Palestinian rights meeting is protested
Hundreds of advocates for Palestinian rights gathered inside a Back Bay church yesterday as pro-Israel demonstrators denounced them from across Boylston Street in Copley Square, in an illustration of how the Mideast conflict has roiled relations between leaders of the Jewish and mainline Protestant communities in Boston.
Inside Old South Church, about 700 advocates of Palestinian rights launched a two-day conference, provocatively titled, "The Apartheid Paradigm in Palestine-Israel." The meeting will feature a keynote speech today by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa.
The pro-Israel demonstrators, who numbered about 200, furiously denounced the use of the word apartheid to describe Israel, as well as what the Jewish community said were anti-Israel views espoused by Sabeel, the Palestinian Christian organization that put together the conference.
But both sides also said they are determined to work together locally.
The president of the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ and the senior minister of Old South Church both issued statements expressing support for Israel and opposition to terrorism, even as they defended the decision to rent the Old South building to Sabeel. And the executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council defended the free speech rights of Sabeel and concern for Palestinian rights, even as she denounced the conference as "an effort to demonize the state of Israel."
The three officials gathered on a sidewalk in front of the church to talk between the protest and the conference and said they have planned a meeting of Jewish and United Church of Christ leaders next week..
Old South has, over its three-plus centuries in existence, repeatedly hosted gatherings by groups championing controversial points of view, including abolition and women's suffrage and gay rights. Its senior minister, the Rev. Nancy S. Taylor, said the decision to rent the sanctuary to Sabeel represents an idea that is "at the heart of a free and vital democratic nation."
Taylor also said the congregation has pulled together a series of speakers with diverse views about the Middle East to explore the complexity of the issue. Some Jewish speakers pulled out, but others have signed on.
"We grieve for Israel's profound experience of insecurity and fear as it is surrounded by a horrific combination of hostile nations, corrupt leadership, and terrorism," she said in a statement. "We also stand firmly in support of Palestinian Christians and grieve for their experience of suffering, fear, and deprivation as an oppressed minority."
Last night Tutu greeted and blessed the gathering, saying, "God looking down at this assemblage smiles on you." He was accompanied by Bishop M. Thomas Shaw of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, a frequent advocate for Palestinians, who called the gathering a "magnificent conference."
The founder of Sabeel - the Rev. Naim Ateek, a Palestinian Episcopal priest - told the crowd that "the racism of the Israeli government has become more obviously clear."
Ateek, who was singled out by the pro-Israel demonstrators as an "extremist anti-Zionist," was unstinting in his criticism of Israel, insistent that the Israeli government is creating a form of apartheid by its actions toward Palestinians. He said that conditions in the Israeli-occupied territories may be worse than conditions for blacks during apartheid in South Africa.
"The occupation, my friends, is evil, and it must end," he said. But Ateek also condemned violence, which he said is coming from two parties, "the Israeli government" and "extremists."
The demonstration preceding the conference was sponsored by several dozen Jewish organizations and synagogues. Many of the demonstrators held Israeli flags and signs reading. "We Support Israel," but some held signs with angrier messages.
Some displayed a mock photo of the sign in front of Old South Church, with the message altered to say "Today's Sermon: Blame the Jews." (On the church's actual sign, it posted a quote from a liberal rabbi, Michael Lerner, on the importance of "the healing and repair" of the world.)
Many speakers and signholders questioned why the conference was criticizing Israel rather than Arab states.
"There are states in the Middle East where discrimination is a way of life, and it's not Israel," said Barry Shrage, president of Combined Jewish Philanthropies. He said there is a lack of freedom and democracy, and discrimination against women, gays, and non-Muslims in countries such as Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan. 