Bishop Rosemarie Wenner, president of the UMC’s Council of Bishops, has released a statement defending her decision to join more than a dozen other Christian leaders in sending a letter to Congress, urging an investigation of possible violations by Israel of the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act and the U.S. Export Control Act.
Some Jewish groups, including the American Jewish Committee and Union for Reform Judaism, were upset enough about the letter to cancel a scheduled meeting of the Christian-Jewish Roundtable, formed to promote interfaith dialogue about the Middle East. And some United Methodists, in comments posted to online articles about the letter, have questioned Bishop Wenner’s decision to be a signatory.
The letter—signed by leaders of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, among others—notes that the two acts prohibit U.S. assistance to countries that engage in a consistent pattern of human rights violations.
The letter notes that both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have suffered, and that both bear responsibility for the conflict. But the letter also says:
“In addition to specific rights violations, we see a troubling and consistent pattern of disregard by the government of Israel for U.S. policies that support a just and lasting peace. Specifically, repeated demands by the U.S. government that Israel halt all settlement activity have been ignored.”
The letter argues further that unconditional U.S. military assistance to Israel has contributed to sustaining the conflict and resulted in human rights violations against Palestinians involving “the misuse of U.S.-supplied weapons.”
Among the groups upset about the letter is the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.
“The participation of these leaders in yet another one-sided anti-Israel campaign cannot be viewed apart from the vicious anti-Zionism that has gone virtually unchecked in several of these denominations,” said Rabbi Steve Gutow, president of the council.
Some of the United Methodists who commented critically questioned whether Bishop Wenner had overstepped in signing the letter, given that the 2012 General Conference defeated petitions calling on the UMC to divest from firms accused of contributing to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
Bishop Wenner, who leads three annual conferences in Germany along with presiding over the Council of Bishops, responded by email to the Reporter’s request that she address criticisms by United Methodists. Here’s what she said:
The president of the Council of Bishops is the spokesperson for the Council and has the task to speak on public issues of urgent concern, in consultation with the executive secretary or executive committee as may be possible. Such statements shall be made when consonant with the position of the General Conference. The General Conference clearly stated that the UMC works for peace in the Middle East and urges all parties in Israel and Palestine to respect the human rights of all people. General Conference speaks clearly in encouraging United Methodists to engage with their governments so that peaceful solutions in the Israel-Palestine conflict might be achieved.
The General Conference 2012 adopted, for example, on May 2, 2012, the resolution “Opposition to Israeli Settlements in Palestinian Land.” It says:
“… Be it further resolved, that we urge the U.S. government to end all military aid to the region, and second to redistribute the large amount of aid now given to Israel and Egypt; to support economic development efforts of nongovernmental organizations throughout the region, including religious institutions, human rights groups, labor unions, and professional groups within Palestinian communities.
The United Methodist Church requests that all governments, especially that of the United States, work in cooperation with the United Nations, to urge the State of Israel to:
1. cease the confiscation of Palestinian lands and water for any reason;
2. cease the building of new, or expansion of existing, settlements and/or bypass roads in the occupied territories including East Jerusalem;
3. lift the closures and curfews on all Palestinian towns by completely withdrawing Israeli military forces to the Green Line (the 1948 ceasefire line between Israel and the West Bank);
4. dismantle that segment of the Wall of Separation constructed since May 2002 that is not being built on the Green Line but on Palestinian land that is separating Palestinians from their land and farmers from their fields.
