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Presbyterians for Middle East Peace

PC(USA) Sanctions Against Israel Are the Wrong Way to the Right Answer

I will be away from June 12-18 to attend the Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly in Detroit. I will be there not as a delegate, but as an advocate, hoping to dissuade commissioners from voting in favor of divesting from, boycotting, or sanctioning Israel and businesses supporting it. Those who promote boycott, divestment, and sanctions (called “the BDS movement”) are good-hearted people outraged by the plight of Palestinians in the occupied territories. Unfortunately, sanctions on Israel are not a solution to the problem and reflect a misunderstanding of the situation on the ground. Furthermore, for our church to promote such sanctions will only further alienate our Jewish friends in the United States while doing little or nothing to advance us to a positive role in promoting peace in the Middle East. To take such a position undermines the very nature of Presbyterian peacemaking: we are a reconciling community, not one that chooses sides.Read More »PC(USA) Sanctions Against Israel Are the Wrong Way to the Right Answer

Presbyterians and Middle East Peace

Further Insights from My Recent Middle East Trip

By Rev. Dr. Fritz Ritsch, St. Stephen Presbyterian Church, Fort Worth, TX

This June, I will be attending the Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly meeting in Detroit, MI. I’m not going as a delegate, but rather as an advocate. I will be trying to convince commissioners to vote “no” to the several motions that will be before the assembly this year to use economic sanctions and other tools to punish Israel for its occupation of the West Bank. I will be there in cooperation with an organization called “Presbyterians for Middle East Peace” (PFMEP), whose stated mission is to promote investment in peace rather than divestment in Israel. They sponsored my trip this past February to Israel and the PalestinianTerritories. It was an eye-opening trip that confirmed my opinion that boycotting, divesting, or sanctioning Israel is a bad idea for Jewish-Christian relations, Palestinians and Israelis, and peace in the Middle East. Read More »Presbyterians and Middle East Peace

Day One: Fritz’s Trip to Israel and the Palestinian Territories

Israel/Palestine Journal, Day One: Monday, Feb. 10

We arrived in Israel this afternoon at about 4:30 pm local time at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv. My companions are an interesting mix of folks. The organizer is Rev. Bill Harter, pastor emeritus of a church in Pennsylvania, who has led PC(USA) delegations to the Holy Land since 1970. Most of my companions are Presbyterian pastors. They include the exec of Santa Barbara Presbytery and pastors from Virginia, Idaho, Iowa, and California, a college student, an a couple of folks who are slated to be commissioners to the PC(USA)’s General Assembly in Detroit in June, where issues related to Israel and the Palestinian territories are going to be addressed. There are twelve men and two women.Read More »Day One: Fritz’s Trip to Israel and the Palestinian Territories