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Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Fair Witness Condemns America Magazine
Contact:
Sr.Ruth Lautt, Esq.
(212) 870-2320
(NY, New York) March7, 2007– Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East strongly condemns Rev. Drew Christiansen, S.J., for his inexplicable defense of Jimmy Carter’s Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid in a recent edition of America Magazine. Sadly, America has not always reflected the fairness and evenhandedness in this area that has been expressed by the Roman Catholic hierarchy. With references to Israel’s purported “de facto policy of separation and domination” and “historical pattern of unilateral dictation of the terms of peace,” the magazine reveals an unsettling lack of balance.
“Has the staff at America forgotten that the Israeli attempt to negotiate a land for peace deal in 2000 was summarily rebuffed by the Palestinians?” asks Sr. Ruth Lautt, Fair Witness National Director. “The Palestinians rejected President Clinton’s proposal whereby they would have gotten all of Gaza, 97 percent of contiguous West Bank territory and East Jerusalem for a capital. Israel withdrew from Gaza unilaterally in Fall 2005, with no peace treaty and with no reciprocal concessions. Unfortunately, instead of seizing the opportunity for what could have been the start of a Palestinian homeland, Gaza was turned into a base for the daily firing of Qassam rockets into Israeli towns, terrorizing its civilian population, and making normal life impossible.”
“America mischaracterizes Israel’s obligations under the 1979 Camp David Accords,” according to the Rev. Dr. Peter Pettit at the Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding of Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA. “Israel showed its desire to give land for peace when it returned Sinai to Egypt after a negotiated agreement between the two nations.”
“While Prime Minister Begin’s settlement policies may well have been ill-advised and unhelpful, the fact remains that at the time Egypt renounced its claim to, and responsibility for, Gaza and the Palestinians rejected Camp David entirely, condemned Anwar Sadat and refused to discuss autonomy,” adds Rev. Pettit. “Today, the Hamas led government refuses to recognize the right of Israel to exist. So of course land for peace was never implemented -- with whom was or is Israel to negotiate the requisite ‘peaceful and accepted settlement’”?
America defends President Carter’s use of the term apartheid, referring to “devices used to control the Palestinian[s].” “But Israeli policies such as construction of a security barrier and checkpoints cannot reasonably be analogized to apartheid,” says Fr. James Loughran of the Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute. “They were instituted as a passive defense against terrorism. While it is truly tragic that there are innocent Palestinians who suffer under a system of security barriers and checkpoints, when are we going to start holding the Palestinian terrorists accountable for their behavior instead of condemning Israelis for trying to protect themselves from this barbarity?”
“Israeli self-criticism is one of the admirable characteristics of their democracy. But opponents of the State of Israel cynically attempt to exploit the language of apartheid in order deny Israel’s sovereign right to exist,” says Rev. Dr. Bruce Chilton, the Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Religion at Bard College. “President Carter’s disappointing comparison of Israel to apartheid South Africa is both inapt and misleading; finding a Jew who makes the same reprehensible comparison does not rehabilitate either the comparison itself or America’s attempt to defend it. It does, however, call America’s motives and judgment into question.”
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About Religion Press Release Services
Religion Press Release Services distributes press releases, press advisories, photos and other stories on behalf of religious organizations, denominational offices, think tanks, watchdog groups, advocacy groups, coalitions, foundations, colleges, universities, seminaries, publishers and others.
The organizations and/or individuals who submit materials for distribution by Religion Press Release Services are solely responsible for the facts in and accuracy of their materials. Religion Press Release Services will correct any errors brought to its attention.
Contact Us
To distribute press releases through Religion Press Release Services, contact Claudia Sans at csans@religionnews.com or 202-383-7870. For more information check out our PDF brochure.
Religion News Service, 1101 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036 (202) 463-8777
Sr.Ruth Lautt, Esq.
(212) 870-2320
(NY, New York) March7, 2007– Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East strongly condemns Rev. Drew Christiansen, S.J., for his inexplicable defense of Jimmy Carter’s Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid in a recent edition of America Magazine. Sadly, America has not always reflected the fairness and evenhandedness in this area that has been expressed by the Roman Catholic hierarchy. With references to Israel’s purported “de facto policy of separation and domination” and “historical pattern of unilateral dictation of the terms of peace,” the magazine reveals an unsettling lack of balance.
