Sabeel Conference, March 5-6, 2010 [incl. Don Wagner, Hisham Ahmed]

The Friends of Sabeel conference took place March 5 and 6 in the liberal community of San Anselmo at the First Presbyterian Church. Professor Donald Wagner, a friend of Sabeel, is an ordained Presbyterian Minister and associate profession of religion and Middle Eastern Studies at North Park University which may be why the event was held there. More about Dr. Wagner later.

The intent of this article was to expose the several Middle Eastern Studies professors who were attending the conference and what they are teaching as the truth on our campuses. In fact, what they are doing is promoting a political agenda and indoctrinating young students too naïve to know the truth. Unfortunately I was only able to attend the Friday session. Because of the way the sessions were grouped, I could only hear two of the five MES professors who were presenting.

The church complex is nestled in the wooded residential area. Practically every car that lined the street had a bumper sticker of some sort; mostly anti-war, anti-Bush and anti-American. Many of the people registering for the conference were obviously from the sixties and had not outgrown the era; i.e. tie-dye clothing, long flowing dresses on the women, Birkenstocks, ear rings on gray haired men, etc. Very few young people were in attendance. There were an estimated 500 or more attendees.

The Friday afternoon “service” began with singing of what can only be described as a chant of four lines, each repeated at least eight times before the “sermon” began.

At first blush, Sabeel leader Canon Naim Ateek seemed to be preaching about peace, however, he also kept talking about justice. Inclusion of that second word should make anyone suspicious for, after all, by whose measurement is this so-called justice to be meted out? By the end of his opening presentation it was clear that, in his opinion, the only “justice” would be the elimination of the state of Israel. Only then could there be peace.

“The land must be given back to the Palestinians; the Jewish people are welcome to live there in peace,” he said. Despite the fact that this is exactly what Israel has shown through its actions, the Palestinian’s disagreement comes from whose government should be running the country. Ateek believes the UN actions in 1947 were illegal, and America is complicit in supporting that resolution.

Israel is the only functioning democracy in the region. Conversely, it is the Palestinians who keep perpetuating violence on Israel until Israel is forced to retaliate… not the other way around. Another fact is this; Israel was there first according to the Bible and other historical documents, the same book that Pro-Palestinian detractors use selectively to support their case in the myth of Israel’s occupation. Even archaeological evidence supports Israel’s claim. However, this group believes the “justice” clock starts in 1946 and anything after that was done illegally by the United Nations.

The second speaker, Professor Hisham Ahmed of St. Mary’s College of Moraga, California, went on an unabashed pro-Palestinian rant. He spoke of his personal experiences with “occupation” and the atrocities he had seen growing up there perpetrated on his people by the Jewish people. His stories included accounts that can only be described as fictional with no evidence to support his outrageous claims of inhumane treatment at the hands of the Jews. Never once did he mention the anti-Semitic feeling on the part of his people or the part that Palestinians play in the day to day violence that permeates the region. According to him Jews are occupiers and Palestinians are innocent bystanders. News reports from the area prove this is nowhere close to the truth. His article entitled, “Violence is unavoidable for as long as the occupation continues,” published by Bitterlemons in 2004 says it all. Palestinians are justified in their actions.

During both days, three workshops or breakout sessions were scheduled, each about forty-five minutes long. Dr. Don Wagner, who was mentioned above, led one called Christian Zionism. The room held about thirty people who seemed to share his opinion. The presentation started with a video of various Christian religious scholars talking about Israel’s right to the land according to biblical and historical documents and ended the short presentation with snarky comments that these leaders are wrong on the history. His delivery was arrogant and condescending. Like all propagandists, Dr. Wagner only presented one side of the debate in his session; Israel is the occupier and Palestine is being occupied. There will be no peace until Israel leaves the region.

Conclusion? The truth is, Israel has been inclusive in it governance by allowing Arabs to serve in public office alongside Jews. Meanwhile, Palestinians continue to justify their hate and violence on the “occupiers” in order to achieve its goal, the elimination of Israel. No Sabeel conference can convince anyone otherwise. The only people who believe this radical nonsense are the “useful idiots”, as they have been called, looking for any cause to support. Ironically, anti-war liberals have found a home in the violence of Friends of Sabeel.

See more on this Topic
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The Department of Education Has Granted Millions of Dollars in Funding to University Programs Taught by Anti-Israel Professors