SUBMISSION TO THE

INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE

UNDER THE TAX WHISTLEBLOWER LAW (26 U.S.C. 7623(b))

PRESYBTERIAN CHURCH (USA)

VIOLATES ITS TAX EXEMPT STATUS AND
REVOCATION OF ITS 501(c)(3) TAX-EXEMPT STATUS IS REQUIRED

September 1, 2014

I.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY AND BURDEN OF PROOF

This submission is made pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 7623 concerning political and

discriminatory conduct by Presbyterian Church (USA) (PCUSA) that violates its tax exempt
status. Such conducts includes, without limitation: a) meetings with and endorsement of
Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist entity responsible for the murder of Americans;1 b) antiSemitic acts and statements; c) divestment measures against American companies operating in
Israel; d) direct political lobbying of Congress; e) publication and distribution of political
advocacy material; f) repeated partisan political statements; and g) conducting political training
institutes and seminars (collectively, the Non-Exempt Acts).
We respectfully request that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) investigate PCUSA
and make a determination that PCUSAs Non-Exempt Acts are in violation of its non-profit tax
exempt status under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) (Section 501 or Section 501(c)(3)). Even if the
IRS determines that PCUSA is a bone fine church, it may still revoke its tax exempt status due
to conduct not consistent with its tax exempt purpose under Section 501(c)(3). Branch Ministries
v. Rossotti, 40 F.Supp.2d 15, 21 (D.D.C. 1999) (while petitioner remained a bona fide church
it violated its exempt status because it published political material); 26 U.S.C. 7611.
The IRS may begin a church tax inquiry upon a reasonable belief that PCUSA may not
be exempt under Section 501. 26 U.S.C. 7611; Branch Ministries v. Rossotti, 211 F.3d 137,
140 (D.D.C. 2000). If the IRS is not able to resolve its concerns through a church tax inquiry,
we hereby respectfully request that it proceed to a second-level church tax examination. See 26
U.S.C. 7611(b)(1)(A), (B). In such an examination, the IRS may obtain and review PCUSAs

Hezbollah: Background and Issues for Congress, Congressional Research Service, October 8, 2010, p. 1, fn. 2.

records or examine its activities to determine whether [the] organization claiming to be a church
is a church for any period. Id.
The burden of establishing entitlement to an exemption falls on PCUSA. Foundation of
Human Understanding v. U.S., 88 Fed.Cl. 203, 212 (2009) (internal citations omitted), affd by
Foundation of Human Understanding v. U.S., 614 F.3d 1383 (Fed. Cir. 2010). Neither PCUSAs
mere declaration that it is a church nor its formalistic incorporating documents are sufficient.
Rather, PCUSA must demonstrate its tax exempt status. Id.
There is overwhelming evidence beyond the requisite reasonable belief standard2 that
PCUSA is not exempt under Section 501. First, PCUSAs Non-Exempt Acts are not consistent
with its religious exempt purpose. As further set forth below, courts and the IRS have held that
political activity much less pervasive than PCUSAs violates a religious organizations tax
exempt status. Second, PCUSAs meetings with and endorsement of the officially designated
terrorist entity Hezbollah clearly violate public policy. Third, PCUSAs Non-Exempt Acts are
anti-Semitic, as recognized by every major American-Jewish organization, and thus also violate
public policy. Fourth, PCUSAs $21 million divestment from U.S. companies also violates the
public policy of preventing boycotts of Israel, as expressed in U.S. anti-boycott laws. See, e.g.,
50 U.S.C.App. 2407.
Accordingly, we respectfully urge the IRS to investigate PCUSA and revoke its taxexempt status as required under law.
II.

PCUSA CONGREGATIONS AND MINISTERS ACT AS AGENTS OF PCUCSA

Each PCUSA-affiliated congregation is an agent of PCUSA, acting on its behalf and

under its control. 1 Restatement, Agency 3d, sec. 1.01 (2006). An agency relationship has two
substantive components: (1) a consensual agreement between the principal and the agent and (2)
2

Rossotti, 211 F.3d at 140.

the interaction of the agent with third parties on the principal's behalf. Id. PCUSAs control of
its congregations is open, consensual and substantial. PCUSA provides the form Article of
Incorporation for each congregation, which states that the congregations are formed In
furtherance of the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) . . . 3 The governing
bylaws of the congregations must be in conformity with the Constitution of PCUSA. Each
congregation purports to act on behalf of PCUSA when conducting business with third parties,
and all congregational property is held in trust for the benefit and use of PCUSA. Accordingly,
the acts of the congregations are attributable to PCUSA. Indeed, PCUSA has never claimed
otherwise.
III.

PCUSAS SELF-DECLARED TAX EXEMPT PURPOSE

PCUSA received tax exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) by the IRS on January 31,

1964 (Exhibit A). The IRS determination was made based on the information submitted by
PCUSA. However, much has changed about PCUSA since it received exempt status in 1964,
and the IRS is not limited to PCUSAs misleading assertions. Rather, the IRS review should be
based on all the facts, including those provided herein. See, e.g., Foundation of Human
Understanding, 88 Fed. Cl. at 214. Those facts reveal that PCUSA is not acting pursuant to its
self-declared purpose.
PCUSA is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. The Constitution of the PCUSA
(Constitution) consists of the Book of Confessions (Part I) and the Book of Order (Part II).
Preface to the Constitution. The Book of Order contains the Foundations of Presbyterian
Polity, the Form of Government, the Directory for Worship, and the Rules of Discipline. Id.

https://www.pcusa.org/resource/articles-incorporation/

Chapter One, Part II of the Constitution, entitled The Mission of the Church, provides, in
pertinent part:
The mission of God in Christ gives shape and substance to the life
and work of the Church . . . calling all people to discipleship in
Christ. F-1.01.
Accordingly, The Great End of the Church is:
the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind; the
shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God; the
maintenance of divine worship; the preservation of the truth; the
promotion of social righteousness; and the exhibition of the
Kingdom of Heaven to the world. F-1.0304
This is consistent with the Sample Articles of Incorporation for each congregation found on
PCUSAs website.4 There is no mention of political advocacy, taking positions on the geopolitical dispute between Palestinian Arabs and Israelis, or PCUSAs political campaign against
Zionism. There is no mention in PCUSA organizing documents that it perceives fulfilling
Christs work by meeting with and endorsing statements of a U.S.-designated terrorist
organization found to be responsible for the death of United States civilians and marines. In fact,
PCUSA has taken numerous, extensive, and costly efforts to engage in political anti-Zionist and
anti-Semitic acts.
IV.

