by Dexter Van Zile, Christian media Analyst, CAMERA -boston
New English Review
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Is there something about Muslim expressions of hostility toward Jews in the Middle East that echoes in the minds of Israel’s Christian critics in the U.S.?
Is there something about Muslim anti-Semitism that dovetails with Christian anti-Semitism?
Is that why they find anti-Semitic incitement so unremarkable? Is that why they have remained bystanders to the problem of anti-Semitism in the Middle East and Europe?
It has been approximately five days since five Israelis, including a three-month old baby, were murdered in their homes in Itamar. No one has any real doubts that the attack was perpetrated by Palestinian terrorists despite a denial from Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Malki who, according to Haaretz…
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said no Palestinian had ever murdered an infant or civilians in such a manner, either for nationalist causes or in revenge, “which raises doubts regarding Israel’s haste to accuse the Palestinians.”
Even Haaretz isn’t buying this.
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Malki seems to have forgotten the dozens of attacks carried out by Palestinian terrorists – intent on killing children, women and old people. In November 2002, Sirhan Sirhan entered a house in Kibbutz Metzer and murdered a mother and her two children, aged 4 and 5, after killing another man and woman. This is just one example of several.
Given the horrific details of the murder, it would seem reasonable that the churches in the U.S. that were so quick to condemn Israel in the past few years as it responded to attacks on its citizens from Gaza and Lebanon and during the Second Intifada would offer a word of condemnation of this most recent attack itself. The killer (or killers) slit a little baby’s throat.
Yes, the tragedy in Japan has attracted a lot of attention and justifiably so. But in light of the manner in which mainline churches in the U.S. have directed so much of their attention to the Arab-Israeli conflict in recent years – with most of their criticism directed at Israel – a word of comfort on behalf of the Israeli victims and a word of admonition to Palestinian leaders would seem obligatory.
Snapshots readers know where this is headed.
As of this writing (the morning of March 16, 2011), it appears that the five mainline churches that could usually be counted on to condemn Israel have said nothing about the attack. The websites of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the United Methodist Church and the Episcopal Church have no reference to the attack at all. This morning, plugging “Itamar” into the search engine of the UMC’s website yielded a link to a Jerusalem Post article about how Palestinian officials have attempted to blame foreign workers for the murders, but otherwise, nothing.
And as of this writing, there’s no reference to it on the World Council of Churches website, nor is there any mention of it on the website of the National Council of Churches.
To be sure, all of this could change with a few updates this afternoon, but the fact is, approximately five days out from the attack, nothing.
The one exception is Churches for Middle East Peace. CMEP responded to the attack with a statement, which in addition to condemning the attack itself cited Palestinian Prime Minister Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ belated condemnation of the attack. It also condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for announcing the construction of additional homes in the West Bank. Left unmentioned, however, is the problem of anti-Semitic incitement that has been an ongoing problem in Palestinian society for years.
The phrase “soft racism of low expectations” comes to mind. Why is it so difficult for would-be peacemakers to hold political, religious and intellectual elites in the Middle East accountable for the vicious slurs directed at Israel and Jews in the region? To be sure, when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad starts talking crazy, some leaders respond, but when it comes to condemn the day-in-and-day-out expressions of contempt for Jews particularly in Palestinian society, these churches are AWOL and have been for years.
Given the persistent failure of mainline Protestant churches and their allies in the Roman Catholic community to address this issue, it’s time to ask some very difficult questions.
Is there something about Muslim expressions of hostility toward Jews in the Middle East that echoes in the minds of Israel’s Christian critics in the U.S.?
Is there something about Muslim anti-Semitism that dovetails with Christian anti-Semitism?
Is that why they find anti-Semitic incitement so unremarkable? Is that why they have remained bystanders to the problem of anti-Semitism in the Middle East and Europe?
If Christians cannot talk bring themselves to speak forcefully about Muslim anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish incitement, can they truly claim to have overcome the problem of anti-Semitism in their own communities? In their own hearts?
If the CMEP and the churches it represents cannot bring themselves to forcefully condemn the anti-Semtic incitement as it exists in the Middle East, maybe these institutions are better off by remaining silent about the conflict altogether.
This is not an issue that would-be peacemakers can ignore.
Thanks for your blessing. Really!!
I do have one more question though: Out of the 15 dollars a week that you give ea week to charity, how much of it goes to missionary activities to the Jews?
See these clips!
Christian Zionists who seek to de-Judaize Israel
Jewish Evangelism in Israel – MUST see!
