in J’Accuse Episcopalians, Presbyterians, et al. It ends thus:
So I come to an unavoidable conclusion. The obsession here is not positive, for one side, but rather negative, against the other side. The clerics and the lay leaders on this indefensible crusade are so fixated on Palestine because their obsession, which can be buttressed by various Christian sources and traditions, is really with the Jews. A close look at this morbid passion makes one realize that its roots include an ancient hostility for the House of Israel, an ugly survival of a hoary intolerance into some of the allegedly enlightened precincts of modern Christendom.
To be honest, Peretz could have written this 30, 40 or 50 years ago. For me there is a feeling of Déjà Vu about the entire debate which I described in my book Vietnam, Jews and the Middle East. Even the split between the upper echelon and rank and file existed then as now.
Jews could still do worse than to heed John C. Bennett’s advice that they remember that “the enthusiasm, affection and admiration of a predominantly Christian nation is exceptionally pro-Israel” and constituted a “capital that should be invested, not squandered.”
Still, I can’t stop wondering if any of these religious leaders ever watched any of the Palestinian Media Watch video clips?
posted by Judith
The Dish 