HISTORY AND SCOPE OF PCUSA NON-EXEMPT ACTS

a. PCUSA Meetings with Hezbollah Terrorists
PCUSAs political advocacy does not start and stop at the U.S. border. Their delegates

travel the world, including to the Middle East, and meet with senior terrorists to further their
political anti-Zionist agenda. PCUSA leaders admitted to meeting with and endorsing the antiIsrael Hezbollah organization, an officially designated Foreign Terrorist Organization under U.S.
law.
4

https://www.pcusa.org/resource/articles-incorporation/

PCUSA met with Hezbollah on October 17, 2004. During the meeting, which was aired
on Hezbollahs Al-Manar television station, a PCUSA member states that he cherishes the
precious words of Hezbollah after Hezbollahs southern terrorist commander, Nabil Qawuq,
rants about Americas aggressive inclination and how American policy today is similar to an
owl bringing bad tidings. Then the PCUSA delegate makes the following bigoted statement:
As an elder of our church, Id like to say that according to my recent
experience, relations and conversations with Islamic leaders are a lot
easier than dealings and dialogue with Jewish leaders.5
Here we have a PCUSA delegate calling Hezbollah terrorists responsible for the murder of
Americans as Islamic leaders who are easier to deal with than Jews.
On October 20, 2005, the Lebanese press reported yet another PCUSA delegation
meeting with Hezbollah, this time headed by Father Nihad Tu'meh and PCUSA spokesman
Robert Worley. PCUSA delegates met with the same Hezbollah southern Lebanon commander,
Nabil Qawuq. During this meeting, Worley assured Qawuq that: a) he was not defending the
U.S. administration; b) PCUSA members had voted Democratic; and c) that PCUSA had been
pressured by U.S. Jewish organizations because of its campaign to divest from corporations
working with Israel. 6 An organization cannot get more political than revealing party affiliation
and criticizing U.S. policy in the company of a terrorist. According to the PCUSA, Worley
regularly leads groups to the Middle East at the request of the Middle East Task Force of the
Presbytery of Chicago.
These visits are officially sanctioned by PCUSAs governing board, its General
Assembly. The General Assembly is the most inclusive governing body in the Presbyterian

5
6

http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/294.htm
http://www.memri.org/report/en/print1535.htm#_edn1; http://www.wnd.com/2004/10/27136/

Church (U.S.A.).7 Mission programs are carried out by the Presbyterian Mission Agency
which supervises the work directed to be done by the General Assembly, and can make certain
decisions on behalf of the Assembly.8 Accordingly, delegation meetings with Hezbollah have
the full knowledge and sanction of PCUSA.
Despite ask[ing] the PCUSA delegation to drop the meeting with Hezbollah terrorists,
PCUSA delegates nevertheless met with these terrorists.9 As of this date, there is no indication
that these delegates were expelled from PCUSA-affiliated congregations or committees, or any
way reprimanded.
b. Anti-Semitic Statements and Acts
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), an umbrella organization of 125 local
Jewish federations and 14 national Jewish organizations, issued a press release on February 6,
2012 calling for PCUSA to take concrete actions to address the anti-Israel, anti-Zionist, and at
times anti-Semitic content that has been all too common in the churchs Israel Palestine Mission
Network (IPMN-PCUSA).10
The JCPA was responding, in part, to the IPMN-PCUSA Facebook page which included
a cartoon of President Obama wearing weighty Jewish star earrings to suggest Jewish control of
American leaders, a common theme on the site. IPMN-PCUSA leader Noushin Framke clicked
like on the Obama cartoon with the Jewish stars and on another post that Hamas should keep
Israeli Gilad Shalit hostage until Palestinians are granted a right of return.

PCUSA How it Works 2008, PC(USA) Structure and Governing Bodies found at
https://www.pcusa.org/resource/pcusa-structure-and-governing-bodies/.
8
http://oga.pcusa.org/section/ga/ga/
9
In a statement after the meeting, and facing extensive criticism, PCUSA tried to distance itself from its
delegations meeting, stating that The groups specific itinerary was not authorized . . . in fact, once we learned of
it, we asked the group to drop this visit from their plans. http://archive.adl.org/interfaith/statement_presb.html.
The delegation met with Hezbollah in any case and remained part of PCUSA.
10
http://engage.jewishpublicaffairs.org/blog/comments.jsp?blog_entry_KEY=6129

The IPMN-PCUSA has posted articles that accuse Jews of controlling Hollywood, the
media, American politics, and blames Israel for the American housing and economic crisis.
IPMN-PCUSA's communications chair also posted her opposition to a two-state solution and the
existence of a Jewish state, something which she terms anachronistic.
IPMN-PCUSA finally deleted its Facebook page only after the JCPA gathered a
collection of hateful postings on the IPMN-PCUSAs Facebook page and distributed them. This
is a common pattern by PCUSA (as we saw with Hezbollah meetings and as we will see with the
publication of anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic books, as set forth below). PCUSA engages in
political advocacy and hate speech, and then retroactively distances itself from conduct it had
full knowledge of in order to avert any consequences. However, once the act is committed,
PCUSA has violated U.S. tax-exempt laws, notwithstanding apologies.
The definition of anti-Semitism includes conduct directed at Jews disproportionate in
degree and unique in kind.11 PCUSAs consistent and repeated attacks on Zionism and Israel are
also anti-Semitic because they focus on Israel disproportionality, even taking the allegations on
face value, despite more severe human and political rights violations around the world. This
blatant anti-Semitism is recognized by PCUSA members:
why haven't we divested of companies doing business in China, with its
hostility toward Christians and mistreatment of its own citizens? Or
Russia, Afghanistan, Nigeria?12

Indeed, PCUA has not divested of companies in any of these countries or the Palestinian
self-administered territories. According to the U.S. State Departments 2013 Country Report for
the Occupied Territories:

11

See infra at footnote 70.

Comment posted by Cheryl on June 22, 2014 found here: http://www.pcusa.org/news/2014/6/20/slim-marginassembly-approves-divestment-three-com/
12

Human rights abuses under Hamas included security forces killing,

torturing, arbitrarily detaining, and harassing opponents . . . Terrorist
organizations and militant factions in the Gaza Strip launched rocket and
mortar attacks against civilian targets in Israel . . . Hamas restricted the
freedoms of speech, press, assembly, association, religion, and movement
of Gaza Strip residents. . . Forced labor, including by children, occurred.
There were reports of children trained as soldiers.
Several other countries were judged by the State Department to be far more severe violators of
human rights and political freedoms than any act by Israel against Palestinians.13 Yet, there has
been no PCUSA divestment, political manifestos or organized lobbying of the U.S. government
against these countries.
c. Direct Congressional Lobbying

