Jewish Rabbis and Cantors are being given the opportunity to sign a letter in “pursuit of peace, reconciliation and partnership” to commissioners of the 2014 General Assembly.
As of May 23, 1,127 Rabbis and Cantors and Rabbinical and Cantorial students have signed the “Letter of Shalom from American Jewish Religious Leaders to Our Friends in the Presbyterian Church (USA).”
The invitation to sign the letter – found on the In Pursuit of Peace web site – states that the PUCSA’s General Assembly, where commissioners will “consider resolutions related to Israel that call for divestment, boycotts, labeling Israel an apartheid state, and reconsidering support for a two-state solution,” will be held June 14-21.
“We are deeply concerned that the PCUSA is considering several overtures that would threaten the prospects for future peace. Oversimplifying a complex conflict and placing all the blame on one party, when both bear responsibility, increases conflict and division instead of promoting peace, reconciliation and mutual understanding,” the letter reads.
Issues of concern include:
- “The role of peacemaker is irreconcilable with positions that promote economic coercion through boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS), and consequently discourage, rather than encourage, constructive engagement … If we truly want to help both parties, we should encourage reconciliation, investment and a negotiated solution, instead of boycotts and divestments.
- “… We are deeply disturbed to see an overture calling for the PCUSA to reconsider the Church’s commitment to a two-state solution. Adoption of that stance would be tragic. It is wrong to deny the Palestinian people their right to a state and it is also equally wrong to deny the Jewish people the right to a state.
- “But what most reflects and magnifies our sadness is the promulgation of an explicitly anti-Zionist congregational study guide that remains for sale on the church’s website. Entitled Zionism Unsettled, it labels the national movement of the Jewish people, Zionism, and Israel, its expression, as ‘false theology,’ ‘heretical doctrine,’ ‘evil,’ ‘pathology,’ ‘racism,’ and ‘cultural genocide.’ Those characterizations are not only at wide variance with the facts, but are also extraordinarily hurtful and incendiary. No one truly committed to peace and reconciliation should use that kind of vocabulary to describe either side. Nothing, including the assertion that the Israel/Palestine Mission Network speaks ‘to’ but not ‘for’ the Presbyterian Church (USA), can justify the PCUSA leadership’s silence on, and toleration of, Zionism Unsettled and the PCUSA’s distribution of it.”
The complete letters follows:
A Letter of Shalom, from American Jewish Religious Leaders to Our Friends in the Presbyterian Church (USA)
June 2014
Dear Friends:
With the blessing of shalom, we, religious leaders of millions of American Jews representing each of the denominational streams, reach out to you, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) commissioners, who will be considering multiple overtures during the June General Assembly in Detroit. Your voices will be heard on many issues, including the challenging Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We want you to hear directly from us of our hopes and aspirations for the people of the Holy Land. We respect your opinions and commitments, and trust that you might want to hear from American Jews on these issues of grave concern to all of us who are dedicated to bringing peace to the region. We write as longstanding and deeply committed brothers and sisters in Presbyterian-Jewish interreligious relations.
We share with you a commitment to peace in the Middle East, particularly toward a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Like you, we long for the leadership and courage that will bring the peoples of the Holy Land to a just two-state solution, when the State of Israel will dwell in peace and security alongside a Palestinian state. We can, no doubt, join together in prayer for a time when Christians, Muslims, Jews and others can fulfill their spiritual destiny in this holy place, each sitting “under his vine and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid.” (Micah 4:4)
We applaud the efforts of our American government, under the leadership of Secretary of State John Kerry, to bring the parties to the conflict, Israelis and Palestinians, closer to a permanent solution or at least to a framework for getting there. It has not been easy and there are frayed nerves and sustained suspicions that need yet to be overcome. Our prayers are with the peacemakers who are working to bring the parties together for a brighter future for them and their descendants.
We appreciate the PCUSA’s commitment to peacemaking, human rights, and the particular Presbyterian concern for their fellow Christians whose spiritual aspirations include the establishment and sustenance of flourishing Christian communities in the Holy Land. The religious and other freedoms we cherish together in the United States should be inviolable for all the citizens of God’s world.
