"Evenhandedness" at the National Council of Churches

Rottenberg, Isaac

"EVEN-HANDEDNESS" AT THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES ISAAC ROTTENBERG On May 24, 1978, the New York Times saw fit to print an angry letter of mine in which I attacked some actions of the...

...They used the occasion to remind Mr...
...This comnuaalon...
...This was almost a full year after the Archbishop Valerian Trifa affair...
...Going against the recommendation of the Governing Board's own reference committee, delegates refused to include such a reference in spite of the claim that their statement was issued in the name of the "sanctity of human life...
...Liberation and Human Fulfillment...
...I ous to Us ministry, wish to make It rle.ii that I w.is not ISAACC Rom nbi f, speaking as an officer "I Ihe rhurch Direi lnroltnmnnitnr.ilic.ns but was expressing my personal opm- Rejourned Church in America Ion, _NeivYtuk.M.i...
...The absence of such a resolution shows, I believe, that those of us with sympathies toward Israel have carefully avoided using PLO atrocities to manipulate the NCC into an anti-Arab posture...
...The General Secretary of the Reformed Church in America urged me to submit to the Times one point of correction and two points of clarification about my letter of protest...
...all that is needed is a sense of how the political game is played in ecclesiastical bureaucracies when they sell out to partisan interests...
...By the time five denominational representatives were brought together for a hurriedly called meeting on October 6, 1978, to consider the proposed resolution, both the director of the Middle East Office, where the draft had originated, and the Chairman of its executive committee had left for trips abroad...
...Isaac Rottenberg was Secretary for Interpretation of the Reformed Church in America and Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Office on Christian-Jewish Relations of the National Council of Churches...
...Now, as we turn to the events of May, 1978, the story becomes sadder yet...
...Because dialogue with those outside the orbit of the Christian faith will not stand much of a chance unless the participants in the ecumenical movement first learn to practice it among themselves...
...Some members of "minority groups," who had also led the fight against the inclusion of a reference to the murder of Israeli civilians in the "cluster bomb" resolution, objected to a resolution that focused exclusively on anti-Jewish activities and demanded that the Council also issue a statement on recent activities of the Ku Klux Klan...
...My statement lh.it the resolulionM Ui ^taj#' I oiigtnated m the Nf C-C^i- BnHBBBBjgjBlB^iBjBWBwmjB on iheution a...
...Claire Randall leading the pack, came knocking on the door of the Rev...
...The record, it seems to me, shows the opposite...
...The search for such a resolution proved to be nonproductive...
...Such a development would have far-reaching consequences for the Council and its relationships to others...
...The Maria document never reached the Governing Board...
...The publication of that letter produced some results which, quite frankly, I had not anticipated...
...I have no objection whatsoever to a condemnation of the Ku Klux Klan in the strongest terms possible...
...It'* time for ¦ lo\ *\ opposition to speek up...
...This resolution was not part of the packet sent beforehand to the delegates...
...In order to give some balance to the Council's resolution condemning the use of "cluster bombs," it was suggested that some reference be made to a past NCC resolution condemning PLO terrorist attacks...
...On that occasion too, I had addressed a letter to the Times, challenging the position of Dr...
...A week later the General Secretary of the Reformed Church in America informed me that my services would no longer be needed...
...There are lots of issues to talk about, and there is enough blame to go around...
...It had been submitted too late for inclusion in the mailing of the agenda because the "final drafting was delayed in order to include any last minute developments in the fast-changing Middle East situation...
...The vast majority of them do not...
...That short resolution, which had been included in the agenda packet sent to delegates, was discussed the better part of a morning until finally a luncheon recess was called...
...2) The actions taken were part of a pattern that I described as a "persistent anti-Israel propaganda campaign within the Council...
...After some quick deliberations between several members of the advisory committee of the Office on Christian-Jewish Relations, it was decided that if such a resolution were to be presented, it should not be opposed out of hand, but an attempt should be made to include some reference to the murder of civilians in the PLO terrorist attack along the Tel Aviv road which had provoked the Israeli invasion of Lebanon...
...At the same time he is reported to have admitted that the NCC has been "unconsciously insensitive" to Jewish concerns and that the Governing Board action, refusing to accept any reference to the murder of Israeli civilians in the Tel Aviv terrorist attack, was "strange...
...The National Council of Churches has lost the confidence of va*t numbers of the 40 million Christian* it claim* to represent, end a growing number of them are refusing to *up-port this sort of charade...
