Forum Thread
Jewish-Christian support for Methodist Palestine/Israel report

American Jewish groups are expressing cautious relief after the US Presbyterian Church diluted what had threatened to be a venomously anti-Israel report at its General Assembly.

The church's 700 delegates in Minneapolis last week passed a revised Middle East Study Committee Report that unambiguously recognised Israel's right to exist and accepted the need to stem the flow of weapons into Gaza.

The group also declined to endorse portions of the Kairos report by Palestinian Christians, which backs armed resistance to Israel, and voted down resolutions calling for divestment and labelling Israeli policy as apartheid.

The outcome was praised by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, which released a statement on behalf of 13 Jewish organisations.

"In recognising Israel's security needs while striving to remain faithful to the church's Palestinian Christian partners, the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church has embraced a more thoughtful approach to Middle East peacemaking," the statement said.

http://thejc.com/news/world-news/35761/presbyterians-water-down-their-anti-israel-resolution

American Jewish groups are expressing cautious relief after the US Presbyterian Church diluted what had threatened to be a venomously anti-Israel report at its General Assembly.

The church's 700 delegates in Minneapolis last week passed a revised Middle East Study Committee Report that unambiguously recognised Israel's right to exist and accepted the need to stem the flow of weapons into Gaza.

The group also declined to endorse portions of the Kairos report by Palestinian Christians, which backs armed resistance to Israel, and voted down resolutions calling for divestment and labelling Israeli policy as apartheid.

The outcome was praised by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, which released a statement on behalf of 13 Jewish organisations.

"In recognising Israel's security needs while striving to remain faithful to the church's Palestinian Christian partners, the 219th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church has embraced a more thoughtful approach to Middle East peacemaking," the statement said.

http://thejc.com/news/world-news/35761/presbyterians-water-down-their-anti-israel-resolution

There is an interesting article in the Guardian, which acknowledges the limitations of the report Methodists vote for settlements boycott‎ . I suppose that in the end this boycott can be likened to water on the back of a duck. It seems to me that Israel should make concessions as part of multilateral negotiations. A demand that Israel should give up it's settlements because they are "illegal" just does not take account of the realities of the situation. Any such demand would have to relate to all settlements unless a legal distinction can be made. Any settlement must include a cessation of attacks on Israel. Is anyone able to guarantee that?

David

Further reactions from the WCC general secretary:

"We trust that Methodists in Great Britain and, indeed, people everywhere will be influenced and impacted by your call to boycott goods from illegal Israeli settlements as a pathway to a lasting and sustainable peace in the region.  Such actions are visible proof of your irreversible conviction that God demands that we dare more than words..."

And from 'A Just Peace for Palestine':

"We admire the Methodist Church’s stand, particularly given the external pressure that was applied. As observed by a member of the Council of Christians and Jews, urging delegates to vote for the report, inter-faith dialogue is not well served “by being coy about what we believe to be true.”

On behalf of those Jews and Christians in the UK and Palestine/Israel who publicly endorsed “the working group’s humane and principled conclusions”, we would like to thank all those who gave courageous and moving statements in support of the report’s conclusions."

@Dave

1. The report is here (as a PDF).

2. It would appear from sections like 5.2.3 that the report considers all the settlements Israel has constructed since 1967 in East Jerusalem and West Bank to be illegal. That is a position entirely consistent with international law, and the consensus amongst international governments and relevant bodies.

The reaction of British Jewish leaders can be found at UK Church to boycott Israeli goods. 

Ben,

I have two questions:

1. Is the report available on the internet?

2. Is any distinction drawn between East Jerusalem and the West Bank? And what do you think of this. 

David

Methodist Conference just carried all the resolutions in the Palestine/Israel report, including on settlement products boycott:

The Methodist Church has today voted to boycott all products from Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories, and to encourage Methodists across Britain to do the same.

The decision is a response to a call from a group of Palestinian Christians, a growing number of Jewish organisations, both inside Israel and worldwide, and the World Council of Churches. A majority of governments recognise the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories as illegitimate under international law.

The leaders of liberal and conservative Judaism are united in their criticism of this report. Lord Sacks has described the report as a one sided judgement and said that it will damage interfaith relations see Chief Rabbi slams Methodist report‎ .

David

The following is from a press release published yesterday by 'A Just Peace for Palestine', a new initiative of Amos Trust:

A joint Jewish-Christian statement supporting the ‘Justice for Palestine and Israel’ paper being presented at this year’s Methodist Conference has been signed by 30 organisations and individuals.

The signatories, Christians and Jews from the UK and Palestine/Israel, offer their “wholehearted support” for the “humane and principled conclusions” of the Methodist working group, and criticise those who have “misrepresented and attacked” the report.

Supporters include Jews for Justice for Palestinians, Pax Christi, Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions UK, Amos Trust, Friends of Sabeel UK, Holy Land Trust, and the Palestinian Centre for Rapprochement between People. A range of Jews and Christians from Palestine/Israel have signed, including Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, Ramzi Zananiri, Executive Director of Near East Council of Churches-Jerusalem, and Michael Warschawski from the Alternative Information Centre, Jerusalem...

Ben White, Campaign coordinator for ‘A Just Peace for Palestine’, said: “This is a clear show of support from Jews and Christians who understand that a real peace for both peoples requires justice. It stands in stark contrast to the disingenuous threat that listening to the call of Christian Palestinians and upholding international law and human rights will damage ‘inter-faith relations’ – on the contrary, inter-faith dialogue is not facilitated by ignoring serious questions about injustice.”

You can read the full statement of support and the list of signatories here. Here's an extract:

We do nothing to advance a just peace without being realistic about the structural imbalance between Israel and the dispossessed, stateless Palestinians. In 1963, Martin Luther King wrote that the greatest ‘stumbling block’ to freedom was the ‘moderate’ who preferred ‘a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice’.

The Methodist church has the opportunity to listen to the cry for solidarity of the Palestinian Church as expressed in the Kairos document and respond. A just peace for Palestine will mean peace and security for Israelis – now is a time for action.