The following, by Will Spotts, is crossposted from The PC(USA) on Israel and Palestine.]

The debate on Middle East issues in the PC(USA) is surrounded by several fictions.

I do not mean the fictitious details of the actual Israeli / Palestinian conflict. There are, frankly, so many pieces of disinformation, glaring omissions, unfairly framed items, and disputed claims that sifting through them all would be prohibitive. More accurately, to even get an approximation of the truth of the conflict would be the work of many months or years. That is just the nature of the beast.

Instead, I refer to the claims that surround the actual debate. Some of these are specific to the situation in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) while others concern much wider activism. Some are dangerously flawed assumptions, while others are mis-statements of fact. What they have in common is that all are false.

Whether or not the people who spread these fictions believe them to be true is both and unknown and beside the point. Sincerity or dishonesty on their part makes little difference. More to the point is the fact that we - and commissioners to the PC(USA)'s 219th General Assembly - need to examine these more closely. We need to see the role they play in the debate, and, at least on a couple of them, we need to seriously analyze their merits.

This is, of course, only a very truncated list, but these items are either explicitly stated or logically necessary undercurrents in the conduct of PC(USA) officials, the Middle East Study Committee (MESC), the Israel Palestine Mission Network (IPMN), the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP), the Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (CMRTI), and many Presbyterians.

Fiction #1: Various entities of the PC(USA) (most particularly Networks) are "autonomous grassroots organizations made up of Presbyterians", and therefore, the PC(USA) is not responsible for their activities.

Fiction #2: If you want to say something offensive about Israel or the Jewish community, find a Jewish person who is saying it and quote him. That way you are absolved of all responsibility for the offense, and you couldn't possibly be an anti-Jewish bigot.

Fiction #3: Divestment from Caterpillar is an example of Christian integrity.

Fiction #4: Unfairness and imbalance in PC(USA) policy on Israel and Palestine is justifiable because the imbalance of power favoring the Israelis actually negates the possibility of being unfair toward Israelis.

Fiction #5: It is better to take fallible (or naive, or foolish, or actively harmful) actions than to refrain from doing so.

Fiction #6: Any increase in antisemitism in the world is a natural result of Israeli actions.

Fiction #7: Antisemitism no longer exists; it is a problem of the past that affects Israelis and Jews as a "psycho-trauma", but it poses no serious threat today.

These fictions are either presented, implied, or assumed in order to sell commissioners and Presbyterians on the recommendations of the MESC, and many other institutional Presbyterian initiatives - or to cover for some of the more outrageous statements offered by some Presbyterian officials and groups. They serve mostly to muddy the waters and to foster the illusion that commissioners are somehow discerning the leading of the Holy Spirit - which, quite obviously supports the desired anti-Israel actions of these individuals and groups. Many Presbyterians do not consider the issue important enough to truly explore, but they may easily be lulled into accepting recommendations that make them imagine they have, without the work, acted fairly and wisely. Let the buyer beware.

Will Spotts