...I have no desire to engage in skirmishes along the frontlines of semantics...
...Dr...
...women and children were "wantonly killed or maimed" tn the terrorist attack on Israel a* well as during th* invasion of Lebanon offers a sad commentary on the council'* professed desire to present a balanced picture of iasuea...
...The end result of all this was that a statement, produced in haste by about half a dozen people, was presented to the Governing Board as being the fruit of "an inter-unit effort between the Middle East Committee, the Commission on Justice, Liberation and Human Fulfillment, the International Affairs Interunit Working Group and the Christian-Jewish Relations Advisory Committee...
...This is in sharp contrast to the continual machinations of certain individuals in the Council who seem determined to use that body for propagandistic purposes...
...I am also aware that several Black representatives spoke eloquently in favor of the original resolution against Nazism...
...I'm not sure that such a debate would contribute to a ministry of reconciliation right now, but there are certainly valid issues to be raised...
...Isaac C RorTZNitjtG D.rector of Communications Reformed Church in America New York...
...In erdei in avoid misunder- wound the count il ami inline Chrissi,online...
...In my e«penen,« the dvnamus at...
...Randall shared with members of the Synagogue Council of America her perceptions of what the dynamics at the Minneapolis meeting had been...
...By the same token, it must be said that some representatives of minority groups in the Council have in recent years introduced a tone and climate into the discussions'on Jewish concerns that ought to be recognized as bigotry rather than be excused as "third world rhetoric...
...One can imagine what would have happened if, during the past decade, the inclusion of a specific statement on anti-Semitism would have been requested every time the National Council expressed itself on racism...
...Finally, something should be said about the Governing Board's reaction to a thirteen-sentence resolution, expressing concern about the resurgence of neo-Nazi movements in the United States and referring specifically to the Nazi march which was being planned for Skokie, Illinois, at that time...
...The task of dealing with this sensitive and complex issue was left in the hands of a temporary volunteer worker in the office...
...Idy ¦bout my recent letter to The 1 imes in lettei w.is .111 attempt In uise scimi* which 1 look issue with the N.mnn.tl set mils ciueMinns about the pirn edurcs Council n( Ghurchea oa certain m.it- whuh some people havenaed to raise ters pertaipfnft in i^j.u'l and the jew- iumi within (hecouncil In w.iys th.«t ish people...
...The revised statement was approved only after assurances had been given that the rules of order would be suspended so that another resolution, condemning the Ku Klux Klan could be presented the next day...
...A few days prior to the May Governing Board meeting, however, some of us were informed that a group of people in New York were preparing a resolution condemning Israel for the use of so-called "cluster bombs" in Lebanon...
...It spoke about the deep-seated fear of physical destruction which many Jews feel as a result of past history, and then went on to state: "Memories of the European Holocaust, whether objectively applicable to the present situation or not, are easily called to mind in the Israel populace when their security is threatened...
...In a subsequent letter to the Times, which was published on June 1, 1978,1 presented a few points of clarification and stressed the fact that I was not accusing the whole National Council of Churches, but rather was addressing my criticism against a few people who, in my opinion, were manipulating the processes of the Council for their own propagan-distic purposes...
...On May 25 I attended a meeting during which Dr...
...As a matter of fact, when I received the first draft of the resolution on Nazism, I wrote the members of the editorial committee, urging them not to forget "that the little group of misfits in Illinois started out with a campaign against Blacks...
...According to the minutes of the meeting, it was voted that the document plus accompanying resolution "be considered with other NCC units for presentation at the May Governing Board meeting...
...The stated purpose of the office was, "to respond to the changing situation and need for new relationships between Christians and Jews, to develop new levels of communication and trust and to encourage the emergence of new groups for common action...
...In the final statement that was presented to the executive committee the sermonizing reference to the validity of Jewish fears was omitted, but draft statements and preparatory documents have their significance, because they often reveal the mind-set and the motivations of those inner circles that usually set the agendas for denominational and ecumenical gatherings...
...In other words, I am not talking about a blatant and noisy kind of propaganda campaign, but rather about a much more subtle bureaucratic manipulation which effectively undermined the efTorts of the NCC's own office on Christian-Jewish Relations...
...A major objective of the office was to work for the improvement of relations between Jews and Christians...
