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January 30, 2017

You Can’t be Pro-Peace (Or Pro-Palestinian) If You Don’t Hold Palestinian Leaders Accountable

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In early March, an organization called the Telos Group is going to hold its annual leadership conference in Washington, D.C. Billing itself as an activist organization that is pro-Palestinian, pro-peace and pro-Israel, the Telos Group is allegedly promoting a new understanding of the Arab-Israeli conflict — an understanding that allows outsiders (Evangelical Protestants mostly) to embrace the flattering notion that they can somehow bring peace between Jew and Arab in the Holy Land.

It’s a naïve and arrogant view for people to embrace because it portrays the Israelis and the Palestinians as pawns that will do the bidding of well-meaning Christians from North America, as if the two groups of people are unable to discern for themselves the decisions they need to make for peace. Such a narrative denies the agency, intelligence and accountability of people in both Israel and in Palestinian society.

The condescension however, is mostly directed at the Palestinians. Examine the Telos Group’s website for yourself and you’ll find very little information about the antisemitic incitement in Palestinian society, nor will you see much condemnation of the corruption of Palestinian elites. By failing to hold Palestinian leaders accountable for their misdeeds, Telos Group activists reveal their underlying contempt for the Palestinians.

Noah Summers, an analyst writing in the Gatestone Institute has examined the organization and has documented some contradictions with the organization’s message. She writes that while Telos staffer Greg Khalil (pictured above) invokes UN Resolution 242 in a manner that obligates Israel to yield territory to the Palestinians, he “neglects to mention that this "land-for-peace" resolution was premised on the Palestinians halting all violence against Israelis and recognizing the State of Israel."

Summers also complains that the Telos Group activists irresponsibly promote ties between Palestinian elites and Western donors. While promoting economic development in Palestinian society is a legitimate goal, Summers asks if the folks at the Telos Group have addressed the prospect of foreign funds being stolen by Palestinian elites or used to fund acts of terror. She writes:

While every pro-Israeli, pro-Palestinian, and pro-peace American longs for the day when Palestinians experience genuine economic freedom, they undoubtedly understand that money is fungible, and that in the West Bank and especially in Gaza, financial resources and economic products often end up in the hands of government and terrorist organizations instead of in the hands of impoverished Palestinians. The PayPal4Palestine movement (supported by the Palestinian companies who met with Telos) offered its assistance to PayPal to work around any legal issues by working with "officials." But those PA and Hamas officials are part of the very regimes responsible for stealing resources from the Palestinian people. The unsuccessful PayPal4Palestine movement did not call for the serious internal Palestinian reforms necessary to enable genuine economic prosperity to reach the average Palestinian suffering under an oppressive government.

Read the whole thing here.

Posted by dvz at January 30, 2017 03:21 PM

Comments

The WCC has pretty much made itself a practitioner of "general" beliefs as the basis for their "faith". Reducing faith to an extent I wonder if it is Christian faith at all.
In this general description they prescribe for Universal appeal to make "peace" the most important aspect of human existence. Seeking to bring religions together by trivializing rather than respecting diversity of opinions and faiths. They have made themselves submissive to the Islamic view. By placing greater emphasis on general themes constant in each belief but nullifying particulars where they diverge, they reject the import of distinguishing our differences which they view as universal and anti-humanistic globalist values and rather than see the import of pluralism and mutual tolerance seek to nominalize Judaism and Christianity into submissive adjuncts of Islam.

Example: Nominal Christians, like many Muslims I meet today, boast that the Jesus of the Koran is the same in the New Testament and that held held by Rabbis. which is at best a farce and not a very clever one. Nothing could be further from the facts. Rabbis hold a good man died on the cross he said a few good things that should be remembered, and he was a Jewish man named Jesus. I respect their opinion, I don;t judge them for it. Christians believe Jesus was the Son of God a heretical opinion and punishable by blasphemy laws under Islam. Jesus according to the NT died on the cross, was buried, rose again, ascended into heaven where he sits at the right hand of G-d and will be there at judgement.
This offends many Jews and Muslims in general. I can understand and tolerate their rejection of my belief. they need not believe what I believe for me to respect their humanity.
The Marginal WCC view is, not to be glib but something like whatever floats your boat. They gloss over the distinctions as unimportant.
The Islamic view is Jesus ascended from the cross and will come back to lead the Armies of Allah.
All these opinions can hardly be reduced to the same thing, the WCC rather than defend diversity has decided to take the Islamic perspective, and reformed Jews seem to fall in line with this view as well?
The marginal Christian questions the relevance of faith, by questioning the Resurrection and the purpose of salvation. They read the NT as little more than an instructive story and suggests that religion "evolves" and the Story of God is progressive and rather than see the fact Islam is not derived from either Judaism or Christianity but depends on the same sort of errant gnostical Christian teaching, has endowed it with a false dialectical power for the sake of "peace" that is anything but.
I often think these people worship peace as if it is a deity unto itself.

I only find them offensive when the claim they are the voice of Christianity.
They are more likely to endorse a Hitler as long as he advocates peace and once taken in they are unable to confess their error.
And less likely to accuse the Islamic State they prefer to call ISIS or ISIL inferring its some sort of Egyptian fertility cult, of practicing Islam a little too radically and literally.
Peace can only be achieved through tolerance of diversity not by rubber stamping theocratic sameness.

Posted by: jeb at February 5, 2017 12:01 PM

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