lubna
11-10-2004, 15:30
Subject: US Presbyterian church encourages member to disinvest from Israel
US church piles pressure on Israel
By Ben Duncan in Washington DC
Sunday 10 October 2004, 18:24 Makka Time, 15:24 GMT
The Presbyterian Church has long been at odds with Israel's policy
towards the occupied territories. Now church officials have decided
to translate their harsh words into meaningful action.
Leaders of the church, which has roughly 2.5 million members in the
United States, have criticised the Israeli Government's continual
expansion of settlements in the West Bank, captured during the 1967
Arab-Israeli war.
The Presbyterian Church has condemned what it describes as Israel's
oppressive security measures in Palestinian towns and villages, which
the church partially blames for stunting progress on a potential
peace agreement.
Finally, Presbyterian officials have harshly criticised Israel's
construction of a security barrier which they say would illegally
annex land that should be part of a future Palestinian state.
So in July the Presbyterian Church's General Assembly decided to take
action, voting 431 to 62 to initiate selective divestment in certain
corporations that do business in Israel.
Research started
The church has nearly $8 billion invested in companies currently
operating in Israel.
Although one official said any actual divestiture of stock would take
more than a year to complete, the church has already begun
researching which companies may be engaged in business activities
deemed harmful to the Palestinian people and the peace process.
"The goal is to persuade these companies to change their actual
corporate behaviour," Jerry Van Marter, the coordinator for the
Presbyterian Church (USA) news service, said.
The divestment plan has drawn heavy criticism from several Jewish
organisations, who called the proposal one-sided and
counterproductive.
Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, said
the resolution put forward by the Presbyterian General Assembly
ignored the problem of armed Palestinian organisations when
condemning Israeli security measures.
"Their plan is blind to the other side of the argument and is
essentially silent on the issue of terrorism," Yoffie said.
Van Marter said the Presbyterian Church has "repeatedly condemned
violence on both sides".
Little progress
Leaders from the Reform and Conservative Jewish groups recently held
a meeting with Presbyterian officials to address their concerns with
the divestment plan and its potential negative impact on interfaith
relations.
Although Yoffie described the meeting as cordial, he said little
progress was achieved in resolving the core disagreements.
"As to the heart of the matter, I don't think there was any
breakthrough," he said.
The Presbyterian Church has begun the process of researching
companies that may be engaged in business practices in Israel that
warrant divestment. Its initial scrutiny has focused on Caterpillar
Inc., a company that builds bulldozers used by the Israeli army to
destroy the homes of Palestinian bombers.
Presbyterian Church (USA) holds 37,000 shares of stock in Caterpillar
worth roughly $2.7 million.
Caterpillar targeted
The Presbyterian Church's General Assembly will meet in early
November to officially confirm Caterpillar as a target for divestment.
In the meantime, Van Marter said church leaders were trying to
establish a dialogue with Caterpillar before moving to the next phase
of the divestment plan. Presbyterian officials have addressed their
concerns to Caterpillar in the past, largely without success, he said.
"In my observation, Caterpillar is generally uninterested in
dialogue," he said.
Although he acknowledged that the church's 37,000 shares of stock in
Caterpillar are a "drop in the bucket", he said no large
company "likes to show up in the press being hassled by shareholders
on any issue".
Reports on the Presbyterian Church's move towards divestment were
taken seriously by 14 members of the US House of Representatives, who
recently wrote a letter criticising the decision and supporting the
construction of Israel's security barrier.
'Irresponsible'
"We believe very strongly that the efforts of the Church to divest
from companies doing business in Israel, thus penalising Israel for
acting in its own self-defence, are irresponsible, counterproductive,
and morally bankrupt," the congressional members wrote.
The clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Rev Clifton
Kirkpatrick, wrote a letter in response, saying Congress had failed
to press Israel to abide by international law.
"It has been very disappointing to us that the US Congress has not
proven to be an ally or a balanced arbiter in the negotiations for
peace in the region," Kirkpatrick wrote.
For critics of the Presbyterian Church's divestment plan, the main
concern appears to be the possibility that other religious groups and
organisations may be convinced to pursue similar measures.
More to follow
There have been reports that the Anglican Communion, with 75,000,000
members worldwide, is also considering divestment from certain
companies doing business in Israel.
Brian J. Grieves, the US representative of the Anglican Peace and
Justice Network, told Aljazeera.net by email that there were no
official recommend-ations for divestment and that any decisions on
such action "would be determined in the future".
Nevertheless, officials from the Anglican Communion recently visited
Israel and issued a subsequent press released criticising "the
draconian conditions of the continuing occupation under which so many
Palestinians live".
