Leaders of the Presbyterian Church USA and the country's largest Jewish groups were meeting in New York yesterday to discuss a rift touched off by resolutions that the church adopted this summer regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- notably one that calls for selective divestment in companies doing business in Israel and the occupied territories.
Protestant leaders believe that no other US churches have taken such a step. But others are considering similarly stringent measures, according to a Presbyterian spokesman and representatives of other Protestant churches.
"There have been some expressions of interest for finding out more about what we've done," said Jay Rock, coordinator for interfaith relations at the Presbyterian Church USA. "Some of the American Protestant churches have talked to us about this and indicated that they may be beginning to consider doing the same."
Recent news reports have indicated that international Anglican groups are considering not only divestment, but also an active boycott of Israeli products and those of companies doing business there.
The possibility that the Presbyterian decisions could inspire others is among gravest threats that Jewish leaders see, coming at a time, they contend, when Israel has become more isolated internationally.
The controversy stems from policy statements that the Presbyterian Church USA's general assembly passed at its biennial meeting in June and July in Richmond, Va. One called for Israel to halt construction of its security barrier in the West Bank, which has been widely criticized as illegal by international organizations. Another statement authorized the church's investment committee to initiate possible divestment in companies "whose business in Israel is found to be directly or indirectly causing harm or suffering to innocent people, Palestinian or Israeli," according to Clifton Kirkpatrick, the church assembly's clerk.
A third resolution not related to Israel upset Jews because it continued the national church's financial support for a church in Philadelphia, Avodat Yisrael, that Jewish leaders say evangelizes among Jews under false pretenses.
Other Protestant churches have condemned the security barrier at their national conferences over the last two years. And there has been friction with the Presbyterians and others over Israeli policy in the past, said Rabbi Eric Yoffie, Union for Reform Judaism president.
While the church has about $7 billion in investments, Yoffie said he did not think the amount affected by the divestment moves would be significant.
"When they ask me what I'm concerned about, part of it is that it will be creating a momentum that will not be good for anybody," said Rabbi Jerome Epstein, chief executive officer of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, an association of about 800 congregations nationwide.
"Our people were deeply appalled by the message," Yoffie said.
The Presbyterian decision to explore divestment may be the starkest example so far of the frustration among many Protestants with the Israel's policies in Palestinian areas and the crumbling of peace efforts. Matters were worsened by Israel's decision to build the barrier in the West Bank, Protestant leaders said. Interfaith dialogue between Jews and American Protestants has waned over the last few years, in great part because of objections to Israel's policies, said Antonios Kireopoulos, assistant general secretary at the National Council of Churches, which numbers 36 denominations.
The Protestant churches have close ties to Palestinian Christians in Israel, and those links shape their perceptions, Protestant leaders and scholars said.
There is an assumption among many moderate and liberal Christians that "Israel is the government in power, so it has more control over the situation," said Ben Witherington, a professor at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky.
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency and the Pentagon on Monday said that some North Korean troops have been killed during combat against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk border region. Those are the first reported casualties since the US and Ukraine announced that North Korea had sent 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia to help it in the almost three-year war. Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said that about 30 North Korean troops were killed or wounded during a battle with the Ukrainian army at the weekend. The casualties occurred around three villages in Kursk, where Russia has for four months been trying to quash a
FREEDOM NO MORE: Today, protests in Macau are just a memory after Beijing launched measures over the past few years that chilled free speech A decade ago, the elegant cobblestone streets of Macau’s Tap Seac Square were jam-packed with people clamouring for change and government accountability — the high-water mark for the former Portuguese colony’s political awakening. Now as Macau prepares to mark the 25th anniversary of its handover to China tomorrow, the territory’s democracy movement is all but over and the protests of 2014 no more than a memory. “Macau’s civil society is relatively docile and obedient, that’s the truth,” said Au Kam-san (歐錦新), 67, a schoolteacher who became one of Macau’s longest-serving pro-democracy legislators. “But if that were totally true, we wouldn’t
ROYAL TARGET: After Prince Andrew lost much of his income due to his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, he became vulnerable to foreign agents, an author said British lawmakers failed to act on advice to tighten security laws that could have prevented an alleged Chinese spy from targeting Britain’s Prince Andrew, a former attorney general has said. Dominic Grieve, a former lawmaker who chaired the British Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) until 2019, said ministers were advised five years ago to introduce laws to criminalize foreign agents, but failed to do so. Similar laws exist in the US and Australia. “We remain without an important weapon in our armory,” Grieve said. “We asked for [this law] in the context of the Russia inquiry report” — which accused the government
TRUDEAU IN TROUBLE: US president-elect Donald Trump reacted to Chrystia Freeland’s departure, saying: ‘Her behavior was totally toxic, and not at all conducive to making deals Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland on Monday quit in a surprise move after disagreeing with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over US president-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats. The resignation of Freeland, 56, who also stepped down as finance minister, marked the first open dissent against Trudeau from within his Cabinet, and could threaten his hold on power. Liberal leader Trudeau lags 20 points in polls behind his main rival, Conservative Pierre Poilievre, who has tried three times since September to topple the government and force a snap election. “It’s not been an easy day,” Trudeau said at a fundraiser Monday evening, but
RSS