Purim, 5771
It is at least fifty years and running that the ‘mainline’ Protestant Churches have adopted the ‘theology’ of their international umbrella organization, the World Council of Churches, aet.1948:
strikingly,the same year as the birth of the State of Israel. The roots of this ideology in theological garb can be found in the Social Gospel of the inter-War period;its analysis sharpened in the post WWII years, by the 1960’s forming open alliance with Marxism in two loci utterly crucial to a Biblicaly faithful keeping of faith: the pulpit and the training colleges for Ministers. For the briefest period following WWII, the WCC and its cognate Churches via the NationalCCUSA, the CanadianCC,et al.were not opposed to Israel:but since, as the Reports of every WCC plenum, paralleled in the annual meetings and relevant reports of these respective denominations and their national umbrella organizations, have made clear and continue to make clear, that support was abandoned for a single-minded, destructive policy to destabilize Israel, summoning the weapons of choice- double-standards, delegitimization and,in strictly spiritual terms most seriously of all, demonization.
Tp cite only the examples of the Methodists and TEC in the USA casts not a wide enough net.The Presidential Incumbent’s Congregation and Preacher are not to be forgotten. There are more. Nor does appealing to the faithful offices of Pastor Hagee’s CUFI address this force, as addressed it must be: as the pervasive as pernicious influence it wields in the larger, global enterprise to destroy the Jewish State. Nor does this even begin to reference that other major source of similar activity: The Roman Catholic Church, which, on this point singularly holds common ground with its Protestant cohorts, in their alliance with Islamic and Arabic Christianity: Islamic and Arabic first and last. The obvious consequences of this became all too evident at the Vaticn’s Synod of ME Bishops (the first convened by Paul VI on the heels of Israel’s G-D-given Victory in 1967) last fall in which the Biblical theology re. Israel and the Covenants of The Land, as taught and observed by CUFI et al., was demonized as “toxic”. The counter-offensive is to expose this in its now hydra-headed form for what it is:just as has happened in Canada with the overdue defunding of the specious “faith-based” Kairos.
In either its Protestant or RC form, this force does NOT represent true Christianity: neither the true faith nor, even more to the point, its true Founder.
One blesses Y’sra’el with the words of their mouth, calling on the Name of HaShem Elohim, to provide for her in all her needs and desires, for, indeed, she is the Apple of His Eye, with whom He has made the everlasting and unbreakable covenant of marriage. Even though backslidden, He continues to bless Y’sra’el and so do we born-again Christians. We also bless Y’sra’el with our substance: I am part of a Church which has been blessing Ithamar with financial blessings for longer than I can remember. It may not be much, but I, personally, give $15 USD EVERY week, through my church which forwards to Itamar periodically. We are in agreement with Christian Friends of Israeli Communities, and Christians United for Israel, and host nights “to honor Israel,” where collections are also forwarded to Y’sra’el. Does this add to your knowledge base somewhat, Yamit82? Hope so. Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu, Melek HaOlam: (I hope I have reasonably transliterated…) May He bless you, Yamit82, beyond your imagination and overflowing your ability to contain… b’Shem Y’shau, Meshiach sheleinu.
Just curious Linda, How do you bless the people of Israel? I mean how does your blessing manifest itself?
I’ll comment for you Ted Belman. And I’m one of those people, a ‘born-again’ Christian, a child of the most high God, and a member of The Church, that is the Body of Christ, who you advised at one time to not make comments because you hate us. Israel is the apple of God’s eye, His Chosen People and when we Bless the people of Israel we are Blessed. This massacre was initiated by the devil himself, who unfortunately is allowed access into the Palestinian religion and is here to steal, kill and destroy. The complete ugliness of this demonic act manifests itself repeatedly followed by even more ugliness of celebrating these deaths. Maybe instead of asking the so called ‘mainline’ churches to comment why don’t you try Pastor John Hagee head of Christians United for Israel?
These are churches that are extraordinarily out-of-touch with the foundation of their religion – the Bible. It’s perhaps not so surprising that they are also out of sync with it’s attitude toward God’s chosen people.
I wouldn’t trust the Methodist or Episcopal church as far as I could throw them. The Episcopal church supports queer marriage and queer clergy and is therefore an apostate so why would anyone be surprised at the Episcopal Church’s willingness to depart from biblical views and commands towards Israel? Both the Lutheran and Episcopal church are defectors from the Catholic church which adheres to supersessionism so no one should be surprised that the Episcopal or Lutheran church have retained the erroneous Replacement theology of their parent church. Alot of modern anti-zionists seem to be coming out of the Methodist church.