Episcopal Church bishops reject resolution declaring Israel an 'apartheid' state

Michie · Jun 25, 2024

The Episcopal Church House of Bishops has rejected resolutions that would have labeled Israel an apartheid state and endorsed divestment efforts against the Middle Eastern nation while approving measures calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

At the 81st General Convention held in Louisville, Kentucky, on Sunday, the bishops voted down four resolutions tied to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Israel's war against the terror group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

These included a resolution labeling Israel's legal system apartheid, a resolution expressing solidarity with the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions Movement, a resolution identifying the Palestinians as "Indigenous peoples of the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River," and a resolution condemning Christian Zionism, reported Episcopal News Service.

Continued below.

Episcopal Church bishops reject resolution declaring Israel an 'apartheid' state

The Episcopal Church House of Bishops has rejected resolutions that would have labeled Israel an apartheid state and endorsed divestment efforts against the Middle Eastern nation while approving ...

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com7fy8 · Jun 25, 2024

Michie said:
a resolution identifying the Palestinians as "Indigenous peoples of the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River,"

Ok, so the Episcopal church refused to recognize Palestinians as "indigenous"?

To me, it seems there now are different Episcopal groups, one being American and liberal, and one in England that is conservative. I would expect this resolution to be from the European group coservative.

And I would like to know: if the Palestinians are not native to the area, where are they from?

Michie said:
and a resolution condemning Christian Zionism,

It seems we have a major promotion of Zionism by conservative television ministries. So, I would not expect liberal Episcopalians to refuse to criticize zionism.

So, Michie, which Episcopalian group made these resolutions and refusal of other resolutions?

Michie · Jun 25, 2024

com7fy8 said:
Ok, so the Episcopal church refused to recognize Palestinians as "indigenous"?

To me, it seems there now are different Episcopal groups, one being American and liberal, and one in England that is conservative. I would expect this resolution to be from the European group coservative.

And I would like to know: if the Palestinians are not native to the area, where are they from?

It seems we have a major promotion of Zionism by conservative television ministries. So, I would not expect liberal Episcopalians to refuse to criticize zionism.

So, Michie, which Episcopalian group made these resolutions and refusal of other resolutions?

It’s was my understanding that these Bishops represent a variety of Episcopalians. But I could be wrong. You might ask @PloverWing.

The House of Bishops
The House of Bishops is one of two governing bodies of The Episcopal Church, and the presiding bishop is its president. All bishops of The Episcopal Church, active or retired, have voice, seat, and vote in the House of Bishops; the body currently has around 140 active members, including diocesan bishops, bishop coadjutors, suffragan bishops, and retired bishops. Traditionally, the House of Bishops meets once or twice annually in a non-legislative capacity between General Conventions to respond to the needs of the church and society.

Arcangl86 · Jun 25, 2024

com7fy8 said:
Ok, so the Episcopal church refused to recognize Palestinians as "indigenous"?

To me, it seems there now are different Episcopal groups, one being American and liberal, and one in England that is conservative. I would expect this resolution to be from the European group coservative.

And I would like to know: if the Palestinians are not native to the area, where are they from?

It seems we have a major promotion of Zionism by conservative television ministries. So, I would not expect liberal Episcopalians to refuse to criticize zionism.

So, Michie, which Episcopalian group made these resolutions and refusal of other resolutions?

Give me a little bit of time and I can dig up the resolutions and tell you where they came from.

PloverWing · Jun 25, 2024

Michie said:
It’s was my understanding that these Bishops represent a variety of Episcopalians. But I could be wrong. You might ask @PloverWing.

The House of Bishops
The House of Bishops is one of two governing bodies of The Episcopal Church, and the presiding bishop is its president. All bishops of The Episcopal Church, active or retired, have voice, seat, and vote in the House of Bishops; the body currently has around 140 active members, including diocesan bishops, bishop coadjutors, suffragan bishops, and retired bishops. Traditionally, the House of Bishops meets once or twice annually in a non-legislative capacity between General Conventions to respond to the needs of the church and society.

