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	<title>FrontPage Magazine &#187; presbyterian church usa</title>
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		<title>The Presbyterian Church USA&#8217;s Terrorist Ties</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/ari-lieberman/the-presbyterian-church-usas-terrorist-ties/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=the-presbyterian-church-usas-terrorist-ties</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Dec 2014 05:02:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ari Lieberman]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hezbollah]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Israel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[meeting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[presbyterian church usa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[terrorists]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Zionism]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=247057</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Why the Hezbollah-allied church could soon lose its tax-exempt status. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/pcusa.gif"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-247061" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/pcusa.gif" alt="pcusa" width="233" height="235" /></a>On April 18, 1983, an explosive laden truck driven by a Hezbollah terrorist slammed into the U.S. embassy in Beirut killing 63 people, including 17 Americans, some of whom were CIA operatives. According to the CIA, it was the <a href="https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2014-featured-story-archive/flashback-april-18-1983-u-s-embassy-bombed-in-beirut.html"><span style="color: #0433ff;">most lethal</span></a> attack ever against the Agency. Just six months later, Hezbollah terrorists struck again, this time hitting the <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/13/world/meast/beirut-marine-barracks-bombing-fast-facts/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">U.S. Marine compound</span></a> in Beirut.  In a repeat of the embassy bombing, a Hezbollah homicide bomber crashed his explosive laden truck into the barracks killing 220 marines and another 21 U.S. service personnel. It was the largest single-day loss of life sustained by the marines since Iwo Jima.</p>
<p>Hezbollah’s atrocities against the United States and its allies did not cease with the embassy and marine compound outrages and have in fact, continued unabated in intensity and scope since that time. Hezbollah has recently carried out a global campaign of terror spanning five continents including an attack and bombing of a civilian tourist bus in Bulgaria that resulted in the deaths of six civilians.</p>
<p>Despite Hezbollah’s involvement in international terrorism and its designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the United States, the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) has had extensive contacts with the organization according to a federal complaint filed by the legal advocacy group, Shurat HaDin, Israel Law center.</p>
<p>The 38-page complaint filed with the Internal Revenue Service alleges that PCUSA has engaged in “a range of activities prohibited under U.S. tax law” which are wholly inconsistent with PCUSA’s stated aims when it filed for tax exempt status in 1964.</p>
<p>In its 1964 filing with the IRS, PCUSA posed as a religious body whose purpose was to engage in “peaceful relationships with individuals of all faiths and wholly unengaged in political activities.” But the federal complaint filed by Shurat HaDin paints a completely different picture and alleges that PCUSA has repeatedly met and established dialogue with Hezbollah terrorist officials.</p>
<p>The complaint also alleges that PCUSA violated its tax-exempt status by “publishing anti-Semitic materials, enacting a racist policy to divest from American companies doing business with Israel, lobbying the U.S. Congress, and distributing political advocacy materials&#8230;”</p>
<p>Indeed, as far back as 2004 PCUSA officials met with Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon with one PCUSA official, perhaps in an attempt to endear himself to his Hezbollah hosts, making crude <a href="http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/294.htm"><span style="color: #0433ff;">anti-Jewish</span></a> remarks. Though PCUSA subsequently disavowed itself from the remarks as well as the meeting, PCUSA sanctioned meetings with Hezbollah continued.</p>
<p>In October 2005, a PCUSA delegation headed by Robert Morley and Father Nihad Tomeh <a href="http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/1535.htm"><span style="color: #0433ff;">met with</span></a> Nabil Qaouk, a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon. During the exchange, Qaouk complained that U.S. policies in the region were dictated by Israel. It is the same banal complaint often regurgitated by an assortment anti-Semitic groups and conspiracy types. Nevertheless, the delegation, rather than challenging Qaouk, concurred with him stating that PCUSA was blameless because its members had voted for the Democratic Party and the organization was under pressure from U.S. Jewish groups due to its divestment efforts against Israel.</p>
<p>The Israel-Palestine Mission Network of the PCUSA has been engaged in a relentless effort to delegitimize Israel. As <a href="http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&amp;x_issue=37&amp;x_article=2712"><span style="color: #0433ff;">detailed</span></a> by the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA), the IPMN has been linked to a number of anti-Israel initiatives the most notorious of which is a malevolent publication called “Zionism Unsettled.”</p>
<p>“Zionism Unsettled” adopts a viscerally anti-Israel narrative, in line with the views of Hamas and has won praise from the who’s who of Judeophobes including former KKK “Grand Wizard” David Duke.  Among its many pernicious lies is that Jews had “harmonious relations” with Muslims prior to the ascendancy of Zionism and that Zionism is the sole cause for Palestinian suffering. The screed was peddled and offered for sale on PCUSA’s website and was taken down only after encountering extremely negative feedback and intense public pressure.</p>
<p>PCUSA took its anti-Israel political advocacy to new levels when in June 2014, its General Assembly <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/presbyterian-shame-article-1.1844099"><span style="color: #0433ff;">voted</span></a> by a narrow margin to attack Israel’s legitimacy by divesting itself from three companies doing business with Israel. A similar resolution in 2012 failed but remains testament to the relentless effort PCUSA places on political advocacy when it comes to harming relations with the Jewish State.</p>
<p>PCUSA, by both word and deed, has made itself out to be a leading purveyor of anti-Semitism. Its divestment initiatives hold Israel to a standard expected of no other nation. By peddling an anti-Semitic screed on its website, it becomes an integral party to anti-Semitism. By meeting and maintaining dialogue with Hezbollah, a Foreign Terrorist Organization that next to al-Qaida was responsible for more American deaths than any other terrorist group, it provides aid and comfort to the enemy.</p>
<p>In 1964, PCUSA presented itself to the IRS as a benign religious organization with an apolitical agenda. The facts however, prove otherwise. As Shurat HaDin’s founder, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner accurately summed it up in an email to me; “The Presbyterian church long ago abounded any claim that they are not a political organization with ties to terror groups and an Israel-bashing agenda.  The IRS is obligated to investigate PCUSA and strip it from its tax free status. The PCUSA would need to decide ultimately whether they are a church or a political group.”</p>
<p>Given the PCUSA’s aggressive political agenda and its anti-Israel machinations, it is patently clear that they’ve already made that decision.</p>
<p><b>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: </b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank"><b>Click here</b></a><b>. </b></p>
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		<title>Presbyterian Church Slams Israel &#8212;- Ignores Christian Persecution</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/raymond-ibrahim/presbyterian-church-slams-israel-ignores-christian-persecution/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=presbyterian-church-slams-israel-ignores-christian-persecution</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Jul 2014 04:35:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Raymond Ibrahim]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christian]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[divestment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Israel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[persecution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[presbyterian church usa]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=236843</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The warped priorities of a left-wing church. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="color: #000000;"><em>Originally published by <a href="http://blogs.cbn.com/ibrahim/archive/2014/07/21/presbyterian-church-criticizes-israel-ignores-christian-persecution.aspx">CBN.com</a>. </em></p>
<p><iframe src="http://cbn.com/tv/embedplayernews.aspx?bcid=3689050552001" width="320" height="180" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p style="color: #000000;">Days before the recent Israel/Hamas conflict erupted, the Presbyterian Church in America withdrew $21 million worth in investments from Israel because, as spokesman Heath Rada put it, the Israeli government’s actions “harm the Palestinian people.”</p>
