Sunday, November 11, 2007
Rev. Nancy Taylor of the UCC's Old South Church has responded to Rabbi Ronne Friedman's open letter. The letter is creditable overall.
I believe these three points of description are only superficially correct. Most interesting is that Sabeel represents an important Palestinian voice. True, in that there are no organized Palestinian groups truly dedicated to living in peace with their neighbors -- there are no serious interlocutors. Sabeel and all the rest are far more interested in one state than two, whatever they may be forced to acquiesce to. The Jewish Community is tired of being put to a false equivalence between their own organized and overwhelming communal desire for peace and the Arab desire to destroy them. One of these narratives is not like the other.
In other Sabeel news, a Sabeel activist, American citizen and United Church of Christ sponsoree named Krista Johnson was prevented from reentering Israel on her return from the Boston conference. Much seething and whining on the anti-Israel blogs and mailing lists has ensued. Personally, I am glad to see they are not asleep at the switch at Israeli immigration. Sabeel is primarily a political group, not religious, and no foreign national should have any right to enter Israel to engage in political activity against the state. Sabeel reps travel the world stirring up hatred against their state. The state shouldn't have to play along. Keep 'em out.
Update: James Hutchins agrees:
As James notes, Sabeel is complaining that there is a long-standing system of "reciprocity" between Israel and the US concerning those seeking religious visas. If that system is damaged (and I doubt very much it will be), the damage will be because of activists like Sabeel and Krista Johnson who abuse the system.
To underline the point of no equivalence. One can judge Sabeel and their Boston event by looking at their local supporters. This is a letter submitted to Boston Globe in a flurry of the Sabeel letter-writing campaign by a local confused member of the Jewish Voice for Peace, a sponsor of the Sabeel support rally. Erasure of Zion and contempt for everything Israeli is a potent combination which sustains Sabeel cause
"10/30/07, Ltr to Ed.
Rebuttal to Rabbi Kushner_Support to Israel "core element of Jewish faith"
The good Rabbi Kushner needs a refresher course in Judaic studies. He makes the outrageous statement that a “core element” of Judaism is “support for a secure Jewish state in Israel”. Funny, I don’t recall the ancient texts mentioning the state of Israel at all. Could the reason be that Israel was artificially created in 1948? His statement is as absurd as claiming that a fundamental tenet of Islam calls for the destruction of the United States...
Marilyn Levin"
This is the level of people Sabeel attracts to carry on their propaganda.
Just to contrast this idiotic diatribe, here is the published letter by liberal Rabbi Harold Kushner:
"Tutu's mission for Mideast questioned Boston Globe
October 30, 2007
I WAS offended by Desmond Tutu's coming to the United States and calling on American Jews to abandon one of the core elements of our faith, the support for a secure Jewish state in Israel.
I may think that the Anglican church in Africa is acting wickedly by stigmatizing gays and fomenting a split among American Episcopalians, but it would never occur to me to travel to Africa and urge them to change their views to conform to mine.
Rabbi HAROLD S. KUSHNER
Natick "
From Rev. Taylor's letter:
At the same time we stand in solidarity with Palestinian Christians who also suffer fear and deprivation as an oppressed minority.
- - - - - - - - - - -
At whose hands are Palestinian Christians being oppressed?
What does Sabeel say about it?
Sabeel's politicized agenda is most clearly revealed when the question of the Arab Christian minority is raised.
The brutal reality of Arab-on-Arab violence (which should be of pressing interest to Christians) is downplayed - because although true, it doesn't fit the PC Liberation Theology script. And it interferes with the agenda of demonizing Israel.
I would suggest for people who have attended the Sabeel event in Boston or elsewhere to recall the names of other Sabeel activists and to pass them on to Sol, who will pass them on to me, and I will pass them on to the Israeli Border Police, who will in turn give those names to the Israeli immigration officials, who will duly enter them into their Ben Gurion computers, thereby preventing their entry into Israel to do more harm to us all -- Jews, Christians, and yes, Muslims -- for those Sabeel people's actions only lead to more death, destruction, and misery.
Small, but very effective steps.
Let us not forget that the assassin of Senator Robert F. Kennedy was a palestinian Christian, sirhan x 2.
Is that someone Sabeel is aware of?
Sabeel is just another Palestinian front group set up to try and do the same thing in the churches that the ISM does in the colleges. Its purpose is to convince American Christians that the Jews are persecuting Christians in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria), not the Muslims, in order to drive a wedge between Christian support for Israel in America and the Christian community that depends on Israel for safety. They are becoming more and more active in the churches in America and pushing for divestment. They may say they are for two states, but they support unconditionally the Palestinian "right of return" to allow 5 million Arabs to flood Israel in addition to that state. That the Israeli border police prevented one of their members from entering Israel is good news. Anyone with any information of any Sabeel members going to Israel, their flight numebrs and times, please feel free to notify me also so we can have them denied entry. If you know of anyone there now, please advise us also so they can be deported. Email us at info@StoptheISM.com . The Palestinians are using this tactic with groups like Sabeel for the churches and Jewish Voice ofr Peace for Jews to also snow the public. Anyone knowing of these people going to Israel and when, please let us know immediately.
We reported Krista Johnson and are glad to find out she has been deported. Stop the ISM is doing just that: stoppping the ISM. Anyone with information on ISM voilunteers going to the Holy Land can send us information at info@StoptheISM.com . So far we have managed to get over 200 ISM activists deported from Israel.
Yasher Koach to Stop the ISM!
Test
Passed.
Rev Nancy Taylor has no intention of having an "Open Door" at Old South Church and allowing anyone other than Israel/Jew bashers to have a voice at OSC. Why does she limit recommendations of alternate speakers to the JCRC and AJC? The answer is obvious and it aint 'cause she gotta broken arm. Three cheers to JCRC and AJC for not giving credibility to OSC's truthy, multiple-narratives dilusions. Obvious alternate guest presentors are The David Project and CAMERA, two organizations that had Op-Eds in the Boston Globe and Jewish Advocate, Jeff Jacoby, and the Israeli NE Consulate.
Saying Sabeel is better than other Palestinian groups is not much of a compliment or reason to entertain their hateful bigotry in a Christian church.
Commending them for opposing suicide bombing is not much of a moral or theological triumph.
Sabeel is not non-violent. To say they are is an affront to the legacy of Mahatma Ghandi and Dr. King. Lies, slander, and one-sided demonization is very violent: "The pen is mightier than the sword." The physical is always preceded by the verbal violence. The suicide bombers are driven by inflammatory rhetoric.