We also urge the Palestinian Authority and all Palestinian religious leaders to continue to publicly condemn violence against Israeli civilians and to use nonviolent acts of disobedience to resist the occupation and the illegal settlements. …”
This resolution goes further than the letter which I signed. The letter asks the congress to urge the U.S. government to implement accountability structures for the huge amount of the military aid which Israel receives from the United States. It does not say that Israel does not have the right to defend itself. We stand clearly on the side of Israel and we are committed to human rights for all God’s people. We are ready to continue the dialogue with Jewish faith groups. And we will also continue to express publicly our desire for peaceful solutions for the conflict in the Middle East. In doing this we have to ask the politicians to act according to their responsibility and control those who are in power if people are threatened and peaceful solutions are undermined.
editor’s note: We’ve become aware that a group with a deep interest in the Israel/Palestine subject has encouraged members and friends to post comments here, supporting Bishop Wenner. That’s fine, but many of the comments make the same points, often with language that’s similar. We’ve decided, in consultation with one of the leaders of the group, to post a representative sampling of those comments – not all of them. So if yours doesn’t appear, that’s the reason. Thanks for your patience and understanding.
“We stand clearly on the side of Israel and we are committed to human rights for all God’s people. We are ready to continue the dialogue with Jewish faith groups. And we will also continue to express publicly our desire for peaceful solutions for the conflict in the Middle East.”
The leaders of the Jewish groups who cancelled the meeting feel the same way. I hope the summit meeting they have requested will take place. It is hard to be clear about our own motives without trying to understand those of people we disagree with. It will take a lot of meaningful conversation to build the kind of mutual insight and trust it will take for leaders in both communities to work together to make a better life for Israelis and Palestinians.
I am extremely angered by this. Israel is our friend and has come to our aid often. We must support Israel against these terrorists. I beleive in human rights but I also know a great deal about what is happening there. I am also hurt as a UM pastor that another person respresenting the UMC is not what the majority of its members really feel. I understand you had the right by the way our system is set up, but still it is very sad. Sad indeed. We question why our denomination is decreasing in numbers and this is another example why. We, small churches, common members do not really have a voice, only a small strong group. We need to change many things at the next General Conference or the exit numbers are going to be even greater; not just on this issue but others as well. Blessings to all and may we focus on bringing others to Christ and helping our denomination to grow. It is still the best around.
I am sorry but you simply do not understand the conflict and the nature of the Church’s historic stand in this matter. Israel was consolidated by the theft of land, rights and property belonging to another people. This tragedy from 1948 continues today in the West Bank which Israel aggressively conquered in 1967. There, Palestinians are dispossessed of their land, rights and property on a daily basis for the last 64 years while the US kept insisting that settlement abate and then does nothing to stop it. Palestinians are no more terrorists than the IDF are terrorists. They are people defending their homes against an enemy which is armed with modern weapons, an air force and tanks. Furthermore, it is Israel which has avoided negotiations for all these years. At several points Israel actually launched wars rather than negotiate, e.g. twice in Lebanon and twice in Gaza. It is shameful stuff and the loss of interfaith “dialogue” is not a huge loss: Anyone who understands Talmud and Judaism’s “chosenness” at all knows very well that the Jewish people positively loathe and despise everything about Christianity. It is not just indifference, but actual loathing and mockery. Good riddance.
I wonder if those who’s unquestioning support for Israeli actions in the Palestinian land have ever been there and seen the humiliation of a proud people who have been there for generations and are also decendants of Abraham? It is dehuminizing for Palestinian people as well as for Israeli solders. If you would be taken behind the walls and see the difference between the two Semetic peoples and the conditions underwhich the people live I know you would have a different opinion. All control for their lives in the hands of people who claim self defence while attacking them in ways that are unjust and cruel. When you witness the distructions of houses of the people who are not terrorists but are only trying to make a home for their families you see a different view of Israeli government than the one that is protrayed by the popular Holy Land tours. The water is reduced, land confiscated to build walls which separate people from their land and livihoods. Children going to school are calle dnames and have stones thrown at then. Is this a good thing for Jewish people who have apparently thrown away the words of the prophets and of the Torah? This cannot be good for Jew or Arab.
