Presbyterian Action Director’s Testimony on Middle East

The following is testimony that Presbyterian Action Director Alan Wisdom prepared to give July 5 before the Middle East Peacemaking Committee of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly in Minneapolis. Wisdom was not able to give his testimony because of the limited time available to the committee.

I’m Alan Wisdom, an elder at Georgetown Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC, and director of Presbyterian Action for Faith & Freedom. I urge you to disapprove the Middle East Study Committee report and adopt instead Item 14-06.

The Study Committee promises to be “prophetic,” “tell[ing] the truth as we see and understand it.” But does it tell the whole truth? Sadly, I would say “no.”

Sometimes prophets need to speak harsh truths. The Study Committee hits Israel pretty hard. Words like “sin,” “evil,” “appalled,” “ghastly,” and “intolerable” are applied. Israel is compared to “a Nazi state,” apartheid South Africa, and the former Soviet Union. That’s quite a political trifecta!

What about the other actors in the region? Suddenly, the report starts to pull its punches. Regarding Hamas in Gaza, it assures us, “Hamas is a militant organization; however, over 90 percent of Hamas’ resources are spent on social services.” It fails to mention that Hamas is committed in its charter to the destruction of Israel.

Regarding Hezbollah in Lebanon, the report says, “Hezbollah, while classified as a ‘terrorist organization,’ demonstrates through its social services and governmental participation that it is a more broadly political body guided by an Islamist viewpoint of some flexibility.” The report suggests that fears of Iran’s nuclear program are exaggerated because “Iran has not invaded any other country for centuries.”

The report asserts that only “a relatively small minority [of Palestinians] has resorted to violence.” It blames this violence on Israel. “If there were no occupation,” it claims, “there would be no Palestinian resistance.”

While the report urges cutting off U.S. aid “to bring Israel to compliance,” it does not name any other government in the region that should be denied aid. Indeed, it seeks more money for the Palestinian Authority.

Is this prophetic truth-telling? I’m afraid not. I urge you to disapprove the Middle East Study Committee report and instead adopt Item 14-06.