Presbyterian Clergy of Jewish Descent in the Southwest

What is a Jewish Presbyterian? Can a person be a Jewish Presbyterian in the same way some people call themselves "Chinese-American?" If you're born Jewish and become Presbyterian, are you one of the chosen Chosen? I've discussed the question with several Presbyterians of Jewish ancestry. The term "Jewish Presbyterian" will be used here to refer to someone of Jewish descent who is affiliated with the Presbyterian church. I'll look at why certain individuals and groups of Jews become Presbyterian, some similarities between the faiths, and recent controversial positions of the PC(USA) regarding Jews and Israel. I will draw from the historical record, interviews, and personal experience.

Relations between Presbyterians and Jews could be at a new low. Headlines such as "Presbyterians target Jews," (Eric Greenberg, New York Jewish Week, 10-24-03), and "Jewish-Presbyterian Ties at 'New Low,'" (Nathan Guttman, Forward.com, 6-17-08) discuss this tension. FLAME, "Facts and Logic About the Middle East," singles out Presbyterians specifically in its concerns: "The active participation in the new anti-Semitism by the American clergy (beginning with the Presbyterians) is a scandalous reality" (advertisement, The Nation, 5/11/09).

Presbyterians have historically had numerous Jewish converts in the western United States. In his scholarly book, To the Ends of the Earth: A History of the Crypto-Jews of New Mexico, Stanley Hordes writes about Presbyterians of Jewish-Hispano descent in the southwest. An examination of this specific group sheds light on the phenomenon of Jewish conversion to the Presbyterian faith.

In 1492, when the Catholic Monarchs, Fernando and Isabel, united Spain, Jews (and Muslims) who refused to accept Christianity were expelled. About half of Spain's Jews stayed. Many of these "conversos" moved across the border to Portugal when the Inquisition began. Converso families headed ever westward hoping to avoid persecution and prosecution. Fleeing Portugal, they moved to the Canary Islands, then to Mexico. When the Inquisition came to Mexico, they migrated north to New Mexico. They adhered, at least nominally, to Catholicism: there was no choice. Which Jewish beliefs and traditions they kept is a matter of speculation. Conversos and crypto-Jews who were observed keeping Jewish traditions could face trial for "Judaizing" during the Inquisition. Scholars call the descendants of conversos "crypto-Jews." The term "converso" is understood to mean the first generation of forced converts. "Marrano," a word that has been used to mean crypto-Jew, and which I heard growing up in New Mexico, is generally considered a slur.

When Mexico gained independence from Spain in the early nineteenth century, Catholicism was no longer officially enforced. After the Mexican-War, when New Mexico became a United States territory, Protestant missionaries entered the state. Many descendants of conversos, so-called crypto-Jews, became Protestant. Few returned to Judaism: they had been too long estranged from the faith of their fathers. Presbyterians brought Spanish language Bibles to New Mexico, and former Catholics of Jewish descent flocked to that denomination. Access to the Bible, in Spanish, forbidden by the Catholic church, may be the principal reason. The choice of the Presbyterian denomination by crypto-Jews has been studied by New Mexico sociologist Tomas Atencio (among others), son of a Presbyterian minister of Hispano-Jewish ancestry. Atencio and others have documented remnants of possible Jewish origin in the behavior of Presbyterians principally in New Mexico, and to a lesser extent Colorado and Texas. These Presbyterians are of Hispano heritage.

Rev. Mikel Taxer, a Presbyterian minister of Jewish descent living in San Diego, California, cites emphasis on the Scripture as one of the primary reasons he embraced the Presbyterian denomination. Believing him to be representative of Presbyterians of Jewish descent, I spoke at length with Rev. Taxer about his conversion to Christianity and choice of denominations. Rev. Taxer, now retired, cited similarities between Jews and Presbyterians for his conversion. Rev. Taxer sees half a dozen or so shared traits, what he calls "commonalities" between the two faiths. "I was impressed by these tenants of the Presbyterian church, and they resonate with my Jewish upbringing: first, the sovereignty of God, second, the authority of the Scriptures, and by this I don't mean necessarily a literal interpretation, but the personal responsibility for study of the Bible." Other common emphases, according to Rev. Taxer, are the educated clergy of both faith traditions, and the importance of education. "So many Ivy League universities were founded by, and attended by Presbyterians." He appreciates the emphasis on neighborhood and family, the social conscience of both, and finally, he considers Presbyterians very "American," and is glad for the democratic structure of the denomination.
Rev. Taxer's family came from Russia.