...EVEN-HANDEDNESS" AT THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES ISAAC ROTTENBERG On May 24, 1978, the New York Times saw fit to print an angry letter of mine in which I attacked some actions of the National Council of Churches that I considered to be highly insensitive to the feelings and concerns of the Jewish community...
...Brouwer that in the fall of 1976 I had not been "helpful" in the case of Archbishop Valerian Trifa, a Governing Board member who had been accused of Nazi atrocities...
...Without rehashing how this matter was handled (mishandled, I would say) by the NCC leadership, let me just say that one might have hoped—yes, expected—that in the light of that unfortunate and unsavory incident people within the NCC would have become particularly sensitive to certain concerns within the Jewish community...
...While I was prepared for the task of consciousness-raising that lay ahead of the new Office on Christian-Jewish Relations, I was hardly prepared for the fact that this Council agency would find the greatest obstacles to the fulfillment of its assigned responsibilities right within the Council itself...
...Unfortunately, "true believers" tend to be convinced that the decline of the organisation for which they profess to speak is proof positive of the prophetic contribution they are making to i hurt h and soctety...
...The letter made three points: 1) The manner in which the Governing Board had handled matters related to Jewish concerns and Israel was a disgrace to the ecumenical movement...
...In response to my letter to the Times I received a long and learned paper criticizing the NCC's position on nuclear energy and I was visited by a representative of the Nestle Company who told me about their troubles with the Council in connection with the "baby formula" controversy...
...He brought it to the Minneapolis meeting and, during a "minority caucus," proceeded to talk about the use of such bombs in Lebanon...
...Herewith, two depressing examples: On September 23, 1977, the draft of a resolution on the Middle East that was to be presented to the Governing Board during its meeting in the second week of November reached my desk...
...William P. Thompson, until recently president of the NCC, has—according to reporter Tracy Early—disputed my charge that a "persistent anti-Israel propaganda campaign" has been going on within the Council...
...org an.red to represent that ooncema of oppressed people, haa unfortunately established a consistent record of condemning crueltlaa only when perpetrated by coualnaa aaUctad along, racial and/or ideological linei This haa not helped the credibility of the National Council of Churches...
...The NCC by-laws stipulate that agenda items must be mailed to Governing Board members one month prior to the meeting date...
...I would ht\e been quite willing to add my signature lo the reaolulion if it wrra not *o obv-i...
...IsRael To the Editor Tour report (May HI on The Nattori-¦1 Council of Churchee' resolution condemning Israel's u**> of "cluster bombs" m Lebanon once again ruin i fundamental question about thit or ganizatlon: Will it* action...
...The aim of the deliberations is not really to exchange ideas, to test positions and to search for some word of hope and judgment that the churches might speak...
...I wrote a memo to the leadership of the Middle East Committee with a copy to Dr...
...William Thompson, President of the National Council of Churches, that the Council could do nothing until a Federal court had dealt with the matter...
...work when such issuee are ra.sed within the NCC...
...Frank Maria, one of the most anti-Israel and pro-PLO representatives in the National Council of Churches, proposed a draft resolution to the committee of the Middle East office that was entitled "Suspension of Aid to Israel to Effect Compliance with Human Rights and International Law," accompanied by what, in the minutes of the committee, is called "partial documentation...
...ba determined by broad ecumenical pnnclplei ¦ aw esjr nevisaw fAetaw e*s*lA*ie adefiJ^gUjCaJ perspectives...
...Such a conclusion does not require acceptance of some sort of paranoid conspiracy theory...
...He is now Lecturer at the New Brunswick Theological Seminary...
...It may even rediscover the reality of dialogue, that highly recommended but rarely used commodity of the ecumenical movement...
...I was confident that that wasn't going to happen...
...I received many letters from concerned people, several of them expressing the hope that I would not lose my job...
...At that point another native American who was a member of the Governing Board announced with deep emotion that he was going to produce a resolution for presentation to the Governing Board the next day...
...Then, soon, the lecturing of others becomes a substitute for humble and honest self-examination, and the soil is prepared for much "Christian" insensitivity toward others...
...It took a ijt pen von of the rule* to achieve that e The refusal to accept the recommendation of the board'* Reference Committee which mentioned the fact that men...
...Now, in preparation for the 1977 Governing Board meeting, I studied the draft resolution on the Middle East...
...I am prepared to believe that Dr...
...How great the need for such an educational and interpretive function was became quite evident only a few months after the office had begun its work...
