“Adoption of this poisonous document by the Presbyterian Church will be nothing short of a declaration of war on Israel and her supporters,” declared the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

The proposals set forth by a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) committee regarding the conflict between Israel and Palestinians will damage interfaith ties, said one of the nation’s largest Jewish human rights organizations.

PCUSA’s recommendations reflect an “anti-Israel political agenda” and are not “balanced and fair” as the church leaders pledged its Middle East policies would be, said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, on Monday.

The recommendations by the denomination’s Special Committee to Prepare a Comprehensive Study Focused on Israel/Palestine include a call for the U.S. government to withhold financial and military aid to Israel; end the Israeli occupation of the West Bank; and repent of its “sinful behavior” throughout the Middle East, including its “acquiescence” in the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands.

Committee members also endorsed the “Kairos Palestine Document,” written by Palestinian church leaders, which details the grievances of Palestinians living under Israeli control.

“Adoption of this poisonous document by the Presbyterian Church will be nothing short of a declaration of war on Israel and her supporters,” declared the Simon Wiesenthal Center. “It will negatively impact interfaith relations, and could have significant repercussions in the political domain, with 46 Members of the U.S. Congress and Senate who are Presbyterians.”

In 2004, the PCUSA became the first mainline Protestant denomination to approve a policy of divestment from Israel. But the policy was unpopular with its members and was later rescinded.

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http://www.christianpost.com/article/20100223/jewish-group-pcusa-s-israel-proposals-will-damage-relations/