Two New York City clergymen, a rabbi and an Episcopalian Minister both voiced support for an undivided Jerusalem at a “Dialogue on Jerusalem” sponsored yesterday by the Women’s Division of the Zionist Organization of America in New York.
The remarks were made by Rabbi Irving Block of the Brotherhood Synagogue, and Reverend Thomas Pike, pastor of the Calvary and St. George’s Churches.
Block expressed his fear that the United States government was using a double standard in making its judgements on Jerusalem. He asked why Administration spokesmen considered East Jerusalem “occupied Arab territory” now, “though they were silent between 1948 and 1967 when the area was ruled by Jordan.” He insisted, “The city of Jerusalem has been Jewish for thousands of years and must remain Jewish.”
Pike listed some of the problems the Christian community faces when coming to terms with “the idea of a unified Jerusalem.” At the top of the list he put the fact that many Christians “still see Jerusalem as an idea and not as a place of people.” He noted that there is an increasing willingness among Christians to see the reality of Israel as well as the spiritual Israel, but stressed that this spiritualism, which he said “stems from the nature of the Christian religious experience, is still the number one problem.”
On the positive side, he noted that many more Christian clergymen are now visiting Israel and some of them are traveling together with American rabbis and this he said, “helps to force them to focus on the reality of Israel.”
Another factor affecting American Christian attitudes in the Middle East, he noted, is the attitude of Christian elements in Israel, “There are elements in Israel, such as Greek Orthodox and even Anglicans which are hostile to Israel.” The Christian community “is also subject to political and economic pressures and these too have an impact, “he added later in answer to a question. On the positive side, Pike said that he felt there were vast numbers of New Yorkers and Americans who were strong in their identification with the State of Israel.
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