Tuesday, May 10, 2005
It's difficult to take the claims of the Presbyterian Church (USA) seriously - that their goal is a "selective, phased divestment" solely against the occupation and that they respect the right of Israel to exist in security - when the people they associate with, the people they invite to indoctrinate educate their congregants, and the people who support their efforts clearly have far more in mind.
Case in point, this event (sent in email):
Benefit performance
Dave Lippman's 2004 visit to Palestine and Israel resulted in a multimedia piece, "Star of Goliath," which encapsulates modern Holy Land history and imperial machinations, with attention to varying Jewish views on Israel and the struggle for Palestinian survival and sovereignty.
Songs, slides and sounds to open hearts and minds.
Friday May 13th @ 7:30 pm
Church of Reconciliation
110 N Elliott Rd, Chapel Hill, 27514
This announcement was sent on the al Awda email list - al Awda being one of those groups for the destruction of Israel apparently by any means necessary, about a performance by a guy who clearly believes Israel's creation was a mistake and travelled there to return with not a word of criticism for the massive hate indoctrination he surely must have witnessed, to be held at a Presbytery who's pastor, I am told, was one of the backers of and speakers at the anti-Israel/anti-Semitic PSM hatefest held at Duke last Fall.
It's hard to take the PC(USA)'s modest sounding goals seriously, when their real goals keep bobbing to the surface. That's not to say that every person who supports the PC(USA)'s divestment goals, or even the AUT's boycott of Israeli Universities, also supports the destruction of the State. It's just that if they'd occasionally look to their left, and look to their right, and see who they're walking in step with, they'd see that they're being used for cover by some very bad actors.
The same is true of membership in End the Occupation. www.endtheoccupation.org
The PC(USA) joined this group without any official authority by the unilateral decision of the Washington Office.
A quick look at the fellow members will several other mainline churchs -- but also a third are either Al Awda, International Solidarity Movement, or individual groups that advocate violence and/or the destruction of Israel.
With few exceptions, PC(USA) supporters of divestment don't consciously advocate these things, but by making common cause with these groups, they're being helped in their objectives.