We hope that we can agree on these fundamental principles. Nonetheless, there are areas of concern we need to share with you in the interest of our relationship. We are deeply concerned that the PCUSA is considering several overtures that would threaten the prospects for future peace. Oversimplifying a complex conflict and placing all the blame on one party, when both bear responsibility, increases conflict and division instead of promoting peace, reconciliation and mutual understanding.
The role of peacemaker is irreconcilable with positions that promote economic coercion through boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS), and consequently discourage, rather than encourage, constructive engagement. Every peace treaty signed between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and every peace plan proposed by the United States, the European Union, Russia, the Arab League and the United Nations, specifically calls for the normalization of relations between the Arab states, the Palestinians and Israel, including trade links. If we truly want to help both parties, we should encourage reconciliation, investment and a negotiated solution, instead of boycotts and divestments.
Additionally, we are deeply disturbed to see an overture calling for the PCUSA to reconsider the Church’s commitment to a two-state solution. Adoption of that stance would be tragic. It is wrong to deny the Palestinian people their right to a state and it is also equally wrong to deny the Jewish people the right to a state. There are two competing claims to the same land and they should be answered by a two-state solution, something with which we have long agreed with the PCUSA. The Palestinian people, the PLO, the Palestinian Authority, the Israeli government and people, the United States government, both major U.S. political parties, Russia, the European Union, and the Arab League all advocate for a two-state solution. Getting there is difficult, but that remains the goal of most Palestinians and Israelis, as well as the international community. Among the parties to the conflict, only Hamas and Hezbollah reject a two-state solution.
But what most reflects and magnifies our sadness is the promulgation of an explicitly anti-Zionist congregational study guide that remains for sale on the Church’s website. Entitled Zionism Unsettled, it labels the national movement of the Jewish people, Zionism, and Israel, its expression, as ‘”false theology,” “heretical doctrine,” “evil,” “pathology,” “racism,” and “cultural genocide.” Those characterizations are not only at wide variance with the facts, but are also extraordinarily hurtful and incendiary. No one truly committed to peace and reconciliation should use that kind of vocabulary to describe either side. Nothing, including the assertion that the Israel/Palestine Mission Network speaks “to” but not “for” the Presbyterian Church (USA), can justify the PCUSA leadership’s silence on, and toleration of, Zionism Unsettled and the PCUSA’s distribution of it.
We are concerned that despite our shared objectives, the Presbyterian-Jewish relationship in America is headed in the wrong direction. We need a new way forward. We are ready for a more constructive relationship. We invite you to join us and start by sending a message that when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Presbyterian peacemakers work for reconciliation, investment, and understanding of conflicting narratives rather than inciting further conflict. We are ready to join you in this new way. Are you ready to join us?
Shalom, shalom la-rachok v’la-karov (Isaiah 57:19). Peace, peace to the far and to the near.
L’shalom
4 Comments. Leave new
I was able to add my name to the list. I had to select a drop down that said I was a “Rabbi.” But I added “Pastor” in front of my first name and “(PCUSA)” after my last name. I’d encourage other Pastors and Elders to do the same who agree with the content or the spirit of this letter to GA.
By declaring we stand with the Rabbis and Cantors of the Jewish faith in regard to the very complicated Israel/Palestine challenge, we are telling the GA commissioners to stop demonizing one side over the other.
I stand by the Rabbis, and am disgusted by the Presbytery’s anti-Semitic actions. Take heed, Presbytery. You will never prevail in this, and only drive the Presbyterian Church ever closer to dissolution.
“With the blessing of shalom, we, religious leaders of millions of American Jews representing each of the denominational streams, reach out to you, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) commissioners”
Ezekiel 7:25-27:
“25 Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none.
26 Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour; then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients.
27 The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled: I will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will I judge them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.”
Andrew Fincke
graduate of Westminster Theological Seminary, author of The Samuel Scroll from Qumran, STJD 41, Leiden (Brill) 2001, nephew of Fred Russell Esty, former chairman of the United States Banknote Company and founding member of the Presbyterian Lay Committee
“With the blessing of shalom, we, religious leaders of millions of American Jews representing each of the denominational streams, reach out to you”
How do they reach out with something they don’t have – shalom “peace?”