THE INTERFAITH COMMUNITY FOR PALESTINIAN RIGHTS
All photos copyrights remain with original owners.
Courtesy of Justin McIntosh, Jack Prince and Norman Finkelstein
2006
In May, 2006, members of ICPR worked together to pack and mail 720 copies of "Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism
and the Abuse of History", by Norman Finkelstein to all voting commissioners and most advisory delegates to the 217th General Assembly
(2006), Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The General Assembly was scheduled to consider several resolutions on the Israel/Palestine conflict
at the Assembly which was to meet in Birmingham, Al, June 15-22. The most controversial of these, formerly taken at the 216th
GA ( 2004), was one calling for "phased, selective divestment " of church funds in US companies profiting from continuance of
the occupation by the Israel Defense Force of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in violation of UN General Assembly Resolution's 242 and
338.
Several ICPR members, members of the Presbyterian Church (USA), becoming aware that many GA commissioners were
not fully informed on the issues involved, set out in 2005 to try to educate fellow church people. They also became aware that
some right-wing Jewish-Americans were engaged in lobbying Presbyterians on behalf of the State of Israel to rescind or weaken the
stance of the PCUSA. One member shared this information with Dr. Norman Finkelstein, professor of political science at
DePaul University, a progressive Jew and well-known author and speaker. Finkelstein volunteered to send free-of-charge copies
of his latest book, Beyond Chutzpah, to PCUSA commissioners and advisory delegates and was able to find a foundation's financial
backing for the project.
Books were sent from the University of California Press's printer to Austin where they were packed
and sent out by ICPR. A letter from Finkelstein was enclosed. Photos taken of the packing project and Finkelstein's enclosed
letter may be seen on this ICPR web site. It is uncertain what impact all this had on the PCUSA's General Assembly's
actions. At the General Assembly, both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinians were active. Finkelstein himself attended and spoke briefly.
In the end, the GA did not rescind the controversial resolutions of the 216th GA ( 2004 ). Some change in wording was accepted
( "divestment" was changed to "corporate engagement" ). The Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA), Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick,
stated in a post-Assembly news conference that no change in the Presbyterian Church's policies had taken place and the Church remained
committed to peace with justice for both the State of Israel and a hoped-for Palestinian state. The General Assembly's final
decision passed by a vote of over 400 to slightly over 60. The final resolution may be read by going to the church's web site, www.pcusa.org.
In February ICPR joined with Pax Christi and Austin Veterans for Peace to sponsor local ICPR-member Anna
Baltzer's renowned presentation, "Life in Palestine: Eyewitness Stories & Photos" at the Gethsemane Lutheran Church. Anna visited
the West Bank for the first time in 2003 to discover for herself the realities of daily life for Palestinians there. She now volunteers
regularly with the International Women's Peace Service, documenting human rights abuses and supporting Palestinian and Israeli nonviolent
resistance to the Occupation. She recently published her first book, Witness in Palestine: Journal of a Jewish American Woman in theOccupied Territories, and continues to send photos and reports from on-the-ground solidarity work in Palestine. For more information
please visit Anna's website www.annainthemiddleeast.com
In March, ICPR and Gethsemane
Lutheran presented: “The ‘Piece’ Process Continues! The Struggle Against Myths, Propaganda, Violence and Annexation in Palestine and
Israel” by Jerry Levin. Jerry was Middle East Bureau Chief for CNN, based in Lebanon in 1984, when he was kidnapped by extremists.
After almost a year held in captivity, Jerry decided there was enough hostility in the area and that he needed to take action. He
and his wife Sis ( Dr. Lucille Levin, Ed.D.), an internationally know peace educator and certified professional mediator, decided
to dedicate themselves to bringing understanding and reconciliation to the dividing factions of the Middle East.
Now, 21 years later,
Jerry serves as a full-time volunteer with the Christian Peacemaker Teams ( www.cpt.org) in Hebron and Sis through her: The Children
of Abraham Interfaith Education for Peace Project has initiated a program to teach teachers how to teach nonviolence and resilience
to Palestinian students from pre-K through university.
Jerry also signed copies of his recently published book: "West Bank Diary"