Jews are divided into two groups, Ashkenazim and Sephardim. Ashkenazi is derived from the Hebrew word for "Germany." Jews of European and eastern European descent are Ashkenazi. Most American Jews, who have emigrated primarily from Europe and Russia, are Ashkenazi. The Sephardic Jews are from Spain, and generally inhabit the Mediterranean region. Crypto-Jews from New Mexico are Sephardim. Rev. Taxer is Ashkenazi. My own parents, each of whom had a Jewish parent, are of Ashkenazi origin, coming from Germany, in the case of my father, and Poland on my maternal side. It's not unusual to find people like myself, of Jewish origin, in the Presbyterian church. Rev. Taxer commented that "Presbyterian churches everywhere have numerous Jewish members."

The Jewish side of my mother's family is from Poland. From Polish relatives I heard a similar desire for, and appreciation of all things "American." My Polish/Jewish great-grandparents loved this country, and devoted themselves to American values. Christmas was huge, and their house was filled with every imaginable decoration except a nativity scene. They had an electric menorah in the window, and a wreath on the door. Thanksgiving, Halloween, and the Fourth of July were important for us. I don't recall any celebration of Easter.

My grandmother and her sisters were sent to Sunday school at the Presbyterian church near the family's house. They didn't stay for the service, and my great-grandparents never attended. According to my grandmother's sister, the Presbyterian church was the family's choice because it was the closest, and the girls could walk there. When the church moved, the family stopped attending. My grandmother and her sisters considered themselves more Presbyterian than Jewish, and, except for my grandmother, chose to be wed by Presbyterian ministers.

My late father, a Presbyterian minister of Jewish ancestry, spoke of assistance provided by Presbyterian churches as the reason his family chose that denomination. During the Depression, a Presbyterian church in St. Louis helped his parents feed their children. In addition to help with groceries during the Depression, the Presbyterian church partnered with the Salvation Army to provide a summer camp for children. That was the first vacation my father enjoyed as a child. Rev. Taxer cites the "social conscience" of the Presbyterian church as an important factor in his choice of the denomination. Feeding the hungry is in the best tradition of the prophets and the gospels.

The Jewish population of the United States was small until the mid-nineteenth century. Although Jews moved to this country, many assimilated. Choosing to become a member of a different faith, such as Presbyterian, was a widespread phenomenon in the Jewish community. In his famous letter to the Hebrew congregation of Rhode Island, George Washington assured Jews that they could become American citizens and participate fully in civic life. On August 17, 1790, Washington told the synagogue of Newport that the United States would give "To bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance" (see the entire letter online in the Jewish Virtual Library, American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, or American Jewish Historical Society website). Until the twentieth century, even countries that offered Jews asylum, like Poland, did not offer Jews full participation in society. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Jews of Germany and later, Jews from Eastern Europe, flocked to the United States.

Persecution and pogroms in Eastern Europe and Russia drove many Jews to the Americas in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Because of rising anti-Semitism in east coast cities, and restrictive immigration policies, Jewish immigrants were routed through Galveston, Texas. Americans were increasingly fearful of large Jewish populations; the Jewish Immigrant's Information Bureau advised Jews to disembark in Galveston, before it became official U.S. policy. In his seminal work, Galveston: Ellis Island of the West, Bernard Marinbach first introduced the term "Galveston Movement" for the flood of Jews into Texas. Galveston would not be a place for Jews to stay, especially after the hurricane of 1900. (The Galveston hurricane of 1900, the "great storm," killed five thousand people.) It was hoped that routing Jews through Galveston would force them to move on and assimilate. In 1908, the government's Dillingham Commission blamed Jewish immigrants for increased crime, decreased literacy, and slums. President Taft was expected to sign legislation passed by both the Senate and House restricting Jewish immigration (see articles in the New York Times, Oct. 22, 1910, and Feb. 7, 1913, available in the Times archives online). In fact, Taft vetoed this legislation, and was reviled for it by Henry Ford, among others (Daniel Rein, "American Nativist Reaction to Jewish Immigration in the 1900's," Associate Content News, 12/19/2006, retrieved 6/1/2009).

