Israel/Palestine
Related: About this forumRift With Presbyterians Likely
The Presbyterian Churchs decision Friday to divest from three American businesses that operate in the West Bank will likely strengthen international sanctions efforts against Israel, and will weaken interfaith ties between the Jewish and Presbyterian communities, Jewish leaders said this week.
The General Convention of the mainline Protestant denomination approved, by a 310-to-303 vote, a proposal to withdraw about $21 million invested in Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions, making the church the largest one in the country to endorse disinvestment from Israel.
The vote in the weeklong gathering in Detroit followed the defeat two years ago, by two votes, of a similar resolution. Divestment advocates in Presbyterian circles claim that the companies profit from the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
The resolution came six months after the Israel/Palestine Mission Network, a Presbyterian advocacy group, issued a study guide, Zionism Unsettled, which challenged the history and theological legitimacy of the Zionist movement. And it is considered a coup for the wider BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) movement that is designed to put economic and political pressure on Israel to make concessions to the Palestinian Authority in the Middle East peace process.
The effect [of Fridays vote] is devastating, Ethan Felson, Jewish Council on Public Affairs vice president and general counsel, told The Jewish Week Sunday, referring to future ties between Jews and Presbyterians at the national level. He added that there is a dramatic divide between the pews and the national denomination.
http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/israel-news/rift-presbyterians-likely
riqster
(13,986 posts)Mr. Felson clearly knows from nothing about how the Presbyterian church runs.
King_David
(14,851 posts)So I'm sure you are right he's probably not an expert in how the Presbyterian church is run.
riqster
(13,986 posts)To claim a disconnect between the vote and the opinions of the laity is doing just that.
King_David
(14,851 posts)He's a sneaky one.