Money, morals & Israel: an exchange: the Presbyterian case for divesting from Israel

Christian Century, Feb 8, 2005 by Vernon S. Broyles, III

Some critics asked why the church would single out Israel for such scrutiny. The simplest answer is that Israel is the place of greatest concern to the Presbytery of St. Augustine, it brought that concern before the General Assembly, and the assembly acted upon it.

Another obvious reason is the unique awe and respect in which the Holy Land is held by adherents of the three great Abrahamic faiths. The turmoil, violence and injustice there leave unique scars on Jews, Christians and Muslims. For that violence to occur especially in Jerusalem, the City of Peace, makes work for peace all the more pressing.

Finally, there IS no place on earth where U.S. citizens are more complicit. It is our tax dollars that enable the occupation, the expansion of the settlements and the construction of the Separation Barrier. It is our regular affirmation of shared democratic values that is put to the lie by the injustices visited daily on Palestinians, including those who are Israeli citizens. It is the silence of U.S. Christians and Jews, often leaders in other struggles for civil and human rights, that allows the longstanding bias in U.S. policies to be ignored. It is the conspiracy of silence in the U.S. media that keeps millions of Americans ignorant of the realities of daily life in Palestine/Israel.

The divestment decision by the 2004 General Assembly is not about the Jewish people. It is not about the right of the state of Israel to a secure existence. It is not about ignoring unconscionable acts of violence against innocent Israelis. It is not about getting rid of our holdings in "bad" corporations. It is not intended to exclude appropriate investment in the region. It is not offered as a stand-alone strategy for achieving a peaceful resolution of conflict.

Divestment is a specific strategy to address specific, persistent behaviors of an occupying power against a weaker population. It is about getting the attention of enough people in the U.S. and in Israel on the issues so that these behaviors will change. These are behaviors that violate international human rights law, Israeli law and moral law, not to mention basic tenets of the Torah. They are behaviors that in and of themselves are barriers to peace.

We know that many of our Jewish friends are upset by this action. God forbid that the price of friendship and dialogue should be silence in the face of gross injustice by the government of Israel. God forbid that our Jewish friends, who are people of conscience, should be silenced by the demand that their Jewishness should prevent them from criticizing egregious policies and actions of the state of Israel. And God forbid that Christians in the U.S. should remain passive in the face of bias in the policies of our own government.

It is time for us to join forces--Christian, Jewish, Muslim--to demand of our leaders a secure and lasting peace in the region. The people of Israel/Palestine must have it; peace in the region and the world requires it; and our God commands it. If we could manage that, the discussion of divestment would be irrelevant. Thank God for those who already have shown the courage to begin.