To this day, there are people with Jewish surnames in Texas, the midwest, and western states who are ignorant of their Jewish ancestry. My father's ancestors came to Galveston in 1880. One came as a result of an arranged marriage. The greatest influx of Galveston Movement Jews arrived between 1900-1914. A genealogist cousin of mine contacted Eisenger relatives of mine who still live in Texas: the distant relatives she spoke with had no recollection of being Jewish. Certainly in this case, the Galveston Movement's goal of assimilation was achieved. To my knowledge, there are no relatives of my father who practice Judaism. My father's father didn't attend church with the family, but he didn't object to his wife and children attending the Presbyterian church.

America has a history of xenophobia and anti-immigrant backlash. Jews, Slavs, and southern Italians were targets of resentment in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. By the late 1930's, when Jews most desperately needed to leave Europe, immigration quotas were stringently enforced. Notable Americans like Henry Ford, Charles Lindbergh, and Preston Bush were rabidly anti-Semitic. Henry Ford's newspaper, The Dearborn Independent, regularly featured anti-Jewish articles like "Jewish Jazz-Moron Music-Becomes our National Music." Such articles were collected and published in Ford's book, The International Jew: The World's Foremost Problem. Ford received Nazi Germany's highest award, and there is debate about how much of his rhetoric actually inspired Hitler. He prefigured CNN's Lou Dobb's in racism and anti-immigrant prejudice. Ford blamed Jews for what later came to be called the "war on Christmas." Hitler's campaign of eugenics was based on the American model of forced sterilization of the "feeble-minded" which began in 1908.

Due to emigration restrictions on Jews, some chose to convert or alter their identity to facilitate coming to America. In an eerie parallel to the Inquisition, when Jews bought false affidavits of Christianity, one of my great-great grandmothers brought documents attesting to her baptism and Christian identity upon emigrating from Poland in 1879. When she passed away in the late 1930's, during Hitler's ascendancy, she entrusted these strange documents to her daughter, urging her "not to lose them." My great-great grandmother had a Jewish name, and never attended church in this country. It would be lovely to think that her fears were unnecessary, but according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, anti-Semitic and racist hate groups are currently on the rise (Intelligence Report, Spring 2009, Southern Poverty Law Center). They never went away.

Is anti-Semitism ingrained in the Presbyterian denomination? Depending on which quotation you use, or which group you ask, Calvin was either as rabidly anti-Semitic as Luther, or he was less so. The Center for the Study of Historical Christian Anti-Semitism cites Calvin's statement that Jews' "rotten and unbending stiffneckedness deserves that they be oppressed unendingly and without measure... and that they die in their misery without the pity of anyone" Ad Quaelstiones et Objecta Juaei Cuiusdam Responsio. Karl Barth preached against political anti-Semitism, but confessed a personal "allergy" to Jews.

The two issues that currently divide Presbyterians and the Jewish community are the divestment of funds from Israel, and the evangelization of Jews. Resolutions passed by the PC(USA) calling for divestment of assets from companies considered "collaborators" with the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory have caused a chill in dialogue between the two faiths. This call for divestment, passed in 2004, was rescinded in 2006, but has inspired other mainline Protestant churches to make similar resolutions. Additionally, PC(USA) funding of The Outreach Foundation, an organization which supports Congregation Avodat Yisrael in Philadelphia, and calls for the evangelization of Jews, has not helped interfaith dialogue.
Let's consider the second issue first, the proselytizing of Jews. Some people of Jewish ancestry choose mainstream Presbyterian churches instead of Hebrew Christian churches, or their most recent incarnations, Messianic Jewish temples. The theology of Messianic Jews is often fundamentalist, and is jarring for people of a liberal or Reform Jewish background. Many find these churches guilty of a disturbing theology that is all too similar to born-again Christian Zionists. And although Rev. Taxer spoke extensively with Christian missionaries who targeted Jews for conversion when he himself became Presbyterian, he does not always support them or their tactics.

