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The Jewish Community continues in its criticism of the Kairos Document. As we know, the criticism started early. Here is a longer comment from The Wiesenthal Center press statement, "2010 Jerusalem Conference at the Regency Hotel, Jerusalem, February 16, 2010."

The comments by Rabbi Adlerstein on excerpts from the Kairos Document as sent to this writer. First the introduction to the Kairos Document:





A word of faith, hope and love from the heart of Palestinian suffering



Introduction

The previous Presbyterian Church General Assembly Moderator in February, 2010 introduces the Middle East Study Committee members. Bruce Reyes-Chow said in that statement:


Members of the Committee to Prepare a Comprehensive Study Focused on Israel Palestine:

Reverend Dr. Susan R. Andrews, Hudson River Presbytery, Synod of the Northeast

Elder Dr. Frederic W. Bush, Los Ranchos Presbytery, Synod of Southern California and Hawaii

Elder Dr. Nahida H. Gordon, Muskingum Valley Presbytery, Synod of the Covenant

Reverend Dr. John Huffman, Los Ranchos Presbytery, Synod of Southern California and Hawaii

Elder Lucy Janjigian, Palisades Presbytery, Synod of the Northeast

Reverend Rebecca Reyes, New Hope Presbytery, Synod of Mid-Atlantic

Reverend Marthame Sanders, Greater Atlanta Presbytery, Synod of South Atlantic

Reverend Dr. Ronald L. Shive, Chair, Salem Presbytery, Synod of Mid-Atlantic

Reverend Dr. John W. Wimberly, Jr., National Capital Presbytery, Mid-Atlantic


We have asked Ron Shive to chair this committee.





Committee Chairman Ron Shive said in an article appearing in "Jewish Week" by Stuart Ain that his "…committee was careful not to endorse any other parts of the Kairos Palestine document. The Reverend Doctor Ron Shive said Kairos was endorsed in part in an effort to "stand with our Christian partners in the Middle East" who wrote it. The one member of the committee who voted against the recommendations, Rev. Byron Shafer, a retired Bible teacher at Fordham University, said he did so because it is tipped in favor of the Palestinians.


"If it were adopted by our GA in July, it would be identifying the church with one side in the conflict — namely the Palestinian-Christian side," he said. "Missing from this report is a narrative balance. I don't find an acknowledgement of the ways in which some Palestinian and Arab nations have contributed to the conflict. The focus is on Israel as the more powerful party and the one that is guilty."


Chairman Shive disagreed with that conclusion, insisting that the report adopted a "balanced approach." So reports, "Jewish Weekly."


"We attempted to listen to a number of different groups of people — and be assured we listened to Jewish, Muslim and Palestinian voices. There was earlier criticism that we did not speak enough with American Jewish voices, but our real concern was to talk with Israelis who were in the middle of the conflict.


"We talked to Jewish voices in Israel and most were American born. It made sense to speak with Jews in the thick of things. Our limited time and resources prohibited us from more than a limited engagement. And we did not hear the extensive views of American Muslims either."



In the blog, "The Reformed Pastor," the author makes numerous comments on the Presbyterian Church USA committee report and chooses sections from the Kairos Report he finds relevant. This writer thought his comments, and especially his choice of selections worth noting here in this commentary and report.

 

Presbyterian Church USA Middle East Study Committee recommends Kairos Document adoption for study by General Assembly 2010
by Peter Menkin

The Kairos Document is a work that is a kind of Christian peaceful means of declaring war based on various "peaceful methods" of protest and action regarding an unfair and unjust nation's activities in its own national self-hood, in its own national actions and policies against its citizens, and in its own national actions against another people. The Kairos Document is a work created by Palestinian Christians and aimed at Israel, as a State, a government, and this writer thinks also in its reflection on its Jewish citizens and Jews in general regardless of nationality.




That latter statement about it is a reflection of Jews as people, rather than the government of Israel and Israeli actions towards Palestine is probably the widest area of judgment against what is in many respectable quarters considered a radical document that should not be adopted as recommended by the Presbyterian/Israel policy committee on the Middle East by the Presbyterian Church USA at their General Assembly meeting July, 2010. All of the parts of the Kairos Document have been strongly criticized, and held as anti-Semitic by major mainline Jewish organizations in the United States, including the respected human rights organization, The Wiesenthal Center, based in Los Angeles.



This article is the third in a series of three on the Middle East Policy Committee of the Presbyterian Church USA paper that is more than 150 pages long and can be found here. It is the final of the three reports in this series, and for readers not familiar with the Kairos Document, a PDF of the Document is found here. This is an important Document, supported by many Presbyterians, obviously since it appears in their recommendations for policy towards Israel, and is popularly support by numerous "peace" groups in the United States, and even in Europe and the Middle East.



