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

[I believe most Presbyterians want a policy on Israel and Palestine that is both fair and helpful. I suspect many are not that familiar with the issues of the conflict, and fewer are aware of the current state of activism. I believe most Presbyterians want information on the Middle East that is accurate and not one-sided. I believe most Presbyterians are concerned for Palestinians - but also for Israelis. I believe most Presbyterians want to avoid unfairness, bias, and the anti-Jewish themes in PC(USA) statements and actions. And I believe most Presbyterians would be disappointed with the details (as opposed to the sound bytes) of the business coming before this General Assembly. This is my impression; if it is not the case, then so be it. You cannot force fairness and accuracy on Presbyterians, but if it is their desire, then commissioners have a responsibility to at least attempt it.

The following recommendations are intended to serve that goal.]

Committee 08 Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations

· Approve Section C of item 08-03 "Christians and Jews: the People of God"

• This section of the paper indicates that Christian antisemitism is an ongoing problem and not a relic of history.
• This section discusses and rejects a number of ways in which pro-Palestinian church activism often makes use of antisemitic themes.

· Disapprove item 08-09 "On Referring "Christians and Jews: People of God" and "Understanding Christian-Muslim Relations""

• If you decide to refer the paper for revision, specify the exact nature and scope of the revision desired and the parties to be involved. (Office of Theology and Worship, Office of Interfaith Relations, Office of Evangelism)
• In no event follow the overture from the Presbytery of San Francisco - its appended letter illustrates why. [This, at this moment, contains a reprehensible slander of American Jewish organizations that illustrates the attitudes and preconceptions of its authors.]
• If you choose to refer the paper for revision, make explicitly clear that this revision is not the revision sought by the overture from San Francisco Presbytery.

Committee 9 Mission Coordination

· Approve 09-03 "On Amending the Process for Forming Social Witness Policy" [Would require that "all social witness policy and resolutions ... be sent to all presbyteries for study, discussion, and comment back to the ACSWP prior to the General Assembly that is to act on the policy or resolution.]

• This policy change would help bring the national organization more into line with the beliefs and convictions of Presbyterians.
• This policy change would slow down the pace of new social witness policy and resolutions - giving presbyters and members time to more carefully consider the issue.

Committee 11 Social Justice Issues B: the Exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the World

· Disapprove item 11-04 "Human Rights Update 2010" [Report by the ACSWP]

• In this report the ACSWP failed to follow the explicit directions of the 2008 GA - "Identify Violations of the Civil Rights of Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the United States and Other Areas of the World, Along with Other Incidents of Violation of Religious Freedoms, as Part of the Regular Human Rights Report to the General Assembly."

• The ACSWP did not complete the required task but still submitted a report.
• That report found Israeli Jews alone (in all the world) to be committing violations of religious freedoms worthy of specific Presbyterian attention.
• This report found Muslims and Christians to be the only victims of such discrimination worthy of Presbyterian support

Committee 14 Middle East Peacemaking Issues

· Disapprove item 14-01 "On Divestment from Caterpillar Inc." and answer with 14-06

· Disapprove item 14-02 "On Divestment from Caterpillar, Inc." and answer with 14-06

· Disapprove item 14-03 "MRTI Report of its Engagement" and answer with 14-06 [The MRTI recommendation is to denounce CAT rather than to divest from CAT.]

• Because it falls under a larger, state-sponsored boycott movement, it would likely violate US law for CAT to refuse to sell to Israel. The PC(USA) would end up either divesting from or denouncing a company for NOT breaking US law.
• There is no information to show that CAT is unique even among PC(USA) investments - in terms of either the uses of its products or its corporate policies that merits being singled out.
• CAT was selected for maximum publicity value. It is theater, not moral investing. CAT is a target of a wide campaign of BDS - BECAUSE it can't legally comply, and therefore provides regular publicity.
• The opposition to Caterpillar is expressly related to the divestment initiative from apartheid South Africa. It intentionally communicates an equivalency between the two situations.
• The MRTI and the presbyteries have not looked at most other companies' products used in Israel and the occupied territories. For example, the MESC report includes a photo of a bulldozer being used, apparently, for some nefarious purpose. (It is listed as an Israeli army bulldozer at work destroying crops.) Look closely at the photo. It is a Volvo.

