Israel Pundit- August 17, 2005
Churches gang up on Israel
Tom Teepen- Minneapolis Star Tribune- August 9, 2005
The Church, Israel and Divestment: A Church In Trouble
David Blewett- August 2005
Religious Radicals Mainline churches launch a policy to punish Israel
Eugene Kontorovich- The Wall Street Journal- July 22, 2005
