The Presbyterian divestiture vote and the Jewish response.

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The Presbyterian divestiture vote and the Jewish response.

I don't want the money that pays my pension and medical benefits to be invested in companies that profit from bulldozers that demolish Palestinian homes or are building parts of the wall.

Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk, PC(USA) (1)

In June 2004, the Presbyterian General Assembly voted to initiate a process that could lead to a divestiture of stock from companies that supported or profited from the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. The vote was overwhelming, 431-62, or 87 percent. It was unlikely that such a divestiture would have much of an economic impact upon either the $8 billion Presbyterian Endowment and Retirement Portfolios or on the companies that might be affected (or on Israel for that matter), but from a political perspective the vote was an unexpected bombshell. It was a statement by an organization rooted in an ethical theology that they found the situation in the occupied territories unacceptable and at the very least did not want to profit from it. Because Israel had always claimed the moral high ground in its struggle with the Palestinians, the vote represented a powerful ethical challenge. The Jewish leadership in the United States was stunned by the decision, the first by any major religious body to divest. The Presbyterians (2.4 million members) were also stunned by the intensity of the Jewish reaction. The controversy leaves us with three major questions: Why did this vote occur? Why was the reaction as intense as it was? Will the decision have any long-term impact, and, if so, what?

The Presbyterian Church has long been involved in the Arab world. Over a century ago, it sent educators into the region who founded the American University of Beirut and the American University in Cairo. The denomination has supported an Israeli-Palestinian settlement based on land for peace (Jewish and Palestinian states) and the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland or be compensated, the Right of Return. Presbyterians have denounced antisemitism and violence against Jewish and Palestinian civilians (terrorism, if you will).

Jewish-Presbyterian relations have been strained for some time. During the years of Begin-Shamir leadership in the 1970s and 1980s, when Israeli settlements expanded and Israel twice invaded Lebanon (1978 and 1982), the Presbyterians became increasingly critical. From 1977 on, the denomination adopted resolutions in 18 of the next 25 years that questioned Israeli actions or advocated Palestinian rights or suggested changes in American policies. In 1982, the Presbyterians criticized the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and called upon Israel "to withdraw all of its forces from Lebanon immediately [and] upon the Palestine Liberation Organization to cease acts of violence against its neighbor, [and] upon the United States government to enter into official contact with the Palestine Liberation Organization at such time as that organization acknowledges the right of Israel to exist within secure and recognized boundaries." In 1983, they called upon the United States to deny "all forms of aid to Israel as long as that nation persists in creating new West Bank settlements." In 1984, 1986 and 1987, they called for the United States to recognize the fight of the Palestinian people to self-determination. In 1988, they passed a broad-ranging resolution calling upon Israel to "cease the systematic violation of the human rights of Palestinians in the occupied territories. Specifically, we call for an end to the policies and (or) practices of administrative detention, c...

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