Comments of Dexter Van Zile of Judeo-Christian Alliance on Sabeel Conference in Toronto
Comments of Dexter Van Zile of Judeo-Christian Alliance on Sabeel Conference in Toronto
The following is a statement issued by Dexter Van Zile of the Boston-based David project Judeo-Christian Alliance at a Press Conference convened on Thursday, October 27th by B’nai Brith Canada to discuss the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center Conference in Toronto. Mr. Van Zile was one of several pro-Israel Christian activist speakers at the B'nai Brith press conference warning against Israel divestment. He is a member of the United Church of Christ (UCC).
Statement of Dexter Van Zile, director Judeo-Christian Alliance
Yesterday a homicide bomber blew himself up in a market in Hadera, a village north of Tel Aviv killing 5, injuring 30, 7 critically. One witness who lived approximately 300 feet from the blast said, "Body parts reached all the way to my apartment building. The damage is really great."
Israel deals with the threats of attacks like this every day. For every successful attack against Israel, the Israeli Defense Forces thwart 33 similar attempts. Nevertheless, this past summer, the United Church of Christ and The Disciples of Christ, two churches in the U.S. who take their cues from Sabeel, passed resolutions asking Israel to take down the security barrier without asking the Palestinians to stop the attacks that made its construction necessary.
These resolutions detail in ferocious specificity the inconvenience suffered by Palestinians but make no reference whatsoever to the loss of Israeli lives, or for that matter the loss of Palestinian lives during the 5 year Intifada which began in 2000. In these resolutions, the churches portray the barrier as if it were built in a vacuum and not in response to hundreds of attacks like the one that took place yesterday.
This is no accident. This is the result of a persistent campaign on the part of Sabeel and its supporters in the United States, Canada, Europe, and specifically the United Kingdom, to encourage churches to blame Israel and only Israel for the tragedy of the conflict and to ignore problems in Palestinian society that threaten Jewish safety and undermine the human rights of people living in the disputed territories.
This agenda is obvious in the resolutions passed by the Disciples of Christ and the United Church of Christ which fail to acknowledge Israel's attempts to negotiate with the Palestinians in the pursuit
of peace. Say what you want about [former Israeli Prime Minister] Ehud Barak's offer in 2000, but one fact is indisputable, Yasser Arafat walked away from negotiations without making a counter offer.
These resolutions fail to acknowledge the role Palestinian leaders have played in promoting violence against Israelis. Muslim sheiks routinely call for the death of Jews on Palestinian TV. But the resolutions say nothing about this incitement, even as these same churches call for an end to hostile rhetoric against gays and lesbians and resolutions approved at the very same synods that passed the anti-barrier resolutions.
The resolutions fail to acknowledge Israeli efforts to reduce the impact of a security barrier on the Palestinians. The Israeli peace movement has protested the impact of the barrier on Palestinians and in some instances has helped change its location. And moreover, these resolutions fail to acknowledge the reduction in attacks the fences had and the breathing space that this reduction has had for the peace movement in Israel.
The resolutions fail to acknowledge the continued violence against Israel during a putative cease fire. During the first 7 months of 2005, Palestinian terrorists killed 21 Israelis and injured another 238. Haaretz reported that during more than 6 of these months a truce had been declared by the Palestinian authority and terra groups in the disputed territories. But in July alone, there were 436 terrorist incidents, including 142 mortar shell attacks. The security barrier is the result not the cause of attacks like these.
These resolutions ignore the existence of an infrastructure of terror in areas under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority.
Suicide bombers are isolated from their families by skilled handlers, brainwashed and in some instances shamed into killing themselves and Israelis. Sadly, the people who engage in this behavior receive no rebuke in the resolutions passed by the United Church of Christ or
the Disciples of Christ. These failures can only be explained by ignorance or anti-Jewish hostility.
Sabeel encourages both.
The speakers at Sabeel conferences portray Israeli defense policy as if it were created in a vacuum, offering no description of the terror Israel faces. And they present Israelis themselves as disobedient Jews who fail to adhere to Judaism's higher values. And sadly there are many in our churches who are willing to ratify Sabeel's narrative by passing resolutions that condemn Israel's security barrier.
What is it about this security barrier that makes it worthy of condemnation? What motivates this selective concern? What makes this fence different from the one built between India and Pakistan on disputed territory no less? And the one between Indonesia and Malaysia? Or the one between Kurdistan and Uzbekistan, built in response to terror attacks? Our churches have said nothing about these barriers.
Churches in the U.S. have an obligation to tell the Palestinians that they have a choice between open borders and terror attacks. But instead they have allowed their prophetic voices to be used as a weapon of war against the Jews.
Posted by Jerry Gordon at October 29, 2005 08:53 PM
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1
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Ted Belman
said:
Dexter this is a great article. Keep up the good work.
Posted by: Ted Belman on October 29, 2005 09:59 PM
2
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georg von mecklenburg
said:
You can hardly blame those Christian denominations who acted int the manner that they did. There is little to no publicity or public relations concerning the effects that the Intifada has had on Israel, now or in the past.
