International Jewish Group Scores Wcc Statement on Jerusalem

The International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations (IJCIC), representing Jewish communities throughout the world, has expressed “shock and grave concern” over a statement on Jerusalem adopted here by the World Council of Churches’ Central Committee (WCC).

The WCC, at its meeting here last month, adopted a statement opposing “the Israeli unilateral action of annexing East Jerusalem and uniting the city as its ‘eternal capital’ under its exclusive sovereignty. This decision is contrary to all pertinent UN resolutions. It most dangerously undermines all efforts towards the just solution on the Middle East problem and thus jeopardizes regional and world peace.”

The WCC statement called on member churches “to exert through their respective governments all pressure on Israel to withhold all actions on Jerusalem, the future of which should be included in the agenda of official negotiations involving Israel and the Palestinian people on self-determination and on the solution of the Middle East conflict.”

WILL ENCOURAGE EXTREMISTS

The IJCIC, in a statement, characterized the WCC’s statement as wholly “political in character and flagrantly partisan” and charged that “it can only serve to encourage extremists whose rejectionist policies have ‘most dangerously undermined all efforts towards a just solution of the Middle East problem'”

The IJCIC, in its statement, called on the WCC “to reconsider this one-sided and biased declaration and to contribute to peace through genuine reconciliation in the spirit of the Psalmist for ‘a Jerusalem that is built as a united city’.”

The statement noted that “The holy city of Jerusalem has evoked deep spiritual attachments and emotional ties for Jews, Christians and Moslems. For Jews only, however, has Jerusalem been the eternal city, the center of their spiritual world and the focus of hope for millennia. For the past 3000 years, there has always been a living Jewish community in Jerusalem.”

The text of the IJCIC statement was presented and discussed at a joint consultation of the WCC and the IJCIC here. The IJCIC statement with a covering letter was simultaneously sent to Dr. Philip Potter, WCC Secretary General, requesting that the text be submitted to the WCC’s Central Committee.

The letter was signed by Prof. Shemaryahu Talmon of Jerusalem, IJCIC chairman; Rabbi Bernard Mandelbaum of New York, co-secretary, and Dr. Gerhard Riegner of Geneva, co-secretary. The IJCIC is comprised of the World Jewish Congress, Synagogue Council of America, American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith and the Israel-Interfaith Committee.

RESPONSE BY CHRISTIAN LEADER

Responding to the statement; Prof. Krister Stendahl, chairman of the WCC’s Commission on the Church and the Jewish people, declared: “The Christian participants (in this joint WCC-IJCIC consultation) recognizing the deep hurt caused by the WCC statement, saw the urgent necessity that in the matter of Jerusalem, a Jewish voice from men and women of faith be heard clearly by the churches as they receive the WCC statement.

“Toward that end, the Christian participants resolved to offer their services to make the Jewish statement known as widely as possible, and to seek further ways by which the voices of the Jewish community can be freely heard within the WCC in such matters that are of deep concern to them.”

“In that resolve,” Stendahl added, “the Christian participants referred to the WCC ‘Guidelines on Dialogue’ which state: ‘Listening carefully to the neighbors’ self understanding enables Christians better to obey the commandment not to bear false witness against their neighbor’.”

Stendahl former Dean of the Harvard Divinity School, also read the IJCIC statement at a special closing luncheon at Temple Sinai which was attended by a large number of Jews and Christians from Toronto.