In an effort to be more transparent in this last of the series, this writer offers an opinion regarding the Israeli need for peace, and peace for all the Middle East. With the proviso that this is a commentary and report, not an editorial or opinion piece reflecting the writer's views, nonetheless, it is appropriate to say that the key element for work towards peace in the Middle East is continuing dialogue, lack of hostilities, which means truces and aspects of various kinds of truces. This takes a mature diplomatic series of helpful actions on the part of nations. The effort of the Presbyterian Church USA in its policy recommendations is an effort to work towards peace, as is the intent of the Presbyterian Church USA. No doubt of their sincerity, in this writer's estimation, and is the clear work of the Presbyterian as they form Christian responses to Israel and Middle East issues.



Readers who are familiar with the Presbyterian Church USA policy report and have followed it as it has developed know it is a controversial document made all the more controversial by its inclusion this year with the Kairos Document as part of its recommendation for adoption. One recognizes Jewish Community fear and repulsion of what it believes is anti-Semitism and a planned policy that will get rid of the State of Israel. The list of organizations believing this act of affairs is long, and this writer prefers to stay with one example, The Wiesenthal Center. After all, this is a commentary and report for the web and as such requires out of fairness a statement and statements that reflect this major concern and shocked series of observations resulting in opinions held by Israelis and significantly for this writer, noted Jewish organizations in the United States. They are joined by many other voices who find the report unbalanced and unfair to Israel and the Jewish Community. That said, and with the hope that there is much of worth in the report that Christians and Presbyterians need to read and even adopt, in all fairness to the Presbyterian Church USA, this commentary and report will go on with the effort to tell about the Committee recommendations in this space of words. Please note this article also is a compilation of other comments and reports on the Kairos Document in an effort to outline and illuminate the issues.



The "Christian Century", a more liberal American magazine has looked at the report and two writers who are themselves respected academics comment on the paper coming before the General Assembly. The writers are: Ted A. Smith and Amy-Jill Levine. The title of their article is: "Habits of anti-Judaism: Critiquing a PCUSA report on Israel/Palestine."

The assembly charged the committee with preparing "a comprehensive study, with recommendations, that is focused on Israel/Palestine within the complex context of the Middle East."


The study committee made several moves that demonstrate its desire to avoid some of the most common forms of false witness against Jews. For example, it notes that most Presbyterians reject supersessionist narratives in which "Christians have supplanted Jews" to become "the only legitimate heirs of God's covenant with Abraham." Signaling this rejection of supersessionism, the report speaks of "Older Testament" and "Newer Testament" in its biblical references. Such language is neither necessary nor sufficient for avoiding supersessionism, but it at least suggests a desire to proclaim a gospel that does not begin with God's rejection of Jews.


Though critical of the Middle East Study Committee report, the academics who say much in their Christian Century article given the Presbyterian Church USA good marks for a good attitude.


What the Presbyterian Committee itself asks is that Presbyterian Church USA members, and Christians in general, take time to look at this report. The Reverend Doctor Ron Shive, in a Press Statement, says, "It is a challenge to present a report of this length," "The temptation to lift out a sound bite to support or defend one's position will be incredibly strong. But we prayerfully ask that everyone read the full report for themselves and make use of the additional resources at www.pcusa.org/middleeastpeace."

"The situation in the Middle East is too critical to do anything less," he says.


Here in the same Press Statement is a good representation of the Middle East Study Committee interests and perspective:


Within the report is a review of General Assembly policy statements on the Middle East, which date back to the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. The committee found that these statements have consistently called for a two-state solution with rights, dignity, and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.


However, the committee's report lifts up the growing urgency to find a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: "The real concern that we all embrace is that the window of opportunity for an end to the occupation and the viability of a two-state solution is rapidly closing. This is due in large part to the rapid growth of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the increasing number of bypass roads, the injustice of the separation barrier, and tragic numbers of house demolitions."


The report continues, "A just and lasting peace and security for Israel is possible when the occupation has ended and the Palestinian acts of violent resistance are no longer employed. A just and lasting peace and security for the Palestinians is possible when the occupation has ended and Israel does not need to resort to military force to maintain its illegal land possession. If there were no occupation, there would be no Palestinian resistance. If there was no Palestinian resistance, Israelis could live in peace and security."


"Inexcusable acts of violence have been committed by both the powerful occupying forces of the Israeli military and the Jewish settlers in the West Bank, as well as the Palestinians, of whom a relatively small minority has resorted to violence as a means of resisting the occupation."

The committee concludes, "Violence is not an acceptable means to peace, regardless of its rationale."



It is clear that the report is a "peace" document, for it says, "Violence is not an acceptable means to peace, regardless of its rationale."