13

See infra pgs. 31-32

While religious organizations have the right to free speech, they are not entitled to taxexempt status for their political advocacy because Congress is not required by the First
Amendment to subsidize lobbying. Regan v. Taxpayers With Representation, 461 U.S. 540, 546
(1983). PCUSA engaged in direct lobbying of Congress in violation of its tax-exempt status by
making specific policy and legislative requests.
PCUSA was a signatory to an October 5, 2012 letter to Congress which it published on
its website.14 The letter asks Congress to re-evaluate U.S. aid to Israel in light of its alleged
human rights abuses and condemns the U.S. for making Israel the recipient of U.S. aid. The
letter suggests that providing financial support to Israel violates U.S. laws prohibiting aid to any
country engaged in a repetitive series of human rights violations. Also, the letter claims that
Jewish homes on what PCUSA claims are Palestinian lands are in violation of international law
and an obstacle to peace.
After staking its political flag on alleged Israeli human rights violations and U.S.
complicity in such violations through U.S. aid to Israel, PCUSA the clearly lobbies for a specific
political prescription in its letter: an immediate investigation into possible violations by Israel of
the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act and the Arms Export Control Act which respectively prohibit
assistance to any country which engages in a consistent pattern of human rights violations. The
letter asks for periodical Congressional hearings to examine Israeli compliance with these laws
and for the withholding of military aid in case of non-compliance. This is unmistakable political
advocacy and lobbying in violation of PCUSAs intended religious purpose.
d. $21 Million Divestment from American Companies
Courts have clearly recognized that divestment measures are inherently political acts.
See Overstreet v. United Broth. of Carpenters and Joiners of America, 409 F.3d 1199, 1216 (9th
14

http://www.pcusa.org/news/2012/10/5/religious-leaders-ask-congress-condition-israel-mi/

10

Cir. 2005) (A nation takes controversial political or military actions, and activists pressure
universities and other institutions to divest endowment or other funds from businesses supporting
those actions.); Minnesota Break the Bonds Campaign v. Minnesota State Bd. of Inv., 2012 WL
5476166 (discussing divestment from Israel, court explains that divestment is based primarily
on disagreement with policy or the exercise of discretion by those responsible for executing the
law.) (emphasis added); See also 50 U.S.C.App. 2407. Courts have also held that laws
against divestment and boycott of Israel represents an explicit public policy, well defined and
dominant, as may be ascertained by reference to the United States Code. Karen Maritime Ltd.
v. Omar Intern., Inc., 322 F.Supp.2d 224 (E.D.N.Y. 2004) (emphasis added).
On June 20, 2014, PCUSA voted 310-303 to divest $21 million from Caterpillar,
Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions at its 221st General Assembly in Detroit.15 The
decision was written by PCUSAs 65 member Middle East Committee.16 PCUSA released a
statement which said that the investments in the three aforementioned Israeli companies is no
longer in compliance with the PCUSAs policy of socially responsible investing.17 PCUSAs
political divestment acts include labeling these companies as engaged in non-peaceful pursuits
in the Middle East. In the context of the divestment, PCUSA leadership made political
statements, including that the State of Israel has continued to punish the entire Palestinian
population and its leaders and that "the [Israeli] occupation . . . has proven to be at the root of
evil acts committed against innocent people on both sides of the conflict."
Upon releasing the outcome of the divestment vote, church spokeswoman Kathy Francis
said the decision was about morality, not politics. Yet, there was no criticism whatsoever, let

15

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/21/us/presbyterian-church-palestinians/
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/21/us/presbyterians-debating-israeli-occupation-vote-to-divest-holdings.html
17
http://pc-biz.org/PC-Biz.WebApp_deploy/(S(ohqlyzzqqao3ddnpvmadrmch))/IOBView.aspx?m=ro&id=4595
16

11

alone a divestment vote, against any other companies investing in countries with more severe
universally recognized human rights violations.
Revealing the political nature of the divestment vote, PCUSA alleged that the three
aforementioned companies supply Israel with equipment that contribute to the Israeli
occupation of Palestine.18 The PCUSA statement referred to illegal settlement building; the
appropriation of Palestinian land and natural resources; the restriction of movement on
Palestinian citizens in Palestine. These are all inherently geo-political matters in dispute
between Israel and Palestinian Arabs.
Divesting from American companies because they support occupation of Palestine is a
statement with political and legal implication. Indeed, the question of whether Israel is an
occupying power in the West Bank is strenuously debated among legal and foreign policy
scholars, and an unsettled question.19 Accordingly, PCUSA is not simply describing a wellsettled reality, but instead picking a political position, and actively lobbying for it. In a CNN
interview with Heath Radar, the moderator for PCUSA, Radar confirmed that the divestment was
a statement. He also compared this instance of divestment to that in South Africa, claiming
that both are apartheid.20 It is far from accepted that Israel is an apartheid power, and this is
certainly not the position of the United States, Russia, China, France or Britainall the members
of the United Nations Security Council.
Reacting to the divestment vote, the Anti-Defamation Leagues Director of Interfaith
Affairs Rabbi David Sandmel said that:

18

http://www.pcusa.org/resource/faq-middle-east-issues/
See, e.g., Toss The Travaux? Application of the Fourth Geneva Convention to the Middle East ConflictA
Modern (Re)Assessment, David John Ball, 79 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 990 (2004); Report on the Legal Status of Building in
Judea and Samaria, Edmund Levy, Alan Baker and Tchia Shapira.
20
http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2014/06/22/exp-pcusa-israel.cnn.html
19

12

Over the past ten years, PCUSA leaders have fomented an atmosphere of
open hostility to Israel within the church, promoted a one-sided
presentation of the complex realities of the Middle East, and permitted the
presentation of a grossly distorted image of the views of the Jewish
community.21
e. PCUSA Political Statements In Pursuit of a Distinct Political Goal
PCUSA has consistently made political statements and taken distinct political positions in
regards to U.S. foreign policy and the Israel-Palestinian conflict. As set forth below, their
political position is clear: Israel is the aggressor, Zionism is the cause of the conflict, and U.S.
policies aid Israeli aggression against Palestinians and must be changed.
Every mainstream American Jewish organization, including those critical of Israel,
believes PCUSA has taken an anti-Israel political stance. The American Jewish Committee
(AJC) accused PCUSA leadership of "facilitating the delegitimization of Israel in the guise of
helping Palestinians."22 Even if PCUSA had a distinctly pro-Israel position and advocated for
pro-Israel U.S. policies, it would still constitute political activity in violation of its tax-exempt
purpose. The legally significant point for tax exempt purposes is that PCUSAs distinctly antiIsrael, anti-Zionist position indicates it is engaged in political lobbying for a specific political
goal. A few dozen examples of PCUSAs political statements include:
Israeli aggression against Palestine, both in the past two weeks, and over the past
several decades, has been largely enabled by American military aid and international
military sales. The U.S. government gives Israel $3.1 billion a year to purchase the
most advanced weaponry in the world.23

21

http://www.adl.org/press-center/press-releases/interfaith/ado-disappointed-presbyterian-church-decisionisrael-divestment.html.
22
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4532821,00.html.
23
http://www.israelpalestinemissionnetwork.org/main/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=283