<p style="color: #000000;">Soon after, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and was asked if he was “troubled” by the Presbyterian Church’s move.<a style="color: #4e82d0;" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX0Y2mnnsvc" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Netanyahu responded</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="color: #000000;"><em>It should trouble all people of conscience and morality because it’s so disgraceful. You know, you look at what’s happening in the Middle East and I think most Americans understand this, they see this enormous area riveted by religious hatred, by savagery of unimaginable proportions. Then you come to Israel and you see the one democracy that upholds basic human rights, that guards the rights of all minorities, that protects Christians—Christians are persecuted throughout the Middle East. So most Americans understand that Israel is a beacon of civilization and moderation. You know I would suggest to these Presbyterian organizations to fly to the Middle East, come and see Israel for the embattled democracy that it is, and then take a bus tour, go to Libya, go to Syria, go to Iraq, and see the difference. And I would give them two pieces of advice, one is, make sure it’s an armor plated bus, and second, don’t say that you’re Christians.</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p style="color: #000000;">It’s difficult—if not impossible—to argue with Netanyahu’s logic. Indeed, several points made in his one-minute response are deserving of some reflection.</p>
<p style="color: #000000;">First, the obvious: why is it that self-professed Christians completely ignore the horrific Islamic persecution of fellow Christians in the Middle East, while grandstanding against the Jewish state for trying to defend itself against the same ideology that persecutes Christians?</p>
<p style="color: #000000;">And he is absolutely right to say that the persecution of Christians in the Mideast has reached a point of “savagery of unimaginable proportions.” Perhaps the only thing more shocking than the atrocities Mideast Christians are exposed to—the slaughters, crucifixions, beheadings, torture and rape—is the absolute silence emanating from so-called mainline Protestant churches in the U.S.</p>
<p style="color: #000000;">Note also the nations Netanyahu highlighted for their brutal persecution of Christian minorities: Libya, Syria, and Iraq. Indigenous Christians were markedly better off in all three nations <em>before</em> the U.S. got involved, specifically be empowering, deliberately or not, Islamist forces. Now,<a style="color: #4e82d0;" href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/muslim-persecution-of-christians/confirmed-u-s-chief-facilitator-of-christian-persecution/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">according to recent studies</a>, Christians in all three nations are experiencing the worst form of persecution around the globe:</p>
<ul style="color: #000000;">
<li style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Libya</span>: Ever since U.S.-backed, al-Qaeda-linked terrorists overthrew Gaddafi, Christians—<a style="color: #4e82d0;" href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/muslim-persecution-of-christians/three-american-teachers-slaughtered-for-christian-faith-in-muslim-world/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">including Americans</a>—have been <a style="color: #4e82d0;" href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/mass-arrest-and-torture-of-christians-in-libya/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">tortured</a> and killed (including <a style="color: #4e82d0;" href="http://morningstarnews.org/2013/09/two-egyptian-christians-slain-in-libya/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">for refusing to convert</a>) and <a style="color: #4e82d0;" href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/from-the-arab-world/hatred-of-christians-unleashed-in-libya/" target="_blank" rel="nofollwo">churches bombed</a>. It’s “<a style="color: #4e82d0;" href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/muslim-persecution-of-christians/open-season-on-christians-in-libya/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">open season</a>” on Copts, as jihadis issue a reward to Muslims who find and kill Christians. This was not the case under Gaddafi.</li>
<li style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Syria</span>: Christians have been attacked in indescribable ways—<a style="color: #4e82d0;" href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/largest-massacre-of-christians-in-syria-ignored/" target="_Blank" rel="nofollow">wholesale massacres</a>, bombed and desecrated churches, beheadings, <a style="color: #4e82d0;" href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/christians-crucified-again-for-refusing-islam/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">crucifixions</a>, and rampant kidnappings—since the U.S.-sponsored “Arab Spring” reached the Levant.</li>
<li style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Iraq</span>: After the U.S. toppled Saddam Hussein, Christian minorities were savagely attacked and slaughtered, and dozens of their churches were bombed (see here for<a style="color: #4e82d0;" href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/in-the-media/graphic-images-of-christian-persecution-under-islam/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">graphic images</a>). In the last decade, Christians have been<a style="color: #4e82d0;" href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/muslim-persecution-of-christians/the-silent-extermination-of-iraqs-christian-dogs/" target="_blank" rel="nofolow">terrorized into near-extinction</a>, with well over half of them fleeing Iraq.</li>
</ul>
<p style="color: #000000;">If the Presbyterian Church has problems with governments that persecute people—in this case, the Israeli government’s purported treatment of Palestinians, hence the Presbyterian Church’s divestment from Israel—perhaps it should begin by criticizing its own government’s <a style="color: #4e82d0;" href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/obamas-proxy-war-on-mideast-christians/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">proxy war on fellow Christians</a> in the Middle East.</p>
<p style="color: #000000;">Christians are also being targeted in the P.A. territories—by the very same elements the Presbyterian Church is trying to defend.</p>
<p style="color: #000000;">In 2012, for example, a pastor <a style="color: #4e82d0;" href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/153747#.T40QLqvY-pe" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">noted</a> that “animosity towards the Christian minority in areas controlled by the P.A. continues to get increasingly worse. People are always telling [Christians],Convert to Islam. Convert to Islam.&#8221; And in fact, the <a style="color: #4e82d0;" href="http://global.christianpost.com/news/christians-say-forced-conversions-to-islam-happening-in-gaza-79011/#RyZs9RbyHGSZIbWX.99" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">kidnapping and forced conversions of Christians in Gaza is an ugly reality</a>.”</p>
<p style="color: #000000;">More recently, nuns of the Greek-Orthodox monastery in Bethany sent a letter to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urging him to respond to <a style="color: #4e82d0;" href="http://www.fides.org/en/news/33985-ASIA_HOLY_LAND_Greek_Orthodox_monastery_under_attack_The_nuns_are_appealing_to_President_Abbas#.U8buXfldVqU" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">the escalation of attacks on the Christian house</a>, including the throwing of stones, broken glass, theft and looting of the monastery property. “Someone wants to send us away,” wrote Sister Ibraxia in the letter, “but we will not flee.”</p>
<p style="color: #000000;">Sadly, the hypocrisy exhibited by the Presbyterian Church is not limited to that denomination. <a style="color: #4e82d0;" href="http://www.jta.org/2012/10/09/news-opinion/united-states/religious-leaders-call-on-congress-to-reevaulate-military-aid-to-israel" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Some time back</a>, fifteen leaders from various U.S. Christian denominations—mostly Protestant, including the Lutheran, Methodist, and UCC Churches—asked Congress to reevaluate U.S. military aid to Israel, again, in the context of supporting “persecuted” Palestinians.</p>
<p style="color: #000000;">Yet nary a word from these same church leaders concerning the rampant persecution of millions of Christians at the hands of Muslims in the Middle East—a persecution that makes the Palestinians’ situation pale in comparison.</p>
<p style="color: #000000;">Other “leftist” Protestants do find time to criticize Muslim persecution of Christians—but only to blame Israel for it. Thus, Diarmaid MacCulloch, a Fellow of St. Cross College, wrote an article in the <em>Daily Beast</em> ostensibly addressing the plight of Mideast Christians—but <a style="color: #4e82d0;" href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/exploiting-christian-persecution-to-demonize-israel/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">only to argue</a> that the source of Christian persecution “ in the Middle East is seven decades of unresolved conflict between Israel and Palestine.”</p>
<p style="color: #000000;">In reality, far from prompting the persecution of Christians, the Arab-Israeli conflict is itself a byproduct of the same hostility Islamic supremacism engenders for<em> </em>all non-Muslims. The reason hostility for Israel is much more viral is because the Jewish state holds a unique position of authority over Muslims unlike vulnerable Christian minorities who can be abused at will (as <a style="color: #4e82d0;" href="http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/how-dare-you-the-supremacist-nature-of-muslim-grievances/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">fully explained here</a><em>).</em></p>
<p style="color: #000000;">Little wonder, then, that more Arab Christians—double the number of each of the preceding three years—are now <a style="color: #4e82d0;" href="http://time.com/15479/israeli-army-christian-arabs/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">joining the Israel Defense Forces</a>.</p>
<p style="color: #000000;">They know they can count on basic human rights protection from Israel than from many of their fellow Christians in the West. After all, beyond the sophistry, distortions, and downright lies emanating from some of these Christian denominations, the fact remains: both Jews and Christians are under attack from the same foe and for the same reason: they are non-Muslim “infidels” who need to be subjugated.</p>
