LOS ANGELES (Press Release) – StandWithUs condemns anti-Israel resolutions and institutional bias at the 223rd Presbyterian Church USA General Assembly (PCUSA GA), which took place in St. Louis, Missouri from June 16-23, 2018. At the same time, we commend Presbyterians for Middle East Peace (PFMEP) and other supporters of reconciliation for pushing back and ensuring that the most destructive positions promoted by anti-Israel extremists were not adopted by the church.
“Once again, Presbyterians of conscience stood up to anti-Israel extremists who were trying to exploit the GA for their political agenda,” said StandWithUs CEO Roz Rothstein. “Unfortunately, institutional bias continues to undermine PCUSA’s credibility as an agent of peacemaking and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. Most disturbingly, the PCUSA leadership did almost nothing in response to a reported death threat made by an anti-Israel activist at the GA.”
During the deliberations of the Middle East Committee at the GA, Palestinian human rights activist Bassem Eid spoke out against numerous overtures (resolutions) that were biased against Israel. In response, an individual who was at the GA with the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), and the Israel-Palestine Mission Network (IPMN) followed Eid, accused him of being a “collaborator,” and threatened him. “Collaborator” is an accusation that Hamas has used to justify executing Palestinians in Gaza.
Instead of ensuring that the individual who made the threat was barred from the GA, the PCUSA leadership attempted to blame the victim and took no meaningful action.
This systematic prejudice was also evident in the Middle East committee, where anti-Israel activists were allowed to be official “resource people” who were seen as reliable sources by voting delegates. This imbalance was reinforced by pressure from anti-Israel extremist groups – namely USCPR, which was recently exposed for having financial ties to terrorist groups, and AMP, which has a long record of racism. In fact, the AMP representative who testified at the GA has repeatedly spread anti-Semitism on social media.
Numerous committee members criticized this process, including one who said he felt “manipulated,” but by then it was too late. Nearly all of the thirteen overtures considered by the committee featured one-sided condemnations of Israel and almost no effort to hold Hamas or the Palestinian Authority accountable for harming Israelis and Palestinians alike. An overture condemning Hamas for militarizing and inciting children to violence was voted down.
At the same time, due to the efforts of PFMEP, the most destructive overtures were amended significantly in committee:
A call to end all economic and military aid to Israel was removed.
An overture to respond positively to a viciously anti-Israel letter was amended to simply acknowledge receipt of the letter and continue to act in line with PCUSA policy (which supports Israel’s right to exist).
A call for Presbyterians to cut off dialogue with Jews who are insufficiently critical of Israel was removed and strongly criticized by committee members.
The committee also approved an overture backed by PFMEP, calling on local congregations to support grassroots reconciliation efforts between Israelis and Palestinians.
During the General Assembly deliberations, anti-Israel activists won a narrow vote removing the only criticism of Hamas that was up for consideration. “It is shameful that PCUSA chose to stay silent in the face of the injustices perpetrated by Hamas against Israelis and Palestinians,” said Max Samarov, Executive Director of Research & Campus Strategy. “Unfortunately, the message to Israelis is that PCUSA does not acknowledge their concerns or truly care about their well-being.”
It is important to note that PCUSA has experienced a dramatic decrease in membership, losing nearly 70,000 members in 2017 and over 1 million since 2000.
StandWithUs expresses its gratitude to Presbyterians for Middle East Peace (PFMEP) – an organization of Presbyterians who are deeply committed to fostering reconciliation and opposing extremism within the PCUSA. As a result of their work, many voting delegates heard a genuinely pro-peace perspective and rejected the most egregious policies promoted by anti-Israel activists. We were proud to partner with the JFNA/JCPA Israel Action Network (IAN) and the Philos Project to support PFMEP on the ground in St. Louis, and look forward to continuing this cooperation for many years to come.
Israel Action Network comments on action at Presbyterian Church USA General Assembly
The following statement was issued by the Israel Action Network:
The Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly (GA), which met this past week in St. Louis, MO, has a history of ignoring Israel’s legitimate security needs and issuing slanted policy that takes us further from peacemaking. The recently concluded event made some inroads towards reconciliation and away from delegitimization, but still fostered a hostile environment for those seeking peace for both Israelis and Palestinians.
There were positive developments. The GA adopted a policy favoring programs of reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians – a much-needed break from the delegitimization that has been the stock and trade of the PCUSA. Commissioners flatly rejected egregious policies that would have embraced an anti-Zionist position. They removed language to oppose foreign and military aid to Israel, favoring diplomacy to address human rights concerns. A resolution that made a mockery of Christian-Jewish relations was gutted, removing language that was deeply hostile to the Jewish community. A new policy on Syria was a welcome break from the inordinate focus on Israeli-Palestinian concerns.
Unfortunately, commissioners also moved policies opposing laws that counter discriminatory BDS as well as an overture which challenges a real estate network because its Israel affiliate sells in communities across the green line. They also issued a lopsided critique of Israeli policy in Gaza.
A deeply disturbing moment at the GA involved an invited guest of a past PCUSA moderator who verbally harassed and threatened a fellow Palestinian because he opposed some of the anti-Israel resolutions.
“Just two years ago, the Presbyterian Church took an incredible step forward in promising to oppose any efforts to deny or undermine the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in a two state solution, “ said Skip Schrayer, chair of the Israel Action Network, an initiative of the Jewish Federations of North America. “While relationships between Jews and Presbyterians generally remain positive at the local level, the national denomination has a distance to travel in restoring the civility and fairness necessary for healthy interfaith relations and conversations about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
IAN Executive Director Ethan Felson remarked, “We are heartened that the GA commissioners called for Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation, over the objections of PCUSA leaders. We are disappointed with several of the other outcomes — especially the failure of the Stated Clerk Rev. J. Herbert Nelson to protect the GA participant who was threatened. Rev. Nelson blamed the victim, a human rights activist who promotes a two-state future but does not align with anti-Zionist PCUSA activists. This feeds the church’s intimidation of pro-peace voices that support Israelis and Palestinians, not just one side.”
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Preceding provided by StandWithUs and Israel Action Network