Stonewalling the Clergy
The Quest to Show Steadfast Hope in the Hudson Valley
Watch video on vimeo - Click here
A remarkably good film called “Steadfast Hope: The Palestinian Quest for Just Peace” is produced by the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church. There is also an Episcopalian version, and both are available to show in local churches. Being an Episcopalian myself, I decided to start there.
Two of us from a local peace group joined a younger man from the former Occupy encampment to meet with the pastor of an Episcopal Church in Poughkeepsie, NY. He told us that showing the film would be relatively easy to do in his congregation. The documentary was an honest look at the Israel/Palestine conflict, something Americans rarely get in the mainstream media. Moreover, the film brought into focus one of the most important moral issues of our age, America’s support for racial discrimination and ethnic cleansing.
The pastor then explained the difficulty. There were some Jewish members in his congregation and he didn’t think they would be pleased. He paused, and then told us that showing the film was the right thing to do, regardless of the consequences. He had been hired years ago to take chances like this, and his congregation had always stood by him. He had spoken out about racism, war, and social justice. Now was the time for Palestinian human rights.
We had over 40 people at the film showing, and the discussion was led by a Holocaust survivor who had tried to break the blockade of Gaza. At the end, an African American woman stood up and said, “I have never understood this issue before, but now I see how it is my story too.”
The film had been such a success that I decided to ask other Episcopal churches, starting with the one in my own town. I met with the pastor, accompanied this time by a member Christian Peacemakers who had been to the West Bank four times protecting Palestinian children from settlers’ attacks.
The pastor expressed no reservations about showing the film, and we spent the meeting talking about Chris Hedges and Jimmy Carter. “You don’t build a church by being afraid to take a moral stand,” he told us as we left. I was so sure about showing the film in his church that I wrote a letter that night thanking him.
A month passed and I heard nothing. I followed up with an e-mail and then a call. Finally, I went to the church on a Sunday and met him after the service. He was still working on the film showing, but some issues had come up. Would I be able to meet with a local rabbi about showing the film? I agreed, if he thought that was the best way to show “Steadfast Hope” to his congregation.
Two more months went by, with several more e-mails and calls unreturned. This time when I met him after church services, he asked me into his office. He seemed exhausted and irritated when I brought the film up. The rabbi would not be pleased with the film, and there were several influential Jewish members of his congregation who would take great offense. Maybe the timing was not right.
After six months, I started talking to members of the church vestry. A number of them had never heard of the documentary and wanted to see it for themselves. Several weeks later, I got a call from the reverend, who wanted to meet with me a fourth time.
He gave me his conditions as soon as we sat down. I was not to publicize the film, nor bring anyone to it. The showing would be open to members of his congregation only, and I was to send nothing to the media.
When I finally showed “Steadfast Hope,” it was to a very small group. The audience, however, was so impressed by the film that they began to talk about organizing a study group based on materials that came with the DVD. With arms folded, the pastor said that he couldn’t really support that idea unless he passed it by the rabbi. To date, there has been no study group.
I decided to try Presbyterian churches, since its General Assembly had just voted to divest church funds from three American companies profiting from the oppression of Palestinians. Would local Presbyterian churches be willing to show this movie, produced by the church’s own Israel/Palestine Mission Network?
I sent thirteen letters to pastors in the Hudson Valley and I waited one month for any response. There was none, so I followed up with three calls and three e-mails to each pastor. At the end of the second month, I had set up only one meeting with a pastor. The phone calls, however, allowed me to eventually discuss the film with five other pastors.
Although all five pastors declined to show the film, they offered suggestions as well as reasons why the documentary wasn’t appropriate for their churches. Each pastor questioned why his/her church had been picked. Had I tried the Episcopalians? Had I written to the Dutchess County Interfaith Council? I had written the council, but received no response.
Some pastors were more direct then others. One referred to two Jewish men in the congregation who would be “extremely pissed off” if the movie were shown. The church was quite conservative, and congregation so unfamiliar with Palestinian rights that the pastor also worried that the movie would bring out some latent anti-Semitism. As for moral issues, at least three pastors said that their churches were more community groups than strictly religious institutions. Congregation members attend services to socialize and be part of a supportive organization. It was hard enough keeping congregations going and contributions coming in without introducing divisive issues.
Although based on a small sample of Episcopal and Presbyterian churches in the Hudson Valley, there are some conclusions that are worth examining. All the pastors I talked to referred to some Jewish members of their congregations who would be “angry” and “upset” at showing “Steadfast Hope.” These pastors don’t see themselves able to pursue controversial moral issues with their congregations, especially if these topics lead to less financial support and diminished church attendance. Finally, and most importantly, every pastor I talked to assumed that being Jewish meant supporting Israel. Given this definition of what it is to be a Jew in their congregations, it is no wonder that so few pastors were interested in showing this film in their churches.
Fred Nagel
8 Clay Ct.
Rhinebeck, NY 12572
Fred Nagel is one of the founders of the MidEast Crisis Response group working out of Woodstock, NY, arranges monthly Palestinian film screenings at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Kingston, NY, and is also very active in different activist groups in the Mid-Hudson area.