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		<title>Presbyterian Divestment Stokes Ancient Fires</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/susan-warner/presbyterian-divestment-stokes-ancient-fires/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=presbyterian-divestment-stokes-ancient-fires</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Jul 2014 04:10:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Susan Warner]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[christianity]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[The Presbyterian Church (USA) brings anti-Semitism into the mainstream. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/symbol-bluewhite.gif"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-235831" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/symbol-bluewhite-350x350.gif" alt="symbol-bluewhite" width="254" height="254" /></a>Many Christians were in shock recently when the 221<sup>st</sup>  General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (PC/USA), by a slim margin, <a href="http://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/oga/pdf/ga221-middle-east-faq.pdf"><span style="color: #0433ff;">voted to divest</span></a> from three major international companies that do business in Judea, Samaria and Israel (Hewlett Packard, Caterpillar and Motorola). Assembly leaders claim the fault lies in Israel’s “illegal occupation” of Judea and Samaria (also called the West Bank) and its oppression of Palestinian neighbors. But there is a much more sinister agenda behind this action.</p>
<p>While the PC (USA) asserts that they are not (at all) motivated by anti-Semitism and they take &#8220;no position&#8221; on Zionism, they nevertheless lay all problems in the area at Israel’s feet, blaming the so-called &#8220;illegal occupation.&#8221;  However, a recent article by <a href="http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article.php?id=4261"><span style="color: #0433ff;">NGO MONITOR</span></a> has found strong evidence of underlying anti-Semitism in the PC (USA) leadership.</p>
<p>Currently, the vicious battle against the Jewish people and Israel is being waged by international alliances of Christians, Muslims, the hard Left, the press, and academia for the express purpose of instigating Israel’s destruction.</p>
<p>Thousands of representatives of Christian organizations like the PC (USA) gather annually or bi-annually in national enclaves to discuss the business of their denomination as they have for centuries.  In some more liberal leaning activist denominations like PC (USA), the agenda includes Israel. The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/13/us/methodists-to-sell-shares-as-a-protest-over-israel.html"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Methodists</span></a>, Presbyterians (USA), <a href="http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/news_and_events/news/archive/2013/the_inheritance_of_abraham_revised_report_released"><span style="color: #0433ff;">the Scottish Reformed Church</span></a> and the <a href="http://www.uccpalestineisraelnetwork.org/Action-Alerts.html"><span style="color: #0433ff;">United Church of Christ</span></a>, <a href="http://www.exposingtheelca.com/on-israel.html"><span style="color: #0433ff;">the Evangelical Lutheran Church</span></a>, <a href="http://www.churchofengland.org/media/1478023/gs%201874b-palestine%20and%20israel%20pmm.pdf"><span style="color: #0433ff;">the Church of England</span></a>, <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/united-church-of-canada-boycotts-israeli-companies/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">The United Church of Canada,</span></a> and the <a href="http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/middle-east/israel"><span style="color: #0433ff;">World Council of Churches</span></a> all seem to have a stake in proposing schemes to punish Israel.</p>
<p>The most vocal of Israel’s defamers are Christian pastors and leaders like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps-v2NkoNVg"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Stephen Sizer</span></a> (Anglican), <a href="http://www.ngo-monitor.org/article/sabeel_and_naim_ateek_factsheet"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Naim Ateek</span></a> (Anglican), and <a href="http://www.meforum.org/3769/israel-evangelical-support"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Gary Burge</span></a> (Evangelical/Protestant).   They cloak their mission to undermine Israel under an aggressive &#8220;peace and justice&#8221; cover-up. They ask the question, “Does Israel really have a legitimate right to call the land its own (Zionism)?” to which their answer is a resounding “no.”</p>
<p>If you bother to read Steven Sizer’s recent book <a href="http://www.stephensizer.com/books/christian-zionism/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Christian Zionism The Road to Armageddon</span></a>, you will discover there that Christian Zionism is not simply Christians standing for the rights of Israel to live in the land. According to Sizer, Christian Zionism is a plot to undermine the USA and the world. Needless to say, Sizer affirms the decision of the PC (USA) to divest from the companies who do business in Judea and Samaria.  <a href="http://stephensizer.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Steven Sizer speaks</span></a> around the Western and Islamic world against Christian Zionism and Israel’s right to continue to live in the land of its ancestors.</p>
<p>In order to justify this Anti-Zionism stance, PC (USA) and its allies need to do to the Jews the very same thing the church planned to do in the second century.  They need to invert the truth, demonize, and ridicule Israel in order to accomplish what until now has been their elusive goal of destroying Israel and the Jewish people.</p>
<p>Just like the Presbyterian (USA) Council last week, the church councils of centuries past turned their language against the Jews. Name calling couched in fancy theologies justified the persecution of Jews.  While the world is burning in Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Africa, while Christians are slaughtered in those same lands, the daily headlines accuse Jews of blocking the progress of world peace by building apartments in Jerusalem or <span style="color: #0433ff;"><a href="http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/27/scarlett-johanssons-defense-of-sodastream-factory-in-occupied-west-bank-fails-to-sway-critics/?_php=true&amp;_type=blogs&amp;_r=0">manufacturing seltzer in Ma’ale Adumim.</a></span></p>
<p>At the root of the Christian animus towards Jews is a theological narrative which has stoked the ancient fires of hostility for two millennia.</p>
<p style="color: #0433ff;"><span style="color: #000000;">In her recent column<a href="http://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/jesus-was-a-palestinian-the-return-of-christian-anti-semitism/">, Melanie Phillips wrote,</a> </span></p>
<blockquote><p>Within the Protestant world, many churches are deeply hostile to the State of Israel &#8211;  What is less known is the more disturbing fact that this perverse animus is increasing fed not by the politics of the present moment but by theology.</p></blockquote>
<p>The theology that Ms. Phillips mentions is known by a variety of names but is undergirded by the concept of &#8220;Replacement Theology.&#8221;  This term grew out of the early Church where the Founding Fathers laid claim to the promises God made to Abraham and his offspring.  They accused Jews of being “<a href="http://jcpa.org/article/the-origins-of-christian-anti-semitism/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Christ killers”</span></a> and said that God had nullified His covenant with Abraham and transferred his &#8220;Covenant blessings&#8221; to the Church which they called &#8220;The Israel of God.&#8221;</p>
<p>Christianity, birthed from the womb of Judaism two thousand years ago, continues a mission to assassinate its very own Jewish parents. Ridicule, defamation, distortion, fire, and the sword, have all punctuated the Christian enterprise for two thousand years.  “God,” say many Christians, <span style="color: #0433ff;"><a href="http://www.christianzionism.org/BibleSays/Sizer03.pdf">“has replaced the Jews as God’s chosen people.”</a></span></p>
<p>The Emperor Constantine (In 325 CE,) laid the organizational groundwork  of a &#8220;Christianity&#8221; designed for Roman pagans and non-Jews. The Apostle Paul was the last vestige of the Jewish foundation of the original Church.  After he died (65 CE), it didn’t take the gentile Church Fathers long to muster up a case against the Jews.</p>
<p>Christians claimed that God’s &#8220;everlasting covenant&#8221; with the Jews through Abraham was defunct and claimed the covenant blessings. This Christian theology of “Replacement,” also called <span style="color: #0433ff;"><a href="http://www.theologicalstudies.org/resource-library/supersessionism/324-defining-supersessionism">“Supersessionism</a>,</span>” energized a paradigm of anti-Judaism that informs some of Western Christianity today.</p>
<p>This <i>Replacement</i> concept is the framework for the most virulent forms of  the anti-Zionism we currently see.  For PC (USA) or the Scottish Church or any of the others who demonize Israel to admit to anti-Semitism might bring world criticism. So they couch their concerns in words and actions that are subtle inversions of the truth like calling Judea and Samaria “illegally occupied.”  When Jordan actually did &#8220;illegally occupy&#8221; Judea and Samaria from 1948 to 1967, the world heard not a peep of opposition from these churches.</p>
<p>From roughly 165 CE through about 500 C.E., the &#8220;Fathers&#8221; tilled a garden of Jewish hatred.  To make everything official, the Emperor Constantine, who, it is said, had a personal epiphany of Jesus, called Bishops around the Empire to attend the First <a href="http://messianicfellowship.50webs.com/nicea.html"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Council of Nicea (325 CE). </span></a>  This Council, like the Council of PC (USA) last week, concocted its anti-Jewish, anti-Israel narrative which served to advance Church goals and bolster the Imperial Roman Empire at the same time.</p>