I agree with angiekk1. I am tired of self proclaimed representatives of the UMC making public statements about what Methodists stand for. Maybe they have this right, but it would be nice if there was a real consensus of the Church membership on major issues that we are facing in today’s world. Instead we have some radicals that use the UMC to press their personal opinions. Israel has been attacked since its formation, the Israelites have done what was necessary to protect themselves and their nation.They have turned a desert into one of the most productive areas in the world. These spokesmen use their positions and their interpretation of our Book of Discipline and Resolutions to justify their comments until it comes to obeying these tenets, threatening to split the Church if they don’t get their way. If the leadership of the UMC doesn’t take notice and start adhering to the voice of the people, then they are going to find themselves representing a handful of liberal secularists.
With violence spreading across the Muslim world, the church’s ongoing focus on the sins of Israel strikes me as border-line anti-semetic. I think the General Conference made its will on such things pretty clear in voting to reject divestment. Not that I think for a moment Congress will pay any attention to this letter. If the US cuts foreign aid, it will surely be to those nations that are harboring terrorists, killing Americans and/or slaughtering their own people. So, the net result of Bishop Wenner’s signature is likely to be this (and only this): a little more alienation within the already troubled denomination that she is theoretically leading. But hey, fellow local pastors: How are you doing with those dashboard metrics!
I disagree—I was considering leaving the Methodist Church after 14 years because our Minister is so misinformed on the situation and history of the creation of Israel and the brutality of the occupation. I am hanging in there precisely BECAUSE the Methodist Church is finally waking up. My recent trip to the Holy Land was inspired by our Associate Pastor who has since received her own ministry. What I saw there was appalling. A 26-foot wall with sniper tower snaking through Bethlehem—really???? How sad that people who claim to be Christians are so anti-Arab-semitic that they can’t see the injustice of the occupation, land theft, water theft, natural resource theft and expropriation of every conceivable tourist attraction. Apartheid is not Christian, prejudice is not Christian, injustice is not Christian, Israeli only roads, settlements, and bus stops are not Christian.
This is another example of why our recent UMC survey said that trust in leadership is low. Our bishops continue to make statements as if they are the authority, and thus can rightly speak for the entire denomination. They seem to take great joy in making statements on divisive political issues and causing more division instead of focusing on what they have been entrusted to do, namely leading the UMC out of its continued decline. I pray that they will understand how problematic this is and care enough to stop.
I have talked to a number of fellow UMC members and can find no one so far who agrees with Wenner on this. This is unacceptable. Is this, and things like this, the reason the UMC membership count is down? Wenner does not speak for me or the vast majority of the members of our church. Israel is Israel, not Israel/Palestine. The has NEVER been Palestine. If the so-called Palestinians would stop killing Israelis there would have been peace a long time ago.
I guess those who talked to others about whether they supported Bishop Wenner and those who signed the letter to Congress didn’t ask the right people. There are many of us who want peace in the Holy Land and it won’t come by supporting group in the conflict. Both groups have to be called to stop the evil they do and that includes Israel and Palestine. They both are committing crimes against humanity and that is in opposition to who we are as UMs. As UMs we can’t therefore stand silent. We must speak and we must speak from our faith not our political loyalities. Israel has killed far more civilians than has Palestine. This does not make Israel more evil; it just make more people dead. By faith we must speak and our leaders have spoken.
Well you missed me–Bishop Werner should be applauded. She has taken a strong stance to defeat the injustice of a brutal occupation. Those of us that are well educated on this subject and who have seen the ugly and inhumane occupation get it….please read Noam Chomsky—”The Fateful Triangle” , published in 1983 he predicted all of the current situation including the goal of annexing all of Palestine. All these negative comments and racist remarks are disheartening from people who claim to be Christians…I have been to Palestine and saw the ugly underbelly of the occupation. Christians who support the occupation should be ashamed of themselves.
