The presbyterian divestiture vote and the jewish response

Middle East Policy

Volumn 12, Issue 4, 2005, Pages 98-117

  Stockton, Ronald R ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN DEARBORN   (United States)

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 31144465203     PISSN: 10611924     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-4967.2005.00228.x     Document Type: Review

References (57)

1. Alexa Smith, "High-Level Presbyterians and Jews Discuss Israeli Development," Presbyterian News Service, August 2, 2004.
2. The focus was non-religious Jews and those from mixed marriages. See Jason Byassee, "Can a Jew be a Christian? The Challenge of Messianic Judaism," Christian Century, May 3, 2005, pp. 22-27. In 2005, the denomination ended financial support for Avodat Israel, and the Philadelphia Presbytery ended its status as a "new church development." Reverend Andrew Sparks said his struggling congregation would be independent of PC(USA). His leadership of Messiah Now Ministries continued as a "validated" ministry, i.e., recognized by the denomination.
3. Jerry L. Van Marter, "PC (USA) Leaders Disavow Comments Made by Delegation Members in Lebanon," Presbyterian News Service, October 20,2004.
4. Kathy Lueckert was deputy director of the General Assembly Council and Peter Sulyok was director of the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy. Reaction to their dismissal varied from anger that the meeting took place at all to anger that the two had been terminated.
5. In 2004, the Presbyterians adopted over 30 overtures that dealt with matters of public affairs. Included were statements on Iraq, Cuba, Columbia, Taiwan, torture of prisoners, legalization of immigrants, social security, USA Patriot Act, same sex unions, stem cell research, usury and HIV/AIDS in Africa. All positions were in a progressive direction.
6. Alexa Smith, "Taking Stock of Stock. Church Researching 'Selective' Divestment in Israel-Related Firms," Presbyterian News Service, August 2, 2004.
7. Several insights on process came from a presentation by Carol Hylkema, MRTI chair, in Dearborn, Michigan, in May 2005. The author chaired the panel of which Hylkema was a part.
8. The Presbyterian web site (pcusa.org) has extensive documentation. All web sites were accessed before September 2005.
9. Stated Clerk Kirkpatrick said the church considered Christian Zionism "not consistent with the basic values of Reformed theology because it makes use of idiosyncratic interpretations of Scripture to undergird a certain reading of current events, and to generate support for specific political goals that do not bolster work toward peace and potentially endanger Palestinian and Israeli people" (Clifton Kirkpatrick, "Statement from the Stated Clerk...Regarding Israel and Palestine and Outreach to Jewish People," July 20,2004, www.pcusa.org).
10. A resource sheet on pcusa.org ("Christian Zionism") identifies five core beliefs: First, "God's covenant with Israel is eternal and unconditional" and involves promises to the land. Second, "God's plan has always been for the redemption of Israel.... There are two covenants now at work, that given through Moses and the covenant of Christ. The new covenant in no way makes the older covenant obsolete." Third, biblical statements about God blessing the Jews (especially Genesis 12:3) are "applied literally" and "specifically to support of the modern state of Israel;" Fourth, the books of prophecy "specifically refer to events today" and spawn "countless books of end-time speculation involving the state of Israel...." Fifth, "The modern state of Israel is a catalyst for the prophetic end-time countdown. If these are the last days, then we should expect an unraveling of civilization, the rise of evil, the loss of international peace and equilibrium, a coming antichrist, and tests of faithfulness to Israel. Above all, political alignments today will determine our position on the fateful day of Armageddon." For a different approach, see Ronald R. Stockton, "Christian Zionism: Prophecy and Public Opinion," Middle East Journal, Spring 1987, pp. 234-254.
11. In 2005, Corrie's parents filed a negligence lawsuit against Caterpillar and another against the Israeli government. The Israeli suit was to force an investigation. According to Mr. Come (speaking in Detroit, June 20, 2005), Ariel Sharon promised a "thorough, credible and transparent" investigation with all evidence turned over to the State Department. The investigation exonerated the driver, but nothing was turned over. After protests, a State Department official was allowed to see the files. Secretary Powell's chief of staff wrote the Come family that the standards of investigation were not "thorough, credible and transparent." David Frum and Richard Perle describe her death quite differently: "Corrie was the young American who was accidentally buried under a collapsing pile of dirt as she tried to block an Israeli bulldozer from excavating tunnels used to smuggle arms and explosives into Israel" (An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror, 2003), p. 81.
