Presbyterian Church votes to divest holdings to sanction Israel
Most prominent US religious group voted to sell church stock in companies whose products Israel uses in Palestinian territories
Associated Press in Detroit
theguardian.com, Saturday 21 June 2014 12.01 EDT
The Presbyterian Church on Friday became the most prominent religious group in the US to endorse divestment as a protest against Israeli policies toward Palestinians, voting to sell church stock in three companies whose products Israel uses in the occupied territories.
The church's General Assembly, meeting in Detroit, voted by 310-303 to sell stock in Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions. Two years ago, the assembly rejected a similar divestment proposal by two votes.
The American Jewish Committee, a policy and advocacy group based in New York, said the vote was "driven by hatred of Israel". But Heath Rada, moderator for the church meeting, said immediately after the vote that "in no way is this a reflection of our lack of love for our Jewish brothers and sisters”.
The decision is expected to reverberate beyond the 1.8 million-member church. It comes amid discouragement over failed peace talks that have left activists desperate for a way to effect change and as the broader movement known as BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) has gained some momentum in the US, Israel's closest and most important ally.
Presbyterians who advocated for divestment insisted their action was not part of the broader boycott movement. Israeli officials, along with many American Jewish groups, denounced the campaign as an attempt to delegitimise the Jewish state.
Separately, the assembly also voted to re-examine its support for a two-state solution.
In a statement on its Facebook page, the Israeli Embassy in Washington denounced the Presbyterian Church resolution as "shameful”.
"Voting for symbolic measures marginalises and removes its ability to be a constructive partner to promote peace in the Middle East," the statement said.
Omar Barghouti, a co-founder of the BDS movement, praised the vote as a "sweet victory for human rights”. He said Presbyterian supporters of Palestinian rights have introduced divestment into the US mainstream and have given Palestinians "real hope in the face of the relentless and intensifying cruelty of Israel's regime of occupation, settler colonialism and apartheid”.
more:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/21/presbyterian-church-votes-divest-holdings-to-sanction-israel
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