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June 4, 2008

General Assembly backgrounder: Israel-Palestine

Investment-monitoring panel recommends continued engagement; some presbyteries propose stronger action

by Jerry Van Marter
Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE — Sixty years after the United Nations' partition of British Mandate Palestine to create two states, one for Arabs and one for Jews, peace in the Middle East remains elusive, as does consensus on how the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) can contribute to just peace between Palestinians and Israelis.

The Mission Responsibility Through Investment Committee (MRTI) — which coordinates the PC(USA)’s engagement with companies doing business in Israel-Palestine — is recommending continuation of a policy approved by the 2006 Assembly “that financial investments of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as they pertain to Israel, Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank be invested only in peaceful pursuits.”

Other proposals to the PC(USA)’s 218th General Assembly, June 21-28 in San Jose, CA, suggest various approaches to peacemaking in the region, ranging from comprehensive studies of the region’s issues to an overture (resolution) from Newark Presbytery calling on Arab nations and the U.S. government to “do all possible” to prevent arms smuggling into the occupied Palestinian territories and urges the U.S. government to suspend military aid to the Israeli government until it complies with U.S. law.

The Newark overture also reaffirms the right of Israel to exist and deplores suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks. 

Another overture, from the Presbytery of San Francisco, asks MRTI to take a closer look at the business practices of Motorola and Caterpillar in Israel and the occupied territories and authorizes the General Assembly Council (GAC) — which governs the denomination between biennial meetings of the General Assembly — to take action, including divestment procedures, if it determines that their business activities are not in compliance with General Assembly policy.

If adopted, the Newark and San Francisco overtures could rekindle disputes between the 2.3 million-member PC(USA)  and a number of Jewish groups — and between Presbyterians — that followed the 2004 Assembly’s decision to “initiate the process of selective, phased divestment” from corporations the Assembly perceived were contributing more to further violence than to peace.

GAC leaders insist the PC(USA)’s goals are to build bridges and bring peace to the region, in which Arab Christian communities are increasingly caught in the middle of the continued violence. Jewish groups and their Presbyterian allies counter that taking specific actions against Israel promote continued violence and threaten that country’s security.

Affirming the “customary corporate engagement process” of MRTI — which includes dialogue with corporations about their business practices, filing of shareholder resolutions and divestment as a last resort — the 2006 Assembly also acknowledged “the hurt and misunderstanding among many members of the Jewish community and within our Presbyterian communion” that the 2004 decision produced.

Greater Atlanta Presbytery wants resources to guide congregations in engaging in dialogue with Jewish, Islamic, Palestinian, Israeli and human rights communities on what constitutes a just peace in the region. The GAC is seeking authorization to conduct a comprehensive study “that is focused on Israel/Palestine within the complex context of the Middle East.”

Chicago Presbytery is calling for “a culture of just peace” built upon the U.N.’s 1948 “Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” It urges the U.S. government and Presbyterians to support the declaration and asks Presbyterians to “talk honestly about and encourage an open and honest discussion of the two-state solution” guaranteeing both Israeli and Palestinian states.

Similarly, Susquehanna Valley Presbytery seeks Assembly endorsement of the “Amman Call,” the product of a World Council of Churches-sponsored international peace conference held in Jordan in June 2007. The call backs a two-state solution, an open Jerusalem, and the removal of Israeli settlements and the “Separation Barrier” from pre-1967 Palestinian territory.

East Iowa Presbytery has submitted an overture encouraging Presbyterians to travel to Israel-Palestine and to meet with local Christians, spend significant time in the occupied territories and to talk with both Israeli and Palestinian peacemakers.

National Capital Presbytery wants the Assembly to “condemn all acts of violence in both Israel and Palestine” and seeks to focus the PC(USA)’s attention on persuading the U.S. government to take a more active peacemaking role. It urges Presbyterians to be “non-partisan advocates for peace” who will not “over-identify with the realities of the Israelis or Palestinians.”