← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · albion
Thread ID: 19539 | Posts: 9 | Started: 2005-08-10
2005-08-10 11:36 | User Profile
[left][font=Arial, Helvetica][size=2]August 9, 2005[/size][/font][/left] [center][font=Arial, Helvetica][size=2]WIESENTHAL CENTER: PROPOSED LUTHERAN DIVESTMENT RESOLUTION DENIES LEGITIMACY OF JEWISH STATE[/size][/font][/center] [font=Arial, Helvetica][size=2]The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a leading Jewish human rights organization, is urging Bishop Mark Hanson and the leadership of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to reject a proposed resolution by the Churchââ¬â¢s Caribbean Synod that denies Israelââ¬â¢s legitimacy and calls for ELCA to push for divestment of the Jewish State. ELCA is convening its biennial Assembly in Orlando today.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica][size=2]"The Caribbean Synodââ¬â¢s proposed resolution is a major escalation in the worldwide political campaign to delegitimize Israel and is in keeping with the spirit of the 1975 UN resolution that equated Zionism with racism," charged Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Wiesenthal Center.[/size][/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica][size=2]The language of the proposed resolution alleges "57 years" of Israeli occupation, effectively rejecting Israelââ¬â¢s legitimacy as a sovereign state and casting her as "tyrannical," a "colonizer" and an "occupier."[/size][/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica][size=2]"This resolution goes way beyond any of the resolutions recently passed by the U.S. Presbyterian Church, the United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ," continued Cooper. "It dispenses with politically-correct window dressing including any concern for the security of Israel or of Israelââ¬â¢s right to a secure future."[/size][/font] [font=Arial][/font] [url="http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=fwLYKnN8LzH&b=245494&ct=1285083"]http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=fwLYKnN8LzH&b=245494&ct=1285083[/url]
2005-08-10 12:36 | User Profile
Indeed, the best way that these mainstream liberal denominations could make themselves useful would be by pestering Israel this way, and that way make Zionist Jews get so aggressive against Christians that even many fundamentalists would wake up to their true nature.
Below is a good example of a Jew getting so enraged over the divestment that he loses the control of his rhetoric, which is just what we want:
[FONT=Arial][COLOR=DarkRed][B]"Understand this, Presbyterians and Episcopalians: Divestment in Israel isn't merely wrong. It is a declaration of war on the Jewish people."[/B][/COLOR][/FONT]
[url]http://www.jewsweek.com/bin/en.jsp?enDispWho=Article%5El1445&enPage=BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=object&enVersion=0&enZone=Stories&[/url]
Petr
2005-08-10 15:10 | User Profile
So the ELCA ordains women and queers, but really, really gets worked-up and upset over investments associated with Israel?
Talk about screwed up priorities and convictions.
My advice to any sincere Lutheran currently attending an ELCA-affiliated church -- run for the nearest exit and the nearest LCMS, WELS, CLC or LCR Lutheran congregation.
2005-08-10 15:49 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Texas Dissident]My advice to any sincere Lutheran currently attending an ELCA-affiliated church -- run for the nearest exit and the nearest LCMS, WELS, CLC or LCR Lutheran congregation.[/QUOTE]
Or they could just throw in the towel and become Papists! :alucard:
2005-08-10 15:54 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Walter Yannis]Or they could just throw in the towel and become Papists! :alucard:[/QUOTE]
Gosh! Why didn't I think of that, Walter??
:starwars:
:lol:
2005-08-12 03:35 | User Profile
| [url="http://www.jta.org/brknews.asp?id=153472"]http://www.jta.org/brknews.asp?id=153472[/url] |
| [img]http://www.jta.org/images/spacer.gif[/img] |
| The leader of the Union for Reform Judaism addressed the Churchwide Assembly of the **Evangelical Lutheran Church in America**. Stressing the importance of Israelââ¬â¢s security in remarks Thursday, Rabbi Eric Yoffie said that as long as terrorism persists, Israel is entitled to defend itself by means of a security fence. Still, he said, he recognizes that the ââ¬ÅPalestinian people are in pain.ââ¬Â Yoffie added: ââ¬ÅOthers will not always see the conflict as we see it. But what we have asked of our many friends in the Christian world is simply this: Do not minimize the impact of terror, and do not demonize or isolate Israel as if, somehow, she alone were responsible for the current conflict.ââ¬Â Yoffie, among the first Jews to address the assembly, further thanked the church for its role in fostering relations between American Jews and Christians and for its cooperation in working for social justice in the United States. Yoffie received a standing ovation following his remarks, church spokesman John Brooks told JTA. |
2005-08-14 02:21 | User Profile
By RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer Sat Aug 13,
[url="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050813/ap_on_re_us/lutherans_israel"]http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050813/ap_on_re_us/lutherans_israel[/url]
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America denounced the security barrier Israel is building along the West Bank, saying Saturday that Israeli policy throughout the territories has brought "extreme hardship" to Palestinians.