Aljazeera
US church piles pressure on Israel
By Ben Duncan in Washington DC
Sunday 10 October 2004, 18:24 Makka Time, 15:24 GMT
The Presbyterian Church has long been at odds with Israel's policy
towards the occupied territories. Now church officials have decided
to translate their harsh words into meaningful action.
Leaders of the church, which has roughly 2.5 million members in the
United States, have criticised the Israeli Government's continual
expansion of settlements in the West Bank, captured during the 1967
Arab-Israeli war.
The Presbyterian Church has condemned what it describes as Israel's
oppressive security measures in Palestinian towns and villages, which
the church partially blames for stunting progress on a potential
peace agreement.
Finally, Presbyterian officials have harshly criticised Israel's
construction of a security barrier which they say would illegally
annex land that should be part of a future Palestinian state.
So in July the Presbyterian Church's General Assembly decided to take
action, voting 431 to 62 to initiate selective divestment in certain
corporations that do business in Israel.
Research started
The church has nearly $8 billion invested in companies currently
operating in Israel.
Although one official said any actual divestiture of stock would take
more than a year to complete, the church has already begun
researching which companies may be engaged in business activities
deemed harmful to the Palestinian people and the peace process.
"The goal is to persuade these companies to change their actual
corporate behaviour," Jerry Van Marter, the coordinator for the
Presbyterian Church (USA) news service, said.
The divestment plan has drawn heavy criticism from several Jewish
organisations, who called the proposal one-sided and
counterproductive.
Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, said
the resolution put forward by the Presbyterian General Assembly
ignored the problem of armed Palestinian organisations when
condemning Israeli security measures.
"Their plan is blind to the other side of the argument and is
essentially silent on the issue of terrorism," Yoffie said.
Van Marter said the Presbyterian Church has "repeatedly condemned
violence on both sides".
Little progress
Leaders from the Reform and Conservative Jewish groups recently held
a meeting with Presbyterian officials to address their concerns with
the divestment plan and its potential negative impact on interfaith
relations.
Although Yoffie described the meeting as cordial, he said little
progress was achieved in resolving the core disagreements.
"As to the heart of the matter, I don't think there was any
breakthrough," he said.
The Presbyterian Church has begun the process of researching
companies that may be engaged in business practices in Israel that
warrant divestment. Its initial scrutiny has focused on Caterpillar
Inc., a company that builds bulldozers used by the Israeli army to
destroy the homes of Palestinian bombers.
Presbyterian Church (USA) holds 37,000 shares of stock in Caterpillar
worth roughly $2.7 million.
Caterpillar targeted
The Presbyterian Church's General Assembly will meet in early
November to officially confirm Caterpillar as a target for divestment.
In the meantime, Van Marter said church leaders were trying to
establish a dialogue with Caterpillar before moving to the next phase
of the divestment plan. Presbyterian officials have addressed their
concerns to Caterpillar in the past, largely without success, he said.
"In my observation, Caterpillar is generally uninterested in
dialogue," he said.
Although he acknowledged that the church's 37,000 shares of stock in
Caterpillar are a "drop in the bucket", he said no large
company "likes to show up in the press being hassled by shareholders
on any issue".
Reports on the Presbyterian Church's move towards divestment were
taken seriously by 14 members of the US House of Representatives, who
recently wrote a letter criticising the decision and supporting the
construction of Israel's security barrier.
'Irresponsible'
"We believe very strongly that the efforts of the Church to divest
from companies doing business in Israel, thus penalising Israel for
acting in its own self-defence, are irresponsible, counterproductive,
and morally bankrupt," the congressional members wrote.
The clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Rev Clifton
Kirkpatrick, wrote a letter in response, saying Congress had failed
to press Israel to abide by international law.
"It has been very disappointing to us that the US Congress has not
proven to be an ally or a balanced arbiter in the negotiations for
peace in the region," Kirkpatrick wrote.
For critics of the Presbyterian Church's divestment plan, the main
concern appears to be the possibility that other religious groups and
organisations may be convinced to pursue similar measures.
More to follow
There have been reports that the Anglican Communion, with 75,000,000
members worldwide, is also considering divestment from certain
companies doing business in Israel.
Brian J. Grieves, the US representative of the Anglican Peace and
Justice Network, told Aljazeera.net by email that there were no
official recommend-ations for divestment and that any decisions on
such action "would be determined in the future".
Nevertheless, officials from the Anglican Communion recently visited
Israel and issued a subsequent press released criticising "the
draconian conditions of the continuing occupation under which so many
Palestinians live".
Aljazeera