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Peacemaking Is More than Pointing Fingers
(Washington Post) Katharine Henderson and Gustav Niebuhr - On July 4, the 600 commissioners of the Presbyterian Church (USA) will consider a scaldingly critical 150-page report that rebukes Israel for its treatment of Palestinians and calls for the American government to squeeze the Jewish state financially. We do not like it, and have signed a letter circulating among Presbyterians nationwide, calling on the General Assembly to reject the Middle East Study Committee's report. We find that report to be unbalanced, historically inaccurate, theologically flawed and politically damaging. Presbyterians believe that God calls them and others to be peacemakers and to work for justice. Historically, the denomination has condemned violence on both sides. Sadly, the report strays from this path to peace-building and instead deals in neatly-assigned roles - Israel as oppressor, Palestinians as victims - period. But peacemaking does not mean pointing fingers. Rev. Dr. Katharine Henderson is President of Auburn Seminary. Gustav Niebuhr is an associate professor of religion and the media at Syracuse University.