Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Anti-Semitic Mainline Presbyterians

What is with the mainline Presbyterian Church in the USA (PCUSA) and the state of Israel? My (thankfully) former denomination in recent years has gone out of its way to bash Israel, in the process alienating Jews and a great many of its own members. And now there’s the Middle East Study Committee (MESC) report, which the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism has rightfully taken to task.

The following points from the United Synagogue stand out to me:

The MESC is an apologia for terror, blaming Israel for the violence it endures. There is a complete failure to address pre-occupation Arab and Palestinian violence, rejectionism, and aggression. The report says: “If there were no occupation, there would be no Palestinian resistance. If there was no Palestinian resistance, Israelis could live in peace and security.”

Given that Israel has been under attack since its founding, this assertion from the MESC is absurd. In the eyes of terrorist scum, Israel’s chief evil is merely existing. Numerous statements from the PLO and Hamas through the years have said as much. Or is the state of Israel itself an "occupation"?

The MESC describes Israel’s and Iran’s nuclear capabilities as equally threatening to world peace. After discussing Iran’s nuclear program, the report continues: “…an equal concern is the number of nuclear warheads that Israel currently stockpiles and thus the growing sense of Iranian vulnerability and insecurity. While Israel will not confirm its possession of nuclear weapons or the number held, it is generally agreed that Israel has stockpiled close to 100 nuclear weapons.”

So Israel having the bomb is a concern “equal” to Iran getting the bomb?

In the light of such absurd assertions, it is hard to escape the fact that there is virulent anti-semitism among the leadership of the mainline Presbyterian Church. It will be interesting to see to what extent the PCUSA’s General Assembly in July endorses or rejects this evil.

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