Area Leaders Join Jewish Opposition To Church's Votes

Presbyterian Stances On Messianic Sect, Divestiture Criticized

The statement by Clifton Kirkpatrick, the Presbyterians' top official, that the General Assembly does not equate Israel's treatment of Palestinians with South Africa during apartheid has done little to quell the outcry. (Bruce Parker -- AP)

Local Jewish leaders have joined a national protest against the Presbyterian Church (USA), charging the Protestant denomination with endangering a long-standing relationship between the two faith groups when it passed measures regarding Judaism and Israel at its recent convention in Richmond.

Presbyterian officials plan to meet Sept. 28 in New York with leaders of the Reform and Conservative Jewish movements in an effort to restore cordial relations and assuage fears of Jews that anti-Semitism is growing among mainline Protestants. Local Presbyterian clergy and Jewish leaders met Aug. 5, and representatives who attended said they were "heartened" by the frank dialogue. They hope to meet again next month.

Jews said they were most surprised when delegates to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) overwhelmingly approved a resolution, 431 to 62, to divest itself of financial interests in selected international corporations that do business in Israel -- a reflection, church leaders said, of the church's opposition to Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and construction of a security fence around much of the Palestinian territory.

They said they were also dismayed by a more closely contested vote, 260 to 233, to reject restrictions on funding additional messianic Jewish congregations. Last fall's opening of Avodat Yisrael, a Presbyterian-supported messianic congregation near Philadelphia, sparked protests from Jewish leaders, who demanded that the church withdraw financial support.

Either vote would have provoked a reaction, Jewish leaders said, but together they reflect unusual insensitivity toward groups with whom Presbyterians had partnered on numerous social justice issues, including the campaign two decades ago to end apartheid in South Africa.

"It was shocking to us that in one meeting the Presbyterian Church had both voted to support the deceptive proselytizing practice [of messianic Judaism] and to de-legitimize Israel through the divestment process," said David L. Bernstein, director of the Washington chapter of the American Jewish Committee.

The Presbyterian actions at the eight-day national convention of the 2.4 million-member denomination, which ended July 3, had added significance for the Washington area's 216,000 Jews. They were keenly aware that a major evangelistic effort would be launched this month to convert Jews to Christianity.

Jews for Jesus, a San Francisco-based organization, was scheduled today to begin a $200,000 local effort that is part of the nationwide campaign "Operation Behold Your God," continuing until Sept. 18, during High Holy Days.

More than 600 local volunteers, many from McLean Bible Church -- whose pastor, Lon Solomon, is a Jew who became a born-again Christian -- will hand out religious leaflets at Metro stops and "lovingly confront our people with the claims of Jesus to be our Messiah," said Washington's Jews for Jesus director Stephen Katz.

Some Presbyterian leaders shared the concerns about their denomination's actions, particularly regarding Avodat Yisrael.

The Rev. Susan Andrews, pastor of Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church in Bethesda and outgoing moderator of the denomination, called on the General Assembly to "take a deep breath" before funding additional messianic congregations. Under last year's agreement, Avodat Yisrael will receive $260,000 in start-up assistance from local and national Presbyterian sources over a five-year period.

"There's some criticism in the Presbyterian Church that [Avodat Yisrael] is somewhat deceptive in the way they advertised who they are," Andrews said in an interview this week.

Although funded by a committee that provides grants for new churches, the congregation has a Hebrew name with no reference to "church" or "Presbyterian" and follows an order of service with trappings more identifiable as Jewish than Christian. Its minister wears a yarmulke and prayer shawl, refers to himself as "spiritual leader" rather than "pastor" and handles the Torah -- a privilege typically afforded only to Jews.

Messianic Jews often describe themselves as Jews who accept Jesus as the Messiah -- not as converts to Christianity.