A reader can see in the Press Statement the explanatory position regarding the report and its intention, seen by its Chairman Ron Shive. The Reverend Doctor Ron Shive makes a good spokesman for the statements released by the Presbyterian Church USA. Their Statement regarding the report continues at length:



The committee's 39 recommendations to the 219th General Assembly are as detailed and extensive as the report itself.


In their introductory comments to the recommendations, committee members write that they seek to strengthen the PC(USA)'s "past positions on behalf of peace between Israelis and Palestinians and the cessation of violence by all parties, and its opposition to Israel's ongoing expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and its continuing occupation of those territories."


The comments continue, "We also call upon the various Palestinian political factions to negotiate a unified government prepared to recognize Israel's existence. We proclaim our alarm and dismay—both over the increasingly rapid exodus of Christians from Israel/Palestine caused by anti-Palestinian discrimination and oppression, the growth of Islamic and Jewish fundamentalism, and the occupation-related absence of economic opportunity; and also over the exodus of Christians from other parts of the region caused by various military, economic, religious, and cultural factors. And we oppose the government of Iran's nuclear ambitions, its sponsorship of international guerilla warfare, and the threat these pose both to Israel and to Arab states."


The committee writes, "We deeply value our relationships with Jews and Muslims in the United States, Israel, and the predominantly Muslim countries of the Middle East. Yet the bonds of friendship must neither prevent us from speaking nor limit our empathy for the suffering of others. Inaction and silence on our part enable actions we oppose and consequences we grieve. We recognize how great a burden past misguided actions by our government have placed on Christians throughout the Muslim world. We recognize that massive amounts of U.S tax money are feeding the various conflicts in the Middle East—including two current wars of arguable necessity and Jewish settlements in Palestine."


And finally, "We also recognize that our concern to end support for both violence in all its forms and the ongoing occupation and settlement of Palestine places demands of integrity on how the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) uses its own resources and investments. Let us be clear: We do affirm the legitimacy of Israel as a state, but consider the continuing occupation of Palestine (West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem) to be illegitimate, illegal under international law, and an enduring threat to peace in the region. Furthermore, we recognize that any support for that occupation weakens the moral standing of our nation internationally and our security."


Interest in the PC(USA)'s approach to an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been intensified since the General Assembly's action in 2004 to begin the processing of divesting from companies whose activities support continued human rights violations.


The Presbyterian Church USA was stung by statements in the Jewish Community (USA) that they are anti-Semitic. In another lengthy statement, made in February, 2010, the Presbyterian Church replied to the assertion of anti-Semitism on the part of The Wiesenthal Center, a respected human rights organization. This is their lengthy reply to that complaint, painfully made by The Wiesenthal Center.




February 23, 2010



A statement from the Reverend Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) regarding the work of the General Assembly Middle East Study Team.

The Jewish protest that expresses its distaste of the Kairos Document and the Presbyterian Church USA acceptance of same continues, as this Press Statement from B'nai B'rith demonstrates:


B'nai B'rith International is urging delegates to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to oppose the adoption of reports and resolutions that demonize Israel and target it with such measures as a proposed suspension of American military aid. The mainline Protestant denomination's biannual convention gets underway July 3 in Minneapolis.



Among the materials slated for consideration by the assembly is a Middle

East Study Committee report whose content dramatically emphasizes

perceived Israeli wrongdoing and Palestinian suffering, while belittling

Arab obligations, historical Jewish roots in the land, and the Jewish

state's efforts for peace in the face of terrorism. The report also fails to recognize that Israel is the Middle East's only free, pluralistic society and the only country in the region whose Christian population has grown in actual numbers.



The 172-page report positively cites "Kairos," itself a highly inflammatory Palestinian Christian document, and endorses the recommendation of the church's Mission Responsibility Through Investment committee to enounce one company for its lawful sale of products to the Israel Defense Forces. Individual presbytery overtures go even further, calling for outright divestment from the company and explicitly endorsing "Kairos," which refers to terrorism as "resistance," embraces outdated supersessionist ideas, calls for boycotts against the Jewish state, and labels Israeli policies a "sin against God."






Writers for "The Washington Post's" "On Faith" find the Middle East Study Committee Report distasteful at best. Katharine Henderson and Gustav Niebuhr in their guest article of June 22, 2010 titled, "Peacemaking is more than pointing fingers," say:



(Rev. Dr. Katharine Henderson is President of Auburn Seminary. Gustav Niebuhr is an associate professor of religion and the media at Syracuse University, author of "Beyond Tolerance: How People Across America Are Building Bridges Between Faiths," and a member of the Auburn Board of Directors. Both are On Faith panelists.)

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