I got another response today, if you call it that, from the PC(USA) on the Israeli/Palestinian issue. I wrote to the Anti-Defamation League and told them that I was sorry for what my church had done in proceeding with a selective divestment in companies that do business in Israel. What I got today was:

Thank you for your message and remarks.

We understand there are many news articles circulating that do not contain all the facts of this issue. Due to space availability in various publications, many of the details of this complex issue are not reported. We would like to direct you to the following web sites, where this issue is explained in more detail. Perhaps some of the information contained on these web pages will foster greater understanding between all concerned peoples.

They then listed some other web resources to “further my understanding” of the problem. This is a common reaction by my church leadership and by liberals in general, to assume that if you disagree with them, the problem is that you do not understand. No, the problem here is that they do not understand. And I mean that literally–they do not understand the problem and apparently have no desire to understand.

The issues are indeed difficult but one of the web resources they referred me to assumes it is simply a problem of the West (the US) needing to invest more in the third world countries. After all that is what this problem is all about, isn’t it? In some cases that may be true and we are trying to invest and bring more of these countries along with us. But Al Qaeda does not want this. They are, in fact, fighting and committing acts of terror because they do not want the investment from the West. They want to keep control by denying basic freedoms and access to information to others. Offering them money and helping them develop a better government will not work.

Of course the PC(USA) goes on to argue for UN involvement and reduction of nuclear weapons. All typical moveon.org and Democratic party talk that is irrelevant. The UN was not able to act effectively for over a decade and that is why the US went to war in Iraq. We did not cut the UN out of the picture, the cut themselves out by taking little or no action.

What really bothers me in the repeated calls for greater understanding of Muslims and their religion by the PC(USA). I have no problem with everyone striving to better understand other religions but the PC(USA) implies that this is a Christian/Muslim war. They, and a few uneducated people, are the only one’s who seem to think this. Most people that I know, including warriors who are currently fighting in Iraq understand that this is not a war with Islam. Actually, most of the Muslims I know would argue that Al Qaeda, not the PC(USA), need to better understand Islam.

The PC(USA) essentially calls for more talk while ignoring the realities of the situation. The goals of Al Qaeda are clearly stated in a manual captured in an Al Qaeda member’s home in Manchester, England. The manual says in the very beginning:

Islamic governments have never and will never be established through peaceful solutions and cooperative councils. They are established as they [always] have been

by pen and gun

by word and bullet

by tongue and teeth

The terrorists, in this case at least, are not willing to listen to the UN. I submit that based on the actions of the Palestinians, the Palestinians are not willing to listen to reason either.

Before President Clinton left office, he met with Yassir Arafat and, depending on which report you listen to, had brokered a deal that would have given Arafat 85% to 95% of what he was asking for. Arafat turned the deal down because it was not 100% of what he wanted. So what do we do? The PC(USA) goes after Israel.

No, I’m not the one who needs to better understand the issues, the PC(USA) needs to better understand the issues. They need to realize that Israel is one of our greatest allies, and although they may not be perfect, they deserve our support. The Palestinians are not all bad either but they are not as lily white as the PC(USA) will lead you to believe. But perhaps most importantly, we are not at war with Islam but with terrorist who are denying freedom, freedom we as Presbyterians believe is every person’s right, to those under their control. We are not out for oil or land, we are the good guys trying to help the downtrodden get what is their God given right–basic freedom.