What am I missing? General Conference adopted resolutions supporting Bishop Wenner’s stance as expressed in the letter. Why do people get so offended if we do not support everything Israel does? We can thoroughly support Israel, yet still be concerned about the continued colonization of Palestinian land. Human rights on both sides need to be respected. Perhaps we do not seem to criticize the Palestinians as frequently as we do Israel. But we do have the responsibility to encourage our government to be certain human rights violations are kept to a minimum and a that our support for military purposes is not a means of hurting innocent residents.
What is obvious to Jewish religious leaders can’t be understood by Christian religious leaders. What is obvious to Christian religious leaders is simplistic and wrong to Jewish religious leaders. We need a reset. I think progress on these issues, if it comes, will happen when people at all levels on both sides get together and invest a lot of time working to at least achieve mutual respect and trust. With that, there are many things people will be able to agree on and political leaders will be influenced by that.
Were the resolutions supporting the good Bishop’s stance passed by 100 % of the delegates? Father/Son/Holy Spirit’s covenants with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are still as valid now as when they were made. More and more, the hierarchy in the umc separates itself from those in the pews with statements made that convey the feeling that the denomination supports radical stands and statements without dissent. Yes, the denomination will continue to dwindle.
There would be peace if the so-called Palestinians and their bloodthirsty brethren would stop killing Israelis. Why can some not see this?
Israel’s claim on the land is indisputable. Jerusalem is their capitol. Israel should not retreat in any way.
Thank you, redpalacebulleaglesox. I long for the day that all the people in the Holy Land will sing something more like “This land is your land, this land is my land…” in the spirit of genuine mutual respect for each other as human beings and respect for each other’s universal rights to life and freedom, etc. (and respect for int’l law). I also equally long for the day when most U.S. citizens are ready to sing that song as a recognition of how we, also, “occupied” (colonized) a continent inhabited by an indigenous people, whose rights were also trampled.
I am deeply troubled by this action taken by the Methodist Bishops. There is a reason the Founding Fathers decided to keep separation of church and state- so that the church can focus on their purpose and not divide members along a political agenda.
If Bishops and other people in “high” places want to write letters to condemn human rights why not write letters to Iran, Iraq Saudi Arabia (where I have lived) Cuba, Venezuela, India, etc etc etc. I was raised as a Baptist and joined the Methodist Church because of the service they do in my community. But recently the Lord has been dealing me – troubling the water- so to speak and now I know why. It is time for me to return to my roots.Yet I know no denomination is perfect but this goes against every fiber of my being. This letter of condemnation is not promoting peace, this is adding fuel to the fire for radical Islamist.
Father forgive them for they know not what they do.
Please consider that Bishop Wenner would never have signed this letter without first doing her homework. I urge you to do the same. If you can afford to visit the Holy Land I strongly advise going on the Tree of Life Journey wiht the First Congregational Church od Old Lyme : http://www.tolef.org . I went last April and while I was very well read on the subject I was not prepared for the ugly underbelly of the occupation. If you are unable to go on the journey please consider reading books by Noam Chomsky, IlanPappe, Phyllis Bennis, Tanya Reinhart, Mazin Qumsiyeh, Elias Chacour, David Lynch and many others–your library will have most if not all of their writings. What Israel is doing to the Palestinians goes against every fiber of my being as a Christian.
I think we as Methodist should start a petition demanding Wenner’s resignation. There’s a great country song that states, “You’ve got to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything”.
United Methodists need more education about the Middle East. Try this, at Jewish Voice for Peace:
http://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/content/israeli-palestinian-conflict-101
Then watch just five minutes of this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rSd9HuPZYU
Bishop Wenner is entirely correct. She stands with 14 other denominational leaders against oppression AND violence, and in favor of International AND United States law. Read up, people.
