Orlando, USA - The leader of the largest branch of American Judaism, speaking at a time of heightened tension between Protestants and Jews over Israeli policy toward the Palestinians, urged a national Lutheran meeting Thursday not to "demonize" the Jewish state.
Rabbi Eric Yoffie told delegates from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that his Union for Reform Judaism shared Protestants' desire for an end to Palestinian suffering. But despite any mistakes
Israel has made, the nation still had a right to defend itself against "the indiscriminate killing of her civilians," he said.
"Others will not always see the conflict as we see it," Yoffie said. "But what we have asked of our many friends in the Christian world is simply this: please do not minimize the impact of terror and do not demonize or isolate Israel, as if, somehow, she alone were responsible for the current conflict."
Several Protestant groups around the world have outraged Jewish leaders by discussing divestment from companies that profit from Israeli policy in the Palestinian territories.
Last week, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) said it would pressure what it said were four such companies and, in an attempt at balance, would target a fifth corporation it accused of being a conduit for money that terror groups use to fund attacks on Israel.
Another sore point is the security barrier Israel is building along the West Bank to prevent suicide bombings. It has disrupted the lives of thousands of Palestinians, who have been cut off from their lands, and has been condemned by many Protestant groups.
At the Lutheran meeting, delegates are considering a new Mideast strategy called "Peace Not Walls," that would — among other provisions — denounce attacks on civilians and condemn the security barrier. It also would urge the church to move toward "stewarding financial resources — both U.S. tax dollars and private funds — in ways that support the quest for a just peace in the Holy Land."
The ELCA, like all Protestant churches, has deep ties in the Mideast. It supports sister churches and a hospital that primarily serves Palestinians.
Yoffie's liberal-leaning movement represents 920 synagogues and supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The first Jew to ever address the ELCA Churchwide Assembly, he was invited to help the denomination honor the 350th anniversary of Jewish settlement in the United States. Many delegates stood and applauded his speech.