According to Jonathan Kaplan in "A Brief History of Presbyterian Ministry Among Jewish People: 1820-2001" (available on the internet), Presbyterians historically sought to evangelize Jews through direct outreach as well as through ethnic neighborhood community centers. Using community centers, east coast Presbyterian clergy sought to help Protestant Jews evacuate Europe during, and prior to World War II. Hebrew Christian congregations, and their later incarnations such as Philadelphia's "Messianic Jewish" temple, Avodat Yisrael were modeled after ethnic congregations like those of Korean Presbyterians, Chinese Presbyterians, and African-American Presbyterian churches. Jews have a distinct religion in addition to an ethnicity, and the assumption has been that Jews needed to discard Judaism and replace it with Calvinism. The paradox of ethnic churches is that they respect the cultural traditions of people while denigrating their religious traditions.

Jewish leaders resent efforts to evangelize their communities. Congregation Avodat Yisrael claims to provide a space for interfaith couples to raise children where both faith traditions will be respected. Nonetheless, it is a Christian church. Rabbi Joel Liberman of the Tree of Life Messianic Congregation in San Diego comes from a family of evangelical Christian converts. While his background is Jewish, and his congregation holds services on Saturday morning, its orientation is Christian. Rev. Taxer is "concerned" about some messianic Jews. Some can be aggressive; at their worst, they seem to him slightly "offensive" and a bit "supercilious." It's possible that many Presbyterians would feel uncomfortable in a messianic temple. Rabbi Liberman explains that such places exist not because Jewish Christians feel uneasy in Christian churches, but because they feel more "at home" in these congregations. He states that he has never experienced any overt or covert anti-Semitism in evangelical/fundamentalist churches, the only ones he has contacts with.

In a sensitive sermon preached on September 26, 2004, at First Presbyterian church in New York City, Rev. Jon Walton questions the assumption that Jews need to convert. Regarding the everlasting covenant between God and the Jews, Rev. Walton asks what it is about "the words, 'everlasting,' and 'covenant' and 'shall not be forgotten' that we have not understood?"

Presbyterians' call for divestment from Israel has caused bad feelings among Jews, even though this resolution has been rescinded. Rabbi Liberman feels that one can criticize Israeli policy without being anti-Semitic; as a messianic Jew he disagrees with Israel's immigration rules, which would disqualify him from citizenship. It is another thing when non-Jews criticize Israeli policy, as Jimmy Carter can attest to, especially after writing Peace not Apartheid, . And unlike Presbyterians, who have not won a Nobel peace prize, Carter may be uniquely qualified to offer a critique. Israel's policies are controversial: Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine, Aaron David Miller's The Much Too Promised Land, and Jeffrey Goldberg's Prisoners,offer excellent insights into Middle East policy. Rev. Jon Walton in his sermon, "Everlasting Covenant: Presbyterians and Jews at the Crossroads," previously cited, notes that divestment should be applied only as a last resort, as it was in South Africa. In addition, he observes that it will make no real difference in the peace process, and only serves to inflame the rhetoric. Rev. Taxer calls it "too simplistic."

Finally, in addition to its futility, the call for divestment may overstep the foreign policy credentials of the American Presbyterian church. With the invasion and occupation of Iraq, a country which posed no imminent threat to the United States, Americans have quite possibly forfeited the right to criticize the foreign policy of other countries. Where were the Presbyterians during the build-up to the Iraq war? I have attended every peace march and protest in San Diego since 1990. I've seen Friends (Quakers), Brethren, and Unitarians. I've never seen a Presbyterian contingency, no banners saying "Presbyterians for peace" or "Presbyterians against imperialism." There were such signs from Friends, Brethren, and Unitarians. No doubt there have been Presbyterians who called their elected representatives to express concern. There has been no call for divestment from American companies that have profited from this war.

