8 | JULY 21 • 2022 statement Presbyterian Church (USA) Bears False Witness T he adoption by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) of a deceit- ful resolution that falsely defines Israel as an apart- heid state is “an insult to Jews and Christians alike which damages interfaith relations,” said Rabbi Eric J. Greenberg, Simon Wiesenthal Center’s (SWC) director of United Nations Relations and Strategic Partnerships and a longtime activist in Interfaith efforts. “PCUSA leadership has violated G-d’s commandment not to bear false witness, rendered itself irrelevant in the world of peacemaking, and made a mockery of honest dialogue and interfaith relations,” Greenberg said following the July 7 GA vote to define Israel as an apartheid state, which was approved by an overwhelming vote of 266 to 116. SWC officials noted that PCUSA leaders rigged the debate on the resolution, known as an overture, by providing untrue and misleading information to church members and preventing any Jewish or pro- Israel voices to oppose the proposal — a violation of the church’s own policies. Among the falsehoods promoted by PCUSA leadership was com- paring Israeli policy to Nazi Germany and falsely claiming there is widespread Jewish support for the overture. “We denounce this rigged process and false resolution that libels the Jewish nation and Judaism,” declared Rabbi Abraham Cooper, SWC’s associate dean and director of Global Social Action, and Rabbi Yitzchak Adlerstein, director of Interfaith Affairs. “It takes place under the administration of an antisemitic Stated Clerk, Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson II, and is the culmination of a decade long anti-Israel, anti-Jewish agenda from the church’s leadership in Louisville.” “The overture violates PCUSA policy, effectively demanding that Israel end its own existence and deny Jews the right of self-determina- tion,” said the activist group Presbyterians for Middle East Peace, which opposed the antisemitic, anti-Israel resolutions from PCUSA leadership. “It is important to note that 70% of PCUSA commissioners voted to approve this,” said PfMEP Pastor John Wimberly. “But 70% of Presbyterians would not agree.” SWC commended PfMEP for denouncing the apartheid resolution, PCUSA’s one-sid- ed debate process, and for promising to continue posi- tive Presbyterians-Jewish rela- tions on a local level despite the latest affront by PCUSA leadership. “Our fear going into this GA was that there would not be a real conversation about the issue of apartheid, and our fears were realized,” PfMEP wrote. “There was no U.S. Jewish or Israeli voice asked to speak to the com- mittee. There was no dis- cussion about the reality of the State of Israel in which Jews and Arabs have equal rights under the law, where both Jews and Arabs can vote and hold office, where Arabs sit on the Supreme Court … The impact of passing such an overture are violent attacks and hate may increase against American Jews, who are already under siege and feeling isolated. Extremists on both sides in Israel and Palestine will be emboldened to fuel even more division, conflict, and violence,” PfMEP noted. PURELY COMMENTARY SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER BEER SHEBA continued from page 6 Center (serving a geographical area of over 60% of the area of Israel and over 1 million residents) as well as the IDF, is putting the city on the forefront of Israel’s innovation scene. The tech park is planned to include 15 buildings and employ over 10,000 high-tech work- ers. Recently, two large cyber companies, Cyberseason and CyberArk, announced estab- lishing R&D centers in Beer Sheba, joining companies such as IBM, Dell, Amazon, Cisco, Microsoft and Google along with hundreds of startups who have already created a presence in the city. Even Israel Railways are on board, with stations connecting Tel Aviv in less than a one- hour commute. One of the most popular mayors in the country is Beer Sheba’s Rubik Danilovich, who was recently reelected with over 92% of the ballots. He recently stated, “Beer Sheba is turning into a national-technology hub and an international knowledge center. There is no other city in the world that concentrates so much tech-knowledge and excellent human resources in such a small radius. ” And if the innovative spirit of Beer Sheba is not enough, it is an affordable city for the young family that is finding out- rageous housing prices in the center of the country and home ownership almost unattainable. Beer Sheba’s property prices are almost 70% lower than in Tel Aviv, and rents are reasonable and available. Something very big is happening in Beer Sheba. “It is in the Negev that the creativity and pioneer vigor of Israel shall be tested, ” said David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister. Naomi Miller is director of Israel Partnerships at the Michigan Israel Business Accelerator and the director of Missions and Exchanges at the Jewish Federation of Metro Detroit. This essay is reprinted from the MIBA.