 Congressmen write stated clerk protesting anti-Israel divestment By Paula R. Kincaid The Layman Online Friday, September 24, 2004 LOUISVILLE, Ky. –Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick told the General Assembly Council members that his summer plans of relaxing "came apart early." The reasons, he cited for a busy summer included his participation in the World Alliance of Reformed Churches meeting in Ghana where he was elected president of the group, and an issue which "I didn't think of as a wave at the General Assembly, but has become that." The issue was the General Assembly's called for divestment of stock in multinational corporations doing business with Israel. Kirkpatrick discussed "the importance of the witness and leadership of the PCUSA for the well-being of the world in which we live." He said that the denomination must do everything possible to resource the local congregations, but "at the same time we do this, we can't forget that God has given us an important role in the world church." At the meeting of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches there were approximately 800 representatives from 215-220 Reformed churches throughout the world, he said. He spoke of his visit to the slave castles in Ghana, where he learned of the horror and inhumanity that had taken place there and of the complicity, evil and violence "not only of us in North American but of those in Europe." Those images were in his mind, he said as "we heard from our friends in the Reformed church of the horror they live in today." He related stories including churches in Southern Africa that have lost a generation of people to AIDS and Sudanese people who are starving to death, etc. "Over and over again we made a commitment to ourselves that what happened in those slave castles would not happen in our time," he said. "That call to global economic justice is not just a political call." He said that while there was much distress at the meeting about the United States, attendees where grateful for the role and life of the PCUSA. "This church has always stood for human rights and peacemaking," he said, commenting on "how critical and vital that was to the churches around the world." Kirkpatrick spoke of the "fallout" on the issue of the General Assembly's action on divestment from companies dealing with Israel. "All of the sudden we are dealing with an issue that no one thought would be an issue." He said the recommendation did not come from some denominational entity, but from an overture, and it "affirmed policies that have long been ours, but took it a step further." Kirkpatrick said the issue put him in a place he had never been before – 15 U.S. congressmen wrote him a letter – "lobbying me … wanting the PCUSA to change their position – the PCUSA's Washington Office is replying now." "We are not interested in divestment. We are interested in justice and peace," he said. "This is a huge problem; it is also, if we do it right, a chance to stand for God's justice and peace in the Middle East. … it's an opportunity to show leadership to the world church." Kirkpatrick gave GAC members a copy of a newsletter, "Continuing the Journey," which was mailed to each of the GA commissioners. In a letter to the commissioners on the front page of the newsletter, Kirkpatrick said, "Some of the assembly's actions have gained considerable public attention, including those concerning witness among Jewish people and seeking peace with justice in Israel and Palestine." He outlined some steps that have been taken in carrying out the assembly's actions, including:
"…One effective strategy for bringing about positive change in the face of continued injustice is leveraging the economic power of the church through a responsible and deliberate process of phased, selective divestment. This strategy has been used successfully in South Africa, Sudan, Indonesia and elsewhere. The General Assembly has continued this emphasis through divestment in corporation engaged in military-related production and tobacco-related business." The newsletter continues, "While the specific contexts and dynamics of South African apartheid were different from those in today's Israel, where the issue is occupation, selective divestment has been a proven, responsible strategy to address injustice." As for what happens next, the newsletter states that MRTI will "examine the church's investment portfolios to identify investments in corporations operating in Israel and the nature of their activities." The study will include dialogue with the companies to check the facts and to express to the companies the assembly's positions on Israel and Palestine. During the study, MRTI will develop goals to guide the proposed divestment decisions and establish the conditions on ending the divestment actions. The plan should be ready by the end of 2004 and recommendations will be brought before the GAC at its March 2005 meeting. The four-page newsletter also includes sections explaining the "Christian Witness to Jewish People," "Christian Zionism and Reformed theology" and "Ending construction of the 'separation barrier.'" In other papers given to the members of the GAC, from National Ministries Division Committee, Caterpillar is used as an example of a target for divestment. "In the past two years, attention has been drawn to the role on Caterpillar in the conflict as the company's bulldozers have been used by the Israeli military to destroy Palestinian homes, farms and orchards, infrastructure such as roads and street lights, and to crush a young American woman, Rachel Corrie, who stood in front of a bulldozer to prevent it from tearing down a Palestinian home. The Peacemaking Committee of the Synod of the Trinity contacted MRTI in the spring of 2003 about Caterpillar's role. MRTI wrote to the company on June 12, 2003, requesting information. The company responded on September 15, 2003, that it could not become involved. Last year, MRTI's ecumenical partners, the Sisters of Loretto and Mercy Asset Management, filed a shareholder proposal with Caterpillar. The company declined to meet with them, but the resolution received enough of the proxy vote to be resubmitted this year." |
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