“Has the staff at America forgotten that the Israeli attempt to negotiate a land for peace deal in 2000 was summarily rebuffed by the Palestinians?” asks Sr. Ruth Lautt, Fair Witness National Director. “The Palestinians rejected President Clinton’s proposal whereby they would have gotten all of Gaza, 97 percent of contiguous West Bank territory and East Jerusalem for a capital. Israel withdrew from Gaza unilaterally in Fall 2005, with no peace treaty and with no reciprocal concessions. Unfortunately, instead of seizing the opportunity for what could have been the start of a Palestinian homeland, Gaza was turned into a base for the daily firing of Qassam rockets into Israeli towns, terrorizing its civilian population, and making normal life impossible.”
“America mischaracterizes Israel’s obligations under the 1979 Camp David Accords,” according to the Rev. Dr. Peter Pettit at the Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding of Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA. “Israel showed its desire to give land for peace when it returned Sinai to Egypt after a negotiated agreement between the two nations.”
“While Prime Minister Begin’s settlement policies may well have been ill-advised and unhelpful, the fact remains that at the time Egypt renounced its claim to, and responsibility for, Gaza and the Palestinians rejected Camp David entirely, condemned Anwar Sadat and refused to discuss autonomy,” adds Rev. Pettit. “Today, the Hamas led government refuses to recognize the right of Israel to exist. So of course land for peace was never implemented -- with whom was or is Israel to negotiate the requisite ‘peaceful and accepted settlement’”?
America defends President Carter’s use of the term apartheid, referring to “devices used to control the Palestinian[s].” “But Israeli policies such as construction of a security barrier and checkpoints cannot reasonably be analogized to apartheid,” says Fr. James Loughran of the Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute. “They were instituted as a passive defense against terrorism. While it is truly tragic that there are innocent Palestinians who suffer under a system of security barriers and checkpoints, when are we going to start holding the Palestinian terrorists accountable for their behavior instead of condemning Israelis for trying to protect themselves from this barbarity?”
“Israeli self-criticism is one of the admirable characteristics of their democracy. But opponents of the State of Israel cynically attempt to exploit the language of apartheid in order deny Israel’s sovereign right to exist,” says Rev. Dr. Bruce Chilton, the Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Religion at Bard College. “President Carter’s disappointing comparison of Israel to apartheid South Africa is both inapt and misleading; finding a Jew who makes the same reprehensible comparison does not rehabilitate either the comparison itself or America’s attempt to defend it. It does, however, call America’s motives and judgment into question.”
*****
About Religion Press Release Services
Religion Press Release Services distributes press releases, press advisories, photos and other stories on behalf of religious organizations, denominational offices, think tanks, watchdog groups, advocacy groups, coalitions, foundations, colleges, universities, seminaries, publishers and others.
The organizations and/or individuals who submit materials for distribution by Religion Press Release Services are solely responsible for the facts in and accuracy of their materials. Religion Press Release Services will correct any errors brought to its attention.
Contact Us
To distribute press releases through Religion Press Release Services, contact Claudia Sans at csans@religionnews.com or 202-383-7870. For more information check out our PDF brochure.
Religion News Service, 1101 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036 (202) 463-8777
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About Religion Press Release ServicesReligion Press Release Services distributes press releases, press advisories, photos and other stories on behalf of religious organizations, denominational offices, think tanks, watchdog groups, advocacy groups, coalitions, foundations, colleges, universities, seminaries, publishers and others. The organizations and/or individuals who submit materials for distribution by Religion Press Release Services are solely responsible for the facts in and accuracy of their materials. Religion Press Release Services will correct any errors brought to its attention.
Contact Us
To distribute press releases through Religion Press Release Services, contact Claudia Sans at csans@religionnews.com or 202-383-7870. For more information check out our PDF brochure.
Religion News Service, 1101 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036 (202) 463-8777
