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May 20, 2006
US: Presbyterian Church and Israel Divestment
The Presbyterian Church (USA) is gearing up for its biennial assembly. The issue of divestment from Israel is bound to dominate the discussions. The Florida Jewish News reports: Divestment roils Jewish-Presbyterian ties
ATLANTA, May 11 (JTA) - As Presbyterians across America gear up for their biennial assembly next month, the legacy of the last such meeting is still roiling the Jewish community and the church's own members.Two years ago, the Presbyterian Church USA passed a resolution calling for "phased, selective divestment in multinational corporations operating in Israel."
Those who long have followed Jewish-Protestant relations weren’t surprised.
"It was the culmination of decades - not years, but decades - of hostility toward Israel and Zionism, not by the rank-and-file members of these churches, but by some of the leadership," said Rabbi A. James Rudin, senior interreligious adviser for the American Jewish Committee, where he staffed the interfaith department for 38 years.[...]
Rabbi Rudin's opinion seems to be based on fact:
To some extent, the issue can be viewed as a struggle between the denomination's ministers and laity. According to an internal Presbyterian USA poll taken in November 2004, more laity - some 42 percent of members and 46 percent of elders - oppose divestment, compared with 28 percent of members and 30 percent of elders which favor it. Meanwhile, pastors favor divestment by 48 percent to 43 percent and specialized clergy favor it by 64 percent to 24 percent.Furthermore, the church said that the poll showed that "despite widespread media attention," most Presbyterian laity were not even aware of the decision of the 216th General Assembly to "begin a process of phased, selective divestment" of companies profiting from the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.[...]
And, in that spirit, I ask Western Resistance readers to pass the word to Presbyterians they know. I couldn't be more oppossed to the divestment moral posturing if I tried. The divestment strategy is designed to demoralize Israel. Please let's do our part in defeating it.
P.S. Information on the 'divestment overtures'--proposals either in favor or against continuing divestment--to be considered in the Presbyterian Church (USA) meeting can be found here.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at May 20, 2006 8:02 AM
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