07 August 2012
By Stuart Littlewood
Why is
the United Methodist Church apparently making such
heavy weather of voting for divestment from corporates
– specifically Caterpillar, Motorola and
Hewlett-Packard - that profiteer from the brutal
Israeli occupation of Palestine?
Americans
can surely learn from their British brethren who
blazed a trail through this minefield at their annual
conference nearly two years ago. They voted to
boycott products from Israeli settlements in Occupied
Palestine, regarded as illegal under international
law, and to encourage Methodists across the country to
do the same.
Been
there, done that
Their
action answered a call from Palestinian Christians, a
growing number of Jewish organisations both inside
Israel and worldwide, and the World Council of
Churches.
Christine
Elliott, Secretary for External Relationships,
explained: "The goal of the boycott is to put an end
to the existing injustice. It reflects the challenge
that settlements present to a lasting peace in the
region."
Yes, they
got some flak. Right on cue, the Board of Deputies of
British Jews blew a fuse. In a joint statement with
the Jewish Leadership Council they said the Methodists
should "hang their heads in shame". The Chief Rabbi
led the charge warning that the implications would
"reverberate across the hitherto harmonious
relationship between the faith communities in the UK".
Ah, those
precious inter-faith relationships... The truth is,
Israeli Jews simply don't do "harmonious relationship"
out there in the Occupied Territories. Terror,
oppression and dispossession are more their style.
What
upset the Chief Rabbi most was the report 'Justice
for
Palestine
and Israel'
submitted
to the Methodist Conference. Its recommendations
included the following...
"In
listening to Church Leaders and our fellow-Christians
in Israel Palestine as well as leaders of Palestinian
civil society we hear an increasing consensus calling
for the imposition of boycott, divestment and
sanctions as a major strategy of non-violent
resistance to the Occupation. The Conference notes the
call of the WCC [World Council of Churches] in 2009
for an ‘international boycott of settlement produce
and services' and calls on the Methodist people to
support and engage with this boycott of Israeli goods
emanating from illegal settlements (some Methodists
would advocate a total boycott of Israeli goods until
the Occupation ends)."
It also
said that the Methodist Church had consistently
expressed its concern over the illegal Occupation of
Palestinian lands by the State of Israel, and that its
continuation not only compounded Israel's illegal and
immoral action but also made any accommodation with
the Palestinian people and future peace in the region
less likely.
The Chief
Rabbi declared the report "unbalanced, factually and
historically flawed" without saying in what way it was
inaccurate. The Board of Deputies and the Jewish
Leadership Council said the authors of the report had
"abused the goodwill of the Jewish community". Here is
their full text:
"This is
a very sad day, both for Jewish-Methodist relations
and for everyone who wants to see positive engagement
with the complex issues of Israeli-Palestinian
relations. The Methodist Conference has swallowed
hook, line and sinker a report full of basic
historical inaccuracies, deliberate misrepresentations
and distortions of Jewish theology and Israeli policy.
The deeply flawed report is symptomatic of a biased
process: The working group which wrote the report had
already formed its conclusions at the outset. External
readers were brought in to give the process a veneer
of impartiality, but their criticisms were rejected.
The report's authors have abused the trust of ordinary
members of the Methodist Church, who assumed that they
were reading and voting on an impartial and
comprehensive paper, and they have abused the goodwill
of the Jewish community, which tried to engage with
this issue, only to find that our efforts were treated
as an unwelcome distraction.
"This
outcome is extremely serious and damaging, as we and
others have explained repeatedly over recent weeks.
Israel is at the root of the identity of Jews and of
Judaism, and as an expression of Jewish spiritual,
national and emotional aspirations, Zionism cannot
simply be ruled as illegitimate in the way that the
Methodist Conference has purported to do. This smacks
of breathtaking insensitivity, as crass as it is
misinformed. That this position should now form the
basis of Methodist Church policy should cause the
Conference to hang its head in shame, just as surely
as it will cause the enemies of peace and
reconciliation to cheer from the sidelines."
If Israel
is at the root of their identity you'd think they'd
demand from the regime the sort of conduct that
projected a better image. For 46 years the "goodwill"
of the Jewish community has counted for nothing in
securing justice for the Palestinians and bringing to
an end their misery at the hands of the State if
Israel. Who are they to talk of "breathtaking
insensitivity"?
