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The 220th General Assembly (GA) of the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) opened Saturday June 30, 2012, and concluded on Saturday July 7, 2012. Held every two years, this GA is being held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A recurring feature of the PCUSA GA is the obsession the leadership has with condemning and undermining the Jewish State under the guise of responsible investing and social justice. The hypocrisy on display is evidenced by their agenda.
Sunday morning featured a session with Amgad Beblawi, an Egyptian native, who demonstrated his concern for human rights by posting a story titled “International Laws and UN Resolutions Broken by Israel” on his Facebook page but somehow neglects to mention the suffering of the Coptic Christians in his own country. Badlawi asserts on his Facebook page that “Human rights have been and are being violated daily by Israel. We will keep posting articles and laws that have been violated. Take action and do your part by spreading awareness.” No doubt, during his session at the GA, Beblawi did not note for the edification of the attendees that the Organization of Islamic Conference with its 57 member states represents nearly 1/3 of the UN General Assembly membership and that they devote 2/3 of their time to condemning Israel – the only democracy in the Middle East – rather than condemn the abusive Arab and Muslim dictatorships. Beblawi, the PCUSA Area Coordinator for the Middle East, Central Asia, and Europe, was charged with detailing the history of the PCUSA in the Middle East. One can only imagine what a “dhimmified” Egyptian Arab had to say about Israel and the Middle East. There were no counter reports scheduled that might have provided the attendees with another perspective.
Meanwhile the PCUSA overtures ignore the butchery in Syria, as well as human right abuses throughout the Arab and Muslim world against women and minority groups (non-Muslims, Kurds, Africans, etc.). The Presbytery of Muskingum Valley rose on Tuesday in “recognizing that Israel’s Law and Practices constitute Apartheid against Palestinian People.” Not only is this charge libelous, false and inflammatory, considering that 99% of Palestinians live under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, the fact Arab Muslims and Arab-Christians can serve as a judges in Israel’s Supreme Court, as well as members of the Knesset belie the charge. Absent in this discussion on apartheid is, for example, the fact that no Jew is allowed a government position in the Arab world or in the Palestinian Authority. The fact that Jordan, Gaza, the Palestinian Authority, as well as most of the Arab world, is Nazi-like Judenrein obviously did not bother the drafters of the Muskingum Valley nor the PCUSA leadership.
Also scheduled during the Tuesday morning session was the presentation of an overture by the Presbytery of San Francisco on “Boycotting Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories and Hadiklaim” (Israeli cooperative for date growers) and a call for “Divestment from Caterpillar.” The Presbytery of the Palisades was scheduled to call for “Approving the General Assembly Mission Council’s recommendation on Selective Divestment made by MRTI (Mission Responsibility Through Investment) to add Motorola Solutions and Hewlett-Packard to the list of divestments.
The Israel Palestine Mission Network (IPMN) hosted Arab-Palestinian artists and exhibited Palestinian art on Sunday from 2-10PM. This exposure essentially amounts to quiet pro-Arab-Palestinian propaganda, particularly when the statement posted on its webpage refers to occupation and abuse suffered by Palestinians: “As Presbyterians from around the United States gather in Pittsburgh this week for the 220th General Assembly (June 30-July 7) of the Presbyterian Church (USA), they will consider a motion to divest church holdings from three companies (Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard, and Motorola Solutions) that profit from Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands and abuses of Palestinian human rights. The vote will be the culmination of a long process within the church and years of outreach to the companies involved, with divestment a last resort.” The question that begs to be asked is why the PCUSA does not divest from China, Burma, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and a long list of other non-democratic oppressive regimes.
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