Christian Leaders Call on Mainline Protestant Churches to Change Stance on Israel

Informations

• Publié par: The-Protestant-Consultation-on-Israel-and-the-Middle-East-PCIME
• Nombre de lectures: 10
• Langue: English

Extrait

Christian Leaders Call on Mainline Protestant Churches to Change Stance on Israel

PR Newswire JERUSALEM, December 4, 2012

JERUSALEM,December 4, 2012/PRNewswire/ --

The Protestant Consultation on Israel and the Middle East (PCIME) publishes Jerusalem Declaration, calling on churches to strengthen relationship with the state of Israel and condemning the persecution of Christians and other minorities in the Middle East

A group of Christian clergymen, intellectuals and activists from Europe, North America and Africa today published theJerusalem Declarationcalling on mainstream Protestant churches to strengthen their relationship with the state of Israel and condemning the persecution of Christian and other minorities in theMiddle East.

The Protestant Consultation on Israel and the Middle East (PCIME), which met in Jerusalem last month, said: "We are distressed to see how certain European and North American church officials approach the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.

"They fall in line with the international campaign that purports to help the Palestinians by delegitim izingIsrael. They target Israel alone for boycott, divestment, and sanctions. This approach is unjust, and it is unhelpful to the cause of peace."

PCIME added that such strategies encouraged the forces that have vowed to destroyIsrael. Signatories of the Jerusalem Declaration are from various denominations including Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist, United C hurch of Canada and Evangelical churches.

"We fear that this approach is not motivated by Christian love for anyone, but quite the opposite. We ask the zealous promoters of those strategies to examine their consciences in this matter," it declared.

PCIME expressed its concern over the negative relationship between Protestant churches andIsrael, adding that hostility to Israel was part of a larger pattern, pointing out that forces that refused to tolerate the existence of a Jewish state were also fiercely intolerant of other religious and ethnic minorities in the Middle East.

PCIME also repudiated the "replacement theology" that claimed Israel had no further place in God's plans

"The future of 2,000-year-old Christian communities in theMiddle-East and the future of pluralism are at stake. We cannot afford to ignore the big picture in which the conflicts around Israel occur. We are committed to stand with Israel and the Jewish people, as we also stand with persecuted Christians and other minorities in the region," PCIME concluded.

PCIME plans now to reach out to parishes in the US andEurope to adopt the Jerusalem Declaration, bring parish missions to Israel and provide alternative information to the anti-Israel reports and resolutions that are promoted by church leaderships.

About PCIME

The Protestant Consultation on Israel and the Middle East (PCIME) is a group of Christian clergy, intellectuals and activists from Europe, North America and Africa, which is committed to stand with the state ofIsrael and the Jewish people and supports persecuted Christians and other minorities in the Middle East.

For more information and the full statement, please visit our sitehttp://www.pcime.org

Contact Person

Dan Gerstenfeld [phone] [e-mail]