FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
April 1, 2008
Contact: Sr. Ruth Lautt, O.P.,
Esq.
Christians For Fair Witness on the Middle East
(212)
870-2320
Christians
for Fair Witness Applauds Recent United Church of Christ Executive Council
Action on Israel/Palestine Conflict and Asks United Methodists to Follow
Their Lead
Christians for Fair Witness on
the Middle East is concerned about a resolution submitted by the Methodist
General Board of Global Ministries ("GBGM") to the upcoming United
Methodist Church General Conference.
"The
resolution, entitled "Israel-Palestine Conflict" (Petition Number
80441-GM-R323), is nothing more than a one-sided attack on the state of
Israel camouflaged by the verbiage of peace and justice," according to Sr.
Ruth Lautt, Fair Witness National Director. "It refers only to
'Palestinian suffering' without acknowledging that Israelis also
suffer. There is no mention of Palestinian terrorism, suicide
bombing during the Second Intifada, or the current non-stop firing of
Qassam rockets and Iranian-made missiles from the Gaza Strip into
Israel. The resolution also mischaracterizes U.N. resolutions and
international law in a manner designed to point the finger of blame
squarely at Israel," Sr. Ruth explains.
"Although
Israel is far from blameless in this conflict, a resolution with this
blatant lack of balance should be a red flag," says Rev. Dr. Archer
Summers, Senior Minister, First United Methodist Church, Palo Alto,
California. "Especially when it comes from a Methodist agency that
recently published a book that accuses Jews of ' becoming monsters'
and characterizes the founding of the Jewish state in terms of 'original
sin,'" added Rev. Summers.
In June 2007, the United
Church of Christ ("UCC") Synod adopted a resolution on Israel-Palestine
which acknowledged that it "may have overlooked many aspects of an
extraordinarily complicated situation . . ." and obligated the
denomination "to establish a Task Force to engage in ongoing and balanced
study of the causes, history and context of the conflict." In its
first meeting after the Synod, the Executive Council of the UCC adopted an
Action (October 2007) that directed the Task Force or panel to "engage in
dialogue with traditional as well as new voices . . . representing diverse
perspectives" regarding the Israel/Palestine conflict. "Fair Witness
wholeheartedly applauds this new and balanced approach adopted by the UCC
Executive Council and urges the United Methodists to follow their lead,"
says Sr. Ruth.
An analysis of the GBGM's resolution is available
on the Fair Witness website:
http://www.christianfairwitness.com/
