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This is a good beginning. In the United States, evangelicals also need to seek deeper relationships with American Jews that transcend (but don't ignore) the two issues that are our mutual fault lines: peacemaking in Israel and evangelistic outreach to Jews.

While we strongly support Israel's right to exist and to defend itself, we also support the right of Arabs to fair treatment and the opportunity to live with dignity. It is not anti-Semitic to hold the Jewish state to biblical standards of righteousness. Indeed, since much of the current hatred of Jews springs from the assumption (fair or not) of Jewish oppression, justice is in the ultimate best interest of Israel.

Yet we must hold Palestinian Authority leaders to that same biblical standard. Many Westerners have not done so, allowing the slaughter of Israeli civilians to be explained away in "cycle of violence" rhetoric. Textbooks used by Palestinian children often teach and even encourage anti-Semitism. One book for ninth-graders says, "One must beware of the Jews, for they are treacherous and disloyal." Anti-Semitism and the violence that so often accompanies it are never legitimate responses to Israeli actions.

The Pope has called the Jews our "elder br /others." As the apostle Paul said in Romans 11, the fate of the church is bound up with the fate of the Jews. We need to stand against anti-Semitism in all its forms, remembering the words of Nazi-era pastor Martin Niemoller:

"First they came for the Communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew… .Then they came for me and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me."

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Other CT coverage of anti-Semitism:

CT Classic: Who Killed Jesus? | After centuries of censure, Jews have been relieved of general responsibility for the death of Jesus. Now who gets the blame? (Aug. 24, 2000)

The Latest Temptation of Christians | Troubling spite in the debate over The Passion shows that the church needs to take anti-Semitism more seriously. (Feb. 24, 2004)

The Passion and Prejudice | Why I asked the Anti-Defamation League to give Mel Gibson a break. (Feb. 24, 2004)

Why some Jews fear The Passion | Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ gives Christians the chance to disavow a shameful history of anti-Semitism. (Feb. 20, 2004)

Good News to the Jew First | Critics of The Passion of the Christ assume the story embodies an anti-Semitic message. But does it? (Nov. 21, 2003)

Jews Against Jesus? | Critics of Gibson's film The Passion distort the truth. (Oct. 30, 2003)

Poland's Catholic Bishops Ask Forgiveness for Wartime Massacre of Jews | Theologian says continued anti-Semitism overshadows gesture. (June 12, 2001)

Oberammergau Overhaul | Changes make the Passion play more sensitive to Jews and more faithful to Scripture. (Aug. 24, 2000)

At Jerusalem's Holocaust Memorial, Pope Regrets Persecution of Jews | Catholic Church 'deeply saddened by anti-Semitism directed against the Jews by Christians.' (March 20, 2000)

Is Holocaust Museum Anti Christian? | Six prominent Jews are accusing the U.S. Holocaust Museum of anti-Christian bias in showing a 14-minute film on the roots of anti-Semitism. (April 27, 1998)

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April 2004, Vol. 48, No. 4