12. By way of context, some historians believe the first divestiture movement was organized in the 1770s by Anthony Benezet of Philadelphia, who persuaded the Quakers to divest themselves of slaves. This led to the effort to limit the slave trade and inspired the abolitionist movement.
13. Arref was not aware of the earlier movement until she read Resisting Reagan: The U.S. Central American Peace Movement, by Christian Smith (University of Chicago Press, 1996). She modeled ISM on the philosophy and tactics of Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi (personal communication). Corrie's emails were published in full in The Guardian and in Harper s and were extensively excerpted in The Washington Post. ISM member Tom Hurndall was shot in the head by an Arab Israeli soldier in 2003. The soldier was given a ten-year sentence in 2005.
14. Muriel Horrell (Compiler), Laws Affecting Race Relations in South Africa, 1948-1976 (South African Institute of Race Relations, 1976), pp. 445-446.
15. Richard Bradley, Harvard Rules: The Struggle for the Soul of the World's Most Powerful University (Harper Collins, 2005) discusses the talk and its context. The talk itself is on the Harvard President's web site.
16. Kirkpatrick, "Statement From the Stated Clerk...Regarding Israel and Outreach to Jewish People."
17. Vernon S. Broyles III, "The Presbyterian Case for Divesting from Israel," Christian Century, February 8, 2004, pp. 30-32.
18. Alexa Smith, "GAC Authorizes Pastoral Letter on Assembly's Divestment Action," Presbyterian News Service, September 25, 2004.
19. See www.jewishvoicesforpeace.org, August 8, 2005.
20. Uriel Heilman, "Presbyterians Stand by Divestment Despite Dialogue with Incensed Jews," Jewish Telegraphic Agency, September 28, 2004.
21. Rabbi Ira Youdovin, "Demonizing Israel, Whitewashing Terrorism," Christian Century, February 8, 2004, p. 34.
22. There is a tendency to say that critics of Israel harbor disguised antisemitism and that, while criticism of Israel is proper, some criticisms are not. Unfair criticisms include comparing Israel to South Africa or using the term "wall" to describe Israel's "security barrier," alleging that "wall" conjures up images of the Berlin Wall. Criticizing Israel without simultaneously criticizing Arab countries hostile to Israel is also evidence of latent antisemitism. Alan Dershowitz says in his introduction to The Case for Israel (John Wiley & Sons, 2003) that criticism of Israel is not inherently antisemitic, but his short chapter on divestiture uses the word twelve times.
23. Alan Dershowitz, "Presbyterians Shameful Boycott," The Los Angeles Times, August 4, 2004.
24. One is reminded of Nelson Mandela's response to a Jewish leader who asked him in a Ted Koppel Town Hall meeting why he had met with Colonel Qadhafi and Yasser Arafat. Mandela said, in his low-affect manner, "There are those who want their enemies to be our enemies." The initial ADL statement was posted on the ADL website. The Foxman comment was in ADL Frontline, Winter/Spring, 2005.
25. Rabbi Ira Youdovin, "Demonizing Israel, Whitewashing Terrorism," Christian Century, February 8, 2004, pp. 32-34.
26. The ADL and other groups have focused upon Nairn Ateek, the Episcopal Canon of St. George's Cathedral in Jerusalem, founder of the Palestinian Christian organization Sabeel. Ateek outlined his philosophy in Justice, and only Justice (Orbis, 1989).
27. Sabeel has published a paper on divestiture, "A Call for Morally Responsible Investment: A Nonviolent Response to the Occupation" (2005).
28. Many Jews are upset at the theological concept of the incarnation, which holds that since God came to earth in human form, it is possible to view oppressed people as being "crucified" or refer to "modern day Herods" (Nancy Glass, "One Year Later, Divestment Exposes Sharp Divide Between Jews, Protestants," Religion News Service, September 2005). The Moderator of the General Assembly for 2002-2003 was Reverend Fahed Abu-Akal, a Palestinian-American. Mitri Raheb, pastor of the Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, was a guest at the 2004 General Assembly.
29. The letter was posted on Berman's website. Signatories were Berman (D-Ca), Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Eric Cantor (R-Va), Barney Frank (D-Ma), Tom Feeney (R-Fl), Mark Kirk (R-IL), John Lindner (R-Ga), John Lewis (D-Ga), Deborah Pryce (R-Oh), Linda Sanchez (D-Ca), Lamar Smith (R-Fl), Henry Waxman (D-Ca), House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo) and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md). Feeney, Lindner and Pryce are from the 52 Presbyterians in Congress; Berman, Ackerman, Cantor, Frank, and Waxman are Jewish. Stated Clerk Kirkpatrick sent a vigorous response: "I very much regret your disappointment [at the Presbyterian vote], but in all candor, must also communicate with you that I am terribly distressed in the failure of the U.S. Congress to seek a peaceful resolution