[AJC] Jewish Groups Disappointed by Prebyterian Shift on Jews

[Ari Gordon]

AJC Disappointed by Presbyterian Shift on Jews

June 13, 2008 – New York – The American Jewish Committee today expressed
deep regret that the Presbyterian Church has reneged on an earlier positive
statement regarding the Jewish people. The shift comes shortly after AJC and
other Jewish organizations had praised the Presbyterian Church for its sharp
critique last month of anti-Jewish teaching within the church.

"The revised Presbyterian statement is a stunning setback to our energetic
efforts to advance Presbyterian-Jewish understanding," said Rabbi Gary
Greenebaum, AJC’s U.S. Director of Interreligious Affairs.

AJC had praised the Presbyterian Church last month for its strongly-worded
condemnation of anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish language in writings about
Israel. The revised statement, however, issued on the eve of the 2008
Presbyterian Church General Assembly, is infused with the very bias that the
original statement condemned.

AJC joined with 12 other national Jewish organizations in sharply
criticizing the new Presbyterian document. It was co-signed by the American
Jewish Congress, Anti-Defamation League, B'nai B'rith International, the
Central Conference of American Rabbis, Hadassah, Jewish Council for Public
Affairs, Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, The Rabbinical Assembly,
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Union for Reform Judaism, Women's
League for Conservative Judaism and Women of Reform Judaism. 

The full statement follows: 

We are deeply distressed by the revisions made to the Presbyterian Church
(USA)'s recent statement calling for "Vigilance against anti-Jewish ideas
and bias."

The revised statement is infused with the very bias that the original
statement condemned.  We are disappointed that after taking steps toward
better relations, the church has rescinded many of the positive statements
it made about rooting out anti-Jewish invective.  It is even more disturbing
that this occurs after Jewish groups had warmly welcomed the original
statement, and only days before the church's upcoming biennial.   As such,
we can no longer welcome its publication and must rescind the letters and
statements in which we welcomed the original document.

We resent the implication in the revised statement that some Jewish
criticism of Israeli policy justifies the PC(USA)'s one-sided stances.  It
does not.  There is legitimate criticism of Israeli policies that comes from
both Christians and Jews. However, some criticism crosses the line. Sadly,
many PC(USA) statements have and continue to cross this line.

A 2004 policy stated that Israeli occupation is "at the root of evil acts
committed against innocent people on both sides of the conflict." A 2007
church teaching resource claims a two-thousand-year continued Christian
presence in the Holy Land, but writes Jews out of the history until the
middle of the twentieth century.  A 2008 church statement termed the rockets
that Hamas has fired into Israeli civilian areas as "provocative acts of
retaliation."  The newly revised statement on anti-Jewish bias describes
Israel as "the oppressive force in the Israeli-Palestinian situation,"
dismissing the anti-Israel and anti-Jewish terror that has killed and maimed
Israeli civilians in buses, restaurants, and markets.  Each statement and
action moves beyond legitimate criticism and rewrites history or assigns
excessive blame to Israelis, even for violence directed against them.

A further example of blaming Jews for that which harms us is the revised
language on Palestinian liberation theology.  Gone is language recognizing
that such theology presents "unique problems" and is "troubling in its
demonization of Israel."  Instead, the burden is shifted to Jews who, the
statement claims, "inevitably construe" calling the Jewish state a
crucifying power as anti-Jewish.  We know that we do not shoulder alone our
horror over statements by liberation theologians such as "the Israeli
government crucifixion machine is operating daily," or "Israel has placed a
large boulder, a big stone that has metaphorically shut off the Palestinians
in a tomb, similar to the stone placed on the entrance of Jesus' tomb" or
"security is a pagan god that Israel worships."  Christians and all people
of good will also construe such rhetoric as echoing classic anti-Jewish
accusations.

The revised statement inserts a litany of church policies against Israel,
including targeting corporations for "engagement" as a viable approach to
solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  No recent church policy has caused
greater harm to Presbyterian-Jewish relations.  In contrast, the church has
yet to take any action to "engage" corporations that foster anti-Israel
terrorism through investment in state sponsors of terror, including Iran and
Syria.  This demonstrates a continued one-sided and distressing approach to
peacemaking.

The revised statement also adds a most troubling interpretation of the
biblical promise of land.  The original statement recognized both a
universal gift of land and one made specifically to the Jewish people.  This
is replaced with a re-interpretation that the Jewish covenant instead
includes a promise of land to "the Jewish people and to all the descendants
of Abraham."

In June 2006, Jewish organizations broadly welcomed the call for a "new
season of mutual understanding and dialogue" issued by the 217th General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA).  In January 2007, after the
issuance of an anti-Israel PC(USA) statement, we questioned whether that new
season had arrived.  Today, we note with profound hurt that the season for
which we continue to hope has indeed not yet arrived.


Ari M. Gordon
Assistant Director
Department of Interreligious Affairs
American Jewish Committee
165 E56th St.
New York, NY 10022 
(212) 891-6768
(212) 751-4000 x266
www.ajc.org 
www.engagingamerica.org