Most Israelis appear to have a stick up their proverbial ass and refuse to state the obvious...that they are under attack 24 hours a day. Somehow the Public Relations department of Israel Inc. has gone to sleep and still slumbers.
Unless the Israelis wake up and start telling the truth as to what the Palestinians are doing each and every day, the world will always be at odds with Israel and Jewish pursuits in the Holy Land.
Take a peek every so often at the US left wing web sites that condemn Israel at every turn, then look at the Palestinian and Arab/Moslem sites as well. See how slick and well organized these people are. No wonder why so many people world wide are so enamored with them.
Posted by: georg von mecklenburg on October 30, 2005 07:54 AM
Comments of Dexter Van Zile of Judeo-Christian Alliance on Sabeel Conference in Toronto
The following is a statement issued by Dexter Van Zile of the Boston-based David project Judeo-Christian Alliance at a Press Conference convened on Thursday, October 27th by B’nai Brith Canada to discuss the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center Conference in Toronto. Mr. Van Zile was one of several pro-Israel Christian activist speakers at the B'nai Brith press conference warning against Israel divestment. He is a member of the United Church of Christ (UCC).
Statement of Dexter Van Zile, director Judeo-Christian Alliance
Yesterday a homicide bomber blew himself up in a market in Hadera, a village north of Tel Aviv killing 5, injuring 30, 7 critically. One witness who lived approximately 300 feet from the blast said, "Body parts reached all the way to my apartment building. The damage is really great."
Israel deals with the threats of attacks like this every day. For every successful attack against Israel, the Israeli Defense Forces thwart 33 similar attempts. Nevertheless, this past summer, the United Church of Christ and The Disciples of Christ, two churches in the U.S. who take their cues from Sabeel, passed resolutions asking Israel to take down the security barrier without asking the Palestinians to stop the attacks that made its construction necessary.
These resolutions detail in ferocious specificity the inconvenience suffered by Palestinians but make no reference whatsoever to the loss of Israeli lives, or for that matter the loss of Palestinian lives during the 5 year Intifada which began in 2000. In these resolutions, the churches portray the barrier as if it were built in a vacuum and not in response to hundreds of attacks like the one that took place yesterday.
This is no accident. This is the result of a persistent campaign on the part of Sabeel and its supporters in the United States, Canada, Europe, and specifically the United Kingdom, to encourage churches to blame Israel and only Israel for the tragedy of the conflict and to ignore problems in Palestinian society that threaten Jewish safety and undermine the human rights of people living in the disputed territories.
This agenda is obvious in the resolutions passed by the Disciples of Christ and the United Church of Christ which fail to acknowledge Israel's attempts to negotiate with the Palestinians in the pursuit
of peace. Say what you want about [former Israeli Prime Minister] Ehud Barak's offer in 2000, but one fact is indisputable, Yasser Arafat walked away from negotiations without making a counter offer.
These resolutions fail to acknowledge the role Palestinian leaders have played in promoting violence against Israelis. Muslim sheiks routinely call for the death of Jews on Palestinian TV. But the resolutions say nothing about this incitement, even as these same churches call for an end to hostile rhetoric against gays and lesbians and resolutions approved at the very same synods that passed the anti-barrier resolutions.
The resolutions fail to acknowledge Israeli efforts to reduce the impact of a security barrier on the Palestinians. The Israeli peace movement has protested the impact of the barrier on Palestinians and in some instances has helped change its location. And moreover, these resolutions fail to acknowledge the reduction in attacks the fences had and the breathing space that this reduction has had for the peace movement in Israel.
The resolutions fail to acknowledge the continued violence against Israel during a putative cease fire. During the first 7 months of 2005, Palestinian terrorists killed 21 Israelis and injured another 238. Haaretz reported that during more than 6 of these months a truce had been declared by the Palestinian authority and terra groups in the disputed territories. But in July alone, there were 436 terrorist incidents, including 142 mortar shell attacks. The security barrier is the result not the cause of attacks like these.
These resolutions ignore the existence of an infrastructure of terror in areas under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority.
Suicide bombers are isolated from their families by skilled handlers, brainwashed and in some instances shamed into killing themselves and Israelis. Sadly, the people who engage in this behavior receive no rebuke in the resolutions passed by the United Church of Christ or
the Disciples of Christ. These failures can only be explained by ignorance or anti-Jewish hostility.
Sabeel encourages both.
The speakers at Sabeel conferences portray Israeli defense policy as if it were created in a vacuum, offering no description of the terror Israel faces. And they present Israelis themselves as disobedient Jews who fail to adhere to Judaism's higher values. And sadly there are many in our churches who are willing to ratify Sabeel's narrative by passing resolutions that condemn Israel's security barrier.
What is it about this security barrier that makes it worthy of condemnation? What motivates this selective concern? What makes this fence different from the one built between India and Pakistan on disputed territory no less? And the one between Indonesia and Malaysia? Or the one between Kurdistan and Uzbekistan, built in response to terror attacks? Our churches have said nothing about these barriers.
Churches in the U.S. have an obligation to tell the Palestinians that they have a choice between open borders and terror attacks. But instead they have allowed their prophetic voices to be used as a weapon of war against the Jews.
Posted by Jerry Gordon at October 29, 2005 08:53 PM