On October the 13th I posted an article, Bad links posted at Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. The next day I posted, More on the bad links that the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) posted but by a different author which was a link to an excellent article at Camera. The article, Presbyterian Peacemakers Promote Hezbollah Website and Anti-Israel Incitement was written by Dexter Van Zile. He hones in on the false rumors being pushed by various Islamic sects, as well as the IPMN, that Israel is trying to take over the Haram Al-Sharif Mosque.There were also rumors that the Israeli government was trying to burrow under the Aqsa Mosque at the Temple Mount which would destroy it. And in fact one of the articles that IPMN linked to is Al-Aqsa Foundation: A New Israeli Tunnel Built under the Aqsa Mosque. The article is at The Voice of Palestine online news.That particular article stated that "Al-Aqsa foundation for endowment and heritage revealed that the Israeli occupation authorities almost finished the building of a new tunnel under the Aqsa Mosque."However, in contradiction to the Palestine and IPMN reports CHURCHandWORLD, yesterday, linked to a news article from Arutz Sheva IsraelNationalNews.com, entitled, "Israel Plans Major Excavation at Western Wall," by Samuel Sokol.As the article points out there is an excavation going on, but not under the Aqsa Mosque. Instead it is directly under the Western Wall in order to "create an archaeological park directly underneath the area where worshippers currently stand while praying at the Kotel." Also, "The current prayer area will remain open, supported by pillars, while a new area will be added underneath, at the level at which worshippers at the ancient Temple stood in the past."Sokol goes on to write that, "engineers working on the excavations explained 'Israel's excavations do not cause harm to structures in the area.' In fact, they explained, the excavations have improved structural stability in the Temple Mount area, as they led to discovery and strengthening of areas in which there was a danger of collapse."And yet several radical Islamic groups are still using rumors to incite violence and war within Jerusalem. In fact on the same Palestinian online news group that IPMN was linked to earlier, an article was added on the 25th entitled, "Hamas: The battle of Jerusalem started." Right above the article is a picture of the Mosque and a supposed dig right beneath it. The focus of the article is that there is now nothing left for the Palestinians but to enter into war within Jerusalem against the Israelis. One paragraph states:"For his part, Sheikh Hamed Al-Beitawi, a representative of Hamas in the Palestinian legislative council (PLC), warned the Israeli occupation of persisting in its violations against the occupied city of Jerusalem and the Aqsa Mosque, stressing that Israel opened the gates of hell when it dared to attack the Aqsa Mosque."Much of the unrest is being pushed by the Islamic Movement in Israel. The Movement is a radical party that has its roots in the past with connections to the "Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Hajj Amin Al-Husseini and the Muslim Brotherhood." The Muslim Brotherhood is a radical branch of Islam which has several political parties connected to it including Hamas. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem befriended Hitler and had plans for a final solution of the Jews in the Middle East which was curtailed by the end of the war. The Islamic Movement is an international movement and on their site in Nigeria one can read about the problems in Israel, from the Islamic Movement's point of view of course. One can also find links to Hezbollah, etc., etc. My point here after traveling this far through links and sites and misleading stories is that the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the PCUSA is reaching into areas that are extremely radical. As I look at the sites and news articles I think I can understand a Christian group supposedly involved in mission wanting to reach these people for Jesus Christ. But no, IPMN only wants to reaffirm these groups radical thought and are undoubtedly unknowingly affirming their incitement to violence. I can only wish and pray that my denomination would drop its link to IPMN.
