In addition to the mainline opposition groups that have formed as a result of Sabeel's activity, there have been other groups that have opposed either Sabeel's goals or their manner of speaking their message. In some cases, groups have accused Sabeel of extremism and antisemitism. Sabeel's most vocal critics are listed below with their most significant criticisms also listed.
Coe College The chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion at
Coe College (Iowa), which had co-sponsored a campus conference with a group of American supporters of Sabeel, acknowledged in a letter to a local rabbi that anti-Semitic remarks had been made at the conference. The chair wrote "We regret any harm that may have been caused by such anti-Semitic statements", but later told journalists covering the story that his letter was not an apology, and that it was deliberately vague because he was unsure exactly which comments could be considered anti-Semitic.
Stephen Roth Institute The Israeli
Stephen Roth Institute claimed that Sabeel "commonly engages in blatant propaganda seeking to isolate and demonize Israel, while delegitimizing the right of the Jewish state to exist." Sabeel responded that "It accepts the presence of Israel in the land that was once Palestine and asks that the two peoples be allowed to live together in this land as equals with full rights for people of both groups.".
Dexter Van Zile, CAMERA, and Judeo-Christian Alliance Dexter Van Zile, Christian Media Analyst for the pro-Israel media-monitoring group
CAMERA, has accused Ateek of trafficking in the anti-Semitic canard of
Jewish deicide: Van Zile bases these accusations on fragments from Ateek's 2001 Easter message, such as, “in this season of Lent, it seems to many of us that Jesus is on the cross again with thousands of crucified Palestinians around Him ...The Israeli government crucifixion system is operating daily,". Van Zile also accused Ateek of breathing new life into what French historian Jules Isaac called the “teachings of contempt” and having directed their "vile energy" toward the Jewish State. that requires either people to be stateless. The ADL further submitted that, "Sabeel rejects Zionism on theological grounds. It has promoted the idea that Zionism is based on a false reading of the Bible and that it stands for injustice and in opposition to God." Rabbi
Arthur Waskow, director of the
Shalom Center, and Rabbi Howard A. Berman, founder of Jewish Spirit have expressed support for, and are participants in Old South Church's
Engaging Three Faiths series. During his presentation at Old South Church on October 28, 2007, Waskow raised concerns about Sabeel's use of crucifixion imagery in reference to Israel. Waskow said that in Latin America, Christian liberation theologians often "talk about the crucifixion of Jesus by the Roman Empire ... and from their view point of course the resurrection of the Christ as teaching of what it means to transcend imperial power, in the Latin American context it's clear that the empire you're talking about is America and it makes sense." Waskow said that Sabeel may think it's doing the same thing when it talks about the crucifixion of Jesus, but "when you are doing it in the context of a Jewish state, when you're doing it in the context of 2000 years of Jewish suffering from the Christian dogma of deicide that the Jews killed God and the violence that has been visited on the Jewish community by people upholding that theology, to hear that strikes a nerve that has 2000 years of pain behind it and that has to be heard."
Sabeel's Responses to Frequently Asked Questions Sabeel has posted responses to questions about its policies and theology at http://fosna.org/faq. In October, 2010, the
Anti-Defamation League issued its list of "the top 10 anti-Israel groups in America" and included Friends of Sabeel–North America (FOSNA) and
Jewish Voice for Peace among them. Friends of Sabeel– North America posted a response to the Anti-Defamation League saying that Fosna did not consider its criticism of Israeli government policies "anti-Israeli" and that to the extent those policies are unjust and violate international law, they jeopardize Israel's future.
Connection to Protestant Church in the Netherlands A Protestant church in the Netherlands supported organization, Kerk in Actie, employs a representative in Israel, who is working at Sabeel in Jerusalem, promoting the
Kairos Palestine document and the
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel. The synod of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, in regards to the Gaza Flotilla supported by Sabeel, said, "We are not responsible for the political views that Sabeel or their employees promote, but we are engaged in a dialogue with them on this issue." == See also ==