Clergymen attending the synod of the Dutch Reformed Church held near Utrecht last weekend failed to arrive at a unified view on the Middle East situation. Despite lengthy discussions, they did not adopt a statement on the Middle East. One of the speakers, Prof. Hendrik Berkhof, criticized the executive of the Dutch Reformed Church for not adopting a pro-Israel stand during the Yom Kippur War.
Secretary General of the Dutch Reformed Church, Albert Van Den Heuvel disagreed and called Holland’s pro-Israel sentiment during the first days of the war “frighteningly one-sided,” adding that it completely ignored the existence of 20 million Christian Arabs. He proposed a meeting with both Chief Rabbis of Holland and a “Christian Arab delegation.”
Earlier this month, the Dutch Chief Rabbis expressed their disappointment at the neutrality of the Christian churches during the war. Prof, Zwiwerblowsky of the Hebrew University, a well-known figure in Holland, has also criticized the Christian church for its neutral stance. Prof. Zwiwerblowsky resided several years in Holland in the late 1940s.
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.