<p>The Nicean Council succeeded in manufacturing the first layer of this new &#8220;imperial religion.&#8221; Constantine dubbed Christianity the exclusive state religion. <a href="http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/chrysostom_adversus_judaeos_01_homily1.htm"><span style="color: #0433ff;">John Chrysostom</span></a> (407C.E.) followed and honed the narrative against the Jews to a fine edge without any opposition. Later key theologians embarked on some far-flung theologies which are respected by some Christians today.</p>
<p>Soon, civil laws throughout the Empire followed suit, prohibiting Jews from holding public office or from eating with or marrying Christians. Forced conversions became commonplace. Demonizing, bullying, torture, and mass killings flourished throughout Catholicism and later Protestantism.</p>
<p>Today, much of Western Christianity occupies that very same anti-Jewish space with not even a grasp of its ancient foundations in Hebrew Scripture. Instead, its paradigm is as a stand-alone creature amputated from its root system.</p>
<p>The PC(USA) and their collaborators are clones of the Founding Fathers.  The theological paradigm is that Israel and the Jews of today are no longer under the covering of the original, eternal covenant with God. Today’s Jews, according to the narrative, are &#8220;different.&#8221;  And since God removed his blessings from them when they “killed the Christ.”  The church has replaced the Jews for all time.  This false theology of <a href="http://www.jewishvoice.org/media/publications/articles/supersessionism.html"><span style="color: #0433ff;">supersessionism</span></a> is interwoven into the fabric of Catholicism, Anglicanism, Presbyterianism and other branches of Calvinist and Reformed theologies.</p>
<p>Within Protestantism, Catholicism, and the Orthodox Churches today there are, of course, some denominations more extreme than others.  Protestant Evangelical groups (Bethlehem Bible College, Sabeel) for example, hold conferences, like <a href="http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/bethlehems-christ-at-the-checkpoint-conference-a-personal-report/2014/03/18/"><span style="color: #0433ff;"><i>Christ at the Checkpoint</i>,</span></a> with the underlying purpose of nullifying Jewish claims to the Land of Israel and dubbing <a href="http://www.foi.org/free-resources/article/jesus-palestinian/"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Jesus a Palestinian.</span></a> Partnering together at the bi-annual Christ at the Checkpoint Conference are notables such as Sizer, Ateek, <a href="http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/24218/Default.aspx?article=related_stories"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Lynn Hybels</span></a> (Willow Creek Church) <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXxR_C-6oOw"><span style="color: #0433ff;">Tony Campolo</span></a> (Eastern University) and other advocates of disabling Israel and replacing her with a one-state Palestinian solution.</p>
<p>Evangelical Christians, those who interpret the Bible literally, have been among Israel’s best and most loyal friends. But the winds are shifting yet again as more and more Christian Evangelicals are lured by a pro-Palestinian, pro-&#8221;peace and justice&#8221; narrative. Some Christian/Israel loyalists are concerned about this trend and are working to counter it. A few rays of light and hope peek through the cracks with groups like Christians United for Israel, Friends of Israel, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, and Bridges for Peace among them.</p>
<p>The paradigm that grips many Christians with a theologically based hatred of Jews and Israel must be broken.  Israel’s survival is not guaranteed.</p>
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		<title>Pro-Israel Activists Change Anti-Israel Hearts</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/jim-fletcher/pro-israel-activists-change-anti-israel-hearts/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=pro-israel-activists-change-anti-israel-hearts</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 01 May 2014 04:10:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jim Fletcher]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[America-Israel Friendship League]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Henry “Scoop” Jackson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hubert Humphrey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Israel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[presbyterian church usa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sodastream]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.frontpagemag.com/?p=224427</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Bringing the deniable truth to the haters of the Jewish State -- and getting results. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_224428" style="width: 325px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/presby.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-224428" alt="presby" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/presby-450x300.jpg" width="315" height="210" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Members of the AIFL&#8217;s Presbyterian delegation hear a lecture in February.</p></div>
<p>A series of programs coordinated by the America-Israel Friendship League is making real headway in changing negative perceptions about the Jewish state.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The AIFL (www.aifl.org), founded in 1971 by a group of influential leaders, including Hubert Humphrey and Henry “Scoop” Jackson, exists to strengthen ties between Israel and America. The organization’s deluxe “delegation” programs bring together a wide range of Israelis with Americans—of all religious, political, and socio-economic ranges.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Earlier this year, a Presbyterian delegation toured Israel, learning in great detail just why Israel is a thriving outpost of freedom in a dangerous part of the world. The group also visited the controversial SodaStream factory in Ma’ale Adumim.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The PCUSA, one of the larger mainline Protestant denominations, has been embroiled in a titanic struggle over BDS (Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions). The AIFL-sponsored trip dispelled many of the media myths surrounding Israel and in fact highlighted the enormous contributions Israel makes not only regionally, but globally.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The Presbyterian Church, some 6 million strong, has at times officially supported boycotts of Israeli businesses operating beyond the Green Line, such as SodaStream.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Members of the delegation said that the trip “strengthened their belief that the location of the factory enhances the business as well as the interpersonal relations between the Israelis and Palestinians.”</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Ruby Shamir, Director of International Relations for the AIFL, said that the trip was “crucial to bring leaders and influential figures” to visit Israel, so that participants can “form a positive and supportive opinion.”</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The SodaStream factory has been denounced furiously by BDS activists, yet the Presbyterian delegation learned that 1,300 employees are…Palestinian.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Rev. William “Bill” Harter is a veteran of the AIFL delegations, and has seen firsthand for years how successful they are in terms of changing perceptions. In general, pro Israel support among mainline members is not as fervent as it is in the much larger Evangelical, non-denominational community.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">This makes the experience and friendship of people like Harter all the more important for the Jewish state. For Harter, the love for Israel goes back to his youth.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">“As a young kid growing up in western New York, about 20 miles east of Buffalo, my community had exactly one Jewish family,” Harter remembers. “They were the Sterns, (both MDs) who had managed to escape Germany in 1938. And they had a daughter my age and a son my younger sister’s age. We grew up together from first grade on. The Sterns were the doctors who went to rural areas that didn’t have a full-time doctor; he became the classic small town doctor. Greatly beloved in the community! She was one of my mother’s best friends.”</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">A university education and seminary only served to solidify Harter’s love for Israel and the Jewish people, and he has been involved for decades.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">“In late 1970s, the U.S. government realized that the issue of Soviet Jewry was front-and-center and I became involved in that cause.” And in 1975, the notorious “Zionism equals Racism” resolution in the U.N. led to the formation of NCLCI, which remains perhaps the key advocacy group for Israel within the mainline.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">“From that point, the AIFL helped us find a home base in New York City, and with them (the AIFL), issues we worked on were support for Soviet Jewry, the refutation of Zionism is Racism, and the status of Jerusalem.” The new partnerships were quite beneficial.</span></p>
