Approved at June 6, 2010 General Assembly
Whereas Jews and Presbyterians in the
Whereas the Presbyterian Church USA at its General Assembly in July 2010 will consider a report of its Middle East Study Committee (MESC) which if adopted would damage the relationship between our communities; and
Whereas the report is distinctly one-sided, traffics in troubling theology, distorts history; and
Whereas we determine that the report specifically:
(1) misrepresents Jewish history when it indicates that there is no scientific evidence that contemporary Jews are linked to their ancestral home in
(2) describes
(3) considers the settlements as the obstacle to peace without recognizing that there has been longstanding hostility to
(4) and praises the Kairos Palestinian document, ignoring its virulently anti-Israel content. The Kairos document employs retrograde theology that has been rejected by most Christians as supercessionist. It refers to Palestinian terror as “legal resistance,” and calls for boycott, divestment, and sanctions against
Whereas we believe that the Middle East conflict can be resolved with the kind of two-state solution that is promoted by moderates in Israel and among the Palestinian leadership and has been endorsed by most world leaders and the United Nations; and
Whereas we further affirm that it is important for both sides of the conflict to recall that the United Nations recognized the State of Israel in 1948 and the government of
Whereas our friends and colleagues in the Presbyterian Church should understand that slander of the State of
Therefore be it resolved that the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism urge our rabbis and congregational leaders to familiarize themselves with the content of the MESC report. They should approach their Presbyterian colleagues and specifically delegates to the July General Assembly and advocate for the defeat of that report. Towards that end, the USCJ will provide our regional leadership with names and contact information for local delegates.
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