Agreed—All Christians should pick up a book now and then (Noam Chomsky, Ilan Pappe, David Lynch, Pamela Olson, Mazin Qumsiyeh, Elias, Chacour, Tanya Reinhart, Phyllis Bennis, Gideon Levy) , and many many others can give readers some perspective on the history and brutality of the occupation. Read up on web-sites like US campaign to End the Occupation, Jewish Voice for Peace. For that matter consider a visit to the Holy Land with the Alternative Tourism Group or http://www.tolef.org. You will come away with a commitment to facilitate change in the way the Jesus would have wanted us to–by using our voice. Bishop Warner has taken a courageous stand–I applaud her! This is the one thing that has maintained my commitment to the Methodist Church–along with David Wildman and Susanne Hoder. Had it not been for people like them I would have left the church long ago.
I am proud to be a United Methodist as I read Bishop Wenner’s call for applying the same legal standards to Israel that we apply to all other countries receiving US aid. These laws were designed to protect all of us. Allowing one country to continually violate human rights with our military aid opens the door for other countries to do the same. There should be nothing threatening about making sure that no country willfully uses weapons purchased with our hard earned tax dollars to harm civilians because of their race or ethnic background. Many United Methodists have witnessed the ethnic persecution of native Christians and Muslims by Israel’s military. For years, interfaith dialog has prevented Christians here from speaking out. Yet now many Jews are speaking out too. It is time for all Americans to say, “Either Israel abides by international law and respects human rights, or we stop providing unconditional military aid.” The $30 billion in military aid for Israel could be better spent here at home.
I am so grateful to Bishop Wenner for signing the letter to Congress and putting our church policy into action! There are thousands of United Methodists who feel the same way, and have signed a Letter of Support and Thanks – you can see that at http://www.umhltf.org.
It would be sad if someone actually left the church because of this, but I know people who ARE leaving because our church will not be bold and principled in the tradition of the prophets of old, speak truth to power with courage. We have been longing for such leaders as we are seeing come forward now in our church!
It is one of the most tired myths in recent church history that our denomination’s numbers are dwindling because of liberal or progressive positions leaders or others have taken. It is just as likely that our numbers are shrinking because we are too stubborn to learn and grow as God’s spirit would lead us to do, and will not consider change that a younger generation of believers could understand and embrace.
No one who supports the Letter to Congress is suggesting we should not support the Israeli people. But there is so little information getting to our US church members about what is really happening in the Holy Land. Regarding the widespread myth mentioned above, that Israelis made the desert bloom: Palestine was a fertile area known for its thriving agricultural economy long before the state of Israel was established.
And Palestinians are not bloodthirsty monsters, but prisoners in their own land, without any governmental rights and without protection from a crushing military occupation. They are being illegally imprisoned, tortured and killed in the thousands yearly, attacked weekly by settlers under the eyes and protection of the Israeli military, and Arab Israeli citizens are living under dozens of discriminatory laws within Israel itself – all of which is documented extensively by both Israeli and international human rights organizations.
Palestinian Christians have been begging us to take just such actions as Bishop Wenner has done, and have made it clear they are under siege and desperate for our help, not from their Muslim neighbors, but from a brutal Israeli occupation that is strangling their society.
Many Jewish Israeli citizens also support so-called “radical” actions as our Bishop has taken, to help wake up their government and keep Israel from running off the cliff it is headed for. The best way the US can be a true friend to Israel, and the most loving thing we UMs can do for Israel – in the true spirit of agapé – is to work to make US aid conditional on the rule of law – US laws and international laws for human rights, the conduct of war, and control of occupied territory.
Groups of Israelis, before the General Conferences of 2008 and 2012, have written to United Methodists predicting that someday their people will thank us for having the courage and concern to tell them the truth and to help them turn their nation in a new direction.
Let us all continue to seek a just resolution of the conflict without more violence.
Thank you Bishop Wenner for your courage and leadership! United Methodists around the country are advocating for peace with justice and an end to human rights violations in the Middle East. You can learn more here: https://www.kairosresponse.org/
Thank you, Bishop. I fully support statehood for the Palestinians and I’m grateful for today’s UN vote, also. This makes me proud to be a United Methodist. I pray I will soon be able to say the same about our denomination’s treatment of gays and lesbians. I support full equality for them, as well.