13

 Political Zionism is destroying a culture and a people (Rev Jeffery DeVoe- Head
of the PCUSA Israel Palestine Mission, February 24th, 2014).24
PCUSA fact sheet calling for the U.S. to cease aiding Israel.25
PCUSA demanding the United States government to demonstrate its seriousness
about being the sponsor of the Middle East peace process and the creation of a viable
Palestinian state within three years.26
PCUSA admitting: It would not be far-fetched to assert that [PCUSAs] intentional
efforts, combined with similar commitments and actions of other churches and faith
communities, played an important role in lifting up what was at stake in the
Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and advocating a necessary dialogue.27
PCUSA admitting that its activities are pervasive and substantial and touch upon nonreligious political activity: Through the appointment of personnel to work with
partner churches and institutions in Israel/Palestine, sponsoring travel-study seminars,
contributing to refugee relief and resettlement . . . participating vocational training
programs and self- development projects, programs supporting peace, justice and
human rights movements, engaging in constituency education and mobilizing to
influence public policy. The Presbyterian United Nations Office, Washington Office,
Peacemaking Program and Social Witness Policy offices, Office of Communication
and the Office of the General Assembly, in collaboration with the Office for the
Middle East, have worked together to provide ways to resource the churchs
constituency in carrying out the policies and actions adopted by the churchs elected

24

http://mondoweiss.net/2014/02/political-destroying-intentionally.html
http://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/oga/pdf/ga221-middle-east-faq.pdf
26
http://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/_resolutions/endoccupation03.pdf
27
http://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/_resolutions/endoccupation03.pdf
25

14

bodies and its successive general assemblies. Countless individuals, groups,

committees, congregations, and ecumenical councils, coalitions and networks in
which Presbyterians participate have worked diligently over the years to promote
justice and peace in Israel/Palestine and in the Middle East.28
For over fifty years of Israeli rule in Palestine, and more than thirty years of illegal
military occupation, the world has witnessed a flagrantly unjust treatment of the
Palestinian people by the State of Israel, atrocities frequently committed against them
by the Israeli military, a complicity of the U. S. government in dealing with the issue,
and an unmistakable bias of the U.S. media toward Israel.29
In addition to the inclusion of G.A. [General Assembly] actions in its Minutes,
overtures, resolutions, and other statements have been published in the churchs
Church & Society magazine subsequent to each assembly meeting. Some of the
resolutions, and summaries of others, have been disseminated more widely for study
and action.30

28

http://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/_resolutions/endoccupation03.pdf
http://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/_resolutions/endoccupation03.pdf
30
http://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/_resolutions/endoccupation03.pdf
29

15

f. PCUSA General Assembly Engages In Political Advocacy

PCUSAs General Assembly is the official governing arm of PCUSA and it reviews the
work of synods, resolves controversies in the church, is responsible for matters of common
concern for the whole church, and serves as a symbol of unity for the church . . . [and] sets
priorities for the church and establishes relationships with other churches or ecumenical bodies.
The Office of the General Assembly carries out all constitutional, and most ecumenical
functions at the General Assembly.31
In 2003, the 215th General Assembly passed several political resolutions and policy
prescriptions on the Israel-Palestinian conflict. In Resolution on Israel and Palestine: End the
Occupation Now, PCUSA directs pastors, lay leaders, sessions and individual members of the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to lobby in support of every effort made . . . by the U.S.
government for PCUSAs pursuit of a just, honorable, secure, viable, peace. This effort
includes travel to the region, which we now know means meeting with Hezbollah terrorists.
The General Assembly expresses a politically distinct view of what its version of peace entails:
Urging the Israeli government to end its expansionist policies of
confiscation of land and water . . .collective punishment of Palestinians . .
. [and] to accept the League of Arab Nations unanimous offer for peace
in return of the land occupied by Israel since 1967.
The PCUSA General Assembly asks its members to lobby the United States government
to restructure and reallocate its present annual aid to the Middle East and create a viable
Palestinian state within three years (two years by now). PCUSA takes specific political
positions against U.S. foreign policy:
The occupation is growing stronger, and the threat to Palestinian rights and
Palestinian lives grows stronger, too. Despite this occupation that violates
United Nations resolutions, which the United States affirmed, Israel claims
more support than ever from the United States. Alongside its military and
31

https://www.pcusa.org/news/2014/7/16/stated-clerk-issues-statement-gaza-crisis/

16

economic subsidies from Washington, amounting to a quarter of the entire

U.S. foreign aid budget, Israel has requested an additional $4 billion in
military aid, and $8 10 billion in loan guarantees from U.S. taxpayers.
That money would help sustain Israels illegal occupation. Under this
occupation, Palestinian civilians suffer under twenty-four-hour-a-day
shoot-to-kill curfews. Israeli settlement expansion continues . . . Arbitrary
arrests, detention, humiliation, torture, and harassment continue to the
point of desperation . . .
PCUSA also encourages more forceful political lobbying by its members:
Although it has spoken out, the church is often accused of being silent. Its
call for justice and peace has continued to go unheeded. Now it must speak
up and speak out again, perhaps in stronger language . . . .

The 218th General Assembly of PCUSA, meeting in June 2008, also took a very specific
political stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by reiterating long-standing benchmarks for a
two-state solution in which both parties can live in peace and security. The benchmarks
include resolutions on unsettled political prescriptions still subject to negotiations between the
State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority:
5.1. That UN resolutions are the basis for peace and the Geneva conventions are
applicable to the rights and responsibilities of the affected people.
5.2. That Palestinians have the right of self-determination and the right of return.
5.3. That a two-state solution must be viable politically, geographically,
economically, and socially.
5.4 That Jerusalem must be an open, accessible, inclusive, and shared city for the two
peoples and three religions.
5.5 That both Palestine and Israel have legitimate security needs.
5.6. That the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal and
constitute an obstacle to peace.