That's correct. The bishops of the Episcopal Church hold a variety of views. Similarly, the priests and lay people in the House of Deputies hold a variety of views. The intent is that both Houses are representative of the spectrum of views found in the Episcopal Church.

I have not been following General Convention closely (lots of things going on in my personal life at the moment), but I was a delegate to New Jersey's Diocesan Convention, where we discussed a similar proposed resolution condemning Israel and characterizing their policy as apartheid. The resolution at our Diocesan Convention was debated and eventually defeated. Some of the considerations were: 1) The situation in Israel is complicated, too complicated to be easily addressed in a simple resolution statement. 2) Israel/Palestine is not identical to South Africa, so we should be careful about using the word "apartheid". 3) The Christian church has a history of antisemitism, and it is important that we not resurrect that terrible part of our history. So, while there is appalling violence going on in Israel and Palestine, and while our baptismal vows commit us to strive for justice and peace among all people, it is not easy to find a simple solution that can be written into a church resolution.

Michie · Jun 25, 2024

PloverWing said:
That's correct. The bishops of the Episcopal Church hold a variety of views. Similarly, the priests and lay people in the House of Deputies hold a variety of views. The intent is that both Houses are representative of the spectrum of views found in the Episcopal Church.

I have not been following General Convention closely (lots of things going on in my personal life at the moment), but I was a delegate to New Jersey's Diocesan Convention, where we discussed a similar proposed resolution condemning Israel and characterizing their policy as apartheid. The resolution at our Diocesan Convention was debated and eventually defeated. Some of the considerations were: 1) The situation in Israel is complicated, too complicated to be easily addressed in a simple resolution statement. 2) Israel/Palestine is not identical to South Africa, so we should be careful about using the word "apartheid". 3) The Christian church has a history of antisemitism, and it is important that we not resurrect that terrible part of our history. So, while there is appalling violence going on in Israel and Palestine, and while our baptismal vows commit us to strive for justice and peace among all people, it is not easy to find a simple solution that can be written into a church resolution.

Thank you so much for the explanation. It was very helpful. Thank you my friend.

RileyG · Jun 25, 2024

Essentially, this is only for the episcopal Church in the United States and not the worldwide Anglican Communion?

Paidiske · Jun 25, 2024

RileyG said:
Essentially, this is only for the episcopal Church in the United States and not the worldwide Anglican Communion?

Yes.

com7fy8 · Jun 26, 2024

Paidiske said:
Yes.

. . . in which case the American Episcopal group voted down those four resolutions. And I have been finding that American churches and higher leadership have been more liberal in how they represent the Bible. So, I would think they would have voted in ways that would criticize the killing of so many noncombatant Palestinians.

There are television "evangelical" ministries who call for support of Israel and getting rid of Hamas, but they do not obviously call for standards for how to do it without killing so many noncombatants.

FireDragon76 · Jun 26, 2024

com7fy8 said:
. . . in which case the American Episcopal group voted down those four resolutions. And I have been finding that American churches and higher leadership have been more liberal in how they represent the Bible. So, I would think they would have voted in ways that would criticize the killing of so many noncombatant Palestinians.

The Episcopal Church (and other Mainline Protestant churches) isn't in favor of Israel killing Palestinian civilians. Just because Episcopalians refuse to condemn Israel as an "apartheid" state doesn't mean an endorsement of Israel's war policies.

And I would advise against making crude political stereotypes of Episcopalians as "Liberal". Episcopalians represent a variety of political and theological perspectives, as do most Mainline Protestant churches.

RileyG · Jun 26, 2024

FireDragon76 said:
The Episcopal Church (and other Mainline Protestant churches) isn't in favor of Israel killing Palestinian civilians. Just because Episcopalians refuse to condemn Israel as an "apartheid" state doesn't mean an endorsement of Israel's war policies.

And I would advise against making crude political stereotypes of Episcopalians as "Liberal". Episcopalians represent a variety of political and theological perspectives, as do most Mainline Protestant churches.

Well said.

Arcangl86 · Jun 26, 2024

My understanding is that they are hesitant to make any decisions that could potentially affect the ministry of the local Anglican province.

Episcopal Church bishops reject resolution declaring Israel an 'apartheid' state

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