I am very grateful to Bishop Wenner and the Council of Bishops for joining with other denominational leaders who are challenging our nation’s supplying Israel with unrestricted military weaponry. This is completely in keeping with the United Methodist position on the Middle East, and is an appropriate response to the current situation there. We United Methodists must continue to work for an end to the human rights violations that continue to be perpetuated on the Palestinian people. Thank you Bishop Wenner and Council of Bishops!
I am one thousand percent behind you, Bishop Wenner. I am American and I am Jewish, and I am sickened that Israel, which claims to “represent” me, commits atrocities in my name. And I am further sickened that my country, which is duty-bound to represent me, encourages and enables Israel in these atrocities. ENOUGH KILLING!!! In a just world, officials from Israel and the U.S., among others, would be brought before the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice. But at the very least, we need to put an end to Israel’s barbarism once and for all, .
Thank you, Bishop Wenner, for your prophetic voice on this issue. We all need to speak out against violence and for peace, and you have done so clearly, and yet respectfully. I am also proud to read the portion of the May 2 resolution, “Opposition to Israeli Settlements in Palestinian Land,” you quoted from in your response above. The church needs to speak out about the violence taking place in Israel/Palestine. Thank you for joining your voice with other church leaders in doing so.
Thank you, Bishop Wenner! You have spoken out as our founder, John Wesley, would have done. I have been to Palestine/Israel and witnessed personally the huge injustices perpetrated on the Palestinian people. Hundreds of acres of olive trees, the source of livelihood for many Palestinians, destroyed by the Israili military. Elaborate settlements on Palestinian land that uses Palestinian water 24/7, while the owners of that water are “permitted” to have access to it two days a week. Some 30,000 Palestinian homes bulldozed without cause, and permits to rebuild are sytematically denied. The list goes on and on. And we give billions in our tax dollars to support this. The Church has got to speak out.
I was very disappointed in the action taken by Bishop Wenner. This partisan finger pointing does not reflect our kingdom values, and ignores the complexity of a situation that has been a source of strife for generations. The Palestinians are not innocent victims- the terror attacks leading up to Israel’s actions in Pillar of Cloud show that the Hamas leadership is more than happy to spend their international aid money on rockets rather than infrastructure for the people of Gaza. The number of Palestinian Christians in Gaza has declined by 45% since Hamas took over in a bloody coup. The remaining ones live in fear. The only nation in the Middle east where Christians are welcome is still Israel.
Im most distressed by Bishop Wenners actions because I see them moving us further from peace, and further from co-existence. This is not the path of path
You need to read a book now and then. You will gain some perspective. Israel does NOT welcome Christians- at least not Palestinian Christians who can apply for permits to enter Jerusalem only twice per year (Easter and Christmas). and be denied simply because they have protested the occupation. They do welcome American tourists who help them exploit the tourist economy of the Holy Land. Pillar of “Defense” was planned long ago and Hamas provoked to insure that Netanyahu and his rabid Zionist government would be re-elected and to test the Iron Dome. The extra-Judicial assassination of the Hamas military leader was tantamount to an enemy taking out one of our top generals . This was done to circumvent a long term cease-fire that Jabari was in the process of negotiating. It was immoral and resulted in 160 or so casualties in Gaza and 6 in Israel. This is what happens when there is a too well-equipped militaristic society wedged in an already volatile region paid fro by our tax dollars.
I applaud you, Bishop Wenner, for your principled and courageous stand. It is sad that your position attracts so much controversy from Jewish organizations. However, we have a moral obligation to consider the feelings of both sides in this dispute, not just one side. We also have to take into account the fact that there is no unanimity of feeling on either side, and that an important section of the Jewish people agrees with our stand. Their opinions deserve consideration also.
