wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] PC(USA) leaders disavow comments made by delegation

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

Note #8545 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

04475
October 20, 2004

PC(USA) leaders disavow comments made by delegation members in Lebanon

Visit with Hezbollah leaders reignites animosity among Jewish groups

by Jerry L. Van Marter

LOUISVILLE - Three top officials of the Presbyterian Church (USA) issued a
statement today disavowing comments made by members of a Presbyterian
delegation during an Oct. 17 visit to a former Israeli prison that is now a
Hezbollah-run museum and memorial in southern Lebanon.

	News that the delegation - comprised mostly of members of the
denomination's Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) - had met
with a group on the U.S. government's watch list of terrorist organizations
has further eroded relations between Jewish groups and the PC(USA).

	One ACSWP delegation member - Ronald Stone, a recently retired
professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary - was quoted as saying: "As an
elder of our church, I'd like to say that according to my recent experience,
relations and conversations with Islamic leaders are a lot easier than
dealings and dialogue with Jewish leaders."

	General Assembly Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick, General Assembly
Council Executive Director John Detterick and General Assembly Moderator Rick
Ufford-Chase said "the visit to Hezbollah and the comments on that occasion
by members of this Presbyterian group do not reflect the official position of
the Presbyterian Church (USA) on peace in the Middle East."

	A number of American Jewish groups have been at odds with the PC(USA)
since the denomination's General Assembly voted in July to "initiate the
process of phased, selective divestment" from corporations contributing to
the Israeli government's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.

	The process includes dialogue with corporations and the filing of
shareholder resolutions in an attempt to bring about changes in corporate
behavior. The earliest actual divestment of stock could occur is June 2006,
when the next General Assembly meets in Birmingham, AL.

	Some Jewish groups have been sharply critical of the General
Assembly's decision and demanded that it be rescinded. Now, word that a
delegation sponsored by the PC(USA)'s Advisory Committee on Social Witness
Policy met with Hezbollah representatives at a Palestinian refugee camp in
southern Lebanon on Oct. 17 - and comments attributed to delegation members
in the international press - has created a firestorm of condemnation.

The full text of the statement:

	"A group of Presbyterians currently visiting the Middle East has
received media attention by international press, as well as reporters in the
region about their visit with Hezbollah leaders in South Lebanon. The
Presbyterian group consists of members of the Advisory Committee on Social
Witness Policy (ACSWP) and staff support for the committee. ACSWP is an
advisory committee that develops social witness policy for the PC(USA), which
it in turn recommends to the General Assembly for action.

	"So far, the group's itinerary has included stops in Syria, Lebanon,
and Jordan. At the request of church partners, the group visited the Khiam
Detention Center in South Lebanon, a former Israeli prison now controlled by
Hezbollah, a group that has been associated with terror attacks.

	"The visit to Hezbollah and the comments on that occasion by members
of this Presbyterian group do not reflect the official position of the
Presbyterian Church (USA) on peace in the Middle East. The reports of this
visit should not be interpreted in any way as lessening our deep commitment
to continued Jewish-Christian dialogue, Muslim-Christian dialogue, or
Jewish-Christian-Muslim dialogue.

	"The 216th General Assembly (2004) of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
called "terrorism - whether state, group, or individual - immoral because it
wrongfully and deliberately attacks innocent civilians," and is "a dead-end
alternative to a negotiated settlement of the conflict."

	"We pray regularly for all those in the Middle East who live with the
constant threat of violence. The Presbyterian Church (USA) continues to work
for a just peace for all peoples, including Israelis and Palestinians."

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