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

Presbyterian employees, members of national committees, agencies, and networks of the PC(USA) do not speak for the PC(USA). The PC(USA) is not responsible for their statements.

This refrain and its variants have been offered many times in response to controversial actions and statements of Presbyterian officials and groups. For example, this was the most common framing given to various Presbyterian delegations' visits with Hezbollah - which usually resulted in widely reported Presbyterian flatteries of Hezbollah.

More recently, this rationalization has been applied to the activities of the Israel Palestine Mission Network of the PC(USA).

It has occurred on more than one occasion that the IPMN posted information on its website or issued statements that conflicted with "official PC(USA) policy". Most recently, in a letter - provided to commissioners to this General Assembly - the IPMN falsely accused unnamed American Jewish organizations of sending a bomb to PC(USA) headquarters and setting fire to a Presbyterian church as part of a concerted effort to censor Presbyterian speech on Israel and Palestine. Also in this letter, the IPMN argues that a "worldwide increase in anti-Jewish rhetoric and actions" is a reaction to Israeli policies, and objects to the concept of a Jewish state.

Rev. Victor Makari, Office for the Middle East, General Assembly Mission Council, responded to a reporter (by email) on this matter:

Clearly this is a moral fiction. The Israel Palestine Mission Network of the PC(USA) was created by an action of the 216th General Assembly. The IPMN has a PC(USA) staff adviser - though he insists his role is informal. The PC(USA) collects money for the IPMN. The PC(USA) distributes IPMN materials to its congregations.

In the case of the IPMN, this is also a legal fiction. The Israel Palestine Mission Network is not a stand alone entity; it operates under the non-profit status of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Under IRS rules, a charity (in this case, the PC(USA)) that allows a program (like the IPMN) to operate in this fashion must have complete discretion and control over any funds given to the charity for expenditure by that program, and it must ensure that the program furthers the charity's tax-exempt purposes.

The bottom line here is that the PC(USA) IS BOTH LEGALLY AND MORALLY responsible for the actions and statements of the Israel Palestine Mission Network. Ultimately, whether or not Presbyterian officials want to publicly claim the relationship, when the IPMN speaks, it does so with the approval of the PC(USA).

Will Spotts