Assembly urges PCUSA divestment from companies operating in Israel By Paula R. Kincaid The Layman Online Wednesday, July 7, 2004 2004 General Assembly Richmond, Virginia June 26-July 3, 2004 General Assembly news index RICHMOND, Va. – In response to an overture calling for Israel and Palestine to implement the Geneva Accord, the 216th General Assembly approved a statement with seven recommendations from its Peacemaking Committee. The statement said that when the Presbytery of St. Augustine approved the overture, it "seemed a practicable way forward in light of the derailed 'road map,'" … at this time, however, several months since the approval of the proposed item by said presbytery, the situation and the prospects for a negotiated just peace have so deteriorated that people in the region generally, and particularly the Palestinians, have been driven to the edge of despair and hopelessness. In approving the statement, commissioners agreed to seven items, including to: "Continue to be inspired by the tenacity of hope of our Palestinian Christian partners in the face of ominous, cumulative gloom and foreboding …" "Commend the Presbytery of St. Augustine on its concern for a just resolution of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, and for moving the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to persist in voicing this concern. …" "Vigorously urges the U.S. government, the government of Israel, and the Palestinian leadership to move swiftly, and with resolve, to recognize that the only way out of this chronic and vicious impasse is to abandon all approaches that exacerbate further strife, lay aside arrogant political posturing, and get on with forging negotiated compromises that open a path to peace." "Refer to Mission Responsibility Through Investment Committee (MRTI) with instructions to initiate a process of phased selective divestment in multinational corporations operating in Israel, in accordance to General Assembly policy on social investing, and to make appropriate recommendations to the General Assembly Council for action." Another point in the statement reaffirmed the call from the 215th General Assembly for the "Israeli government to 'end the occupation now,' … it has proven to be at the root of evil acts committed against innocent people on both sides of the conflict." It also stated that the "Horrific acts of violence and deadly attacks on innocent people, whether carried out by Palestinian 'suicide bombers' or by the Israeli military, are abhorrent and inexcusable by all measures, and are a dead-end alternative to a negotiated settlement of the conflict," and called on the United States to allow more "room for the more meaningful participation of other members of the U.N. designated 'Quartet' (the United States, Russia, Germany and France." A commissioner proposed an amendment – which failed – to delete the recommendation on initiating a "process of phased selective divestment in multinational corporations operating in Israel." He said the other points were "fairly balanced," and it had little to do with the rest of the statement. In opposition to the amendment, the Peacemaking Committee brought Rev. Mitri Raheb, a Lutheran pastor from Bethlehem, to the podium. He said the divestment recommendation was needed because there were "so many resolutions on Palestine, but not much action." Raheb specifically mentioned for divestment the U.S.-based company Caterpillar Inc. which builds the bulldozers. In the last year, he said, "the Israeli army destroyed so many Palestinian homes that if piled together would be higher than the Twin Towers … It is time to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine now and divestment is a way to do that." When asked how the Caterpillar company could be responsible for the use of their equipment, Rahed replied, "We urge the Caterpillar company not to sell any more bulldozers like the ones used in the West Bank." After the amendment failed by a vote of 142-358, debate on the full statement continued. Youth Advisory Delegate Justin Paul from Milwaukee Presbytery called the statement an "anti-intellectual statement." He said he was "concerned about the language in this resolution that makes it imbalanced." Rev. Suzanne Shoffner of Salem Presbytery said U.S. foreign policy is "so screwed up we send $10 million to Israel … we don't know what all Israel does to harm Palestinians with this money." In a question to the Peacemaking Committee, another commissioner referred to remarks made by former moderator Susan Andrews, when she urged the assembly to deny new church development funds to Messianic Jewish congregations. "In the Messianic Jewish issue we heard a lot about the feelings of the Jewish community," he said. "Have we heard anything from our Jewish allies about this?" In testimony earlier in the week, Andrews recalled a meeting of Presbyterian and Jewish leaders she attended, where the Jewish leaders raised concerned about Avodat Yisrael, the Messianic Jewish congregation in Philadelphia. "They expect us to do evangelism as Christians, but this particular form of evangelism was something that concerned them," she said. She approved of a study to examine and strengthen of the "relationship between Christians and Jews and the implications of this relationship for our evangelism and new church development." But thought that the denomination "should stop funding further efforts like in Philadelphia until the study is done." Victor Makari, the PCUSA's coordinator of Middle East and Europe, rose to answer the question. "We have an interfaith office. … They know our positions and we know their positions and their attitudes. We will listen to their voices but our church is free to express its conscience. … It should not be a surprise to this assembly that many Jewish groups work to the same end as this resolution."

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