Richard Silverstein: Israel Threatens Church Groups !!!

The Israel Lobby has threatened Church groups over call for restricting US Military aid to Israel. A coalition of US church groups recently made public a letter which called upon the US government to condition future military aid to Israel on its fulfillment of obligations under US law. The statement was intended to express criticism of Israel's use of US weapons like cluster bombs, in violation of our law, and noted that US military assistance provided Israel a buffer against undertaking any actions to advance a just and lasting peace. For example, its settlement policy, refusal to return to 1967 borders, and refusal to share Jerusalem, all directly contradict international law and stated US policy. Though these church groups have been critical of Israeli policy in the past, threatening to lobby for withholding military aid, would really cut the Israel lobby to the quick, as it's a position held by a number of anti-Zionist groups that are much farther to the left. The fact that mainline Christian denominations, who generally support liberal Zionist positions,would be moving in a more critical direction, has to be deeply concerning to the lobby. Though they refuse to consider or acknowledge it, such a development indicates a growing alienation of American churches from Israel, and the draconian positions advanced by its government. The churches are willing to lose their interfaith dialogue with the Jewish community over such an issue, which indicates how seriously they take their opposition to the Netanyahu regime. First to lash out in anger was Abe Foxman, followed by one of Isreal's leading hasbara outfits, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. It appears to be taking the lead in handling the campaign against so called "delegitimization." Those guys at JCPA play hardball!