17

 5.7. That the Separation Barrier constructed by Israel in the occupied Palestinian
territories is a grave breach of international law and must be removed from the
occupied territory.
5.9. That comprehensive regional peace is indivisible from a just peace in Israel and
Palestine. 32
g. PCUSA Political and Anti-Semitics Publications
i. Zionism Unsettled
In 2014, PCUSA Israel Palestinian Mission Network (IPMN) published a 74-page guide
about the Middle East conflict entitled Zionism Unsettled. Zionism Unsettled permeated every
aspect of the PCUSAs mission and is intended for use by PCUSAs 2.4 million members.
PCUSA invested considerable time, resources and effort in producing and distributing the
publication, going as far as establishing a working group to explore the history, doctrine, and
various forms of Zionism. Yet, as discussed below, Zionism Unsettled is clearly not a religious
publication, and PCUSA recognized its political adventurism by removing the publication from
its website33 and declaring at its General Assembly that Zionism Unsettled does not represent its
views.34 Indeed, there were strong protests within Presbyterian Christianity as Presbyterian
groups had pointed to the guide's sale as evidence that the church had taken anti-Israeli and antiJewish positions.35
Notwithstanding its ex post disavowal, PCUSAs distribution and sale of the pamphlet is
evidence that PCUSA engages in an anti-Zionist political advocacy. Prior to June 20, 2014,
PCUSA sold Zionism Unsettled on its official website.36 PCUSA shrewdly continues to
disseminate the publication through its Israel-Palestine Mission Network, which PCUSA

32

https://www.pcusa.org/news/2014/7/16/stated-clerk-issues-statement-gaza-crisis/

18

declares may continue to sell and distribute it through other channels.37 Nevertheless, its
disavowal does not and cannot reverse this clear violation of its tax-exempt purpose.
First, the very title and subject of this publication substantiates PCUSAs political
mission. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines Zionism as political support for the creation
and development of a Jewish homeland in Israel.38 Zionism is universally recognized as a
nationalist movement of Jews and Jewish culture that supports the creation of a Jewish
homeland in the territory defined as the Land of Israel.39 The etymology of the word Zionism
clearly indicates that it is a political movement: the term is derived from the word Zion,
referring to Jerusalem and the Jewish desire to establish a nation and homeland with Jerusalem
as its capital. Throughout Eastern Europe in the late 19th century, there were numerous
grassroots groups promoting the national resettlement of the Jews in what was termed their
"ancestral homeland. These groups were collectively called the "Lovers of Zion." The first use
of the term is attributed to the Austrian Nathan Birnbaum, founder of a nationalist Jewish
students' movement Kadimah, who used the term in 1890 in his journal Selbstemanzipation (Self
Emancipation).40 Even the second chapter of Zionism Unsettled is entitled Political Zionism.
Zionism Unsettled compares Zionism to anti-Semitism that led to the Holocaust and
advocates for a change in U.S. policy towards Israel. The publication brands Israel as an
illegitimate entity and states that Israels American Jewish supporters have strayed from the
values of their religion. Zionism Unsettled has been criticized as not only accepting the entire

33

https://www.pcusa.org/news/2014/6/27/zionism-unsettled-no-longer-sold-pcusa-website/
https://www.pcusa.org/news/2014/6/27/zionism-unsettled-no-longer-sold-pcusa-website/
35
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/28/zionism-unsettled-presbyterian-removed_n_5540039.html
36
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/28/zionism-unsettled-presbyterian-removed_n_5540039.html
37
https://www.pcusa.org/news/2014/6/27/zionism-unsettled-no-longer-sold-pcusa-website/
38
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zionism
39
Encyclopedia of Nationalism, Volume II, Alexander J. Motyl (Academic Press 2001).
40
An Introduction to Judaism, Nicholas De Lange (Cambridge University Press 2000), p. 30.
34

19

Palestinian narrative about Middle East history, but is also noted for being nothing less than an
anti-Semitics declaration of war on Israel and American Jewry.41
For example, chapter 1 evokes long-standing anti-Semitic phrases, including how to
address the Jewish question. In Nazi Germany, the term Jewish Question (in German
Judenfrage) referred to the sense that the existence of Jews in Germany posed a problem for the
state. Heinrich Himmler was the chief architect of the plan to address the Jewish Question,
which Adolf Hitler termed "the final solution of the Jewish question" (German: die Endlsung
der Judenfrage). This plan resulted in the systematic state-sponsored killing of six million Jews
by the Nazis. PCUSA evokes Hitlers language to take a political position on the Jewish
Question by stating that:
The Zionist solution to the Jewish question has created a whole new set
of problems, which it has so far proved incapable of solving.
Notice how the phrase used by PCUSA is identical to that used by Hitler, but for replacing the
word final with Zionist. The publication then critiques Zionism as intertwined with
territorial expansionism, subjugation of the Palestinian people by military occupation and
the root cause of the ongoing struggle between Israelis and Palestinians.42 These critiques are
all political in nature as they refer to territory, military occupation and the cause of the political
conflict. Second, these critiques are not settled facts, but rather hotly debated political issues
with policy implications by governments, especially the United States, which PCUSA lobbies.
PCUSA is blatant in its one-sided political advocacy by making no attempt to present
both sides of the debate on Zionism. The publication makes no mention that religious Christian

41
42

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2014/02/11/presbyterian-church-usa-declare-war-on-the-jews-israel/
Zionism Unsettled, p. 5.

20

materials, including the Bible, refer to Zion as the homeland of the Jewish people.43 Even nonChristian Arab citizens of Israel recognize Zionism as part and parcel of Israels national
identity. The last line of the Israeli national anthem is "Eretz, Zion, ViYerushalayim", which
means literally Land, Zion, and Jerusalem. This is recited by Arabs who serve as senior
military commanders in the Israeli Defense Forces and in high ranking government positions,
including Arab politician Majalli Wahabi, who served as the acting President of Israel in
February 2007.
Consistent with its meeting with Hezbollah and political statements as set forth above,
PCUSAs publication actively advocates against specific United States political and military
policies in the Middle East, declaring that the United States has not been an impartial broker of
peace in the Middle East.44
As evidence of its political agenda, the publication makes certain deliberate omissions
and false representations. For example, while it discusses Judaizing the Land, it makes no
mention of Arab terrorist attacks on Jews before the creation of the State of Israel, or the
collaboration of the leader of the Palestinian Arabs, Haj Amin Al-Husseini, with Adolf Hitler
(there are several prominent and photographs of the two in meetings). Al-Husseini worked
tirelessly with Hitler to exterminate the Jews.45 In 1940 and February 1941 al-Husseini submitted
to the Nazis a draft declaration of German-Arab cooperation to address the Jewish Question in
Palestine as the Jewish question was solved in Germany and Italy.46 Notably, the publication
43

The word is first found in Samuel II, 5:7 dating to c.630540 BCE according to modern scholarship. It commonly
referred to a specific mountain near Jerusalem (Mount Zion), on which stood a Jebusite fortress of the same name
that was conquered by the Jewish King David and was named the City of David. The term Tzion came to designate
the area of Jerusalem where the fortress stood, and later became a metonym for the Jewish King Solomon's
Temple in Jerusalem.
44
Zionism Unsettled, p. 7.
45
Lewis, Bernard, Semites and Anti-Semites: An Inquiry into Conflict and Prejudice, p. 152 (W.W. Norton &
Company)
46
Lewis, Bernard, The Jews of Islam, p. 190 (Greenwood Publishing Group)

