Nevertheless, churches in the U.S. seem quite willing to lend their prophetic voices to Sabeel's agenda. This past summer, the United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ passed resolutions demanding that Israel take down the security fence it is building in Judea and Samaria without asking the Palestinians to stop the terror attacks that made it necessary. The resolution, written and passed with extensive input from Sabeel, does not ask Israel to move the barrier to its own land, but insists that it be taken down without any believable assurances the violence against Israelis will stop. This indifference to Israeli security demonstrates that in some quarters, the issue is not Israel's borders, but its mere existence.
Ateek's denial of Israel's right to exist is explicit. In 1989, Ateek wrote in Justice and Only Justice that it took him years "to accept the establishment of the state of Israel and its need—although not its right—to exist." The passage of time has not softened his stance. In a September 2005 meeting with Jewish leaders from the U.S., Ateek refused to back down from his denial of Israel's right to exist and even asserted that if the Jewish State had to have been created, it should not have been created in biblical lands after the Holocaust, but some place else – Munich for example. Not only is this contrary to international law, it is an insult to the idea of Jewish identity itself, which Ateek has worked to portray as a malevolent force that poses a threat greater than Islamic fundamentalism. For example in a 2001 Sermon, Ateek writes: “Our Old Testament mentions the dictum ‘love your neighbor as yourself. Unfortunately, in classical Judaism it has been narrowly defined as being limited to loving one’s own fellow Jew.”
This is tame compared to his other writings. In a 2001 Easter Message, Sabeel’s founder, Naim Ateek wrote that the “Israeli government crucifixion system is operating daily.” In a February 2001 sermon, Ateek compared Israeli officials to Herod (the baby killer). And his 2001 Easter message, Ateek likened the occupation to the stone blocking Christ's tomb. The implication is undeniable: Israel is a baby- and Christ-killing nation that stands in the way of humanity’s salvation.
Given the role this imagery has played in promoting violence against Jews, its use in reference to the Jewish state is inexcusable. Ateek’s language lends credence to themes of Muslim anti-Semitism now pervading the Middle East. Ateek’s writings bear unmistakable echoes of Islamic portrayals of Jews as prophet killers.
The failure of American churches to condemn Ateek’s crucifixion imagery becomes even more appalling when this imagery is read against the backdrop of his writings in Arabic to his fellow Palestinians. In a letter Sept. 30, 2000 Ateek wrote that the Dome of the rock is “the sole property of the Islamic, Arabic speaking Palestinians, which is the holiest shrine of Muslims in Palestine and it is a shame if anybody desecrates it or even touches it.” Moreoever, he cheered the Muslims in “defending their holiest shrine as we cheer our Palestinian people in all our countries.” Here, Ateek is clearly feeding into Muslim efforts to erase Jewish, and by extension, Christian connections to Jerusalem.
This is not the language of a peacemaker, but of a man intent on using the language of Christian witness as a weapon of war against Israel.
Churches that embrace Ateek and his anti-Israel narrative risk their collective souls.
Dexter Van Zile is Christian Outreach Director for the David Project Center for Jewish Leadership.
Urgent Notice
Sabeel No Friend of Peace
By Dexter Van Zile
During the month of October, a group called Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) is sponsoring four anti-Israel conferences in the U.S. and Canada.
The centerpiece of these conferences will be presentations by Anglican Canon Naim Ateek, founder of Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, a Jerusalem-based group largely responsible for the divestment campaign orchestrated to isolate Israel both economically and politically by portraying it as an apartheid state. Given Ateek’s theology, one has to wonder how he has been able to gather such a wide following in liberal Protestant churches, with some regarding him as the next Desmond Tutu.
His theology is contrary to the stated positions of virtually every church in the U.S. Not only does Ateek deny Israel's right to exist, he traffics in anti-Judaic imagery that has been taboo since the Holocaust. And when Ateek writes to his Muslim countrymen in Arabic he offers words of support for their fight against Israel.
Nevertheless, churches in the U.S. seem quite willing to lend their prophetic voices to Sabeel's agenda. This past summer, the United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ passed resolutions demanding that Israel take down the security fence it is building in Judea and Samaria without asking the Palestinians to stop the terror attacks that made it necessary. The resolution, written and passed with extensive input from Sabeel, does not ask Israel to move the barrier to its own land, but insists that it be taken down without any believable assurances the violence against Israelis will stop. This indifference to Israeli security demonstrates that in some quarters, the issue is not Israel's borders, but its mere existence.
Ateek's denial of Israel's right to exist is explicit. In 1989, Ateek wrote in Justice and Only Justice that it took him years "to accept the establishment of the state of Israel and its need—although not its right—to exist." The passage of time has not softened his stance. In a September 2005 meeting with Jewish leaders from the U.S., Ateek refused to back down from his denial of Israel's right to exist and even asserted that if the Jewish State had to have been created, it should not have been created in biblical lands after the Holocaust, but some place else – Munich for example. Not only is this contrary to international law, it is an insult to the idea of Jewish identity itself, which Ateek has worked to portray as a malevolent force that poses a threat greater than Islamic fundamentalism. For example in a 2001 Sermon, Ateek writes: “Our Old Testament mentions the dictum ‘love your neighbor as yourself. Unfortunately, in classical Judaism it has been narrowly defined as being limited to loving one’s own fellow Jew.”
This is tame compared to his other writings. In a 2001 Easter Message, Sabeel’s founder, Naim Ateek wrote that the “Israeli government crucifixion system is operating daily.” In a February 2001 sermon, Ateek compared Israeli officials to Herod (the baby killer). And his 2001 Easter message, Ateek likened the occupation to the stone blocking Christ's tomb. The implication is undeniable: Israel is a baby- and Christ-killing nation that stands in the way of humanity’s salvation.
Given the role this imagery has played in promoting violence against Jews, its use in reference to the Jewish state is inexcusable. Ateek’s language lends credence to themes of Muslim anti-Semitism now pervading the Middle East. Ateek’s writings bear unmistakable echoes of Islamic portrayals of Jews as prophet killers.
The failure of American churches to condemn Ateek’s crucifixion imagery becomes even more appalling when this imagery is read against the backdrop of his writings in Arabic to his fellow Palestinians. In a letter Sept. 30, 2000 Ateek wrote that the Dome of the rock is “the sole property of the Islamic, Arabic speaking Palestinians, which is the holiest shrine of Muslims in Palestine and it is a shame if anybody desecrates it or even touches it.” Moreoever, he cheered the Muslims in “defending their holiest shrine as we cheer our Palestinian people in all our countries.” Here, Ateek is clearly feeding into Muslim efforts to erase Jewish, and by extension, Christian connections to Jerusalem.
This is not the language of a peacemaker, but of a man intent on using the language of Christian witness as a weapon of war against Israel.
Churches that embrace Ateek and his anti-Israel narrative risk their collective souls.
Dexter Van Zile is Christian Outreach Director for the David Project Center for Jewish Leadership.
Posted by Ted Belman at October 7, 2005 09:32 PM