<blockquote><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">“AIFL helped us get that message around.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">“A number of our members helped with delegations to Israel that AIFL arranged. The Presbyterian group that went in 2005 had a very significant impact on the Presbyterian Church USA. A lot of our statements would run counter to mainline views, but there are times when we were in one accord.”</span></p></blockquote>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The trips to Israel have yielded practical results, especially in stemming the tide of BDS. They have also greatly influenced countless youth. The AIFL’s “Youth Ambassador Student Exchange” (YASE), begun in 1977, enables American high school students to interact with their Israeli counterparts. Many lasting friendships have been forged on these trips.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Dr. Charlotte Frank, chair of the AIFL’s executive committee and a leading educator, has been passionate advocate for the youth programs.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">“From the beginning, the AIFL wanted to have a high school exchange program that would be meaningful for the students,” she recalls. “What happened subsequently is that in order to make it more widespread, it needed to have global leaders go back to parents and communities and say, ‘It’s safe to send your kids to Israel.’”</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">One of the first participants was Karen Wolcott, who today is a United Methodist minister. She remembers the genesis of her trip to Israel:</span></p>
<p>“I was taking a German class and heard through grapevine they were inviting kids and interviewing kids form the Cleveland School system and other parts of the U.S., to go on this exchange program to Israel,” she remembers. “I thought, well, I’ve always wanted to go to Israel and it’s always been a dream of mine. I went through the process; I was kind of a shy person and I thought oh no, I’m not fit for this program! I did very well in the interview process, though, and was chosen as one of 30 to go. It was a beautiful match for me, because it was a way for me to explore my faith. My parents…this was cutting edge for them. They felt they couldn’t say no.”</p>
<p>Today, students from coast-to-coast, from schools small and large, have the opportunity to visit exotic Israel. To a person, they take home a marvelous view of Israel, in effect becoming life-long ambassadors.</p>
<p>The students stay with Israeli families, visit Israeli schools, and even participate in classes. The well-rounded trips include plenty of Israeli culture and history.</p>
<p>Moshe Vidan, born in Palestine during World War II, earned degrees from Haifa University, and was an educator for many years before becoming involved with YASE early on. He recognizes the unique role the trips have in shaping opinion, when students can see and experience the country for themselves.</p>
<blockquote><p>“We have Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the American group. Everything we do, we give an explanation with a tour guide…it’s a workshop, not just a tour.”</p></blockquote>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Crucially, Vidan includes uncommon stops on the itinerary.</span></p>
<blockquote><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">“We take them to Arabic schools, even to Al-Aksa mosque!</span></p>
<p>“There are no barriers, it’s open.  In Israeli schools, for example, they learn of cultural differences.</p>
<p>“The program benefits the students, of course, but it is also a great experience, a lifetime experience, for everyone involved.”</p></blockquote>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Clearly, the America-Israel Friendship League is on to something. It is indeed strengthening ties between Israel and her American friends—at a most critical time in the life of both nations.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">(Jim Fletcher is a pro-Israel activist, researcher and writer. He can be reached at </span><a style="line-height: 1.5em;" href="mailto:jim1fletcher@yahoo.com">jim1fletcher@yahoo.com</a>.<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">)</span></p>
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		<title>Leftist Protestants Rally Against Israel</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2012/joseph-puder/protestant-leaders-biased-meddling-in-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=protestant-leaders-biased-meddling-in-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 19 Oct 2012 04:15:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Joseph Puder]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Divest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Israel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Military]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[palestinians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[presbyterian church usa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[protestant]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=148420</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[How the anti-Israel Christian Left is fueling the fires of the Mideast conflict. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://frontpagemag.com/2012/joseph-puder/protestant-leaders-biased-meddling-in-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict/pres_church_584-4/" rel="attachment wp-att-149030"><img class="alignleft  wp-image-149030" title="pres_Church_584" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/pres_Church_5842.gif" alt="" width="315" height="216" /></a>Not satisfied with the recent defeat of motions to divest from companies doing business with Israel and to ostracize Israel at their national forums, mainline Protestant church leaders sent a letter on October 8, 2012 to members of the U.S. Congress accusing Israel of human rights abuses, asking the U.S. lawmakers to “reevaluate unconditional” military assistance to the Jewish state, and calling for an investigation into possible violations by Israel of the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act and the U.S. Arms Export Control Act.  Such violations would render Israel ineligible for U.S. military aid. The letter also emphasized &#8220;a troubling and consistent pattern of <a title="http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/10/11/3108991/adl-withdraws-from-interfaith-dialogue-after-letter-to-congress" href="http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/10/11/3108991/adl-withdraws-from-interfaith-dialogue-after-letter-to-congress" target="_blank">disregard</a> by the government of Israel for U.S. policies that support a just and lasting peace,&#8221; citing Israel&#8217;s failure to halt settlement activity despite repeated U.S. government requests.</p>
<p>The letter was signed by Rev. Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly Presbyterian Church (USA); Mark S. Hanson, Presiding Bishop Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Bishop Rosemarie Wenner, President, Council of Bishops United Methodist Church; Peg Birk, Transitional General Secretary, National Council of Churches USA; Shan Cretin, General Secretary, American Friends Service Committee; J Ron Byler, Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee U.S.; Dr. A. Roy Medley, General Secretary, American Baptist Churches, U.S.A.; Rev. Geoffrey A. Black, General Minister and President, United Church of Christ; Rev. Dr. James A. Moos, Executive Minister, United Church of Christ, Wider Church Ministries Co-Executive, Global Ministries (UCC and Disciples); and others. The statement &#8220;urge[s] Congress to undertake careful scrutiny to ensure that our aid is not supporting actions by the government of Israel that undermine prospects for peace.&#8221; It continued: &#8220;We urge Congress to hold hearings to examine Israel’s compliance, and we request regular reporting on compliance and the withholding of military aid for non-compliance.”</p>
<p>This visceral contempt for the Jewish state, rooted in a secular leftist ideology mixed with a measure of replacement theology, prompted the writing of this hypocritical letter and various other attempts to boycott, divest, and place sanctions against Israel for alleged wrongdoings against Palestinians.  These church leaders, self-appointed “protectors” of human rights, have overlooked the endemic efforts by the Arabs/Palestinians to destroy the Jewish State through war and terrorism and the attempt at demographic warfare based on the claim of the &#8220;right of return&#8221; of Palestinian refugees to Israel.  Additionally, they have ignored the pervasive teaching of hatred of Jews in Palestinian schools, mosques, and every outlet of Palestinian media.</p>
<p>Last week, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published its report on abuses committed by Hamas and the Palestinian Authority against their own people in Gaza and the West Bank respectively.  The report highlighted the corruption of the judicial system in the Palestinian territories and the degree to which Hamas <a title="http://frontpagemag.com/author/joseph-puder/" href="http://frontpagemag.com/author/joseph-puder/" target="_blank">terrorizes</a> the people living under its control.  Abiding the rule to never let facts get in the way, this report and others written throughout the years, did not alter the message or the fervency of the obsessive hatred for Israel of the above-mentioned church leaders.  Neither, it seems, are they bothered by the burning of churches and the intimidation of the few remaining Christian communities in the Palestinian territories by these allegedly “abused” Palestinians who are on a quest to establish another fanatical Islamist state.</p>
<p>That Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East whose laws ensure and protect the human rights and religious freedoms of its Arab (both Christian and Muslim) minority, is of no consequence to these church leaders.  Nor does it matter to them that the Palestinian Arab Muslim majority denies these same freedoms to their Christian residents.</p>