...Arie Brouwer, General Secretary of the Reformed Church in America, demanding to know why I could not be silenced...
...But the result of such a procedure is that the representatives of the Office on Christian-Jewish Relations, confronted with a first draft that is so obviously one-sided and totally unacceptable, are put on the defensive from the very start...
...For once, it seemed, a major NCC meeting would take place without one of those statements that usually forced the Council's executive in charge of Christian-Jewish relations to forget about dialogue for weeks in order to spend his time explaining the inexplicable procedures of the organization he served...
...That, however, confirms my complaint that these things are not done in open and honest ecumenical dialogue, but are schemed in a spirit of political infighting in order to score in the propaganda battle that is being waged on all sides...
...For good measure, the first draft of the resolution, in the name of "acting in the belief that our role as churches is to speak for peace, justice and reconciliation," threw in a reference to Israel's refusal to deal with the PLO as well as a reference to "continued reports of alleged human rights violations and even torture in the occupied West Bank and Gaza areas," while—as usual—not a word was said about human rights violations in Arab countries...
...With respect to the "cluster bomb" resolution, the scenario presented went as follows: An American Indian, not a member of the Governing Board, had been roaming around Southern Lebanon and had come upon a cluster bomb fragment...
...May 17, 1978 Church Council1...
...In the fall of 1977 this meant that the draft statement was all about hope for "an early convening of the Geneva Convention," about the crucial importance of U.N...
...Usually, there is quite a difference between the first draft of a statement on the Middle East that forms the basis for discussions within the bureaucracy and the final resolutions that are offered to the Governing Board...
...In short, it was all a spontaneous development in Minneapolis...
...On February 16, 1978, Mr...
...It is through that kind of "symbolic detail" that one gains a glimpse of the cynicism that often exists in the ecclesiastical establishment...
...That observation, it seems to me, gives a clear indication of the headline-hunting nature of some NCC "prophetic utterances...
...Later in the meeting a long and complicated document on Affirmative Action was voted through in a matter of minutes...
...3) According to my experiences, particularly as chairman of the advisory committee of the NCC's Office on Christian-Jewish Relations, questions pertaining to Israel are not dealt with in the spirit of ecumenical dialogue, but rather become the occasion for internal bureaucratic power plays...
...In passing I might observe that as Christian pronouncements increasingly sound as if the world is being treated to the echoes of its own slogans and jargon, the "art" of confession tends to be lost with the language of faith...
...A Protest Clarified inthr rditnr: ihe National Cornell ofOmrelwi and several questions have been raised its work mtoto, I am deeply sorry...
...Personally...
...e Whenever in recent yeare concern* were reieed In the council about ant...
...I will, however, fight like hell if ideologues within the NCC use that organization for their own propagandistic purposes, or if—in true hypocritical fashion—church bureaucrats talk loudly about human rights in Israel to cover their silence on human rights in Arab countries in order to protect their missionary interests there...
...I am all for that...
...During the Christmas season of 1974, a draft statement on the Middle East, prepared for a forthcoming meeting of the National Council's Executive committee, came across my desk...
...the rnmmisMon in mi he responsible JsBSHK^^^^^B^Ki^^KB^^M the the . iion in B^B^B^B^B^B^B^B^B^B^B^BBBBfl It seemed deeply disturbing to me that, one short year after the Yom Kippur attack, the churches would feel themselves called to issue pontificating statements on the objective applicability in our day of Jewish fears of destruction that have their source not only in the Holocaust, but in a long and horrible history of persecution, often engaged in with blessing and participation of Christians...
...the Holocaust or the emergence of neo-Nazi movement*, attempt* have been made slther to irtvl-alire them or to neutralize them by ii -»¦ . :•-» remark* that were auppoeed to present a more balanced picture The recent governing board meeting paseed a resolution expressing concern about neo-Nazi activitiea in Amsr.a only after aasurance* had been given that a siatrmeagt on the>Ku Klux Klan would be uaufal as well...
...Within hours after the letter's publication, NCC dignitaries, with Dr...
...For a brief period the outlook actually seemed quite hopeful, because it appeared as if for once a statement attacking Israel had been avoided...
...This brings me to the heart of my complaint about the manipulation of the process for propagandists purposes...
...It seems to me, however, that certain people within the Council—a small minority—were quite conscious of what they were doing and that some of the strange happenings that have been going on were the result of very intentional behind-the-scenes maneuvers...
