c. 2005 Religion News Service
Jewish Groups Urge Protestant Churches to Reject Israel Sanctions
(RNS) A group of seven Jewish organizations is urging five mainline Protestant denominations and the National Council of Churches to reject economic and political sanctions against Israel.
The joint letter is in response to last year’s decision by the Presbyterian Church (USA) to protest Israeli policies by seeking “phased selective divestment” from certain companies that do business in Israel.
The Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Congress, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Orthodox Union, Union for Reform Judaism and United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism signed the April 22 letter, which said that the divestment initiative is hurting relations between Christians and Jews.
The letter was sent to the Presbyterians, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the National Council of Churches, the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church.
“The Jewish community is committed to engage in dialogue, even with those with whom we disagree _ that is the very nature of dialogue,” the letter read.
“Yet any Protestant denomination that would consider the weapon of economic sanctions to be unilaterally and prejudicially used against the State of Israel … creates an environment which makes constructive dialogue almost impossible,” it continued.
Calling on the Christian groups to repudiate the sanctions and refuse to participate in them, the letter said that religious leaders’ energy is better spent fostering peace in the embattled region.
“At this fragile time in the Middle East peace negotiations, all who seek peace should be focused on continued economic and political engagement, and what can be done to support efforts to peace and confidence building,” the letter said.
_ Holly Lebowitz Rossi
Canadian Hospital Removes Bibles to Stop Spread of Germs
(RNS) A Canadian hospital has sparked the ire of some citizens and public officials for its decision to take Bibles out of its patients’ rooms to help stem the spread of germs.
The Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital in Fredericton, New Brunswick, said the Bibles _ along with phone books and hospital directories _ were removed to stop the spread of germs, according to a Monday (April 25) report from the National Post of Canada.
Critics, like Mayor Brad Woodside of Fredericton, are charging the hospital with trying to do away with Christian symbols. Woodside told the National Post that numerous constituents opposing the policy have called his office.
“A lot of it, in my mind, seems to be political correctness,” Woodside said.
Canadian hospitals have been increasingly concerned about infectious diseases since the SARS virus _ an acute form of pneumonia _ claimed dozens of lives in Toronto in 2003.
The River Valley Health Authority, which removed the Bibles from Chalmers Hospital and six others in the area, said Bibles would still be available on request from the hospital chapel, according to the National Post.
The Rev. Karl Csasz, a hospital chaplain and pastor of a Fredericton Baptist church, said the Bible is no greater threat to a hospital patient than other objects in the room, and it is inconsistent to remove it for hygiene’s sake, he told Catholic World News.
“If the Bible is a threat in a drawer, where does it stop?” Csasz said. “Is it possible for these germs to reside and live on lampshades, curtains?”
Woodside also said the patients most likely to be affected by the ban are those who are not actively religious, and might not feel comfortable asking hospital staff for a Bible.
“When you’re transitioning from life to death, it can be bigger than you can handle,” Woodside said. “If you’re not a religious person, it can be so personal that you don’t want to be calling, `Can somebody go get a Bible?”’
Atheists Sue Education Department Over Funding of Christian College
(RNS) An atheist group has filed suit against the U.S. Department of Education, charging that the $1 million given to an Alaska college with just 37 students is unconstitutional.
The Madison, Wis.-based Freedom From Religion Foundation said Alaska Christian College features a “substantive integration of religion” in its education program and should not have received federal grants worth about $1 million over two years.
The April 21 legal complaint charged that the funding of the school with 37 students gives the appearance of government endorsement of religion. An Education Department spokesperson did not return a call requesting comment.
Keith Hamilton, the school’s president, said in an interview that the school has received about $1 million from federal sources, including $350,000 for the school’s counseling center from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
He said most of the students are Native Americans who have lived in small villages. The school, which is affiliated with the Evangelical Covenant Church of Alaska, aims to help them make the transition to a university by offering them communications and Bible-based courses and linking them to a neighboring community college.
Hamilton declined to comment on the specifics of the suit against his school, which has an operating budget of about $2 million.
“We’re just trying to help students get from their village life and succeed,” he said. “We’re trying to do good work.”
_ Adelle M. Banks
President Bush to Give Commencement Address at Christian College
(RNS) President Bush will give the commencement address at Calvin College, a Christian liberal arts college in Grand Rapids, Mich.
The president will speak at the college’s May 21 ceremonies, the school announced.
“It is a great honor to have the president of the United States speak at Calvin,” said college President Gaylen Byker in a statement. “For our graduates to hear from President Bush as they prepare to leave Calvin and make a difference in the world is an extraordinary opportunity for them.”
Bush made a previous visit to the campus during his first run for president. In January 2000, the then-governor of Texas appeared at the school’s Fine Arts Center for a nationally televised debate among candidates seeking the Republican nomination for president.
The school, affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church in North America, welcomes speakers from a variety of political viewpoints, Byker noted.
“We invite many speakers to campus because we want our community to meet and hear from important national and world figures,” he said. “We need to hear and learn from thinkers and leaders whether we agree with them or not.”
_ Adelle M. Banks
Quote of the Day: Travel Author Jack Hitt
(RNS) “Jesus updated the Ten Commandments in his most famous speech, the Sermon on the Mount. In it, one finds the Eight Beatitudes. Why don’t we ever hear about nailing those somewhere? Here’s why: It’s not simply the law in the Ten Commandments that attracts fundamentalists. Rather, it’s the syntax. The authoritarianism of so many `Thous Shalt Nots.”’
_ Jack Hitt, author of “Off the Road: A Modern-Day Walk Down the Pilgrim’s Route Into Spain,” in a column for the Los Angeles Times.
KRE/PH END RNS