In everything we say and do, we are called to recognize the sanctity of the human person. Each one of us has unique an irreplaceable value as a child of God, and all of us are equally loved by God. Because of this, we cannot support human institutions or practices which consistently deny the humanity of one group of people; or treat them as dispensable and of no account. I believe that America’s policy on Palestine suffers from this shortcoming. It consistently treats Palestinian life as less important than Israeli life.
Settlements in the West Bank have spread to the point where the prospect of a peaceful two state compromise is increasingly in doubt. As peacemakers, we cannot sit by idly while people with power act in ways that are likely to make disputes intractable and impossible to resolve peacefully in the future. It is not enough to work to stop war and violence. We must work to prevent it. But the current Israeli policy, backed unconditionally by the US government, makes future terrible conflict almost inevitable.
We have a duty to listen to the concerns raised by Jewish leaders, and to do so in a penitent frame of mind, because of all that the Jewish people have suffered under Christian people over the centuries. However, no one can call on us to forget the Palestinian people and treat them as unimportant, or to share in hatred of them. Nor can we be called upon to support policies which will lead to still more bloodshed and suffering for both peoples. If these are the pre-condition for interfaith dialogue, then, sadly, we have to conclude that it cannot proceed. Nevertheless, our door must always remain open.
Thank you again, Bishop Wenner, for acting with such courage and integrity. Yours, Jason Weeks. Iowa City, Iowa
As a retired American Baptist pastor whose General Secretary is also a signatory, I applaud this initiative, and especially appreciate Bishop Wenner’s willingness to take a stand on this issue and forthrightly respond to criticism from within her denomination.
Bishop Wenner’s statement gives us no more than the honest truth about the situation in Israel/Palestine – and notably about the occupied territories, which I have visited myself several times in the past ten years. Violations of law by the Israeli military and illegal settlers settlers there are routine – and that includes the disregard of rulings about land rights passed by Israel’s own courts.
Most depressingly, the incursions into Palestinian farmland, and the building of new settlements, go ever onward, seemingly unstoppable.
As we saw today, the majority of the world’s nations voted for Palestine statehood – and the Israeli government responded defiantly by announcing the illegal seizure of more Palestinian houses and land in East Jerusalem. What a happy Christmas present for a family issued with an eviction order on the eve of the birth of Our Saviour !
Do we not want to see PEACE in Israel/Palestine? Peace is the twin sister of JUSTICE.
I would like to add a comment in praise of Bishop Wenner’s courageous, profound, and loving commitment to the truth, to justice for the Palestinians. She told her truth with the greatest humility, knowing she would be subjected to vicious attacks for trying to do justice and speak from her heart. Acknowledgement of what the Palestinians endured and are enduring is also at the heart of peace for the Israelis, and at the heart of guiding Americans back to their own values, which have been eroded by their hypocritical blind support, and attention only to Israel’s account of itself, while allowing themselves to ignore the sufferings of the Palestinians, and the warping of their lives and futures, every day.
In Christ, there is neither master nor slave, Jew nor Gentile, male nor female, Israeli nor Palestinian, only human beings who struggle to interpret Christ’s life in their own lives.
Bishop Wenner is an honor to Christian faith, and to that human struggle. I thank her.
I commend Bishop Wenner for her courage in speaking out on Israel’s long standing human rights violations against the Palestinian people and for her calling for our government to be held accountable for giving Israel massive amounts of military aid to pursue its agenda of colonizing the West Bank. Currently, over 500,000 Israelis live in permanent, yet illegal settlements in the West Bank on land given to the Palestinian people by the United Nations in 1947. These settlements are linked by an exclusive, Israeli-only road system. Israeli forces continually bulldoze Palestinian homes and olive orchards to make way for even more settlers. With the building of the hideous Wall and setting up innumerable checkpoints, life for Palestinians has become fragmented and unbearable. This has nothing to do with defending Israel. It is a land grab pure and simple. Yes, Israel wants all of the land. The siege of Gaza, where 1.5 million Palestinians are imprisoned without adequate food, water or waste disposal amounts to genocide.