21

also fails to mention Zionists who won the Noble Peace Prize. Rather, it cites approvingly that
Racism is the cornerstone of the Zionist project47 and accuses Israel of ethnic cleansing.48
PCUSA also attacks American Jewish organizations, stating they bear considerable
responsibility for spreading this fear and blindness by their uncritical support for Israel . . . 49
Another example revealing the political agenda of the publication is the Timeline
published on page 62. Here, the Israeli Irgun is listed as a terrorist group, while the PLO,
which has claimed responsibility for several terrorist acts and was listed by the United States as a
terrorist organization until 1991,50 is never given the label of terrorist group. Further, while
PCUSA mentions the Hebron settler massacre which killed 29 Palestinians, it fails to mention
any Israeli civilian deaths or Palestinian terrorist attacks. According to the International
Institute for Counter-Terrorism, 1,137 Israelis were killed in Arab terrorist attacks from
September 2000 to 2005.51 Another 8,341 Israelis were wounded during this period.
PCUSA not only published and distributed Zionism Unsettled, it uses it as a tool for
political advocacy by telling members to acquaint yourself with the entire resource, including
the free DVD, and to have an eight week group study session and test themselves.52
PCUSA reminds its members that this resource is not only a stand-alone curriculum but also a
study guide to the book of essays entitled Zionism and the Quest for Justice in the Holy Land,
released in 2014. Have on hand at least one or two copies of the book for class members who
want to go deeper into the issues.
47

Zionism Unsettled, p. 50.

Id. at pg. 51
49
Id. at pg. 23.
50
U.S. Code TITLE 22 CHAPTER 61 5201.
51
ICT Middle Eastern Conflict Statistics Project" Short summary page with "Breakdown of Fatalities, September 27,
2000 through January 1, 2005;" International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism, "An Engineered Tragedy;"
Statistical Analysis of Casualties in the Palestinian Israeli Conflict, September 2000 September 2002.
International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism.
52
Zionism Unsettled, Pg. 64.
48

22

Zionism Unsettled is so adamantly anti-Semitic and political, that it has elicited critiques
from all major Jewish organizations, including from secular groups that advocate for an Israeli
withdrawal from the West Bank and a Palestinian state. J Street, for example, stated that it is
deeply offended by Zionism Unsettled, asserting that one has to question the [PCUSAs]
motives in publishing this resource. J Street claimed the guides authors had no intention of
encouraging thoughtful reflection on Zionism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or Jewish
perspectives on Israel. J Street protested that Zionism Unsettled offensively intimates that
Zionism is racist, pathological and the very root of the conflict in the region . . . An approach that
belittles or demeans Jews, Israelis or Palestinians makes no contribution to ending this conflict.
Other groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, Union for Reform Judaism and
American Jewish Committee, also strongly criticized the publication, particularly because
PCUSA was distributing it to its members while publicly distancing itself from its positions. The
Anti-Defamation League claimed that the study guide may be the most anti-Semitic document
to come out of a mainline American church in recent memory.
ii. Zionism and the Quest for Justice In the Holy Land

23

PCUSA also collaborate[d] with Friends of Sabeel North America in developing for
publication a collection of essays on Jewish and Christian Zionism. The resulting book, Zionism
and the Quest for Justice in the Holy Land, is scheduled for publication . . . in 2014.53 Zionism
and the Quest for Justice in the Holy Land honestly recognizes its political purpose, declaring
that The present volume will break the silence currently reigning in many religious, political,
and academic circles.
V.

PCUSAs NON-EXEMPT ACTS ARE NOT IN FURTHERANCE OF ITS TAX

EXEMPT STATUS
Section 501(c) provides entities exemption from federal income tax if they are organized

and operated exclusively for religious purposes with no substantial part of the activities for
carrying on propaganda. 26 USC 501(c)(3). Similarly, Treas. Reg. 1.501(c)(3)-1(b)(1)(i)
provides that the exempt purpose must be exclusive. See also, General Conference of the Free
Church v. Commissioner, 71 T.C. at 926. The existence of a single [nonexempt] purpose, if
substantial in nature, will destroy the exemption regardless of the number or importance of truly
[exempt] purposes. Canada v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 82 T.C. No. 973, 980-81
(1984) (emphasis added); Better Business Bureau v. United States, 326 U.S. 279, 283 (1945);
Nat. Assn. of American Churches v. Commissioner, 82 T.C. 18, 2829 (1984).
Treas. Reg. 1.501(c)(3)-1 provides, in pertinent part, that there is both an organizational
and operational test to determine if an entity meets non-exempt status (emphasis added):
(a) Organizational and operational tests.
(1) In order to be exempt as an organization described in section
501(c)(3), an organization must be both organized and operated
exclusively for one or more of the purposes specified in such section. If

53

Zionism Unsettled, About this Publication" section.

24

an organization fails to meet either the organizational test or the

operational test, it is not exempt.
(2) The term exempt purpose or purposes, as used in this section, means
any purpose or purposes specified in section 501(c)(3), as defined and
elaborated in paragraph (d) of this section.
(c) Operational test
(1) Primary activities. An organization will be regarded as operated
exclusively for one or more exempt purposes only if it engages primarily
in activities which accomplish one or more of such exempt purposes
specified in section 501(c)(3). An organization will not be so regarded if
more than an insubstantial part of its activities is not in furtherance of an
exempt purpose.
If the nonexempt purpose is substantial, and not merely incidental, the organization will
not satisfy the operational test regardless of the number or importance of truly exempt purposes.
In Re Peoples Prize, T.C. Memo 2004-12, 87 T.C.M. 813 (2004) (citations omitted). Whether an
activity is substantial is a matter not just of quantity, but of the quality of the act. GCM 34631,
at 4 (Oct. 04, 1971) (The quality of such acts are as important as their quantity.). PCUSAs
Non-Exempt Acts cause it to fail both the organizational and operational tests. While PCUSAs
Constitution proclaims an exempt purpose, the Non-Exempt Acts described herein change the
nature of PCUSAs organization. PCUSA is now organized to operate in furtherance of the NonExempt Acts, which are a substantial, costly and time-consuming.
PCUSAs $21 million divestment from three American companies is enough by itself to
violate its tax-exempt purpose. The IRS has considered the lack of economic boycotts,

25

reprisals, or picketing as important in upholding exemption for organizations.54 For a church,

the concept of boycotts is even more contrary to the purpose of a religious exemption.
PCUSAs claim that it is motivated by religion is not enough to uphold its tax-exempt
status. Courts have revoked tax status of churches who are motivated by religion at all times,
and whose political activity does not include endorsement of candidates or specific legislation,
but yet engage in acts touching upon political topics. For example, in Christian Echoes National
Ministry v. U.S., the 10th Circuit revoked the tax exempt status for a church that maintained
religious television and radio broadcasts, authored publications and engaged in evangelistic
campaigns and meetings. The Court held that because only some of the publications the church
distributed related to anti-Communist activity it was enough to revoke its tax-exempt status.
470 F.2d. 849 at 852. Notably, unlike PCUSA, the church did not lobby in Washington. Id. at
853. The government had at all times recognized Christian Echoes as a religious organization
and acknowledged that in all of its activities, Christian Echoes has been religiously motivated.
Id. at 854 (emphasis added). The Court also found that there does not need to be targeting of
specific legislation or politician for the church to violate the prohibition against lobbying. Id.
at 854.
Similarly, in the instant case, while PCUSA may claim to be motivated by Christian
doctrine, its Non-Exempt Acts clearly implicate: 1) a political topic: U.S. foreign policy,
Zionism and the Israel-Palestinian conflict; 2) distinct political and legislative goals: defunding
U.S. aid to Israel, divestment from U.S. companies operating in Israel, exhorting Zionism as the
cause of the conflict, reprimanding Jewish groups for defending Israel and Zionism; and 3)
54

Rev. Rul. 68-438, 1968-2 C.B. 209 (An organization formed and operated to lessen racial and religious prejudice
in housing and public accommodations by disseminating the results of its investigations and research and does not
engage in economic boycotts, reprisals, or picketing is exempt under section 501(c)(3)); Rev. Rul. 72-228, 172-1
C.B. 148 (An organization formed to promote equal rights for women by investigating instances of discrimination in
employment and does not engage in economic boycotts, reprisals, or picketing, is exempt under section 501(c)(3)).

26

political means to achieve their goals: writing letters to Congress asking for policy and
legislative prescriptions, meeting with terrorist organizations, publishing books and manifestos,
holding seminars and study sessions, making political and anti-Semitic statements, and using the
power of the purse by divesting $21 million from U.S. companies.
Clearly, PCUSAs political activity is more pervasive and substantial than Christian
Echoes. Christian Echoes lost its tax exempt status for distributing tapes, pamphlets, leaflets
and broadcast reprints of anti-Communist activity, conducting an annual anti-Communist
leadership school and receiving donations and earned money from the sale of its materials. Id.
at 852. PCUSA not only publishes and distributes pamphlets, leaflets, and DVDs, but it created
a 74-page congregation study guide 55 and books of essays that it distributes to 2.4 million
members and sells on its website. It uses these materials in an eight-week seminar to advocate
against the evils of political Zionism and U.S. policy which supports it. Notably, while Christian
Echoes simply raises money and sells materials amounting to $1,000,000 per year, PCUSA took
a $21-million divestment decision to make its stance on the conflict. Unlike Christian Echoes,
PCUSA also writes letters to Congress lobbying for specific political goals, and sends
delegations to visit Hezbollah, a political entity classified as terrorist organizations by the United
States.56
Christian Echoes acts were not alleged to violate public policy. On the other hand,
PCUSAs meetings with terror groups and anti-Semitic statementscondemned by more than
125 local Jewish federations, 14 national Jewish organizationsare clearly in violation of the
spirit of U.S. anti-terror laws, boycott laws and policies against discrimination. PCUSA
55

PCUSA states that Zionism Unsettled . . . may be used alone or in conjunction with the longer book, Zionism and
the Quest for Justice in the Holy Land . . . each section in this study guide is followed by a set of questions to help
stimulate productive group discussion.
56
Hezbollahs political nature is undeniable: it is a bona fide political party in Lebanon and Iran, its members have
seats in the Lebanese government and legislature, and it proclaims that it has both a political and military arm.

27

recognizes the heated political nature of its materials and study sessions, which is focused not on
Christianity but the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
can bring out strong feelings and reactions.57
Finally, while Christian Echoes advocated against Communism, here not only is PCUSA
advocating against Zionism, it is taking specific positions on U.S. policies. The PCUSA states
that the United States has not been an impartial broker of peace in the Middle East.58 It also
urges specific political proposals to the U.S. government for the creation of a viable Palestinian
state within three years.59
PCUSA unequivocally acknowledges it lobbying efforts [by] mobilizing to influence
public policy and working to provide ways to resource the churchs constituency in carrying
out the policies and actions adopted by the churchs elected bodies and its successive general
assemblies. PCUSA states that countless individuals, groups, committees, congregations,
and ecumenical councils, coalitions and networks in which Presbyterians participate have
worked diligently over the years to promote justice and peace in Israel/Palestine and in the
Middle East.60 Of course, based on the information provided herein, we know that PCUSA has
a very distinct political and ideological definition of justice and peace in Israel/Palestine.
VI.

PCUSA MEETINGS WITH TERRORISTS, DIVESTMENT AND ANTISEMETIC ACTS VIOLATE PUBLIC POLICY
The Supreme Court and the IRS have consistently held that the activities of a charitable

organization cannot be illegal or contrary to public policy. Bob Jones University v. United States,
461 U.S. 574, 586 (1983) (underlying all relevant parts of the Code, is the intent that
entitlement to tax exemption depends on meeting certain common law standards of charity
57

Zionism Unsettled, P. 64.

Zionism Unsettled, Pg. 7.
59
http://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/_resolutions/endoccupation03.pdf
60
http://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/_resolutions/endoccupation03.pd
58

28

namely, that an institution seeking tax exempt status must serve a public purpose and not be
contrary to established public policy.).
The despicable act of meeting with Hezbollah and expressing support for the terrorist
group, as detailed above, distinguishes PCUSA as the most notorious tax-exempt organization in
the United States. There exists no more flagrant violation of public policy than PCUSA
delegates meetings with a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization responsible for the
death of 258 United States marines and civilians which continues its terrorist acts to this day. In
2010 the Obama Administration described Hezbollah as "the most technically capable terrorist
group in the world."61 With Iranian sponsorship, "Hezbollah's terrorist activity has reached a
tempo unseen since the 1990s," said a 2013 State Department fact sheet. Hezbollah's Arabiclanguage manifesto states that "our struggle will end only when this entity [Israel] is obliterated."
As discussed above, PCUSA had full knowledge of the delegates meetings with Hezbollah and
did not expel or otherwise sanction the delegates.
Second, PCUSAs divestment violates public policy because it is directly contrary to U.S.
anti-boycott laws. During the mid-1970's the United States adopted two laws that seek to
counteract the participation of U.S. citizens in other nation's economic boycotts or embargoes.
These antiboycott laws are the 1977 amendments to the Export Administration Act (EAA) and
the Ribicoff Amendment to the 1976 Tax Reform Act (TRA).62 See 50 U.S.C.App. 2407, 42
U.S.C. 1981, N.Y. Exec. 296. The United States officially declares that the boycott of
Israel is the principal foreign economic boycott that U.S. companies must be concerned with
today.63 The antiboycott laws apply to the activities of U.S. persons in the interstate or foreign
commerce of the United States, including all individuals, corporations and unincorporated
61

http://www.state.gov/p/nea/rls/rm/142857.htm
http://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/enforcement/oac
63
http://www.bis.doc.gov/index.php/enforcement/oac
62