...My ex-colleague in the Reformed Church's establishment, the Rev...
...In the meantime, so much worthwhile ecumenical work is being jeopardized by the manipulation* of a few Mrthink...
...Frank Maria who has done more than anyone else in the NCC to undermine the Council's efforts to establish better relationships within the Jewish community...
...Tnn year, lor Instance, a, concerted effort wai made to aa**saT>n an extremely one-sided report attack.ng Urarl on the question of humsn ri|{hiv That one did not make it to the g nrmirg board —yet...
...Randall, who always has been extremely supportive of efforts to strengthen Christian-Jewish relations, did not know at that time that NCC staff members as well as members of constituency bodies had known about and consulted on a "cluster bomb" resolution before anyone had departed for Minneapolis...
...This led the Synagogue Council of America to observe, in a release protesting the NCC action, that "the Governing Board saw fit to exclude innocent Jewish lives lost in the murderous PLO attack in Tel Aviv from the sanctity of human life" and that "the Governing Board of the National Council of Churches has once again shown itself incapable of fair judgment in issues arising out of the Arab-Israeli conflict...
...l he tommisslnn .is the matter...
...Claire Randall, the NCC's General Secretary, in which, among other things, I stated: "I personally would not fight it if the NCC wanted to initiate a wide-ranging debate on human rights in the Middle East...
...And now back to my letter and its aftermath...
...National Council of Churches vs...
...A historical perspective and careful analysis are often abandoned in order to reflect the latest moves on the fast-changing diplomatic front...
...When the office began to function in 1974 and I found myself elected as chairman of its advisory committee, I was prepared for the vast educational task that would have to be done within the Council and among the churches in order to sensitize Christians to basic feelings and concerns in the Jewish community...
...Rather, the main task of representatives of the Office on Christian-Jewish Relations usually becomes to react to initiatives that are taken elsewhere in order to minimize embarrassment and avoid a further erosion of already tenuous and tense relationships with the Jewish community...
...I agreed and the Times published that letter as well...
...The Council had never specifically dealt with that matter...
...I would like to make the M- Uan-Jewuh rehitions It Is precisely lowingpnini because I consider so tnui h nf the Ihe f.ut lh.it I signed the teller as toiim-il's w.ok ;is significant Inr Ihe Dinactor of Cnmmutucai ions of the Re- Ma of Ihe Christian churches thai I fnrmed Chuuh in Ameru.i m.iv h.np raised niv voice in protest against given the iaapressionth.it I was speak- purines whuh I consider to be injuriiiiE.nu behalf ol the denomination...
...As far as I can see, those particular issues have been handled by the Council in the spirit of open ecumenical dialogue and, with respect to the key questions involved, my sympathies lie with the Council's position...
...Before I describe in some detail how this was done, it might be well to recall that the creation of an Office on Christian-Jewish Relations "on a priority basis" was voted by the delegates to the Governing Board meeting in February 1973...
...e>tabhshmeM are not vrr>' conducive to cml discourse, not to mention ecumrn.ni d alojue • The re solution to which The Timei referred ot iginaled tn the counnft Commauon cm Justice...
...M. William Howard Jr., is reported to have announced before his election as the NCC's new president, that if elected to that post, he would encourage more Bible study...
...The resolution on "Christian Concern about Nazism" was rewritten during the afternoon and later that day presented for a vote by none other than the same Mr...
...initiatives and Russian involvement, and about the need to overcome what in those days used to be called "procedural impediments...
...It was at the Governing Board meeting of November 1976 that demonstrations took place protesting the membership of an accused Nazi collaborator, who had been condemned as a murderer of Jews by a court in Rumania...
...If the Council becomes more biblical and less ideological in its outiook and approach, it might rediscover rich dimensions of ecumenism which have frequently been lost sight of in the heat of bureaucratic gamesmanship...
...SemiUsm...
...ously part of a perslttrnt ami-Israel propaganda campa.gn within the council Let me elaborate by pointing out the following: • In recent yean every NCC governing board meeting has been prned ed by interrel bureaucratic power ptayi aimed at criticizing Israel...
...Also, a* your reporter pomted out, the debate on the resolution condemning Ureal m postponed till the final session, when many delegates had left...
...This, in my opinion, does not mean that Council members tend to condone such attacks...

Vol. 4 • December 1978 • No. 2


 
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