If
arrogance is the only response to serious concerns
about Israel's barbarity towards Muslims and
Christians in the Holy Land, perhaps it's time that
implications did indeed "reverberate" across the faith
communities, not only in the UK but around the world
including (and especially) the US.
Infiltrators avidly support
"unrighteous nation" of Israel
It's no
surprise to hear that the United Methodists, and even
their legislative body, have been infiltrated by
Zionists. They should expect it and be ready to throw
them out.
Over here
the grit in the Methodists' vaseline call themselves
Methodist Friends of Israel. "We are Christians who
are members or adherents of the Methodist Church, who
love Israel and want to bless her and who fully accept
God's everlasting covenant with His chosen people,"
they say. "While recognising that the nation of Israel
is, like all nations of the world, an unrighteous
nation that does not always get things right, we
firmly stand with her at all times and continue to
support her in an increasingly hostile world. We will
not turn our backs as so many did in the 1930s.
"We see
that anti Semitism is on the rise throughout the world
with synagogues and graveyards vandalised and Jews
being attacked both verbally and physically and that
there appears to be a direct relationship between the
increased attacks on Jews and the blanket condemnation
of Israel by the media, many charitable organizations
and world bodies such as the UN. We are concerned that
the whole, true picture of what life is like in Israel
is given to the world rather than the biased half
truths, distortions and lies that are presently
reported.
"We are
concerned that many churches are going down the
politically correct line of condemning Israel's
policies and are thus contributing to the strong anti
Semitic views of the world."
Note that
they are concerned only with "what life is like in
Israel", not the hell Israel has created in the
Occupied Territories for Christian and Muslim
Palestinians. They blame others for rising anti-semitic
sentiment and fail to see that the lawless thuggery of
the Israeli regime is the problem.
What else
do these deviant Methodists believe in?
They
believe the Scripture prophesy restoring the Jews to
the land of Israel. What we see today is a fulfilment
of the prophecy and it is a privilege to witness this
fulfillment.
They
believe Israel is central in the enactment of God's
purposes as we move in these "last days".
They
believe in blessing Israel however possible
including buying goods and produce from
Israel
and resisting all calls for boycotts.
They
believe in supporting Israel's defence of its people
and their right to live without the threat of missile
attacks, homicide bombings etc.
They
believe in standing against libelous attacks against
Israel.
They
believe in fully supporting Israel's right to the land
given them by God.
Needless
to say, the Methodist Friends of Israel website reads
like pages from some Zionist propaganda rag. At this
very moment they are running a tour of Israel. Of
Israel, mark you, not Palestine. What sort of view of
the Holy Land will that give their pilgrims?
Enough of this inter-faith lah-di-dah?
Having
taken their bold decision at the conference and
bravely flown through the flak, UK Methodists let
themselves down somewhat by turning wimpish. They
began trying to mend fences with the Board of Deputies
of British Jews.
Why
bother, one is tempted to ask. Why demean themselves?
Have the Board of Deputies ever condemned or punished
the Israeli regime's crimes against humanity?
Until
they do, let them stew.
Nevertheless the President of the Methodist Conference
wrote to the Board of Deputies and the President of
the Board of Deputies, we're told, welcomed the
opportunity for a constructive conversation. They
explored in particular, said a statement, the need to
clarify the use of specific words and phrases such as
Zionism and Christian Zionism. And they expressed
their gratitude for the support given by the Council
of Christians and Jews.
So
they're friends again and all's well that ends well.
Which must be gratifying for Palestinians as they
continue to starve under the jackboot and fry or be
parted from their limbs under almost daily
air-strikes.
It's not
good enough. True Christians everywhere - not just the
Methodists - need to stiffen the sinew and toughen up.
Why continue this inter-faith lah-di-dah with
religious delinquents? Decent and sensible people from
all faiths get along just fine without help from
religious busybodies and loudmouths.
But if
the irredeemable hardcore are determined to stir up
"reverberations" they are of course free to do so,
within the limits of the law.
Stuart
Littlewood's book Radio Free Palestine can now be read
on the internet by visiting
www.radiofreepalestine.org.uk. Comments 💬 التعليقات |