 Former moderator declares her argument with adversary in public hallway was private By John H. Adams The Layman Online Sunday, June 18, 2006
The argument occurred in the large and open hallway outside of the room where the 217th General Assembly's Peacemaking and International Issues Committee was considering whether to rescind the divestment proposal, which has been condemned internationally by Jewish groups. When reporters heard about the argument, they joined a small throng around Andrews and began taking notes. Realizing their presence, Andrews responded harshly, declaring that she was having a "private conversation" and reporters were not allowed to quote her. The Layman Online informed Andrews that she was in a public hallway in the Birmingham Civic Center and that she was having a public conversation on a controversial public issue in which she involved. Therefore, The Layman Online said, she could not claim to be having a private meeting. She disagreed, and reasserting her demand that her conversation was private, continued her face-to-face confrontation. Most of the argument was a repetition of viewpoints expressed during a public hearing on the divestment issue. Andrews was arguing that the denomination's divestment policy was intended to pressure Israel to support a two-state solution for the warring Israelis and Palestinians. She also repeated her strong opposition to Israel's defensive wall that was built to protect Israeli citizens from terrorist suicide-bombers. Her opponent was arguing that Palestinians must cede to Israel's right to exist and to maintain the defensive wall to protect its civilians. She and he agreed that the Palestinians had suffered during their long conflagration. Andrews was at the committee meeting to lobby, along with 216th General Assembly Moderator Rick Ufford-Chase, for a proposal that called on the General Assembly to approve a small task force to advise the General Assembly Council on Jewish-Christian-Muslim relationships. With that advice, which would not have derailed the move toward divestment, the council would have made a proposal to the 218th General Assembly. But the Peacemaking and International Issues Committee gave scant attention to the General Assembly Council's proposal, choosing instead to craft its own recommendation. A similar claim of privacy was declared by a denominational employee during the committee's meeting. She told photographers that they could not take pictures during the meeting. Again, pointing out that denominational photographers had been taking photographs, The Layman Online informed the employee that the General Assembly had an open-meetings policy that allowed photo coverage. Another denominational employee disputed that claim but agreed to check with a higher-up. Minutes later, he admitted the ban was inappropriate. |
||
Respond to this article |
||
| Home
· Archives
· The
Layman ·
PLC
Publications Presbyterian Lay Committee · Feedback · Links |
||