B’nai B’rith President Robert Spitzer and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:

The central committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) has issued a statement accusing Israel of “apartheid” and possible “genocide,” and calling for “sanctions, divestment, and arms embargoes.” After decades of singular WCC fixation on and demonization of the world’s only Jewish state, B’nai B’rith finds the body currently beyond the pale for engagement by the mainstream Jewish community—and calls upon responsible backers to strongly consider redirecting their support to more genuinely inclusive frameworks untarnished by political prejudice.

Meeting in South Africa, from which the WCC’s staff leader, Rev. Professor Jerry Pillay, hails, the committee statement also saluted “the leadership of the South African government in seeking justice and accountability.”

South Africa, characterized by extensive civil rights and governance failings domestically—and close ties with multiple foremost perpetrators of human rights outrages globally—has brought Israel to the International Court of Justice on charges of “genocide” against Palestinians.

“Let us be circumspect no longer: tragically, the WCC on its current trajectory cannot be a credible contributor to peace, justice and reconciliation,” B’nai B’rith Director of United Nations and Intercommunal Affairs David Michaels said. “As long as it habitually singles out a Jewish democracy alone for the wildest possible demonization—and shows zero actual concern for the lives, legitimacy and human rights of its diverse people—its claim to care about anti-Semitism is a forgery.”

Michaels, who has previously detailed the longstanding record of incendiary views on Israel by Pillay in particular, added: “It is past time that well-intentioned supporters and members of the WCC reconsider their association with an ecumenical institution so flagrantly and deliberately guilty of hypocrisy when it comes to Israel. Israel and mainstream Jewish organizations alike have repeatedly shown desire to engage positively with the WCC. More importantly, Israel is the Middle East’s sole democracy; it has protected Christian life and pursued peace with every single Arab neighbor. Yet the WCC is moved only to discern and deplore ‘occupation,’ ‘apartheid’ and even ‘genocide’ in the case of Israel. Even now, Iran and its allied exterminationists go unmentioned. This is nothing less than false witness and moral bankruptcy.”

B’nai B’rith, a humanitarian organization that has advanced Christian-Jewish friendship and cooperation for over 181 years, will continue to advocate comprehensive, secure and lasting peace in the Middle East and around the globe.