Recent reports about a meeting of Jewish and Presbyterian religious leaders suggest that significant work remains in repairing the damaged relationships between our communities. 
That’s certainly true, but I was a participant in the meeting that took place on Nov. 29, and I would describe both the tone and the outcome as considerably more uplifting and hopeful than those depicted in the media.
Sitting with my colleagues at the national office of the Presbyterian Church (USA) with the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick and leaders of his national staff, it was clear that real progress on the issues has been made. Six Jewish leaders, including leaders of the Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist movements, were treated to warm, friendly, and earnest hospitality at the Presbyterian Church Center in Louisville, Ky. Our meeting began in shared prayer, followed by presentations from Jewish and Presbyterian perspectives that highlighted common values and religious ideals. Our mutual use of religious language to frame both our challenges and opportunities helped facilitate an openness and excitement for the possibilities that lay ahead.
In considerate and honest dialogue, we talked about the substantial efforts made within the Presbyterian community to address the issues that the Jewish community had raised after the 2004 vote by General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to empower their investment authorities to explore phased, selective divestment from corporations doing business in Israel. The vote created a firestorm of angry reaction from across the Jewish world. In response, intensive efforts at dialogue, education, and repair began immediately.
Since 2004 the national Presbyterian community has had to grapple with its own internal divisions on this issue. But their leadership has demonstrated a commitment to education, dialogue, and soul-searching. As a result, this year’s Presbyterian GA took several concrete steps to change the church’s posture. They acknowledged that their prior actions “caused hurt and misunderstanding among many members of the Jewish community and within our Presbyterian communion.” They accepted responsibility for flaws in their process. They talked about their efforts to educate their community and to heal their relationship with us.
Our Presbyterian partners were anxious to share the concrete steps being taken. This year their church body embraced a new approach to their Middle East agenda, calling for financial investments in peaceful pursuits. With a commitment to “positive outcomes,” they called upon the church to work with Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities for an end to violence and terror. They hope that together we can help Israel and the Palestinians achieve a secure and lasting peace for Israel alongside a future Palestinian state.
We talked about another of the issues that had incensed the Jewish community — their 2004 resolution concerning the security barrier, which had been very critical of Israel and had called for removal of the barrier. This year they affirmed the right of Israel to secure its borders.
Yes, the church does hold to some positions that are not universally shared within the Jewish community, such as a call for an end to Israel’s occupation of territories seized in 1967. And they question the route of Israel’s security barrier, for what it does to the lives of many ordinary Palestinians where it has cut into neighborhoods and livelihoods. Many Israelis and North American Jews have similar positions, and so we understood that these are concerns we can discuss.
Finally, their 2006 GA approved a resolution calling suicide bombing a “crime against humanity,” and called upon international judicatory bodies to treat it as such. These three resolutions, combined with a process of internal discussion and dialogue with the Jewish community, went a long way toward preparing a new path for Jewish-Presbyterian relations.
Rev. Kirkpatrick spoke from the heart in expressing his church’s desire to work with us as peacemakers. While admitting that their previous position was “not helpful,” he talked about breaking out of a “vicious circle of reactive communication.” He expressed his hope that their sensitivity to changed language would help us to work together to collaborate in the cause of justice and peace.
Rev. Kirkpatrick and his staff listened openly as we expressed both our appreciation and our concerns about the status of their efforts and their goals. We affirmed the importance of shema — really hearing each other’s narratives. In an atmosphere of concern, their desire to be our partners in this peacemaking work was clear.
At the beginning of the day, it had been difficult for some of us to imagine how we could agree to a joint statement by the end of a one-day meeting, but the course of the conversation led to a feeling that we had achieved something significant. Citing a “new season of dialogue and understanding,” the group’s statement proclaims our commitment to continued dialogue and joint efforts in peacemaking and social justice work in this country.
And so a remarkable day ended, as we stood at the beautifully hand-carved doors of the Church Center’s chapel and posed for a group photo. Our smiles emanated from the warmth of a truly sacred experience that we shared. I felt moved to recite Sheheheyanu, thanking the Holy One of blessing for giving us life, sustaining us, and enabling us to reach this season. May it continue to be a season of healing and peace.
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