Another Presbyterian Meeting with Terrorists

This past week, Hizbullah invaded Israel with the intention of kidnapping Israeli soldiers. Make no mistake, Hizballah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah vowed Friday that attempts to abduct Israeli soldiers would continue, saying Hizballah has no intention of laying down its arms. They are not considered the world's most dangerous terrorist organization for nothing.

Here is the entire report. Christopher at "For Zion's Sake" provides a plethora of links in his report that provide background to this meeting between the Presbyterian Church USA and the leader of Hezbollah.

Now, operations to kidnap Israelis take a lot of planning. An operation as large as this, which used every type of weapon in the terrorist organization's arsenal, must have been in planning last month, when a group from the PCUSA visited southern Lebanon at the invitation of Hizbullah, and met there with the terrorist organization's commander in southern Lebanon, Nabil Qawuq. The group was, apparently the Chicago Presbytery Task Force of 18 persons which went to Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank in October, lead by Robert Worley, former professor of ministry at the McCormick Theological Seminary, and guided by the Rev. Dr. Nuhad Tomeh - who is currently assigned to serve with the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) as an associate general secretary and is also the regional liaison of the PCUSA for Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and the Gulf. The group's spokesman was Worley, who said: We do not wish to defend the U.S. administration. We all elected the Democratic Party against the Republican Party. Rest assured that we will return to the U.S. in order to continue our activity for peace, and we want to hear about the charity activities and the cultural and social activities organized by Hizbullah in south [Lebanon]. The Americans hear in the Western media that Hizbullah is a terrorist organization, and they do not hear any other opinion. They know nothing about the party's concern for the people of the south. We have suffered much pressure on the part of Jewish organizations in the U.S. because [of our help in] divesting corporations working with Israel. We want Jerusalem to be a united city, just as we encouraged the Palestinians and the Jews to work for peace, and we demanded that our administration adheres to this position. From Southern Lebanon, the Iranian-funded, Syrian-backed, terrorist "party", which the Lebanese people are demonstrating to get out of their home, plans and carries out its attacks. In this area, when Israel invaded, they found Christians staked to the ground where they had been nailed down to be used for transfusions for Hizballah and PLO terrorists. Since Israel pulled out of Lebanon, so called "Party of Allah" has carried out an unchecked -and unreported - reign of terror in South Lebanon, Professor Worley.

By the way, the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) of the PCUSA met with, met with this same sheik, last October, as part of their research which led to their recommendation to divest from Israel. When news of this event got out, the leadership of the PCUSA was so humiliated by the widespread media coverage and condemnation, it eventually fired two delegation members from their positions in the church.

These are not the only delegations from the PCUSA to have met with the terrorist gang, with whom the church is apparently on quite good terms. The Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding (EMEU) tour of Al-Khiam Detention Center/Prison in southern Lebanon on May 23, 2002, and the San Francisco Theological Seminary tour group in June 2004; These were smart enough not to make any statements.

Let me state, clearly, that not all Presbyterian are like this. Many laymen and elders, and even some members of the organizational leadership are trying to combat the downward trend. Unfortunately some leaders of the Presbyterian Church, (USA), seem to be intentionally trying to destroy all possibility of respect for the PCUSA.

It is possible that the church leadership is looking for more influence in US politics in an effort to slow its catastrophic decline.

The PCUSA is in an existential and financial crisis. It is no secret that the denomination is losing almost 50,000 members per year and and sees multi-million dollar reductions in its mission budget. Current estimates suggest the denomination will run out of members by the year 2054. This might not mean anything to those of us who are not or have never been Presbyterians, but the PCUSA has a once-proud heritage. It should mean something to us, for we should want to see this be a body dedicated to and mightily used by G~d.

I received an email from one man who wishes to remain anonymous, but he has given me good insight: I am an elder in the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) and am likewise baffled by this stupidity. As the saying goes: "When you are in the hole, stop digging." However, it is seems very suspicious, my correspondent pointed out, when ALL of the 18 "fact finders" are members of the Democratic Party: "I certainly do not have any proof, but it looks to me like the leadership of the PCUSA loathes Bush to such a degree that they would do things to destabilize an already unstable situation in the mid east."

However, the answer may be less pleasant but more simple anti-Semitism.

The PCUSA is one of the denominations leading the call for divesting from Israel. When they follow up their one-sided economic punishment of Israel with terrorist love fests, they are smearing themselves with tincture of anti-Semitism.

Research by Faiths For Fairness indicates that "the leadership of the PCUSA has engaged in a seeming bias in their relationships with Mid East entities." They have prepared a letter addressed to Stated Clerk Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick and Executive Director John Detterick which documents many of the actions which do more than indicate bias, they fairly scream it.

"The latest photo op with a frontline terrorist leader confirms these Presbyterian leaders are pursuing a functionally antisemitic, punitive campaign against Israel, motivated not by hopes for peace but as a desire to weaken the Jewish state," said Rabbi Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and I cannot disagree.

There can be no doubt that some leaders of the PCUSA are working for the destruction of Israel. The question is whether the membership is going to let them succeed.

"The Jewish community can only hope that fair-minded members of PCUSA will take back control of the moral compass of their movement before any further damage is done to the cause of Middle East peace, interfaith relations and the Presbyterian Church's historic reputation," Cooper concluded.

Now for the good news. Change may be coming.

There are 173 geographical districts in the PCUSA called presbyteries. The 540 Commissioners to the General Assembly are usually selected from the "left of center" of the church membership. However, 4 Presbyteries have approved motions to repeal the Israel divestment at the June 2006 General Assembly.

The more that ordinary Presbyterians grow ashamed of the love and support that the PCUSA is showing to terror organizations and the hatred and destruction it offers to Israel, the more likely the PCUSA is to amend its ways. Ordinary Presbyterians are realizing that the time to act is now.

posted by Christopher at 11/27/2005 12:13:00 PM

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