THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Boris Smolar's
. . and-Me-
Editor-in-Chief
Emeritus, JTA
(Copyright 1980, JTA, Inc.)
ANTI-ISRAEL EFFORTS IN CHURCHES: Since
the dramatic visit of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat to
Jerusalem, public opinion polls show that pro-Arab senti-
ments have been growing among Americans. It is not that
their sympathy for Israel has diminished; they still want to
see Israel secure in its borders. But they were impressed
with Sadat's move and took it as an indication of his desire
for peace with Israel.
Today cadres of hundreds of church professionals in the
various denominations of the Protestant church are
engaged in promoting pro-Arab and anti-Israel sentiments.
They are considered as "experts" on Arab-Israeli problems.
They come with a background of missionary, philanthropic
and educational service in the Arab Middle East where
their denominations have long been involved in work with
universities, secondary schools, social service centers and
refugee aid. projects.
They now hold staff positions in the National Council
of Churches of Christ and in the Middle East departments
of their denominations. They exert significant influence
within the organized Christian community and in church
institutions. They are the drafters or Pro-Arab and anti-
Israeli resolutions for conventions of church groups. They
recommend lecturers for churches. They provide churches
with material on the Middle East. They seek to win Ameri-
can public sympathy for their views through religious
channels. They advocate American recognition of the ter-
rorist Palestine Liberation Organization which has com-
mitted itself to the destruction of Israel.
The most active anti-Israel staff members can be found
in the United Presbyterian Church, the United Church of
Christ, the United Methodist Church, the Reformed
Church of America, the Quakers and the Mennonites. The
Quakers have published an article in their organ "Quaker
Life" hostile not only to Israel but also to Jews._
A somewhat similar situation prevails in the Catholic
community. Oome of the Catholic church leaders with a
background of philanthropic and educational service in
Arab countries actively promote anti-Israel propaganda.
Outstanding among them is Father Joseph L. Ryan, who -
was connected with universities in Beirut and Baghdad
and is a member of anti-Israel organizations in this coun-
try.
THE ARAB-AMERICAN COMMUNITY: Despite
the intensified propaganda against Israel conducted in the
church community by church professionals, the support for
Israel is still broad. The National Conference of Catholic
Bishops has affirmed the right of Israel to live in security.
So did the major Protestant denominations. Even the Na-
tional Council of Churches, a Protestant group which is
strongly pro-Arab and seeks U.S. recognition of the Pales-
tine Liberation Organization, recognizes Israel's right to
exist as a sovereign state with secure borders.
American Christian Arabs are not all against Israel.
Many Lebanese support Israel as the defender of the belea-
gured Christian Arabs in Lebanon.
Among the various Arab Christian groups in this
country the more vehemently anti-Israel religious leaders,
in their efforts to foster a growing pan-Arab consciousness
in the Arab-American community — which is far from
being monolithic — succeeded in forming a Standing Con-
ference of American Middle East Christian and Moslem
Leaders. The Conference claims now to represent two mil-
lion Americans of Arabic heritage and to be composed of
representatives of Eastern Orthodox Christians, Roman
Catholics, Protestants and Moslems.
The largest Arab church in the U.S. is the Antiochian
Orthodox Christian Church, the Holy Synod of which is
based in Syria. It has 110 churches broadly distributed
throughout the U.S. but most numerous in California,
Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio and
Pennsylvania. It claims to have 350,000 persons attached
to it, but church directories report its membership as being
only 152,000. Its influence goes, however, beyond its num-
bers because it is a member of the National Council of
Churches and has its representatives on the Governing
Board there. It is vigorously demanding U.S. recognition of
the PLO.
At one of its annual conventions it adopted resolutions
against the Israel government for legalizing "Zionist-
Israeli settlements in occupiecLArab lands in violation of
international law." It urged President Carter to exercise
pressure on Israel to abolish these settlements. Another
resolution demanded that the United States withhold eco-
nomic and military aid from Israel. Its Patriarch, Elias IV,
visited the United States for six weeks and was received by
President Carter and UN Secretary Kurt Waldheim. He
traveled from coast to coast and delivered anti-Israel
speeches at conferences in New York, Boston, Pittsburgh,
Detroit, Los Angeles and other cities.
Friday, April 25, 1980- 25
ADL Warns Journal Seeking
Jewish Subscribers Is PLO
NEW YORK — The and intellectuals through-
Anti-Defamation League out the world, particularly
warned that a scholarly- at universities.
looking journal seeking
Jewish subscribers is really
a propaganda mouthpiece
, for the Palestine Liberation
Organization.
The publication, "Journal
of Palestine Studies," is
launching its subscription
campaign through mailing
lists of Jewish names, ac-
cording to Seymour D. Re-
ich, chairman of the ADL's
national fact-finding com-
mittee.
Billed as a "Quarterly on
WITH YOUR OWN MEASUREMENTS
over 3 blind
Palestine Affairs and the
Arab-Israeli Conflict," the
weunrifire
BI G DI ssio
journal contains 100 to 150
ON
pages and resembles, in ap-
DRAPES & SHADES
pearance and content':
Installation Available
scholarly journals pub-
lished by universities.
To project an image of
17350 W. 10 Mile Rd.
objectivity, Reich said,
the journal carries such
regular features as
THEM. RECIA
"From the Hebrew
Press" and occasionally
other articles suggesting
sensitivity to Israeli con-
cerns.
"But beneath the veneer
of scholarship," Reich said,
"is a heavily-slanted PLO
line." He added that the
journal — which is-carefully
edited and sprinkled with
footnotes — "is far more ef-
fective an instrument for
the PLO cause than are the
shriller publications of the
PLO itself."
The quarterly is pub-
lished jointly by the Insti-
tute for Palestine Affairs,
the PLO "think tank" in Be-
irut, and the University of
Kuwait, Reich said. It is
aimed primarily at scholars
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