<p>Abraham Foxman, ADL&#8217;s national director, reacting to the letter by the church leaders, wrote,  “The blatant lack of sensitivity by the Protestant dialogue partners we had been planning to meet with has seriously damaged the foundation for mutual respect, which is essential for meaningful interfaith dialogue.” He added, “It is <a title="http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/10/11/3108991/adl-withdraws-from-interfaith-dialogue-after-letter-to-congress" href="http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/10/11/3108991/adl-withdraws-from-interfaith-dialogue-after-letter-to-congress" target="_blank">outrageous</a> that mere days after the Iranian president repeated his call for Israel’s elimination, these American Protestant leaders would launch a biased attack against the Jewish state by calling on Congress to investigate Israel’s use of foreign aid. In its clear bias against Israel, it is striking that their letter fails to also call for an investigation of Palestinian use of U.S. foreign aid, thus once again placing the blame entirely on Israel.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Protestant leaders who issued this transparently anti-Israel letter knew full well that President Obama had overridden congressional restrictions to fund the Palestinians because of their refusal to negotiate with Israel. The Palestinians received <a title="http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/65074/obama-releases-147-million-in-aid-to-palestinians/" href="http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/65074/obama-releases-147-million-in-aid-to-palestinians/" target="_blank">$147 million</a> in American taxpayer money last April, in spite of their direct defiance of the U.S. request not to go to the UN General Assembly seeking unilateral recognition of statehood as a way to avoid negotiating with Israel.  It is apparent that the Palestinian leadership is not interested in a peaceful solution, and it is amply clear that the radical Islamists of Hamas will never make <a title="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/haniyeh-in-iran-hamas-will-never-recognize-israel-1.412310" href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/haniyeh-in-iran-hamas-will-never-recognize-israel-1.412310" target="_blank">peace</a> with Israel for religious and ideological reasons.</p>
<p>A “just and lasting peace” is an imperative for all Israeli governments.  The Jewish state proved its commitment to such by returning the entire Sinai Peninsula (3 times Israel’s size) in return for peace with Egypt. It made land concessions to Jordan for peace, and unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005.  This latest move resulted in a steady barrage of thousands of missiles from Gaza directly aimed at homes – with the clear intention to kill civilians, especially women and children.  Israel is a successful modern democracy facing failed Arab states and a Palestinian Authority that reject modernity, seeking to embrace and impose a fanatical and intolerant version of Islam.  <strong></strong></p>
<p>History shows that Jewish “settlements” have never been an impediment to peace.  Israel proved it in 1982, when Prime Minister Menahem Begin, himself a resident of Yamit, a Jewish ”settlement” town in the Sinai, was dismantled as part of the peace treaty with Egypt.  Likewise, Israel dismantled numerous settlements in the Gaza Strip. Interesting to note also, that international law never forbade Jewish settlement in western Palestine (West Bank).  “The Mandate for Palestine” issued by the League of Nations laid down the Jewish legal right &#8212; under international law &#8212; to settle anywhere in western Palestine, the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, an entitlement unaltered in international law. Fifty-one member countries &#8212; the entire League of Nations &#8212; unanimously declared on July 24, 1922: “Whereas recognition has been given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country.&#8221;</p>
<p>The United States, not a member of the League of Nations, unanimously endorsed the mandate for Palestine on June 30, 1922 in a joint resolution of both U.S. Houses of Congress: &#8220;Favoring the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” and “Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America that the United States of America favors the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which should prejudice the civil and religious rights of Christian and all other non-Jewish communities in Palestine, and that the holy places and religious buildings and sites in Palestine shall be adequately protected.”</p>
<p>Before 1967 there were no Jewish settlements in the West Bank (the Etzion Bloc was destroyed by Jordan), and for the first 10 years of the so-called occupation there were almost no settlements in the West Bank, and no calls for an independent Arab Palestinian state.  Furthermore, when the Arabs were presented with an opportunity to trade land for peace following the Six-Day War, they rejected it – issuing their infamous “Three No’s” at a summit in Khartoum.  No recognition of Israel, no peace with Israel and no negotiations with Israel.</p>
<p>The claim by these aforementioned church leaders that Jewish settlements pose an obstacle to peace is a red herring designed to blame Israel for lack of progress in the so-called “peace process,” thus enabling the Palestinians to reject compromise and reconciliation with Israel as a Jewish State.</p>
<p>It is the meddling of these Protestant church leaders and their one-sided anti-Israel posture that fuels the fires of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.</p>
<p><strong>Freedom Center pamphlets now available on Kindle: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref%3dnb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&amp;field-keywords=david+horowitz&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;ajr=0#/ref=sr_st?keywords=david+horowitz&amp;qid=1316459840&amp;rh=n:133140011%2ck:david+horowitz&amp;sort=daterank" target="_blank">Click here</a>.  </strong></p>
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		<title>The Church of Anti-Israelism Meets in Pittsburgh</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2012/joseph-puder/hypocrisy-and-malice-win-the-day-at-the-pcusa-ga/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=hypocrisy-and-malice-win-the-day-at-the-pcusa-ga</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 09 Jul 2012 04:05:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Joseph Puder]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=136792</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Why is the Presbyterian Church obsessed with condemning Israel? ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/mexico-presbyterian-church-USA-breaks.gif"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-136794" title="mexico-presbyterian-church-USA-breaks" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/mexico-presbyterian-church-USA-breaks.gif" alt="" width="375" height="248" /></a>The 220<sup>th</sup> 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.</p>
<p>Sunday morning featured a session with Amgad Beblawi, an Egyptian native, who demonstrated his concern for human rights by posting a story titled “<a href="https://www.facebook.com/amgad.beblawi">International</a> 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 &#8211; the only democracy in the Middle East &#8211; 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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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&#8221; (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 <a href="http://www.pcusa.org/news/2011/9/12/mrti-recommends-pcusa-divestment-caterpillar/">Motorola</a> Solutions and Hewlett-Packard to the list of divestments.</p>
<p>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 <a href="http://israelpalestinemissionnetwork.org/main/">Presbyterians</a> 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&#8217;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.</p>
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		<title>Religious Left Opposes Pressure Against Iranian Nukes</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2012/mark-d-tooley/religious-left-opposes-pressure-against-iranian-nukes/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=religious-left-opposes-pressure-against-iranian-nukes</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 04:10:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mark D. Tooley]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=132126</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Even a bipartisan symbolic resolution is too much for the saints of social justice. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/pcusa.gif"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-132127" title="pcusa" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/pcusa.gif" alt="" width="375" height="257" /></a>Bipartisan resolutions proposed in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, equally backed by Republicans and Democrats, are urging the “President to reaffirm the unacceptability of an Iran with nuclear-weapons capability and oppose any policy that would rely on containment as an option in response to the Iranian nuclear threat.”</p>
<p>So naturally the Religious Left is opposing these mostly symbolic statements, because largely pacifist prelates do not believe any situation, no matter how dire, ever merits even the implied contemplation of force.  They also are more concerned about military force from the U.S. or Israel than they are about nuclear weapons in the hands of apocalyptic Iranian mullahs.</p>
<p>Complaining that the congressional resolutions would “undermine diplomatic efforts,” the leftist churchmen warn the statements would set a “dangerously low threshold for war” by “ruling out containment,” possibly even, by some interpretations endorsing “military force against Iran now.”</p>
<p>The ecumenical complaint to members of Congress was organized by the Presbyterian Church (USA) chief Capitol Hill lobbyist. It was signed by Quaker and Mennonite officials, a left-wing Catholic order, and the lobby offices of the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church.</p>
<p>Noting that Iran’s theocracy since at least the late 1980s has “engaged in a sustained and well-documented pattern of illicit and deceptive activities to acquire nuclear capability,” the congressional resolutions cite Iran as the “most active state sponsor of terrorism,” according to the U.S. State Department.  They also recalled the U.S. Treasury Department’s finding last year that Iran had a “secret deal” to help al Qaeda. Of course they mentioned Iran’s genocidal threats against Israel.  And they pointed at the Islamic Republic’s “serious human rights abuses,” according to the United Nations, including “torture, cruel and degrading treatment in detention, the targeting of human rights defenders, violence against women, and ‘the systematic and serious restrictions on freedom of peaceful assembly’ as well as severe restrictions on the rights to ‘freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief.’”</p>
