Michael Gizzi

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Jun 26, 2018, 10:04 PM

Setting the record straight, again

Two years ago, after the last Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) General Assembly I had to write to set the record straight based on factually inaccurate descriptions of what happened at the 2016 GA, relating to Israel. Sadly, I need...

Jun 23, 2018, 11:42 PM

A unexpected shift towards reconciliation

For years, powerful groups within the Presbyterian Church (USA) have argued against any people-to-people programs, co-existence, and shared society efforts that seek to bring Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Arabs together in a spirit of reconciliation and cooperation. The...

Jun 20, 2018, 9:11 PM

When death threats are OK as long as the victim is ‘slow to criticize Israel’

Try to visualize this scenario. You are in open-carry state, in a publicly accessible facility, with no security. A man walks out of a room, heading to a water fountain, when he is accosted by another person, yelling at...

Jul 22, 2017, 10:10 AM

This is not about metal detectors. End the incitement.

The Old City of Jerusalem is home to some of the most important holy places for all three Abrahamic Faiths: The Kotel or Western Wall of the Jewish Temple; the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque on...

Jul 6, 2017, 12:51 AM

Co-resistance before co-existence?

I recently returned from a study trip to Israel dedicated to conflict-resolution and peacemaking, with the goal of helping participants better understand the dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The trip was designed to expose participants to a wide variety...

Mar 28, 2017, 1:15 AM

American progressives, Israel, and intolerance of the left

Today I was accused of being a Trump supporter. I was accused of "following the views of the 'Orange One'" because I apparently was expressing views consistent with him on Israel. I had refused to tow the “left" line in...

Mar 2, 2017, 3:41 PM

The silence is deafening: Donald Trump and anti-Semitism

There have been 122 bomb threats since the beginning of January. There have been against 96 Jewish institutions, 12 Jewish day schools and 2 Anti-Defamation League offices, in 36 states, all since January 1st. Graves have been desecrated in two Jewish...

Jan 13, 2017, 7:47 AM

A few weeks ago, just before leaving for Israel on a family vacation, I was accused of being a Zionist. “Your trips to Israel have tilted you to Zionism.” It was a loaded statement that presumed that Zionism is something dirty....

Dec 15, 2016, 10:21 PM

The hypocrisy of a warped fixation on Israel

I am often baffled by the priorities and ideology of what is supposed to be a Christian church. One might think that the Presbyterian Church (USA) would be outraged by the carnage and depravity unfolding in epic proportions in Aleppo,...

Aug 27, 2016, 8:13 PM

A Call to Tear Down Walls of Hostility and Division

It has now been two months since the close of the Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly. While there was considerable confusion about what the Church did and did not do in regards to Israel, ultimately the Assembly revealed the...

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About Me

Michael Gizzi is an active member of Presbyterians for Middle East Peace, and an elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA). A political scientist and professor of criminal justice at Illinois State University, Gizzi is actively involved in research on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. His opinions are his own, and not those of Illinois State University.