29

associations resident in the United States. PCUSA divestment is contrary to the spirit of these
laws by boycotting companies working in Israel, and thereby opposing U.S. policy.
The decision to divest $21 million from companies doing business in Israel was political
and taken because Israel has continued to punish the entire Palestinian population and its
leaders and "the occupation . . . has proven to be at the root of evil acts committed against
innocent people on both sides of the conflict." The divestment vote was also taken in the context
of specific attacks on U.S. foreign policy, including proclamations that the United States has not
been an impartial broker of peace in the Middle East and U.S. financial aid of Israel has led to,
what PCUSA views as, negative Israeli political positions and treatment of Palestinians.
Accordingly, recognizing the role finances play in the US-Israel relationship, PCUSA is using its
financial leverage to affect political positions of the United States and Israel.
Finally, PCUSAs Non-Exempt Acts are anti-Semitic by definition. Anti-Semitism
includes conduct directed at Jews disproportionate in degree and unique in kind.64,65,66, 67,68,69.
Anti-Semitic acts entail a special case of prejudice, hatred, or persecution directed against Jews,
whereby Jews are judged according to a standard different from that applied to others.70 While
PCUSA divests from American companies for what it perceives as Israeli injustices to
Palestinians, it does not take action or make consistent statements against any other country or

64

Bauer, Yehuda. "Problems of Contemporary Anti-Semitism" at the Wayback Machine (archived 5 July 2003),
2003. Retrieved 22 April 2006.
65
Chesler, Phyllis. The New Anti-Semitism: The Current Crisis and What We Must Do About It, Jossey-Bass, 2003,
pp. 158159, 181.
66
Doward, Jamie. Jews predict record level of hate attacks: Militant Islamic media accused of stirring up new wave
of anti-Semitism, The Guardian, 8 August 2004.
67
Kinsella, Warren. The New anti-Semitism, accessed 5 March 2006.
68
Sacks, Jonathan. "The New Anti-Semitism", Ha'aretz, 6 September 2002. Retrieved 10 January 2007.
69
Strauss, Mark. "Antiglobalism's Jewish Problem" in Rosenbaum, Ron (ed). Those who forget the past: The
Question of Anti-Semitism, Random House 2004, p. 272.
70
Lewis, Bernard. "The New Anti-Semitism", The American Scholar, Volume 75 No. 1, Winter 2006, pp. 2536. The
paper is based on a lecture delivered at Brandeis University on 24 March 2004.

30

entity with far worse documented injustices, even if one accepts what PCUSA says about Israel
on face value. This is anti-Semitism at its core. According to PCUSA member James Ownens:
To my Jewish friends: I am terribly sorry about the vote of the General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church - my church - to divest from
companies performing work in the West Bank and Gaza. I believe this is
an act of actual or symbolic anti-semitism, for the church has not taken
a similar stand on investments in other non-Jewish states whose sins
against their own citizens, or the citizens of territories they have occupied,
is far worse.71
PCUSA singles out Israel, despite the fact that Christians in the Middle East have faced a
tragic decade. Since the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, as many as two-thirds of that
countrys Christians have fled their homes, according to a report published in May in the
Huffington Post. Since March 2011, 450,000 Christians have been displaced by Syrias civil
war. In Egypt, attacks on Coptic Christians prompted 93,000 of them to leave the country in
2011 alone. Meantime, Arab Christians in Israel are not only safe to practice their religion but,
are represented in the Israeli Knesset, and freely demonstrate against Israeli government policies.
The Syrian civil war has claimed 170,000 lives in three years,72 more than all the deaths of both
Jews and Arabs combined since the inception of the State of Israel. According to Amnesty
International in 2007, 25,000 civilians died since 1999 Russias conflict with Chechnya.
In stark contrast, combined Israeli and Palestinian deaths since the creation of Israel in
1948 pale in comparison. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute,
13,000 Israelis and Palestinians were killed in conflict with each other between 1948 and 1997.
Other estimations give 14,500 killed between 1948 and 2009. Notably, Palestinians are given
more freedom of worship in than Jews in Israel, and certainly Jews in Saudi Arabia. While
71

James Owens, June 21, 2014 found at: http://www.pcusa.org/news/2014/6/20/slim-margin-assembly-approvesdivestment-three-com/

72
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Jul-10/263416-syria-war-toll-tops-170000-one-thirdcivilians.ashx#axzz3Bg1btxcK; http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2014/0716/Syria-s-President-Assadsays-the-Arab-Spring-is-dead-video

31

Palestinians can pray on the Temple Mount, which is not the holiest Muslim site, Jews may not
even move their lips silently in a sign of prayer or at times even enter the Temple Mount, the
holiest site in Judaism. In fact, the annual report on religious freedom by the U.S. State
Department slams Israel for limiting the rights of Jewish worshipers on the Temple Mount.73
PCUSA is singling out treatment of the Palestinians by Israel through a $21 million
divestment campaign, publishing books, holding study sessions, writing letters to Congress,
meeting with Hezbollah terrorists, attacking Jewish groups for supporting Israel, criticizing U.S.
policy and making anti-Zionist statements, when Christians elsewhere in the region are fleeing
for their lives and being massacred on an unprecedented scale. At the very least, shouldnt
nations who are universally condemned for genocide and human rights abuses be boycotted, too?
When Jewish treatment of Palestinians is judged worse than the way any other dominant group
treats a minority, when it is deemed worthy of unique sanction, when other horrors around the
world are ignored, that is anti-Semitism. According to PCUSA member Cheryl: why haven't
we divested of companies doing business in China, with its hostility toward Christians and
mistreatment of its own citizens? Or Russia, Afghanistan, Nigeria?74
VII.

CONCLUSION
PCUSAs Non-Exempt Acts are (1) not in furtherance of its exempt purpose; (2) contrary

to public policy prohibiting discrimination on the basis of national origin or religion; (3) contrary
to public policy against international boycotts singling out Israel; and (4) contrary to public
policy of supporting and meeting with U.S.-designated terrorist organizations.

73

U.S. State Department, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, International Religious Freedom Report
for 2013: Israel and The Occupied Territories, found at:
http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm#wrapper
74
http://www.pcusa.org/news/2014/6/20/slim-margin-assembly-approves-divestment-three-com/

32

Pursuant to the evidence set forth herein, there exists a reasonable belief75 that PCUSA
is no longer organized and operated exclusively for charitable or religious purposes and violates
public policy. Accordingly, we respectfully request that the IRS investigate this matter and make
a determination that PCUSAs tax-exempt status is revoked under the law.

75

Rossotti, 211 F.3d at 140.

33