Resolution On All Forms of Anti-Semitism

Adopted by the 202nd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in 1990.

Whereas, the authors of the 1987 Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) study paper entitled "A Theological Understanding of the Relationship Between Christians and Jews" pledge "never again to participate in, to contribute to, or to allow the persecution or denigration of Jews or the belittling of Judaism"; and

Whereas, the 1987 General Assembly action on the Christian Identity Movement reiterated the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s condemnation of anti-Semitism; and

Whereas, contemporary historians have made us aware that the extermination of millions of Jews in the 1940s was made possible by popular acquiescence in the steady increase in Jewish persecution after 1933; and

Whereas, scholars have argued convincingly that unified resistance on the part of the Christian church to the anti-Semitic policies of the Nazi government could have made Hitler's "Final Solution" impossible; and

Whereas, theologians and church historians, within and without our denomination, have shown that even the most radical anti-Semitism often finds its roots in distortions of Christian faith; therefore

We wish to express our great concern at the recent rise of anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union, public displays of Neo-Nazi groups in East Germany and the United States, and the recent outbreaks of anti-Semitic violence in France.

We condemn anti-Semitism in the strongest terms. While affirming our close spiritual ties with the Jewish people, we wish to state unequivocally that authentic Christianity can have no complicity in anti-Semitic attitudes or actions of any kind.

We extend the power of our prayers and the weight of our influence to the Jewish Community as it faces this threat.