wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Middle East conference distributed wealth of resources

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ECUNET.ORG>]

Note #8651 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

05093
February 15, 2005

Middle East conference distributed wealth of resources

Some participants still longed for Jewish voice

by Toya Richards Hill

LOUISVILLE - It was a three-day crash course on the Israel-Palestine conflict
and where the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) stands on the issues, and by the
time it was over participants had enough resource material to overload an
empty briefcase.

	"Steps Toward Peace in Israel and Palestine," held here Feb. 10-12,
brought together more than 200 Presbyterians from synods and presbyteries
throughout the country to better understand the actions last summer of the
216th General Assembly related to Israel and Palestine.

	Held at the Brown Hotel, the event included a lecture on the history
of the region, panel presentations by Palestinian Christians, a
teleconference on human rights issues with a rabbi in Israel, and roundtable
discussions by conference participants on what information they really need
to equip them back at home.

	Each participant also received a large packet stuffed with resource
sheets, books, study guides, pamphlets, a video and a DVD.  

	"There's a lot of expertise and talent here ... that we are going to
be able to draw from," said Geoff Browning, a representative from the
Presbytery of San Jose. "There's just a lot of connection here with a lot of
other people."

	Representatives from every synod and presbytery were invited to
attend the event by the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the General
Assembly, and John Detterick, executive director of the General Assembly
Council, following the 2004 General Assembly's controversial actions on
Israel and Palestine.

	Most notable was the Assembly's decision to call for "phased
selective divestment" from companies supporting the Israeli occupation of the
West Bank and Gaza and companies profiting from either Israeli or Palestinian
violence.

	The action drew harsh criticism, particularly from some in the Jewish
community, and caught off-guard many synod and presbytery members who were
not knowledgeable about the Assembly's action.

	The purpose of this conference is to equip people to be able to talk
about the issue, said the Rev. Marthame Sanders, one of the event organizers.
"That is the goal."

Perspective seen as one-sided

	It didn't take long into the conference, however, before some said
they were displeased with what they were hearing. 

	"I'm saddened that we don't have Jewish representatives here,"
Patrick Wrisley, a representative from the Presbytery of Central Florida,
said during a question-and-answer session following the first presentation of
the conference. "It's a multifaceted problem."

	Gary Burge, a professor of New Testament at Wheaton College, opened
the conference with a lecture on the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian
crisis. Asking the question, "Does Biblical promise trump historical
residence?" Burge explored who has lived in and governed Israel and Palestine
from Ottoman times until today.

	Yet when the lecture was over, Wrisley questioned whether the event
was simply an "apology" for the General Assembly's actions.

	"We've got to look at both sides," he said in an interview with the
Presbyterian News Service later in the evening. "I'm just trying to learn the
truth."

	Others concurred.

	After hearing Burge's presentation, Susan Wittjen of the Presbytery
of New Covenant said she, too, wanted to hear "a Jewish voice."

	"We were told that this would be a balanced presentation," she said.

	Sanders told the group no Muslins or Jews were invited to participate
in the conference, which he has described as largely a Presbyterian
conversation. The event did, however, include a live teleconference from
Israel on Saturday morning with Rabbi Arik Ascherman, executive director of
Rabbis for Human Rights.

	Ascherman talked about the pain that both sides have endured and the
need for hope.

	"It is very important that you also have in front of your eyes ...
what is going to increase hope on both sides," he said. The ultimate goal is
"a better future for all of our children."

Dialogue acknowledged as 'tough'

	Jay Rock, coordinator of interfaith relations in the Worldwide
Ministries Division of the PC(USA), acknowledged to the group on Saturday
that with so many people speaking on the issues "it's very hard to hear the
full range of voices."

	"All of these voices," from Christians to Muslims to Israelis to
Palestinians, "have something to say," he said. "This is a tough dialogue."

	Rock encouraged the group, when in their own communities, to maintain
dialogue rather than debate.

	"Many who are seeking dialogue are really seeking debate," he said.
And he noted that maintaining a dialogue will require skills.
	
	"It's a very careful process," he said. And "the emotions that go
with the Israeli-Palestinian situation are anything but orderly."

	Carroll Meyer, representing the Presbytery of Muskingum, told the
group that longstanding relationships have ended over the General Assembly
action, with some vowing, "I won't talk to you again."
 
	Kirk Perucca, from the Presbytery of Heartland, said some Jews he's
talked to want to know, Why isn't the Presbyterian Church divesting from
companies in Palestine?

	Companies doing business in Palestine could be targeted for possible
divestment as part of a set of criteria guiding the divestment process
approved last November by the denomination's Mission Responsibility Through
Investment committee. 

	Still, Rock said, "we cannot give up our own ethical position."
Affirm the pain that those you are talking to may have over the General
Assembly action, but also say, "There must be room for both of us" to be able
to feel and think like we should.
 
	"Stand firm in who we are and what we believe," he told the group.
But also "find places for agreement."

	Ultimately, Rock said, "these dialogues can be an opportunity for
peacemaking."

Tips help give participants tools needed

	Rock shared a number of tips with the group in order to better equip
them for dialogue.

	 "First of all, do your homework," he said. "Know what the church
did."

	Other suggestions included:

* Be clear.
* Do mutual planning and look for mutual learning opportunities.
* Acknowledge the differences in language.
* Consider having congregational gatherings together.

	Also, Rock said, "Try praying together." After that "sometimes the
whole atmosphere can change."

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