As set forth in detail in Section (4.1) above, ACSWP authored a resolution in 2003--“End the Occupation Now,” adopted by the 215th General Assembly--that is unbalanced and factually erroneous. It could more accurately be labeled anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian propaganda than a historical work.
The ACSWP also prepared a document‹“Resolution on Violence, Religion, and Terrorism”--that was subsequently approved by the 216th General Assembly. While the resolution disapproves of terrorism, Section 3 of that resolution attempts to explore its causes. Economic inequities, colonialism, imperialism, globalization, and the values of Western civilization are all cited. (54)
The resolution also concludes that “Violence may quite understandably arise from within a group that presently feels it has been deprived of the use and control of the land over which it has had a long period of recent control.”
Once again, there is a decided preference within documents like these to rationalize violence as being at least adequately explained, if not justified, by circumstances. Apparently, we are now a church that has affinity for the I.R.A, Arafat, Hamas, and Hezbollah. Nor do we adequately condemn the corrosive effect violence initiated by these groups has on the societies they control.
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4.1. The resolution relies upon flawed sources of historical background information
4.2. The resolutions are premised upon flawed theological grounds
4.3. Speakers were carefully chosen with no balance
4.4. The error of calling for immediate and unconditional removal of the security barrier
4.5. Divestment is the wrong pathway to peace in the region and guarantees that our church will play no constructive role as a mediator
4.6. The error of trying to legislate a foreign policy by biennial resolutions in a fluid and constantly changing Middle East
4.7. The strong probability that the resolutions do not reflect the views of a majority of Presbyterians
4.8. The perception that the resolutions reflect a broader and troubling institutional bias against Israel within PCUSA offices and committees
4.8.1. The Presbyterian News Service (PNS)
4.8.2. PCUSA - Washington Offices
4.8.3. The Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP)