<p>The Congressional resolutions, noting Iran’s continued failure to comply with international non-proliferation standards, urge continued diplomatic and economic pressure on Iran until it ends its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. It also commends the “universal rights and democratic aspirations of the Iranian people.”</p>
<p>Leftist prelates in the U.S. of course are not particularly interested in disarming or democratizing Iran.  Instead, they complain the congressional resolutions are “undercutting” diplomacy, which “heightens the potential war.” They quote various critics claiming the resolutions resemble pre-2003 justifications for the U.S. overthrow of Saddam Hussein Iraq. They insist Iran has not yet decided for nuclear weapons. And they reiterate: “Direct, sustained diplomacy remains the single most effective way to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran and avert war. And they implore:  “We urge you to support diplomacy, not war, with Iran, and to oppose” the congressional resolutions.</p>
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		<title>United Methodists Reject Divestment</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2012/mark-d-tooley/united-methodists-reject-divestment/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=united-methodists-reject-divestment</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 10 May 2012 04:05:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mark D. Tooley]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[BDS]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=131651</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Victory against the anti-Israel Christian movement. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/thumbRNS-METHODIST-DIVESTMENT050212.gif"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-131657" title="thumbRNS-METHODIST-DIVESTMENT050212" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/thumbRNS-METHODIST-DIVESTMENT050212.gif" alt="" width="375" height="248" /></a>Despite fierce targeting by the international anti-Israel lobby, the 12 million member global United Methodist Church soundly defeated anti-Israel divestment at its governing General Conference last week in Tampa.</p>
<p>The margin was over 2-1.  African delegates, who comprised 30 percent of the total, were key, as were U.S. evangelical delegates, joined by numerous moderate and liberal U.S. delegates.  United Methodist rejection almost ensures that the Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly will reject anti-Israel divestment next month, leaving the divestment movement with almost nowhere to go among U.S. religious groups.</p>
<p>But sadly, the divestment debate among United Methodists frequently demonized Israel, with one intemperate delegate from Montana comparing the Jewish nation and the firms who do business with it to companies who facilitated the Nazi Holocaust.    She was preceded by a delegate from Oklahoma who cautiously tried to point at the threats against Israel, only to be chastised by the presiding bishop, who apparently disapproved of criticism aimed at Hamas.</p>
<p>“Of course we care about the Palestinians and what they have gone through—the loss of land, the loss of homes, the wall,” the Rev. Earl Long opined.  “But we also care for the people of Israel and what they too have gone through.”  He cited a “small, radical, fringe, terrorist Palestinian group who is set on their destruction and resorts to suicide bombing.”</p>
<p>Rev. Long was not even able to name Hamas before he was interrupted by presiding Bishop Warren Brown of Sacramento, who chided him: “Just [to] remind the speaker that the body has adopted a rule to avoid personal attacks of persons.” So even to imply criticism of Hamas is apparently an unacceptable “personal attack,” at least according to Methodist standards of hyper political correctness.</p>
<p>There was no such interruption or chiding for the delegate who levied her Nazi comparison against Israel.  Margaret Mary Novak of Montana, while urging anti-Israel divestment, suggested: “I would just ask us all to imagine that we were United Methodists in the 1930s and ’40s, that our Board of Pensions held stock in the very successful manufacturing firms in Germany that bid and received the bids to manufacture the ovens for the concentration camps. At what point would we decide it was time to divest? How much evidence would we ask for before it was time to stop the wholesale destruction of people?”</p>
<p>Bishop Brown merely reacted by asking Novak whether her Nazi comparison was a “speech for or against” the divestment proposal.  It was, she clarified, decidedly for. Evidently likening Israel to the Third Reich is so unexceptionally routine that the bishop was unclear about Novak’s intent.  Novak is vice president of the Foundation for United Methodist Communications.</p>
<p>More temperately, a Texas delegate pointed out that Israel has legitimate security concerns.   “The small state of Israel, which we support politically, is surrounded by enemies who wish it to be destroyed and will not have peace until it is destroyed,” said Henry Lessner.  “We are only adding fuel to the fire and giving more people more reasons to think they have more support to get rid of Israel.”  But getting rid of Israel as a Jewish democracy, while comparing it to Nazi Germany, seems to be the objective of pro-divestment activists.  Massachusetts minister We Hyung Chang, leading the charge for an Israel stance, displayed a map ostensibly showing ever expanding Jewish territorial expansion against the Palestinians.  The first map showed the region before Israel’s1948 founding, by implication disputing Israel’s basic existence.</p>
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		<title>Anti-Israel Christians Pray for Divestment</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2012/mark-d-tooley/anti-israel-christians-pray-for-divestment/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=anti-israel-christians-pray-for-divestment</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 19 Apr 2012 04:05:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mark D. Tooley]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[divestment]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://frontpagemag.com/?p=129198</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Left-wing churches fight for boycotting the Jewish State. ]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Picture-18.gif"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-129200" title="Picture-18" src="http://cdn.frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Picture-18.gif" alt="" width="375" height="259" /></a>Next week the international United Methodist Church, with 12 million members, will convene in Tampa, where nearly 1000 delegates will ponder whether to support anti-Israel divestment.</p>
<p>In July, the 2 million member Presbyterian Church (USA) will similarly ponder divestment.  The head of the Presbyterian committee of the Israel/Palestine Mission Network is contacting Methodist delegates encouraging them to sound the anti-Israel trumpet.</p>
<p>“This is an important time for those of us who have worked so hard for peace with justice for Palestinians and Israelis,” Carol Hylkema wrote.  Promising she was “watching/looking for news coming” from the United Methodists, she told them that their decision “will have some influence on the outcome” of the Presbyterian General Assembly. “We will covet your support and prayers at that time,” she told them.</p>
<p>No doubt.  A network of anti-Israel groups, aware of the symbolic importance of Mainline denominations backing their cause, is plotting feverishly for Methodist and Presbyterian approval of divestment. A recent confidential conference call among anti-Israel church activists revealed their strategies for the Methodist event.</p>
<p>About 20 leftist U.S. rabbis recently have endorsed anti-Israel divestment, which excited the church activists. Meanwhile, 1,250 U.S. rabbis from left to right have signed a <a href="http://rabbis-letter.org/">letter</a> opposing divestment. “It’s important for people who are concerned about Jewish relationships too, and help people understand that this is an interfaith effort that we are a part of,” explained one. They were also excited by support from the Israeli Committee on Home Demolitions [ICOHD]. “That’s another great connection from a group that is on the ground there in Israel and supporting this effort,” it was noted.</p>
<p>Conscious that United Methodism is global, with nearly 40 percent of its members are overseas mostly in Africa, the church activists emphasized their international outreach for divestment.  The church’s official General Board of Church and Society, which is lobbying for divestment, has even hired a Zimbabwean to liaise with African United Methodists.</p>
<p>Citing counsel from the U.S. Campaign to End the Occupation, one activist implored her fellow activists that when contacting Methodist delegates  “don’t alienate, so keep your politics in check, if you are talking to a conservative person and you are progressive, keep that in mind.”  And she urged stressing:   “We all support freedom and equality for all people.”</p>
<p>Unlike previous divestment initiatives, this latest round targets 3 firms that ostensibly profit from the “occupation.”  They are Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola.  “We have been very careful to focus only on companies that are directly involved with the occupation,” explained one activist, citing a 2010 trip when a delegation photographed U.S. equipment nefariously at work on the West Bank.  “Caterpillar is knowingly providing equipment that is used to destroy homes, more than 26,000 homes have been destroyed with that equipment, and to destroy water cisterns at orchards,” the activist complained. “The sixty ton bulldozers are used as a key weapon by the Israeli army in the Gaza strip and West Bank.”</p>
