AJC welcomes UCC policy shift on Israel
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Ten days after every major Jewish group condemned a UCC statement on the 40th anniversary of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, the American Jewish Committee joined the Anti-Defamation League in welcoming the recently passed General Synod resolution on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. From the American Jewish Committee:
AJC Welcomes UCC Policy Shift on Israel
June 27, 2007 – New York – The American Jewish Committee welcomes the positive shift in the United Church of Christ approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The UCC biannual synod adopted a resolution that endorses a two-state solution and recognizes that in the past the church may have “overlooked” aspects of a complex situation in the Middle East.
“The UCC has taken an encouraging step forward from its resolutions of two years ago that singularly placed blame on Israel,” said Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, AJC’s U.S. Director of Interreligious Affairs, who recently met with the UCC leadership.
“It is unfortunate that it took the costly loss of lives due to the fighting between Hamas and Fatah to spur a broadening of perspective in the UCC, but often out of tragedy hope is born,” said Greenebaum. “We are pleased that the UCC has acknowledged that its members ‘must develop a broader understanding’ of the conflict and ways to resolve it.”
