ELCA Promotes Controversial 60 Minutes Report

Last week, the long running television show 60 Minutes broadcast a news report that has been widely criticized for its bias, false statements, and anti-Israel sentiment.  (see here and here for examples)  Not surprisingly the ELCA has posted the 60 Minutes news segment video on their official elca.org website.  (see here).  Even before the 60 Minutes news segment aired, the ELCA e-Advocacy Network sent out an email promoting the segment and trying to encourage everyone to watch it.

One issue asserted by the 60 Minutes program was that Israel is to blame for the Christians leaving the Muslim-controlled territories of Israel.  This is a popular claim by the anti-Semitic crowd.  Highly regarded Pulitzer Prize–winning syndicated columnist, Charles Krauthammer took on that claim while appearing on Fox News by saying, “. . . the untold story is the story of the Palestinian territories.  Bethlehem, for example, has been almost emptied of its Christians and sort of the Orwellian reporting of the West has attributed this somehow to Israel, when in fact it’s been the rise of militant Islam, Hamas and other radical sects within the Palestinian territories that have lead to a large immigration of Christians from the Palestinian territories . . .”

CBN News reported on the plight of Christians in Bethlehem in 2009, and it is nothing like the 60 Minutes report.  Here is the video -

The 60 Minutes report also praised the Kairos Palestine document, which is outrageously bias and anti-Israel. (see here and here)

One of the signers of that document, Pastor Mitri Raheb was highlighted on the 60 Minutes news segment.  For those of you who may not remember, Pastor Raheb was the focus of another Exposing the ELCA blog (see here) in which the accused anti-Semitic pastor was praised by ELCA’s Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson.