Presbyterian Church in US stirs new controversy with report on Middle East

A new report published by a committee of the Presbyterian Church in the United States claims that Israeli occupation is the root of the Middle East conflict and calls on the US government to stop providing aid to Israel in order to halt Jewish settlement expansion. The report, entitled ‘Breaking Down the Walls’, has been strongly criticized by Jewish leaders in the US. It was "a toxic mix of bad history, politically motivated distortions and offensive attacks on Judaism and Israel," said the Anti-Defamation League in a statement.

The study was commissioned by the church’s General Assembly in 2008 to analyze, among other things, “US policies that impact the area and steps to be taken with our partners in the Middle East and the United States to foster justice, improve inter-faith relations and nurture the building of peace toward a secure and viable future for all and report back to the 219th General Assembly,” to be held later this year. Among the objections raised to it are that it legitimizes doubts about Israel's right to exist, draws parallels between the threats posed by suspected Iranian and Israeli nuclear arsenals, and calls on the United States to consider withholding foreign aid to Israel.

The Presbyterian Church USA’s statements on the situation in the Middle East have stirred controversies since 2004, when its General Assembly approved steps toward pulling church investments from Israel, a position the church changed in 2006 with one instead calling for the use of church investments to promote regional peace. “There is some attempt to be a little balanced, but I think it’s a failed attempt at balance,” Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, director for inter-religious Affairs at the American Jewish Committee, said, adding: “The overall blame is still placed on Israel and the occupation.”

The Presbyterian Church USA is one of the leading Protestant denominations in North America and has over two million members.


Read the full report of the Presbyterian Church USA on the Middle East.