· Disapprove item 14-04 "On Recognition that Israel's Laws, Policies, and Practices Constitute Apartheid Against the Palestinian People" and answer with 14-06

• Creates an equivalency where none exists. It ignores the history of the conflict. It fails to acknowledge the reasons for many Israeli policies to which we might object. It makes it appear that these occur in a vacuum - growing out of the evil nature of Jewish Israelis.
• It seeks to elevate Israel to the status of uniquely odious - making it a criminal state and a chief human rights abuser.
• It is about placing one-sided blame.

· Disapprove item 14-05 "On Commending "A Moment of Truth: A Word of Faith and Hope from the Heart of Palestinian Suffering" as an Advocacy Tool" and answer with 14-06

• The Kairos document objects to the existence of the Jewish State. (It may allow for some state, perhaps called Israel. But it rejects Israel as a Jewish state.)
• It is patterned after a "Kairos" document used to challenge apartheid. Once again, the PC(USA) is being asked to assert equivalency between Israel and apartheid South Africa.
• It falsely suggests that the "occupation" is the source of violence against Jewish Israelis - ignoring most of the history of violence that predates the 1967 occupation, and the history of violence that predates the creation of the State of Israel.
• It goes on to suggest that if Israel ends the occupation, they will "see a new world in which there is no fear, no threat but rather security, justice and peace." This absurd contention ignores the charters of Hamas and Hezbollah - and even the historic statements of the PA.
• It calls for boycott, divestment, and sanctions.

· Approve item 14-06 "On Middle East Peacemaking"

• Unlike all other overtures and business items, this is a call to resist unilateral support for one side.
• It would instruct the GAMC "to ensure that staff, council members, entities, affiliated organizations, and networks abide by these directives." This is a pro-active measure that recognizes the contradictory policies of the last 2 GA's.

· Disapprove item 14-08 ""Breaking Down the Walls"--From the Middle East Study Committee"; thank the committee for its work; and answer with 14-06

• 7 of 9 original committee members were known to publicly support one side and oppose the other before even beginning their study. At least 75% of the committee's contacts presented a pro-Palestinian narrative only. They heard from very few persons who presented a pro-Israel narrative.
• The recommendations in this report are entirely hostile to Israel.
• The history provided in this report is notable for its one-sidedness and its glaring omissions.
• The report quotes (seemingly favorably) an activist describing Israel acting as a nazi state, bemoans "how viciously attacked any truth-tellers are by majority voices in the American Jewish community", complains of the Israelis' "masterful manipulation of the U.S. political process", finds it "painful" that "the clock cannot be turned back to 1948", insists the Jewish state was created to "assuage the guilt of Western Christianity", and describes "the 1948 invasion of Palestine by Israeli soldiers." A committee with these biases cannot hope to attain a fair, just, or moral result. Its members' statements border on hate speech, and its characterizations of the conflict are extraordinarily one-sided.
• The opening affirmations are harmful because they call on the GA to affirm things like the principle of universal jurisdiction - with which many commissioners will be unfamiliar. That principle has been altered from its historic use in recent years to launch numerous politically motivated trials of Israeli government officials in various countries.

· Disapprove item 14-09 "On Seeking Compliance to U.S. Government Policy in the Use of Military Aid by All Parties in the Middle East." and answer with 14-06

• On its surface the title of this overture tips its hat toward balanced treatment. However, it is immediately clear - even to a cursory reader - that the title is, at best, a polite fiction. This overture has one purpose, and only mentions a change in policy toward one party: Israel.

Committee 16 Theological Issues and Institutions

· Approve item 16-01 "On Commending Confessions that Uphold the Oneness of All Believers, and Discontinuing Efforts to Include the Belhar Confession in the Book of Confessions."

· Disapprove item 16-12 "Report of the Special Committee on the Belhar Confession." [This is a recommendation to include the Belhar Confession in the Book of Confessions]

• Regardless of its own merits, the Belhar Confession is currently being removed from its context and used to support a wide variety of mischief. This is particularly apparent in its application to Israel. Presbyteries - and many commissioners will be unaware of how the document is being used and judge it solely on its relationship to South Africa.

Will Spotts