Threat to Divest Is Church Tool in Israeli Fight

NY Times ^ | August 6, 2005 | LAURIE GOODSTEIN

[Pharmboy]

The Presbyterian Church U.S.A. announced Friday that it would press four American corporations to stop providing military equipment and technology to Israel for use in the occupation of the Palestinian territories, and that if the companies did not comply, the church would take a vote to divest its stock in them.

The companies - Caterpillar, Motorola, ITT Industries and United Technologies - were selected from a list of several dozen possibilities by a church investment committee that met Friday in Seattle. The Presbyterians accused these companies of selling helicopters, cellphones, night vision equipment and other items Israel uses to enforce its occupation.

In an effort to appear even-handed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the church committee also included Citigroup on its list of targets, alleging it had a connection to a bank accused of having a role in funneling money from Islamic charities to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers. The church said it included Citigroup because it was mentioned in an article in The Wall Street Journal.

A spokeswoman for Citigroup called the church's assertion "an outrage," a reaction echoed at several of the other corporations.

The Presbyterian Church U.S.A. is in the forefront of a campaign now spreading to other mainline Protestant churches to use corporate divestment as a tactic in the Middle East conflict, a tactic that is roiling relations with Jewish groups.

The Episcopal Church U.S.A., the United Church of Christ, two regions of the United Methodist Church, as well as international groups like the World Council of Churches and the Anglican Consultative Council have all urged consideration of divestment or economic pressure in recent months, though the tone and emphasis of each resolution varies. The Disciples of Christ passed a resolution last month calling on Israel to tear down the barrier it has built...

[Pharmboy]

"This is a brilliantly organized political campaign to hurt Israel, and it's not going to help a single Palestinian," said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish watchdog group based in Los Angeles. "When you look at the list of companies, this is basically a recipe for Israel to disarm."

Not this week.

[kb2614]

"The Episcopal Church U.S.A., the United Church of Christ, two regions of the United Methodist Church, as well as international groups like the World Council of Churches and the Anglican Consultative Council

Followers of the Book of Marx I would imagine.

Let me take a guess about something. All the church's listed are losing members??

[NavVet]

Sadly, this is why I don't go to church anymore. They are all either embracing brutal communist dictators, siding with terrorists, or tearing out those sections of the bible that condemn homosexuality.

You like to believe that when they pass the collection plate, your money isn't going to support the forces of evil in the world.

[Recon Dad]

The end is near, not for Israel but for these organizations. They have been taken over by the far left and instead of fighting them the congregations are leaving.
The downside is these lefties retain the financial resources of all the good people that left their money to the churches in the past. If a church leaves the main body the national organization gets the local churches assets. So for a while the situation will have to run its course until they are totally marginalized

[JRios1968]

Let me take a guess about something. All the church's listed are losing members??

All of them are, including PC-USA. In the meantime, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is thriving.

[KateatRFM]

It's getting harder and harder to find a church to attend that is not doing this kind of crap.

[KeyWest]

In the meantime, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is thriving.
------
You point out something missed by many, that the major old denominations are or have fractured into the faithful and the secular. Same with Episcopalians/Anglicans, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Baptists,...

[CBart95]

Think for just a moment at the dreadful inappropriateness of a "sales message" like this is for you and your constituency.
To attempt some type of grand stand gesture at a moment like this is a dreadful application of poor judgement.
The avoidance of any semblance of meddling in international politics is crucial for organized religions, but sitting on the sidelines "selling" your clients ware is ridculous.

[wolfpat]

Those churches have cut out the parts of the Bible they don't like. All they have left is this from an email I got from a "Christian Democrat" friend of my mom's: "The bible also promotes tolerance, loving thy neighbor and judge not lest you be judged....or how about he who is without sin cast the first stone."

[macamadamia]

"In an effort to appear even-handed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict"


You are either even-handed or you are not. An "effort to appear" implies insincerity. Nevertheless my opinion is that these church leaders are going way beyond insincerity. Their focus on Israel, of all countries in this violent world, is oddly disproportionate and I cannot help but think it is rooted in the latest strain of anti-semitism found throughout academia.

[JRios1968]

Whatever. The point I was trying to make, and which you obviously failed to grasp, is that there is always a body of believers that refuses to give in to the pressures from secular folks who infiltrate the Church. In the Presbyterian side, that's the PCA and to a lesser extent, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. The PC-USA has fallen victim to the "can't we all just get along" mentality, and has watered down the message with a feel-good so-called Christian message that refuses to call sin by its name.

[CBart95]

Whatever. Here we go again with the attack of those dreadful "secular folks" mucking things up as always.
Hah!

[JRios1968]

Can you deny it?



Didn't think so.

[rightwingintelligentsia]

I'm a member of the PCUSA, and it's worth pointing out that the rank-and-file membership is NOT--in large part--in agreement with the direction the leadership is taking the church. For a robust dissenting viewpoint on behalf of the PCUSA laity, check out www.layman.org.

[quadrant]

I doubt if any of these churches has enough stock to make a difference in the per share price should the stock be dumped.
And so what if these churches divest. If the company is making money, someone will buy the stock.

[JRios1968]

Very good point. Your average member of the PC-USA is not likely to be in agreement with the direction the leadership seems intent on dragging the church. However, after having tried both a PC-USA and a PCA church when I lived in FL, the leadership of the PCA in general, and the church I attended to in particular, was a lot more in-tune with the views of the membership than the PC-USA was, and it reflected in the attendance figures for both congregations (PCA was thriving and growing, PC-USA was dwindling, its members coming over to the PCA church less than 3 blocks away.)

[Pharmboy]

Great pick-up on the "appears" item. They really told on themselves...

[trebb]

"The Episcopal Church U.S.A., the United Church of Christ, two regions of the United Methodist Church, as well as international groups like the World Council of Churches and the Anglican Consultative Council

All on the road to apostasy and going into the business of damning sould instead of saving them. No surprise here - Satan has a firm grip on these churches and they now worship him instead of God.

[Texan]

Satan has a firm grip on these churches and they now worship him instead of God.

Good Grief! Talk about overstatement.......

[mewzilla]

I wonder how many parishoners know what's being done in their name?