A Blog by Rabbi Brant Rosen
The first comes from
the Daily Beast's Andrew Sullivan:
It seems to me that aid of all kinds should
have basic human rights strings attached to it. I would have suspended all aid
to Israel when it refused to stop its settlement policy on the West Bank, but
that's a little like being in favor of an immediate space station on Mars,
given the Greater Israel lobby's grip on Congress.
So let me just reiterate something that has no
chance of ever happening, but I might as well put on the record: we should
treat Israel as any other recipient of US aid. If a country is occupying and
settling land conquered through war, if it's treating a minority population
with inhumanity, the US should stand up for Western values. It should not
single Israel out; but we have to stop treating Israel as the exception to
every other US foreign policy rule.
Rev. Jim C. Wall (Contributing Editor of the
"Christian Century") in an unflinchingly honest blog
post:
To begin with, the 15 church leaders are
heavyweights, top officials for their denominations. They include the leaders
of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,
the United Methodist Church, the National Council of Churches, the United
Church of Christ, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the American
Friends Service Committee (a Quaker agency) and the Mennonite Central
Committee. Two Catholic leaders also signed, not including the Catholic Council
of Bishops.
These are not just leaders of a few religious
groups, which a Protestant version of the Jewish Council of Public Affairs
could corral into an interfaith dialogue meeting. These are the major-domos of
American Protestantism, which raises the question of what exactly gives the
JCPA and its scattered letter signers, these “outraged Jewish groups” as the Times
calls them, the right to claim religious standing in this conversation. Many of
these Jewish groups are secular and function as part of the Israel Lobby, a
collection of lobbying organizations that have Israel, not Judaism as their
primary client...
The JCPA and its letter signers have no dogs in
this hunt. They can be as outraged as they want. This is still a free country.
But the 15 church leaders have made the right religious, not political, move.
They are speaking the language of “moral responsibility” in a letter directed
to the U.S. Congress on the matter of U.S. funds used by Israel to violate the
human rights of the Palestinian people.
Interfaith dialogue has always been nothing
more than a device used by American Jewish groups to intimidate the American
churches into keeping the ecumenical deal. By this intimidation, these groups
have followed the example set by the government of Israel which has long used
the so-called “peace process” to sustain its occupation and expand its borders,
always to the detriment of the Palestinian people.
It is the right time for the leaders of the
American churches to make their moral demand to the Congress. With their
letter, they have done so, courageously, considering the political climate of
our time. Interfaith dialogue can wait.
As things stand now, the Jewish groups have
called for a "summit" for the top leaders of Christian churches to
"discuss" the situation with them - and they are reportedly
considering it. I hope the Christian leaders will stand firm. It is not the
role of these Jewish organizations to dictate how Christian religious leaders
can live out their conscience or their values. These organizations have chosen
to walk away from the table - they are in no position to demand the terms by
which "dialogue" may resume.
We can only hope this sad turn of events will
lead to a more honest interfaith conversation about Israel-Palestine - one
based on honesty, respect and justice rather than emotional blackmail.
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