A few items ago I praised the United Church of Christ (UCC) for its endorsement of same-sex marriage - a pro-gay position that, sadly, may have led to a fire being set at one historic UCC church. Yet often when liberal-left organizations or parties do something that advances gay equality, I'm chided for not supporting the overall lib-left agenda.
Well, here's an example of why I don't. Just as the UCC backed
gay marriage, last month its governing body called for a boycott of
companies with ties to Israel. As noted in
the Wall Street Journal:
The United Church of Christ is particularly noteworthy for its hypocritical treatment of Israel. The UCC condemns Israel's security barrier for, among other things, "changing an international border without direct negotiations between partners." Yet the divestment resolution, passed at the same meeting, specifies exactly what Israel's final border must look like and what Israel must give up, including Judaism's two most holy sites. . . .
The resolutions blame terrorism on Israeli "occupation." But Palestinian terror against Israeli civilians began well before Israel took Gaza from Egypt and the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 Six Day War. At Camp David in 2000, Israel offered to withdraw from almost all these areas and allow the creation of a Palestinian state. The Palestinian leadership rejected the offer and began a homicidal spree that has cost the lives of more than 1,000 Israelis.
Of course, it's typical in these circles to blame the West, and America and Israel in particular, for Islamist terrorism. So bully for the UCC's gay stance, and shame on them for their fashionably leftist "anti-Zionism." It's all the worse for us when our cause gets sullied by such an association.
Update: Following an obscene anti-Israel
diatribe in the comments zone, others raise questions about what
the UCC actually did or didn't do. Apparently, the UCC web site
reports the call on Israel to remove its defensive barrier and
pay Palestinian reparations, but not the repoted divestiture vote.
But the Anti-Defamation League has this:
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is troubled and dismayed that the leadership of the United Church of Christ (UCC) has adopted an "economic leverage" resolution against Israel, while at the same time calling on Israel to "tear down" its West Bank security barrier.
Despite months of discussions with Jewish leaders concerned about the implications of any divestment vote against Israel, the Church's General Synod nevertheless adopted resolutions yesterday in Atlanta to support such action.
So, either the UCC web site is being disingenuous, or the ADL
is. In any event, this is not a Middle East blog, and I raised the
issue simply to point out that those on the political/cultural/even
religious left may deserve praise for their actions on behalf of
gay equality, but that doesn't mean turning a blind eye to the dark
side of the left any more than the support by those on the right
for an economics of growth, prosperity and individual initiative
means excusing their homophobia.
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