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10/19/2004: "Presbyterians consort with terrorists"
No, that header is not simply provocative. It describes accurately actions by a group of PCUSA people visiting the Middle East:
The head of a visiting U.S. Presbyterian Church delegation called on Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories and said Monday that his church is studying the possibility of withholding investments to increase pressure on Israel.
"The occupation by Israel in the West Bank and Gaza must end because it is oppressive and destructive for the Palestinian people," the Rev. Nile Harper said in an interview with The Associated Press.
He criticized as "unhelpful" the barrier Israel is building in the West Bank to prevent Palestinian suicide bombings.
Where completed, it's actually been enormously helpful in keeping Israelis alive by preventing terrorist attacks against civilians (attacks in those areas are down something like 90%). It is true that it has not been helpful to Hamas or the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade.
Harper, of Ann Arbor, Mich., warned that the General Assembly of his church, whose investments in U.S. firms total $8 billion, had instructed its investment agency to study the possibility of withdrawing its money from U.S. corporations whose products "are being destructively used against the Palestinians" by Israel.
The 24-member delegation traveled to Lebanon on Sunday and met with the south Lebanon commander of Hezbollah, a group Washington calls terrorist but Lebanon sees as a legitimate resistance movement against Israeli occupation of Arab lands.
Hezbollah is the Iranian-funded organization that specializes in rocket attacks on northern Israeli towns, as well as being one of the world's largest providers of terrorist know-how to a wide variety of causes. But Rev. Harper not only doesn't consider such actions "unhelpful," he apparently thinks of such people as legitimate peace partners, along with the occupier of Lebanon:
On Monday, they traveled to Syria, where they met with the minister of expatriates. They were scheduled to meet with President Bashar Assad on Tuesday and to travel to Jordan on Wednesday.
The meeting will aim to gauge the Syrian president's views on Syria's relationship with the United States, said the delegation's coordinator, Peter Sulyok.
"We are interested in peace and justice for Palestinians as well as in the relationship between Syria and Lebanon and Syria and Israel," Sulyok said. "We will be looking to see what new initiatives there might be, what possibilities there might be for peace."
I'll make it easy for you. First the relationships: Syria occupies Lebanon contrary to UN resolutions with some 35,000 troops, and is in a state of war with Israel that has lasted for 56 years now. Then, the peace possibilities: Syria is the headquarters of many of the world's most dangerous terrorist organizations. It aids said organizations with money, materiél, and logistical support. It may well be hiding Saddam Hussein's WMDs, and recently tested chemical weapons on the helpless people of Darfur in the Sudan. Possibilities for peace: nil. No matter how many American Presbyterians meddle.
UPDATE: Here's more about this trip, from the "progressive newswire" at CommonDreams.org:
The meeting between Sheikh Nabil Qauq, the leader of Hezbollah in south Lebanon, and a delegation of 24 leaders of the U.S. Presbyterian Church currently on a fact-finding tour in the Middle East, was broadcast Oct. 17 on Al Manar, Hezbollah's satellite television network. During the broadcast, at least one member of the delegation was shown praising Hezbollah. Elder Ronald Stone, who identified himself as representing the East Liberty Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, said, "As an elder of our church, I'd like to say that according to my recent experience, relations and conversations with Islamic leaders are a lot easier than dealings and dialogue with Jewish leaders." Elder Stone went on to praise Hezbollah: "We treasure the precious words of Hezbollah and your expression of goodwill towards the American people."
There may be more to come on this story. Check back for updates.