The United States government is not only silent and complicit in the face of these long standing human rights violations, but it funds Israel to the tune of $3 billion in mostly military aid each year, thus enabling Israel’s brutal oppression of the Palestinian people. This aid violates U.S. law. I believe that as United Methodists we are morally compelled to speak out against it and we must raise our voices to decry the human rights violations perpetrated by the State of Israel.
God bless you Bishop Wenner.
Richard Hacker
United Methodist
Thank you for showing such courage. Every nonviolent means of resistance needs to be employed to stop the Aparteid in Palestine. What a shame that doing the right thing requires such courage.
Thank you Bishop Wenner for being a leader for justice. Know it is especially hard when justice is a minority position.
So, thank you very much!
Thank you, Bishop Wenner! Jesus loved all mankind. He did not love Jews more than gentiles. Bishop Wenner, along with the other signers of the letter to Congress, are only seeking a recognition of human rights for all. No side is blameless in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as it involves humans in all their frailty on both sides. However, as US money is an important part of the conflict, we must insure that it is not being used to worsen human tragedy. Bishop Wenner et al. only asked that Congress follow their own rules to achieve that aim. That’s all. I think it is a very Christian act.
At last! Christians have found a voice for justice and peace in Bishop Wenner. I have been trying for the last eight years to educate myself and others with the facts re. Israel and its history of mistreating the Palestinians. The silence of Christian churches about the unjust policies and practices of Israel has been the most demoralizing part of my work. How could we claim to be followers of Jesus and not speak out on behalf of the thousands of Palestinians who have suffered so long not only the ongoing loss of their land but the deprivation of even the necessities of life? She has made me proud to be a Christian again. Bishop Wenner has kept the channel of dialogue open but is not going to compromise on the truth because she speaks for those who have no voice and who have already suffered way too much for way too long. A wise, courageous, grace-filled woman.
Thank you Bishop, for your courageous stand. For too long Israel has committed atrocities against the Palestinian people which go unreported and unknown, because the mainstream media in the US is biased in favor of Israel. Most people in this country have no idea what is really going on in Palestine. In countries where the media is more even-handed, public sentiment is overwhelmingly against Israel.
I am heartened by the fact that religious leaders in this country are speaking out against how Israel uses our aid, money that could be put to much better use right here.
Brave people in history, who dare to say the truth and who stand for what is right, are not tolerated by the system that they are exposing nor those who are so used to the system or those who benefit from the system.
Throughout my life I have been impressed by Henry David Thoreau. He was jailed for standing for a moral cause; as a consequence he wrote Civil Disobedience to liberate people’s minds from the dogma that limits their thinking.
Bishop Wenner, thank you for your bravery and strength. Thank you for being a moral model for many of us.
I fully support Bishop Wenner’s letter to Congress regarding an investigation of possible violations by Israel of the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act and the U.S. Export Control Act. Such an investigation is years past due. The United States’s continued military support for Israel in the face of it’s illegal West Bank settlement projects and the U.S. unwillingness to deal with this problem, has now made a two state solution impossible. Divestment from investment in Israel is probably the only way now to make Israel stop it’s injustice to Palestinians.
How can Christians remain silent as fellow Christian and Muslim Palestinians suffer terrible human rights violations under Israeli occupation? it is crucial that the US stops sending weapons into the conflict zone of the Middle East (which is done in violation of international law as well). The call for an end to the Israeli colonisation of Palestinian land and an end to the military occupation aims at ending human suffering on both sides. The occupation destroys Palestinians and Israelis spiritually.
Amen!!!
You said it better than I could have. I too saw the harassment of the settlers, the automatic weapons on every corner in Jerusalem, the checkpoints, the shuttered markets in Hebron—all of the injustice that we Americans are subsidizing. Thank you for your reasoned voice of integrity.