Here's an interesting one sent out on the JAT network concerning the Episcopal meeting going on right now. You will see that our friends within the Churches need our help, too. Everything below this line is quoted material.

SUBJ: Immediate Action Needed on Episcopal Resolution!

This alert should be given top priority, as it concerns a matter that will take place this Saturday.

The alert is based on one we received from CAMERA. We urge JAT members to join this initiative.

Recently we alerted you to happenings at the Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly, and now we're calling your attention to a POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT at the Episcopal General Convention taking place right now in Columbus, Ohio.

ACTION
------

Immediately send email or fax letters voicing your support of the resolution described below to:

The Most Rev. Frank G. Griswald
Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church

Email: pboffice@episcopalchurch.org
Fax: 212-490-3298

Messages need to be sent ASAP because the resolution is slated to be addressed in committee on Saturday morning.

Remember, it is better to send a very short note rather than fail to send any note at all. The text can be as simple as, "I urge the Episcopal Church to enact Bishop Little's resolution."

BACKGROUND
----------

Episcopal Reverand Authors Resolution Calling on Denomination to Apologize for its "Consistently Unbalanced Approach to the Conflict in the Middle East."

The Rt. Rev. Edward S. Little, Bishop of Northern Indiana has put the Episcopal Church, USA on notice by authoring a resolution (see below) that calls on the denomination to apologize to the Jewish community for its "consistently unbalanced approach to the conflict in the Middle East."

With the endorsement of two other bishops -- Rt. Rev. Geralyn Wolf of Rhode Island and Rt. Rev. John Lipbscomb of Southwest Florida -- the proposed resolution reminds Episcopalians that Israel is a "sign of hope to Jews in a post-Holocaust world" and asks the Episcopal Church to "support its aspirations as an honored member of the community of nations." This resolution is currently being considered at the Church's General Convention taking place in Columbus Ohio.

Moreover, the resolution calls on the Episcopal Church to acknowledge Israel's right and responsibility "to defend itself against terrorist attacks" and to "reject anti-Semitism in all its forms, subtle and overt, including among those forms one sided hostility to the state of Israel and a denial of Israel's right to exist."

The resolution's text reports that in recent years, the Episcopal Church and its agencies "have relentlessly criticized the state of Israel" and have "been advocates for one side in the conflict."

This resolution represents one of the most trenchant and articulate criticisms of the anti-Israel agenda embraced by Protestant churches in the U.S. Regardless of whether it passes or not, this resolution represents a huge step forward in the effort to get the Episcopal Church to discuss all the relevant aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict in its peacemaking agenda.

POINTS TO MAKE
--------------

A. Bishop Little is right. The Episcopal Church, like other Protestant churches in the U.S. has allowed its prophetic voices to be used in a discriminatory manner against Israel.

Three examples:

1. Cowley Press, an Episcopal publishing house, published How Long O Lord? This book, edited by two prominent peace activists in the Episcopal Church fails to include the Yom Kippur War in a chronology about the conflict and even blames the massacre at Sabra and Shattilla on Israeli soldiers, not Christian Phalangists.

2. The Episcopal Church is a prominent supporter of Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem. Sabeel's founder, Anglican Canon Naim Ateek has compared Israeli security measures to Christ's crucifixion and to the stone blocking Christ's tomb. Ateek, who has expressed support for a one-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, is currently slated to receive an award from the Episcopal Peace Fellowship on June 17.

3. The Episcopal Church's peace and justice activists have authored another resolution which asked Israel to take down the security fence it is building on the West Bank without asking the Palestinians to stop the terror attacks that prompted its construction. This one-sided demand is a consequence of public statements offered by Episcopal Church leaders, staffers and peace activists.

B. Statements offered by the Episcopal Church have a real impact on how Israel is perceived by the American people. The church's peace and justice activists have helped to portray Israel -- and those who defend it -- as worthy of contempt. This contempt makes life unsafe for Jews everywhere.

C. Peace making requires truth-telling. If the Episcopal Church is going to call for a two-state solution it has an obligation to speak about those problems in Palestinian society that undermine its ability to live in peace with Israel and build a future for its citizens. On this score, peace activists in the Episcopal Church have failed.

PROPOSED RESOLUTION
---------------

The Episcopal Church and the State of Israel

Resolved, the House of _______ concurring, that this 75th General Convention of the Episcopal Church apologizes to the Jewish community for our consistently unbalanced approach to the conflict in the Middle East; and be it further

Resolved, that the policy of the Episcopal Church regarding the state of Israel and its relationship to the Palestinian people shall foster the following priorities:

1. The recognition of the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state. Israel is a sign of hope to Jews in a post-Holocaust world, and this Church supports its just aspirations as an honored member of the community of nations.

2. The right and the responsibility of Israel to defend itself and its population against terrorist attacks.

3. Commitment to the development of a two-state solution, with Israel and a Palestinian state living side by side in peace. To that end, we make ourselves available as mediators in the peace process.

4. Rejection of anti-Semitism in all of its forms, subtle and overt, including among those forms one-sided hostility to the state of Israel and a denial of Israel's right to exist; and be it further

Resolved, that all agencies of the Episcopal Church be directed to conform their involvement in, or advocacy concerning, the conflict in the Middle East to the priorities cited above.

Explanation

In recent years, virtually all General Convention resolutions concerning the Middle East -- and all public policy pronouncements by Episcopal agencies -- have relentlessly criticized the state of Israel, portraying the Jewish state as an oppressor nation and the Palestinian people as the victims of Israeli oppression. This unbalanced approach does not honor our traditional Anglican ability to appreciate the complexities and nuances of the tragedy in the Middle East, nor has it allowed us to serve as ministers of reconciliation. We have instead been advocates for one side in the conflict. The purpose of this resolution is to restore balance to our Middle East policy.

Submitted by the Rt. Rev. Edward S. Little II, Bishop of Northern Indiana

Endorsed by the Rt. Rev. Geralyn Wolf, Bishop of Rhode Island; and the Rt. Rev. John Lipscomb, Bishop of Southwest Florida

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