By Val Fowler and John Wilkinson
The 221st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church met in June in Detroit and took several actions regarding the Middle East. Because local interfaith relationships are so important to us, we write to share the General Assembly’s actions.
By a 310-303 vote, the General Assembly, a representative body of pastors and elders elected from across the denomination, voted to recommend divestment from the denominational portfolio from three American corporations — Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions — whose products have been identified as being utilized in “non-peaceful pursuits” in the Palestinian territories. This decision represented the culmination of a 10-year process that included repeated attempts at dialogue with the three companies. The assembly explicitly stated that our action to selectively divest was not to be construed as being aligned with the global Boycott/Divest/Sanction movement.
Further, we voted to “Reaffirm Israel’s right to exist as a sovereign nation within secure and internationally recognized borders in accordance with the United Nations resolutions.” We also acted to “Declare (our) commitment to a two-state solution in which a secure and universally recognized State of Israel lives alongside a free, viable, and secure state for the Palestinian people.”
Read more at http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/opinion/2014/07/13/essay-local-presbyterians-respond/12590609/
3 Comments. Leave new
“This decision represented the culmination of a 10-year process that included repeated attempts at dialogue with the three companies.”
very sad that a ‘church’ organization spends it’s time this way, and openly admits it. ten years trying to dialogue with three international corporations?? it doesn’t even sound like a not for profit charitable organization any more. keep talking and the tax exempt status may go the way of the dodo bird.
The divestment vote is sophomoric nonsense. Reminds me of the empty gestures we supported back in college – the student council passes a poorly-informed and naive resolution – which will do nothing and matter to no one – about some issue of international politics, and then pat themselves on the back for “really doing something” that was “bold” and “meaningful.” The immaturity of self-important liberalism.
Or maybe the divestment of Motorola, Hewlitt-Packard, and Caterpillar should be compared to someone whose child gets hurt by a drunk driver, who then sues Ford because they made the car that the drunk was driving. Emotional thinking without real, logical connections. And add to that the children being hurt are not even ours – we’re suing Ford on behalf of children who live on the opposite side of town. It looks to me like co-dependent “rescuing” – a sign of profound emotional dysfunction.
This morning, the report came out about the three Israeli children who were kidnapped and killed in the West Bank: autopsies confirmed they had been burned – alive – to death. These are the people our Presbyterian Church USA wants to make common cause with, huh?
Not our finest hour as a church…………WOW…what were people thinking at the GA when this came up, was this before or after the “dances with the baloons”?