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		<title>Anti-Israel Christians Ponder Divestment</title>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:00:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mark D. Tooley]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Daily Mailer]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[divestment]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[Left-wing churches turn to a man who describes growing Jewish communities as invasive weeds. ]]></description>
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<p>Both the 7.6 million United Methodist Church and 2 million member Presbyterian Church (USA) will ponder anti-Israel divestment at their governing conventions later this year.   Specifically targeted are 3 firms that ostensibly profit from the “occupation:” Caterpillar, Motorola, and Hewlett-Packard.</p>
<p>Perhaps with this battle in mind, Friends of Sabeel-North America (FOSNA), a chief anti-Israel advocate among churches, has hired a Presbyterian minister as its new organizer to reach a “wider Christian audience.”  Sabeel’s describes his goal as addressing the “increasing awareness among American Christians and the Palestinian Christian community and the principles required for a ‘just peace’ between Israel and Palestine.”</p>
<p>In other words, the organizer will rally U.S. Christians initially for anti-Israel divestment and more ultimately against any special U.S. friendship for Israel, with the final goal of deconstructing Israel as a primarily Jewish democracy.</p>
<p>The new Sabeel organizer is the Rev. Donald Wagner, who recently served at Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia.   He previously headed Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding, which seeks to disengage U.S. evangelicals from their traditional pro-Israel stance.  In the 1980s he headed the Palestine Human Rights Campaign.   Seemingly Rev. Wagner combines Mainline Protestant, evangelical and Anabaptist connections that will greatly enhance his anti-Israel work.</p>
<p>Mainline Protestant elites have been anti-Israel since the 1967 war.  They identify Israel as a Western, pro-U.S. power and colonialist victimizer, against which faithful Christians must labor under a Liberation Theology theme.  In contrast, evangelicals remain the largest pro-Israel demographic in America.  But increasingly the Evangelical Left is persuading evangelical elites (especially in academia and missions groups) who are anxious to disassociate from the Religious Right to identify with purportedly oppressed Palestinians.  And Anabaptists, such as Mennonites and Brethren, are pacifists and traditionally few in number.  But both left-leaning Mainline Protestants and evangelicals increasingly embrace the Anabaptist tradition to justify their contempt for America and its “empire.”</p>
<p>The Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem understandably wants to deploy FOSNA as its U.S. arm to appeal to all these key American religious constituencies.  Rev. Wagner seems ideal for the task.  &#8220;I am very pleased to have Don leading FOSNA&#8217;s programs,” explained Sabeel founder and chief the Rev. Naim Ateek, who is a Palestinian Anglican clergy.  “He demonstrated long ago his passion for justice for oppressed Palestinians, and he has been committed ever since.&#8221;</p>
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		<title>Delegitimizing “Exclusivist” Israel</title>
		<link>http://www.frontpagemag.com/2010/mark-d-tooley/delegitimizing-%e2%80%9cexclusivist%e2%80%9d-israel/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=delegitimizing-%25e2%2580%259cexclusivist%25e2%2580%259d-israel</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:02:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mark D. Tooley]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[FrontPage]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann turns on Israel.]]></description>
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<p>Well-known Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann is identifying Jewish “exceptionalism” as the “root problem” of Middle-East strife in a new book by anti-Israel activist Mark Braverman.</p>
<p>“The claim for exceptionalism – held commonly by Israel&#8217;s most one-dimensional advocates and by Israel’s most urbane Jewish critics – makes serious, realistic political thinking impossible and gives warrant for brutalizing policies carried out by the Israeli government that are destructive, self-destructive, and finally irresponsible,” Brueggemann explains in his forward to <em>Fatal Embrace: Christians, Jews and  the Search for Peace in the Holy Land.</em></p>
<p>Brueggemann, ordained in the far-left controlled United Church of Christ and professor emeritus at Presbyterian Church (USA) affiliated Columbia Theological Seminary – is oddly and widely admired by left-leaning evangelicals for his statist and pacifist social justice themes.  Braverman is a clinical psychologist of Jewish background who was radicalized against Israel after a 2006 trip to the West Bank alerted him to the crimes of the “occupation.”  An officer with the  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://icahdusa.org/" target="_blank">“sraeli Committee Against House Demolitions-USA</a>” and “Friends of Sabeel North America,” Braverman has joined with the old Religious Left to organize against pro-Israel U.S. policies.</p>
<p>It’s Brueggemann’s forward that is the most notable part of Braverman’s anti-Israel polemic.   A prolific author and speaker featured on a Bill Moyers PBS series in the 1990’s, Brueggemann remains even in his late 70’s as one of America’s most influential left-leaning theologians.  As he observes in his <em>Fatal Embrace</em> forward, he originally affirmed Jewish self-identity with historic Israel in his 1977 book, <em>The Land:  Place as Gifts, Promise, and Challenge in Biblical Faith</em>.   But he recanted upon republication in 2002, deriding Israel for having “merged old traditions of land entitlement” with the “most vigorous military capacity” into an “intolerable commitment to violence that is justified by reason of state.”</p>
<p>Brueggemann admits in <em>Fatal Embrace</em> that his awareness of Israel’s exploitation of “ancient promises” into “toxic ideology” has been “slow in coming,” but he more than atones for his supposed sins by fully endorsing the Israel-as-main-culprit themes of Braverman and the wider Religious Left.    He hails Braverman for exposing Israel’s “elemental conviction about being God’s one chosen people” as the “root cause of the conflict,” which has resulted in so much “antihuman brutality” and has denied “dignity and human rights to Palestinians.</p>
<p>Significantly, but certainly not surprisingly, Brueggemann’s somewhat newly born hostility to Israel joins his long-time hostility to the United States and to the West in general.  As he warned in his 2002 book, “the same ideology of entitlement [from Israel] has served derivatively the Western powers that are grounded in that same ideological claim and that have used that claim as a rationale for colonization [and]…an intolerable commitment to violence.”  In his 2010 <em>Fatal Embrace</em> forward, Brueggemann asserts that his critique of Israel’s “exceptionalism” may apply to “religious-ideological support for American expansionist imperialism.”  He wonders if any idea of “chosen people,” whether of Israel or the church or the United States, inevitably results in “absolutism” and the “seeds of violence.”</p>
<p>Theologians of the left do not usually like orthodox Judaism or Christianity, so they often assail their exclusivist claims, deny the plain meanings of their Scriptures, and attempt to reinterpret religion into merely a platform for materialistic state-imposed egalitarianism.  That Judiasm and Christianity have produced Western Civilization, with its fruits of transcendent authority, intrinsic human rights, and limited government, make them all the more reprehensible to the Religious Left.  For this reason, among others, defaming the “chosen” role of the Jews in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures is often central to the Religious Left’s attack on the West’s understanding of freedom.</p>
<p>In his <em>Fatal Embrace</em> forward, Brueggemann laments that neither a “two-state” or “one state” solution for Middle East peace will become viable until “Jewish exceptionalism yields” to Palestinian claims to the land that “stand alongside those of Jews, in equal passion and legitimacy.”  Almost amusingly, he likens Braverman’s book to the work of the Bible’s long-suffering Job, who supposedly similarly challenged a “closed ideology that knows all of the answers ahead of time, that assumes high moral ground, and that permits ideology to screen out human data.”</p>
<p>Presumably patient Job would be surprised to learn that he is Brueggemann’s icon for delegitimizing Israel, with its “unbridled military policy,” supported by “radical and violent spokespersons for Zionism.”  Seeking to deflect critique of himself and Braverman, Brueggemann preemptively warns that “strong advocates of Israeli militarism and territorial entitlement” are quick to resort to accusations of anti-Semitism.  Apparently it’s unreasonable to fear that exclusively faulting Jewish Israel and its 3,000 year old self-understanding for nearly all Middle East strife is veering in the direction of anti-Semitism.</p>
<p>Besides featuring Bruggemann’s introduction and devoting a whole chapter to the Old Testament scholar’s insights, Braverman acclaims and cites as sources the usual cavalcade of anti-Israel Religious Left voices:  Jim Wallis, the World Council of Churches, Presbyterian (USA), Evangelical Lutheran and United Methodist officials, Churches for Middle East Peace, Christian Peacemaker Teams, Sabeel, radical Catholic eco-feminist Rosemary Radford Ruether, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter and even quaky 9-11 conspiracy theorist Ray McGovern.</p>
<p><em>Fatal Embrace </em>preaches its dogmatically anti-Israel message only to the hard-core converted and will add nothing to Braverman’s or Brueggeman’s reputations.  As a once distinguished theologian admired outside Religious Left circles, Brueggeman’s reputation has the most to lose.</p>
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