(BLOG) British Methodists Prepare To Throw Israel Under The Bus

"The Methodist Church of Great Britain is currently holding its annual conference in Portsmouth, England. At the conference, which began on June 24, 2010, delegates will vote on a report about the Arab-Israeli conflict titled 'Justice for Palestine and Israel.'

The 50-plus page report calls on Methodists in Great Britain to embrace the Kairos Document issued by Palestinian Christian leaders late last year and to participate in a boycott of Israeli goods produced in the West Bank. The arguments used to justify these actions are similar to those offered in statements and resolutions about the Arab-Israeli conflict offered by mainline churches in the U.S. during the past decade.

The document subjects Israeli policy and Jewish self-understanding to intense scrutiny but offers nary a word of criticism of the anti-Semitic ideologies used to justify violence against Israel and to deny its right to exist. The report also puts forth a narrative in which Israel can bring a unilateral end to the conflict through concessions and withdrawals without acknowledging that such actions have not worked in the past."