Abortion Lobby Runs Damage Control After Offending Jewish Groups

I can’t recall a prior time when pro-abortion activists issued an unqualified apology. So, it came as a surprise when the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC) backtracked after wading into the Israel-Hamas War last week.

For those unfamiliar, RCRC (founded as the Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights) exists to provide a veneer of religious support for unrestricted abortion-on-demand. It counts several mainline Protestant agencies – and both the Episcopal Church and United Church of Christ – among its founding members. Readers may recall when the United Methodist General Conference voted in 2016 to force the General Board on Church and Society and United Methodist Women (now known as United Women in Faith) to disaffiliate from the abortion lobby.

RCRC Chief Executive The Rev. Katey Zeh on October 19 dispatched an email newsletter (in full below) to practice “sacred pausing” amidst the unfolding conflict.

“We have anguished and prayed over the horrors that have unfolded in Gaza and the growing human toll they have taken,” Zeh wrote, failing to note the Hamas assault on southern Israel that preceded Israeli military action in Gaza.

“A shared value across all faiths is compassion and respect for life, and one of the core tenets of reproductive justice is the right to raise our children in safe and sustainable communities; these are impossibilities right now for countless families in Gaza—both Muslim and Jewish,” Zeh penned. “We clearly see how these atrocities are part of a longstanding cycle of violence shaped by the legacy of colonialism, racism, and religious oppression that spans millennia.”

Setting aside – for the moment – the abortion lobby’s professed honor for “our shared dignity as divinely-created human beings,” the ordained Baptist minister momentarily lost sight of the significant number of Jewish groups among RCRC’s support base. They include two rabbis serving on the RCRC Board of Directors (one of which is treasurer) and founding members including the American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Congress, Anti-Defamation League, Central Conference of American Rabbis, Jewish Women International, the National Council of Jewish Women, Rabbinical Assembly, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association and Union for Reform Judaism, among others.

Oof. Jump to Monday:

“Last Thursday, RCRC sent out a message on the crisis in Israel and Gaza. In the days since, I have heard from many of our Jewish supporters who were harmed by the statement,” Zeh wrote. “I am writing on behalf of the organization to apologize.”

“In our statement, we failed to name Israel, to condemn the horrific October 7th Hamas attack that claimed 1400 Israeli lives, and to offer prayers for the 200 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Additionally, our use of the term ‘colonialism’ implied Israel was to blame for these brutal acts of terrorism and the ensuing war,” Zeh admitted. “To be clear: it can never be just to target innocent civilians as a means of war, or to attack some Jews for the actions of other Jews or the Jewish state.”

Oversimplification and deference to progressive tropes were among the organization’s errors, and they clearly heard from several stakeholders.

“We caused additional pain and hurt for so many Jewish people who are already mourning and struggling with generational wounds reopened by the recent violence,” Zeh disclosed. “We have caused pain and broken trust—not just for Jews, but in falling short of true inclusiveness, we hurt our whole community. For that, I am deeply sorry. As an organization, we failed, and we must do better.”

Zeh went on to note that RCRC “has been in deep and hard conversations with our Jewish friends, colleagues, and partners to determine next steps in repairing the harm done.”

Did RCRC’s major donors consider withholding future financial support if the organization didn’t change course? If so, who could blame them?