The nation's largest and most prominent mainline Protestant denomination, the 11 million-member United Methodist Church — whose members include both President Bush and Senator Clinton — is set to take up the issue of whether to divest from companies that do business with Israel.

The meeting, which is to be held on Friday in Fort Worth, Texas, will mark the highest level of consideration that the subject of economic divestment from the Jewish state has received within the Methodist denomination.

Key questions hanging over the event will be whether the church will decide to use its $16 billion pension fund as an economic tool against Israel, and whether divestment would shatter the church's traditional relationship with American Jews.

If the church moves ahead with a divestment resolution on the national level, the denomination would become the largest Protestant group to embrace such a measure. The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, which has 2.4 million members, voted in favor of such a measure in 2004. Another important liberal denomination, the United Church of Christ, went in the other direction last summer when it opted to engage in a "balanced study" of the Middle East conflict.

Source: NY Sun

How long before the tired and worn-out canard of being "Anti-Semitic" starts flying the Methodists way?

Israel deserves to be treated like another pariah, apartheid state was, South Africa.

Hit 'em where it hurts: In their pocketbooks.

It's amazing to watch Foxman pontificate, ad nauseam and infinitum, about his beloved Israel, without using words, like: “occupation,” “bulldozer,” “Rachel Corrie,” “Rafah,“ “torture,” “Sabra & Shatila,“ Apartheid Wall,” “refugee camps,” “displaced persons,” “demolition orders,” “UN Security Council Resolution 242,” “Jenin,” “collective punishment,” “illegal settlements,” “detention without trial” and “Geneva Convention.” How does Foxman get away with ignoring the truth about the tragic fate of the Palestinians under Israeli rule? How?

by William Hughes

Americans almost made it through the year without being subjected to yet another boring spiel from the Anti-Defamation League’s chief honcho and know-it-all, Abe Foxman. Unfortunately, on Dec. 27, 2003, the “Washington Post,” opened its Op Ed Page to the old windbag. If there was any justice left in the world, it should have made Foxman take out a paid advertisement in order to do his egregious pimping for Zionist Israel.

Foxman’s latest rant is entitled, “Open to Debate in Israel.” I wondered after reading it: Shouldn’t he be required to register with the U.S. Justice Department as an agent for a foreign-based principal? Huh? Keep in mind, that he makes $450,000 a year for being a one-man, hot-air propaganda machine. At a minimum, Foxman, a card carrying Zionist, should have been required by the editors of the “Washington Post,” to come clean, on the record, about all of his Israeli connections, so that an unsuspecting reading public would have been put on notice about his biases.

In any event, Foxman was all in a tizzy. No, this time, it wasn’t Mel Gibson’s soon-to-be-released movie, “The Passion of Christ,” that was arousing his ire. Foxman was upset because his favorite country, Israel, was recently criticized at Geneva, by Yossi Beilin, a former Israeli minister of justice, and Yasser Abed Rabbo, an ex-Palestinian information minister. They were advocating a peace plan for the Middle East. Foxman claims their action threatens, “to delegitimize and isolate the Israeli government.” He also whined that they were attacking “Israel’s fundamental legitimacy as a sovereign state.” Poor Israel! Poor Americans, too, who read Foxman’s contrived drivel!

The pompous ADL boss thinks this so-called, “Geneva Accord,” (an unofficial framework for Middle East peace), is all part of a sinister plot to “disrespect Israel’s democratic institutions.” Oh, come off it, Foxman! That sounds like classic conspiracy mongering to me.

Some critics, like Amnesty International, however, have dared to directly challenge Israel’s claim to be a democracy, particularly for its use of fascist-like death squads. I’m sure even Foxman would agree there isn’t anything “democratic” about Israeli thugs killing unarmed Palestinians, without a trial or even any semblance of due process of law. (And, by the way, when, if ever, is Elie Wiesel, who once wrote, “To remain silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all...” going to address the Israeli death squads’ issue?)

In the last three years alone, over 152 Palestinians have been targeted for extra judicial assassination by the Tel Aviv-based operatives (phrmg.org). It would be interesting to know: How exactly do Sharon’s death squads function? Does the Israeli Cabinet have to officially approve of each designated murder? Is there a written record of the death squad meetings? Or, is it done, with nods and winks, by a death squad committee? Who decides in Israel, what Palestinian will be executed and which Palestinian will live? If an official in the Sharon regime insists that a certain Palestinian is a “militant,” does that unchallenged comment become a death sentence for the particular Palestinian? And, do Sharon’s death squads plan any targeted hits outside Israel: like say, in Iraq, Europe, or even in the U.S.? (If it’s the latter, I would like to know because my “Hate Mail” file is growing at an alarming rate since my latest book, accusing the Israel First Brigade of helping to bring on the Iraq War, was published.)

It is simply amazing to watch Foxman pontificate, in the media, ad nauseam, ad infinitum, about his beloved Israel, without once using words, like: “occupation,” “bulldozer,” “Rachel Corrie,” “Rafah,“ “torture,” “Sabra & Shatila,“ Apartheid Wall,” “refugee camps,” “displaced persons,” “demolition orders,” “UN Security Council Resolution 242,” “Jenin,” “collective punishment,” “human shields,” “illegal settlements,” “detention without trial” and “Geneva Convention.” How does Foxman get away with ignoring the truth about the tragic fate of the Palestinians under Israeli rule? How?

Foxman swears Israel has a “healthy democracy” because oppositional figures are heard all of the time. Sure, they are! Unless, of course, they are protesting its notorious Apartheid Wall, than they can be shot by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) with live ammunition, like Israeli activist Gil Naamati was last Friday (“Baltimore Sun,” 12/29/03).

Source: Media Monitors

This article might seem outdated, but all one has to do is substitute the name Olmert for Sharon to bring this into the present.

How do the Israel Hit Squads function? They probably use the Gestapo and SS manuals from WW II.