During the course of the past year, the Presbyterian Church USA, the World Council of Churches, the Episcopal Church of U.S.A., the United Church of Christ, two regions of the United Methodist Church, and the Anglican Consultative Council have passed resolutions encouraging divestment from Israel. The actions by these denominations have profound political and economic implications.
The language of the resolutions varies, but they all:
- single out Israel for condemnation;
- portray Israel's efforts to defend itself against terrorism in the harshest terms possible; and
- appear unwilling to acknowledge the motive and consequence of Islamic terror on Israeli society.
According to Dexter Van Zile, the director of the Judeo-Christian Alliance "[d]ivestment resolutions are putatively religious documents that have political consequences…. Lay members of Protestant churches in the U.S. have not exercised appropriate oversight over their leaders. Despite protestations that general assemblies and synods do not speak for entire denominations, resolutions passed by these bodies contribute to the notion that Christians in the U.S. are turning against Israel."
The primary source of this anti-Israel narrative in the mainline churches is the Jerusalem-based Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center (Sabeel). Sabeel routinely characterizes Israel's efforts to defend itself as human rights tragedies, but has never offered a condemnation of Palestinian attacks against Israel, nor has it spoken honestly about the threats to human rights posed by Palestinian terrorists. Sabeel takes the suffering of Palestinian Christians and lays it at Israel's feet and uses deicide imagery to encourage hostility toward the Jewish state, portraying it as a modern-day Christ killer.
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PRESBYTERIAN
In July of 2004, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) voted overwhelmingly (431 to 62) to initiate a process of selective divestment from companies conducting business in Israel. In August of 2005, the Presbyterian Church USA named specific companies it plans to target, including Motorola and United Technologies.
According to Dr. Eugene Korn, the Director of Jewish Affairs at the American Jewish Congress, "[t]he Presbyterian Church USA case arguing for divestment is so blatantly skewed that one knowledgeable about the conflict sees immediately that it is but a partisan posture. The PCUSA position fails to call for any parallel campaign of action against Palestinian murder and terror, even though they are central factors to the conflict. It belittles the fundamental security concerns of Israeli citizens, voiding it of fairness."
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ANGLICAN CHURCH
In the Fall of 2004, the Anglican International Justice and Peace Committee recommended divestment from Israel to the Anglican Communion. This recommendation was rejected on October 8, 2005, when the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church directed its Social Responsibility in Investments (SRI) committee to use the church's investments to encourage positive change in the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians instead of encouraging divestment.
While the Episcopal Church's decision to reject divestment is positive, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) rightly criticized the Episcopal Church for "… not tak[ing] notice of the positive, and risky, steps Israel has taken in the recent successful disengagement from Gaza, and the many cases before the Israeli courts on the issue of determining an appropriate route of the security barrier. "
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UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
The United Church of Christ (UCC) passed two anti-Israel resolutions on Tuesday, July 5, 2005, at its 25th biennial General Synod in Atlanta. The first was a divestment resolution and the second calls for Israel to tear down its security fence.
Dr. Eugene Korn, Director of Jewish Affairs at the American Jewish Congress, commented "…if UCC decides to divest from companies doing business with Israel, it will lose its moral credibility and harm chances for peace. In the end, the call for divestment is rhetoric to weaken Israel and strengthen the extremists and the rejectionists."
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