I spoke with Nancy Harber, clerk of session at Faith Presbyterian Church in San Diego, about this rescinded resolution. Mrs. Harber feels that a statement against Israel's treatment of Palestinians is important. She notes that even though the call for divestment was overturned in 2006, many are concerned about the plight of the Palestinians. I pointed out that the Presbyterians made no condemnation against the war in Iraq, and no call for divestment of war-profiting companies. She observed that the war in Iraq had an "end date," especially with the Obama administration. There is no end in sight for discriminatory policies against Palestinians, Mrs. Harber adds. She believes that the border fence constructed by Israel is a human rights violation. While individual Presbyterian churches may at one time have provided sanctuary for this country's immigrants, there has been no outcry against America's border fence with Mexico. The structure of this wall is practically identical to Israel's, although it does not separate farmers from their land. The Unites States government has successfully sued to override all environmental protections in constructing this fence.

As a Presbyterian of Jewish descent, I am saddened by the unnecessary strain between Presbyterians and Jews. Like Rev. Taxer and my father, I have allegiances to both communities. Helen Keller once wrote that since "all men are brothers," every conflict holds the shame of a family brawl. Both sides are right and both are wrong. It doesn't matter who started the fight. Whether it's the prophets, Hillel, John the Baptist, or Jesus, the message is the same: don't do unto others as you wouldn't have them do unto you. This isn't the first conflict between Presbyterians and Jews, and it probably won't be the last. People of faith and goodwill disagree.

What is Jewish Presbyterian? Is it a common phenomenon? For every Presbyterian of Jewish descent, there may be an equal number of Jews of Presbyterian descent. I used to meet every few months with a Presbyterian minister whose son fell in love with a Jewish woman, and converted to Judaism. This Presbyterian minister's son is raising his daughters as Jews. Europeans have historically come to the Americas to re-invent themselves. Change your name, change your religion, move to a different place: it's the American thing to do. Identity is fluid on this continent. We claim to be a melting pot. According to the Pew Forum in 2006, twenty eight percent of Americans left their childhood religion. In 2009, Pew found, in survey results published as "Faith in Flux," Americans change religion early and often. Half of Americans surveyed changed religion at least once in their life. Of those almost fifty percent who have changed faiths, many have changed more than once. As a perfect illustration of this trend, I was hoping to speak to a third local Presbyterian pastor of Jewish descent, but he has left the Presbyterian denomination to become Pentecostal.

Judaism and the Presbyterian church may not be so different. Both traditions emphasize scripture, education, and practical help for those in need. Reform Judaism and Reformed theology see no conflict between religion and science; both prize ethics. When asked if he would ever return to the Jewish faith, Rev. Taxer answered, "I never left."

Sources

John Calvin, Ad quaelstiones et Objecta Juaei Cuiusdam Responsio, Center for the Study of Historical Christian Anti-Semitism, page not given, 2009, retrieved 4/29/2009.

Eric Greenberg, "Presbyterians Target Jews," Jewish News of Greater Phoenix,
10/24/2003,retrieved 4/27/2009.

Nathan Guttman, "Jewish-Presbyterian Ties at 'New Low,'"Forward.com," 6/17/2008, retrieved 4/28/2009.

"Henry Ford," Wikkipedia, 4/27/2009, retrieved 4/29/2009.

Stanley Hordes, To the Ends of the Earth:A History of the Crypto-Jews of New Mexico, New York: Columbia University Press, 2005.
Intelligence Report, Southern Poverty Law Center, Spring 2009, issue 133.

Jonathan Kaplan, "A Brief History of Presbyterian Ministry Among Jewish People:1820-2001," 6/22/2008, retrieved 4/27/2009.

New York Times, New York Times Archives,10/22/1910 and 2/7/1913, retrieved 6/1/2009.

Daniel Rein, "American Nativist Reaction to Jewish Immigration in the 1900's," AC Associated Content News, 12/19/2006, retrieved 6/1/2009.

John Rich, "John Calvin and the Jews," Right Turns, 11/13/2006, retrieved 4/28/2009.

Rev. Jon Walton, "Everlasting Covenant: Presbyterians and Jews at the Crossroads," Presbyterians Concerned for Jewish and Christian Relations, sermon preached 9/26/2004, retrieved 4/27/2009.

George Washington, "Letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island," Jewish Virtual Library, American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, 2009, retrieved 5/29/2009.