The CUFI Summit kicked off this week. The annual event featured Vice President Mike Pence as its keynote speaker and other important pro-Israel dignitaries are expected to deliver messages in support of the Jewish State including US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Trump’s Middle East Advisor Jason Greenblatt.
However, as in many Pro-Israel events, provocateurs rear their heads in an effort to disrupt the event while bringing attention to their cause. The CUFI summit is no exception.
This year, Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) executive director, Tarek Abuata, tried to disrupt the summit but was caught and dragged out by security. According to NGO Monitor, FOSNA, the North American branch of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, (which is located in Jerusalem, Israel) notes that “Sabeel no longer publishes detailed financial information, reflecting a lack of transparency and accountability.”
However, the watchdog group does highlight the fact that much of its funding came from the government of Canada under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau according to NGO Monitor. That’s because one of the main donors of the organization is the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). And between 2016-2017, MCC received $33.1 million (CAD) from Canada under Trudeau’s watch.
Other countries who indirectly fund FOSNA are the government of Holland and Sweden via Diakonia, a “ faith-based Swedish development organization”. FOSNA also receives indirect funding from The governments of the EU and Norway via Norwegian Church Aid, a Norwegian organization that used to be affiliated with the state Church of Norway.
As he was being carried out, Abuata can be heard screaming “Wake up people of God! Wake up! Zionism is Racism! Wake up people of God! Follow our prophets! Follow the justice of prophets! Protect the Palestinian People! Protect the Palestinians!”
On their website, they call for “legal principles for peace as outlined in the Kairos Palestine document. This document, among other things, calls for “a political resolution to the struggle for Jerusalem, based on the prophetic vision of peace: “The city is inhabited by two peoples of three religions.” It should be noted that such a “prophetic vision” is non-existent. The document also calls the “Israeli occupation of Palestinian land “a sin against God” (another claim without and biblical basis) and calls the boycott movement against Israel “legitimate”.
