Jewish groups, PCUSA at it again over Israel
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- June
- 17
Last month, Presbyterian Church (USA) put out a statement called “Vigilance against anti-Jewish bias in the pursuit of Israeli-Palestinian peace.”
It was roundly applauded by Jewish groups.
This was a big deal because Jewish-PCUSA relations have been strained in recent years over PCUSA’s strong criticism of Israeli behavior toward the Palestinians.
The PCUSA statement sought to address many Jewish concerns.
Then, this month, PCUSA put out a revised edition of the statement. Jewish groups have expressed deep disappointment with the changes made—and with how PCUSA revised the statement after Jewish groups supported the first version.
A statement from Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist leaders said:
And to speak frankly, the revised statement leaves us with a deep suspicion regarding the motivations behind replacing the initial statement – which the Jewish community warmly welcomed – with a document which you surely knew would cause deep angst. Friends, or even dialogue partners, do not engage in actions that can so easily and plausibly be seen as “bait and switch” tactics.
That’s harsh.
A statement from 13 Jewish groups includes this:
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.
I haven’t seen a PCUSA response to the criticisms from Jewish groups.
The revised PCUSA statement warns of different forms of anti-Jewish teachings that could infuse criticisms of Israeli policy. One example given is this:
Denunciations of Judaism or the Jewish people, rather than the state of Israel and its policies, as the oppressive force in the Israeli-Palestinian situation, repeat the classic theme of collective Jewish guilt for Christian suffering. Polemic that identifies today’s oppressors with Jewish authorities in the time of Jesus is especially problematic, and clouds an accurate understanding of the current situation. In addition, while citizens in democracies such as Israel and the United States are responsible before God for the actions of their governments, it is wrong to racialize this responsibility; it is the citizens of Israel, and not the Jewish people as a whole, who are responsible for Israel’s actions, just as it is U.S. citizens who are responsible for the policies of the U.S. government regarding Israel and Palestine.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 at 2:08 pm by Gary Stern.
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The world of religion, we don't have to tell you, is vast. The purpose of this blog is for Stern to note, flag and comment on some of the more interesting religious developments on the scene – weighty and quirky, somber and laughable, far away and just down the road. He won't interpret Scripture, take sides in conflicts or judge anyone. But he will take advantage of the journalist's license to observe.