The statement, called "Peace Not Walls: Stand for Justice in the Holy Land," is part of an advocacy plan for Mideast peace that delegates to a churchwide assembly adopted on a 668-269 vote.
It was approved at a time of heightened tension between Protestants and Jews.
Several protestant groups have angered Jews by protesting construction of the barrier, and some Christian denominations have considered divestment from companies that profit from Israeli control of the Palestinian territories.
The new ELCA strategy doesn't mention divestment, but it urges the denomination to move toward "stewarding financial resources ââ¬â both U.S. tax dollars and private funds ââ¬â in ways that support the quest for a just peace in the Holy Land." Lutheran leaders insist it is not an endorsement of economic pressure against Israel.
Ethan Felson, assistant executive director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, said the ELCA position on the barrier shows a lack of understanding about the dangers facing Israel.
"What is indisputable is that it saves lives," said Felson, who contends the barrier is not permanent and will be dismantled when the Jewish state is safe from terrorist attacks.
Rabbi Eric Yoffie, head of the Union for Reform Judaism, the largest branch of American Judaism, urged delegates to the Lutheran assembly Thursday not to "demonize" Israel. Other Jewish leaders said protestants should support Israel as it prepares to withdraw from the Gaza Strip on Monday.
However, Bishop Munib Younan, head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, told delegates the barrier itself is an obstacle to peace. Many Palestinians can no longer reach their jobs, hospitals and houses of worship, he said.
"The future of the Palestinian church is at stake, because the current conditions are causing our children to leave in increasing numbers," he told the group by phone from Jerusalem.
Palestinians say the barrier, which dips in some places into the West Bank ââ¬â an area they claim for a future state ââ¬â is an attempted land grab.
Serena Sellers of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod called the barrier a "form of violence" committed `against innocent people."
Others said the title of the statement, "Peace Not Walls," implied the denomination was solely blaming Israel for the conflict. Don Lamprecht of the Alaska Synod said the plan contained "inflammatory" language and asked delegates to write a "more neutral resolution."
The ELCA has long-standing ties in the Palestinian territories and throughout the Mideast.
The 4.9 million-member denomination supports sister churches and a hospital in East Jerusalem that primarily serves Palestinians. Lutherans are also deeply concerned about the dwindling numbers of Palestinian Christians, who have been fleeing violence in the territories.
The advocacy plan affirms Israel's right to defend itself and the Palestinian desire for an independent state. It also calls on both Israelis and Palestinians to end attacks on civilians.
The statement was adopted as delegates wrapped up the denomination's weeklong meeting.
2005-08-14 03:45 | User Profile
As much as I hate just about everthing the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America stands for, I an pleased that they are taking on Israel. Sometimes bad people do good things, if even by mistake. I never thought I would ever say or write anything good about ELCA. I have to suppress a giggle!
2005-08-21 13:18 | User Profile
WASHINGTON - Another American church condemned Israeli operations in the territories Saturday, but denied it had initiated a divestment campaign against Israel. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America launched a special campaign called "Peace Not Walls," calling on Israel to dismantle the separation fence in the West Bank and not to build on Palestinian land.
The move follows an impassioned call by leaders of the Bethlehem Lutheran church, who appeared before the annual assembly via videolink in a bid to convince members to vote in favor of the campaign.
The Lutheran church joins several other mainstream U.S. Protestant churches that have passed similar resolutions in recent months. Some, including the Presbyterian church two weeks ago, have called for boycotts of corporations with operations in Israel, on the grounds that this supports Israel's occupation of the territories.
The Lutherans avoided calling overtly for divestiture, but a large majority of assembly delegates approved a resolution calling for use of financial means to "advocate for peace with justice."
Jewish organization officials said they view the move as "a camouflaged call to divest."
However, the spokesman for the 5-million-member church told Haaretz that, "Our strategy doesn't include any kind of boycott."
Asked to clarify the term "financial means," he said it was not entirely clear to him either, but that it involved activity such as "positive investment" to encourage the peace process - and not pulling funds out.
[url="http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/612491.html"]http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/612491.html[/url]