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With Friends Like These
JONATHAN S. TOBIN
Special to the Jewish News
Philadelphia
n the face of it, you'd think
they'd be the Jewish communi-
ty's best friend. But they aren't.
The Presbyterian Church USA is the
sort of mainstream liberal Protestant
denomination that many Jews instinc-
tively see as being natural partners in
helping to create an atmosphere of inter-
faith respect.
Indeed, the PC USA specifically
endorses dialogue between Christians
and Jews, and tells us that they think
that "the God who addresses both
Christians and Jews is the same — the
living and true God," and goes on to
claim that "the church's identity is inti-
mately related to the continuing identity
of the Jewish people."
In contrast to conservative Christian
groups that espouse views on social
issues, such as abortion, that most Jews
do not share, the Presbyterians seem to
be a comfortable liberal fit as interfaith
buddies.
While many liberal Jews see funda-
mentalist Christians as stereotypical anti-
Semites who would kill us all if they
were only smart enough to figure out
how to do it, upper-crust Presbyterians
seem like exactly the sort of folks we'd
love to have as neighbors. But at some
point on the path to interfaith under-
standing, something went terribly
wrong.
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No Apartheid State
At its national assembly the Presbyterian
Church USA voted, in the words of its
own Web site (wwwpcusa.org ) to
"endorse Israel divestment" of the invest-
ments used by its S7 billion foundation
and pension fund. That is to say it has
charged a committee to study how it
can "support divestment of holdings in
multinational corporations doing busi-
ness in Israel/Palestine [sic]."
The release helpfully adds that "divest-
ment is one of the strategies that U.S.
churches used in the 1970s and '80s in a
successful campaign to end apartheid in
South Africa."
If that false and gratuitous slap to the
State of Israel were not enough, the
assembly of Presbyterians also voted "by
Jonathan S. Tobin is executive editor of
the Jewish Exponent. His e-mail address is
jtobin@jewishexponent.com
large margins to condemn Israel's con-
struction of a 'security wall' and disavow
Christian Zionism as a legitimate theo-
logical stance."
It went on to ask its Middle East and
Interfaith Relations offices "to develop
resources on differences" between
Zionism and Protestantism. All of which
is to say that in their own buttoned-
down, white bread manner, the Presby-
terians are telling the Jews to go to hell.
And if that wasn't bad enough, the
same assembly also voted, albeit narrow-
ly, not to halt church funding for a
Montgomery County congregation of
Messianics that targets Jews for conver-
sion.
Looking at these pronouncements
from our would-be dialogue partner,
Jews should be forgiven for wondering,
"If these are our friends, who exactly
areour enemies?"
One cannot say, as the Presbyterians
do in other contexts, that they support
Israel's right to exist and condemn ter-
rorism, while at the same time seek to
delegitimize Israel and libel it with the
tag of "apartheid state."
Israel is, as they well know, the only
democracy in the region. Unlike South
Africa, Israel is not a minority-run state.
In Israel, Arabs are the minority, but
they have full rights as citizens. More-
over, the dispute over the West Bank
and Gaza is one in which the Jewish
state has made numerous dangerous
concessions in the name of peace, only
to have the offers answered with a
Palestinian terrorist war.
By endorsing divestment — a tactic
embraced by radical leftist academics as
a tool to publicize their war on Zionism
— the church has placed itself alongside
those who wish to destroy the Jewish
state, lock, stock and barrel. And that is
a position from which they can never
hope to maintain a dialogue with any
self-respecting Jew, as well as with the
vast majority of American Christians,
who, unlike the Presbyterian delegates,
see no contradiction between their faith
and support for Zionism.
Supporters `Left Behind'
Ironically, many Christian supporters of
Israel in this country are treated with
tremendous suspicion by many Jews.
Though most such Christians
embrace Israel without preconditions
and with a whole heart, a few may pred-
icate their support on a belief that the
ingathering of the Jews will trigger the
return of Jesus, which will be followed
by a predicted mass conversion of the
Jews. That's why many liberal Jews take
the tack that any support for Israel based
on the notion of such a hypothetical
mass conversion is inherently
illegitimate.
But even if we wrongly assumed that
all Christian Zionists believed Israel will
play some role in an eschatological Left
Behind movie script, why would Jews —
who presumably don't believe such a
thing will happen — worry about it?
And why would they worry more about
this dubious scenario than the real-life
opposition of liberal Christians like the
Presbyterians?
If their conservative social stands dis-
qualify conservative Christian supporters
of Israel from acceptance by liberal Jews,
then why shouldn't the Presbyterians be
given the same cold shoulder for their
despicable positions on Israel?
It should be noted that the
Presbyterian debate on funding a Jews-
for-Jesus front like the Avodat Yisrael
congregation in Plymouth Meeting,
Md., is one in which many leading fig-
ures within the local and national
church have opposed. On this issue,
many church activists have come to
understand that interfaith dialogue must
be based on mutual respect.
As much as many Jews worry about
missionaries who prey on Jewish youth
or immigrants, this is a question that
should be approached with caution.
Targeting Jews for conversion and
using subterfuges such as the Messianics
demonstrate insensitivity to the history
of Christian persecution and forced con-
version of Jews.
But if any Jews do convert, the fault
lies with the failure of the Jewish com-
munity to adequately educate its chil-
dren, not with the Presbyterians, who
have every right to espouse their faith
and share it with anyone they like.
But what Presbyterians must under-
stand is that even if they are prepared to
drop their association with Avodat
Yisrael, their embrace of a policy that is,
at best, neutral about the slaughter of
Israeli Jews is still an impassable barrier
to meaninaful dialogue.
These upscale liberal Protestants may
appear to be the sort of people Jews
ought to want as friends. But while
interfaith outreach remains a valuabl
goal, we need to enter into it with our
eyes wide open.