The second workshop offered by the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church, "Zionism Unsettled", can be seen at https://vimeo.com/channels/zuepisodes
See also: http://palestine2014.weebly.com/zionism-unsettled.html
http://www.israelpalestinemissionnetwork.org/main/videos
Watch video on vimeo - Click here
A remarkably good film called “Steadfast Hope: The Palestinian Quest for Just Peace” is produced by the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church. There is also an Episcopalian version, and both are available to show in local churches. Being an Episcopalian myself, I decided to start there.
Two of us from a local peace group joined a younger man from the former Occupy encampment to meet with the pastor of an Episcopal Church in Poughkeepsie, NY. He told us that showing the film would be relatively easy to do in his congregation. The documentary was an honest look at the Israel/Palestine conflict, something Americans rarely get in the mainstream media. Moreover, the film brought into focus one of the most important moral issues of our age, America’s support for racial discrimination and ethnic cleansing.
The pastor then explained the difficulty. There were some Jewish members in his congregation and he didn’t think they would be pleased. He paused, and then told us that showing the film was the right thing to do, regardless of the consequences. He had been hired years ago to take chances like this, and his congregation had always stood by him. He had spoken out about racism, war, and social justice. Now was the time for Palestinian human rights.
We had over 40 people at the film showing, and the discussion was led by a Holocaust survivor who had tried to break the blockade of Gaza. At the end, an African American woman stood up and said, “I have never understood this issue before, but now I see how it is my story too.”
The film had been such a success that I decided to ask other Episcopal churches, starting with the one in my own town. I met with the pastor, accompanied this time by a member Christian Peacemakers who had been to the West Bank four times protecting Palestinian children from settlers’ attacks.
The pastor expressed no reservations about showing the film, and we spent the meeting talking about Chris Hedges and Jimmy Carter. “You don’t build a church by being afraid to take a moral stand,” he told us as we left. I was so sure about showing the film in his church that I wrote a letter that night thanking him.
A month passed and I heard nothing. I followed up with an e-mail and then a call. Finally, I went to the church on a Sunday and met him after the service. He was still working on the film showing, but some issues had come up. Would I be able to meet with a local rabbi about showing the film? I agreed, if he thought that was the best way to show “Steadfast Hope” to his congregation.
Two more months went by, with several more e-mails and calls unreturned. This time when I met him after church services, he asked me into his office. He seemed exhausted and irritated when I brought the film up. The rabbi would not be pleased with the film, and there were several influential Jewish members of his congregation who would take great offense. Maybe the timing was not right.
After six months, I started talking to members of the church vestry. A number of them had never heard of the documentary and wanted to see it for themselves. Several weeks later, I got a call from the reverend, who wanted to meet with me a fourth time.
He gave me his conditions as soon as we sat down. I was not to publicize the film, nor bring anyone to it. The showing would be open to members of his congregation only, and I was to send nothing to the media.
When I finally showed “Steadfast Hope,” it was to a very small group. The audience, however, was so impressed by the film that they began to talk about organizing a study group based on materials that came with the DVD. With arms folded, the pastor said that he couldn’t really support that idea unless he passed it by the rabbi. To date, there has been no study group.
I decided to try Presbyterian churches, since its General Assembly had just voted to divest church funds from three American companies profiting from the oppression of Palestinians. Would local Presbyterian churches be willing to show this movie, produced by the church’s own Israel/Palestine Mission Network?
I sent thirteen letters to pastors in the Hudson Valley and I waited one month for any response. There was none, so I followed up with three calls and three e-mails to each pastor. At the end of the second month, I had set up only one meeting with a pastor. The phone calls, however, allowed me to eventually discuss the film with five other pastors.
Although all five pastors declined to show the film, they offered suggestions as well as reasons why the documentary wasn’t appropriate for their churches. Each pastor questioned why his/her church had been picked. Had I tried the Episcopalians? Had I written to the Dutchess County Interfaith Council? I had written the council, but received no response.
Some pastors were more direct then others. One referred to two Jewish men in the congregation who would be “extremely pissed off” if the movie were shown. The church was quite conservative, and congregation so unfamiliar with Palestinian rights that the pastor also worried that the movie would bring out some latent anti-Semitism. As for moral issues, at least three pastors said that their churches were more community groups than strictly religious institutions. Congregation members attend services to socialize and be part of a supportive organization. It was hard enough keeping congregations going and contributions coming in without introducing divisive issues.
Although based on a small sample of Episcopal and Presbyterian churches in the Hudson Valley, there are some conclusions that are worth examining. All the pastors I talked to referred to some Jewish members of their congregations who would be “angry” and “upset” at showing “Steadfast Hope.” These pastors don’t see themselves able to pursue controversial moral issues with their congregations, especially if these topics lead to less financial support and diminished church attendance. Finally, and most importantly, every pastor I talked to assumed that being Jewish meant supporting Israel. Given this definition of what it is to be a Jew in their congregations, it is no wonder that so few pastors were interested in showing this film in their churches.
Fred Nagel
8 Clay Ct.
Rhinebeck, NY 12572
Fred Nagel is one of the founders of the MidEast Crisis Response group working out of Woodstock, NY, arranges monthly Palestinian film screenings at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Kingston, NY, and is also very active in different activist groups in the Mid-Hudson area.
The second workshop offered by the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church, "Zionism Unsettled", can be seen at https://vimeo.com/channels/zuepisodes
See also: http://palestine2014.weebly.com/zionism-unsettled.html
http://www.israelpalestinemissionnetwork.org/main/videos