to this conflict that would both protect the right of Israel to live in peace with secure borders and the rights of the Palestinians to statehood and an end of the occupation of their territory.... It has been very disappointing to us that the U.S. congress has not proven to be an ally or a balanced arbiter in the negotiations for peace in the region. While congress has passed repeated statements against the Palestinian Authority, it has never passed a resolution condemning the continuous illegal construction of settlements in the West Bank. There has been nothing done by congress to pressure Israel to adhere to international law. Rather, Israel has been encouraged by congress to violate international law. The recent passage of House Resolution 713, which condemns the International Court of Justice and supports a wall that is in blatant violation of international law, is one case in point" (Clifton Kkkpatrick, "Response to Representative Berman and Others," September 27, 2004, cnionline.org).
30. Eric J. Greenburg, "Jewish Groups Scramble to Head Off Divestment Push," Forward, October 1, 2004.
31. Kirkpatrick, "Statement from the Stated Clerk...Regarding Israel and Palestine and Outreach to Jewish People."
32. Glass, 2005.
33. Smith, "GAC Authorizes Pastoral Letter on Assembly's Divestment Action."
34. Barbara Wheeler, "Divestment Strategy is Unwise, Ineffective," Christian Century, February 8, 2005, pp. 32-24.
35. Irving Kristol, "The Political Dilemma of American Jews," Commentary, 78 (1), July 1984, p. 25.
36. In contrast, the Southern Baptist convention elects delegates by congregation, so conservative activists were able to take over that denomination in the late 1970s (Bill Leonard, God's Last and Only Hope: The Fragmentation of the Southern Baptist Convention, Eerdmans, 1990).
37. That would be nearly impossible in the Presbyterian system, hence the option of a schism. See Lewis C. Daly, A Moment to Decide: The Crisis in Mainstream Presbyterianism (Institute for Democracy Studies, 2000).
38. Eric J. Greenberg, "Divestment Controversy Rages," Forward, September 28, 2004.
39. "Guidelines for the Implementation of Phased, Selecive Divestment Related to Israel and Palestine," Resource Sheet 20, February 2005, www.pcusa.org.
40. See also Alexa Smith, "Criteria Set for Israeli Devestment Targets," Presbyterian News Service, November 9, 2005.
41. Toya Richards Hill, "Presbyterian Foundation Mainstay Dennis Murphy Retiring After 24 Years," Presbyterian News Service, September 27, 2005.
42. Smith, 2005.
43. Documentation on the decision is on the MRTI website, www.pcusa.org/mrti.
44. Kirkpatrick, "Statement From the Sated Clerk...Regarding Israel and Palestine and Outreach to Jewish People."
45. Simon Wiesenthal Center, "Presbyterian Divestment Plan Would Expose Israelis to Renewed Suicide Terror and Hamper the Jewish State's Self-Defense," August 5, 2005.
46. Anti-Defamation League, "Survey of American Attitudes Toward Israel and the Middle East," March 2005.
47. Meron Benvenesti, "Apartheid Misses the Point," Haaretz, May 19, 2005.
48. American Jewish Committee, "American Jewish Opinion After the Gulf War," 1992.
49. Desmond Tutu, "Apartheid in the Holy Land," The Guardian, April 29, 2002.
50. Henry Siegman, "Sharon and the Future of Palestine," New York Review of Books, December 2, 2004.
51. David Bernstein, "Fighting Divestment's a Marathon, Not a Sprint," Washington Jewish Week, August 18, 2005, p. 13.
52. Smith, 2005.
53. Daniella Peled, "Anglican Church Look at Divestment Sparks Concern Among British Jewry," Jewish Telegraphic Agency, June 17, 2005.
54. Yossi Shain, "Ethnic Diasporas and U.S. Foreign Policy," Political Science Quarterly, Winter 1994, pp. 811-831.
55. Culture does not exist in a vacuum. In a March 28, 2002, column on MSNBC and in a Slate.com column, Eric Alterman compiled a list of 71 key media "pundits" and placed them on an Israeli-Palestinian support scale that found a very skewed distribution: Reflexively pro-Israeli, 86 percent; critical of both sides but ultimately support Israeli security over Palestinian rights, 7 percent; reflexively anti-Israeli and/or pro-Palestinian, 8 percent. The pro-Palestinians were Patrick Buchanan, Alexander Cockburn, Christopher Hitchens, Robert Novak, and Edward Said, a professor since deceased. Nearly half of the list were Jewish, with most being on the right of the political spectrum. Said was the only Arab. Alterman noted that there are two narratives coming out of the conflict, one that Israel is an innocent victim of terrorism, the other that a brutal occupation is generating extremism. Each narrative has an inherent solution, to crush terrorism or to end the occupation. Americans hear the first narrative, the rest of the world the second.
56. Ronald R. Stockton, "Ethnic Archetypes and the Arab Image," in The Development of Arab-American Identity, Ernest McCarus, ed. (University of Michigan Press, 1994), pp. 119-154.
57. Anti-Defamation League, "Survey of American Attitudes Toward Israel and the Middle East."