Recently we have been reminded of the persistence and pervasiveness of anti-Jewish bias in our denominations. In our peacemaking work in Israel and the West Bank we work cooperatively with Jews and Moslems; we are working with people who are taking significant risks for peace. They reach out, beyond their fears, in the hope that people of different faiths can respect each other enough to live as neighbors. Our relationships with Jews are threatened when expressions of Christian anti-Semitism rekindle their fears and memories of the role of Christianity in fostering hate and violence towards Jews.

Some of our churches are doing significant anti-racism work. Thankfully, there is no longer any credible theology under-girding racism. In contrast, we still have many adherents who use theological arguments to support their anti-Semitism. We have encountered simplistic characterizations of the Hebrew Bible as vengeful and ungraceful, beliefs that Jesus' criticisms of some Jewish leaders of his day apply to all Jews then and now, and Christian Zionism, in which Jews become pawns with magical power in an end-times drama.

It is our sense that we need to undertake strong denominational educational efforts to understand how our theological assumptions have been shaped by an anti-Semitic ideology. We can begin by acknowledging that ignorance of the history of Christian anti-Semitism is a problem, our problem. Whether we like it or not, even whether we know it or not, we are the spiritual heirs of the Crusaders, of those who expelled the Jews from medieval Spain, of those who refused asylum to Jews fleeing the Holocaust; others remember even if we don't. We suggest, as one starting point, that the following questions be addressed by our denominational educational and publishing institutions:

• Where in our school curricula are our students taught about the history of Christian anti-Semitism? Are they exposed to modern Judaism as a living faith?

• Where in our seminaries are future church leaders given the tools to confront anti-Semitism in congregations they may pastor, in church conferences, or in ministerial associations?

• In our congregations and meetings, does the theology in our Sunday or First Day School curricula prepare our members for respectful encounters with Jews?

Christian Peacemaker Teams Steering Committee:
Dale Aukerman, Union Bridge, MD; Bob Bartel, Waldheim, SK, Canada; Anne Blackwood, Philadelphia, PA; Pat Hostetter Martin, Harrisonburg, VA; Cliff Kindy, North Manchester, IN; Retha McCutchen, Richmond, IN; Trayce Petersen, Richmond, IN; Doug Pritchard, Toronto, ON, Canada; Orlando Redekopp, Chicago, IL; Hedy Sawadsky, Vineland, ON, Canada; Muriel Stackley, Pawneee Rock, KS; John Stoner, Akron, PA.

Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative among Mennonite and Church of the Brethren congregations and Friends Meetings that supports violence reduction efforts around the world. CPT P.O. Box 6508 Chicago, IL 60680; Tel 312-455-1199; Fax 312-666-2677. To join CPTNET, our e-mail network, fill out the form found on our WEB page at http://www.prairienet.org/cpt/.

Notes:

1. We use the term "anti-Semitism" in its popular sense, recognizing that this causes a problem for our Arab friends, who are also a Semitic people. For them, using "anti-Semitic" to mean "anti-Jewish" seems to be a way to render them invisible. We do not equate criticism of Israeli government policies with anti-Semitism.