Chicago, IL, December 1, 2005 ... The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) joined today with four other leading Chicago Jewish organizations to denounce a recent meeting with the terrorist group Hezbollah attended by leaders and members of the Presbytery of Chicago of The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

ADL Regional Director Lonnie Nasatir issued the following statement on the terrorist group Hezbollah:

It is unconscionable that Presbyterian leaders would meet with Hezbollah, which our government designates as a foreign terrorist organization. Hezbollah (Party of God) has a track record of terror that is unambiguous. It pioneered the use of suicide bombing in the Middle East. It is committed to the destruction of Israel, opposition to the West and the establishment of an Iranian-style militant Islamic fundamentalist state. Prior to Sept. 11, Hezbollah had murdered more Americans than any other terrorist organization.

 Hezbollah's long record of terror includes:

•  The 1983 suicide bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, which killed 241 US Marines.
•  A series of kidnappings in Lebanon in the 1980s, which included several Americans.
•  The 1985 hijacking of TWA flight 847 and the murder of a passenger, US Navy Diver Robert Stethem.
•  The 1992 suicide bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which killed 29 and injured more than 250.
•The 1994 suicide bombing of the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, which killed 87 and wounded 300.
•  The 1996 suicide bombing of the Khobar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, in which 19 U.S. soldiers were killed and 370 Americans and Saudis were wounded.

Hezbollah's reign of terror continues today. Just last week, Hezbollah attacked northern Israel in an attempt to capture Israelis. Hezbollah's satellite TV station, al-Manar ("The Beacon"), continues to broadcast messages of hate and violence, including raw anti-Semitic charges like the blood libel – the charge that Jews murder non-Jews to use their blood in religious ceremonies.

Hezbollah is interested in murder, not co-existence. It is an obstacle to peace that must be opposed at every opportunity. As America wages a war on terror, we cannot understand why Presbyterian leaders would meet with terrorists who have the blood of innocent people on their hands.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.