Anti-Defamation League slams UCC
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
The Anti-Defamation League issued a strongly worded statement in reaction to a statement supposedly issued by the United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ on the 40th anniversary of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. From the ADL:
UPDATE: UCC/DoC STATEMENT LOCATED ON GLOBAL MINISTRIES WEB SITE, STATEMENT WAS AUTHORED BY PETER MAKARI
The UCC / DoC statement is posted at Global Ministries. The document was authored by Peter Makari.
Makari and UCC President John Thomas have been responsible for the UCC's deteriorating relationship with Jewish groups like the ADL, the American Jewish Congress and the Simon Wiesenthal Center by imbalanced statements like this one. It's probably safe to assume that most UCC members support a balanced approach that recognizes the needs of those on all sides of the conflict if peace (and a two state solution) is going to be achieved.
UPDATE: STATEMENT NOW POSTED ON UCC.ORG
"As people of God, how can you justify ignoring that Israelis, young and old, women and children, have suffered from decades of suicide bombings -- suicide bombings on public transportation as they commute to school and work, in the middle of their cities -- at shopping malls and restaurants?" Mr. Foxman asked. "How can you discount the events that led to the Six-Day War and the unsuccessful attempts by the State of Israel to negotiate a peace treaty after the war that would have meant the return of Gaza and the much of the West Bank decades ago?"There's only one problem... after numerous Google searches, newswire queries and phone calls to insiders, there's no trace of a statement from the UCC to reference. It would be amusing if it were lost in the UCC's new web site, but the Disciples of Christ web site doesn't have a trace of it either.
Mr. Foxman added that, "At a time when Israeli citizens are targeted by rockets and the elected Palestinian leadership supports the eradication of the State of Israel and the use of terrorism to this end, it is particularly unfortunate that a religious organization which says it is committed to a resolution to this conflict has abandoned the course of objective, credible advocacy for the protection of all parties, which is so essential to a constructive and lasting path to peace."
UPDATE: UCC/DoC STATEMENT LOCATED ON GLOBAL MINISTRIES WEB SITE, STATEMENT WAS AUTHORED BY PETER MAKARI
The UCC / DoC statement is posted at Global Ministries. The document was authored by Peter Makari.
Makari and UCC President John Thomas have been responsible for the UCC's deteriorating relationship with Jewish groups like the ADL, the American Jewish Congress and the Simon Wiesenthal Center by imbalanced statements like this one. It's probably safe to assume that most UCC members support a balanced approach that recognizes the needs of those on all sides of the conflict if peace (and a two state solution) is going to be achieved.
UPDATE: STATEMENT NOW POSTED ON UCC.ORG
