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The High Holiday season that gains fast upon traditional Jews is primarily a time of self-examination and repentance. We scrutinize our deeds and misdeeds, attempting a mid-course correction on the long journey of life. We take stock of and express thanks for our blessings, so easily overlooked amid life's daily dramas that leave too little time for quiet reflection. It is a good time, we think, to express our gratitude to our Christian friends and fellow Americans.

With anti-Semitism spinning out of control worldwide, we acknowledge with thanks that, in the United States, Jews no longer have to look at Christians as purveyors of religious hatred. For hundreds of years, this was not the case. But churches across the Christian spectrum changed their attitudes — many in the wake of the Holocaust. They reshaped what they taught children and adults about Jews. They have been among the first to speak out when problems arise.

Spurred by the legacy of Pope John Paul II, our relationship with the Vatican has matured. Jews reacted with disappointment to Pope Benedict XVI's lifting of the excommunication of a schismatic bishop notorious for his Holocaust denial. But the pope's quick and clear response left no room to doubt the Catholic Church's commitment to combating anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.

Globally, many Jews have been noticing the violent targeting of faithful Christians, taking strong public positions against the growing wave of persecution of Christians in too many countries.

The majority of American Jews not only support the state of Israel, but they also see their bond to the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as a key part of their identities. American churches run the gamut between politically pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian. We are grateful that despite the diversity of views, non-Jewish Americans overwhelmingly identify with the Jewish state more than with those who tragically remain sworn to annihilate Israel.

Even churches whose policies we must disagree with — strongly at times — are not motivated by any animus to Israel or the Jewish people. They remain committed, as we are, to fairness and decency. We saw strong signs of this in the last year. Both the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America beat back one-sided resolutions at their conventions, and called for a balanced understanding of the competing narratives of the beleaguered peoples of the Middle East.

A group of evangelical leaders who have reached out to Muslims also met with Jewish leaders to assure them of their continued support for Israel as a Jewish homeland. The pope came to Israel and reiterated his predecessor's support of the Jewish state.

There are still some who continue to misappropriate Christian themes to demonize Israel and even deny its very right to exist. The World Council of Churches (WCC) has taken an anti-Israel position for over 60 years, with no sign of relenting. Recently, WCC General Secretary Samuel Kobia said that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories should be declared a "sin against God." He spoke of the "no less than a million people [who] were expelled from their homes at gunpoint" in Israel's War of Independence.

By completely ignoring Israel's narrative of events and causes, he turns Israel's very existence into a sin. This kind of rhetoric is unfortunately not atypical of the campaigns by extremists from without and within to leverage major denominations to paint Israel as an apartheid state and push for economic boycotts and sanctions.

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September (Web-only) 2009, Vol. 53