The National Council of Churches asked its members today to engage in “continued travel to the Holy Land. . . as a direct way for Christians to witness with courage for peace there and to stand against the isolation of Israel.” Rabbi Marc H. Tanenbaum, Interreligious Affairs Director of the American Jewish Committee, an official observer at the Council’s national board meeting, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency the appeal was “unprecedented” for the Council.
The unanimous resolution was keyed to the Lydda massacre, which the Council called an “act of terror” that “shocked the world community.” Such “slaughter,” it said, “cannot be tolerated either as a technique for discouraging travel. . .to a Holy Land sacred to the three world religions or as an appropriate strategy in the struggle to find a solution to the problems of the Middle East.” The Council urged “all Christians” to “Join in prayer for the victims’ families and for Israel and her people in this time of sorrow for all of us.” The measure called on the United Nations, world governments and airlines to “devise and maintain more effective security measures.”
In one passage the resolution said that “As Christians we cannot justify any terrorist attacks regardless of the provocation” in Vietnam, Northern Ireland, the Middle East or elsewhere. It was reliably understood that this passage-implying Israeli responsibility for the Lydda Airport shoot-out-was a gesture to the Syrian Orthodox Church, which put “tremendous pressure” on the Council for a strong anti-Israel measure.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
