Mainline protestants begin to divest from Israel: A moral imperative or "effective" Anti-semitism?

Journal of Palestine Studies

Volumn 35, Issue 1, 2005, Pages 44-59

  Clarke, Duncan L ^a  

^a AMERICAN UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

MORALITY; RELIGION;

ASIA; EURASIA; ISRAEL; MIDDLE EAST;

EID: 33646815666     PISSN: 0377919X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1525/jps.2005.35.1.44     Document Type: Article

References (87)

1. It should be noted that Professor Francis Boyle of the University of Illinois Law School had already called in a public lecture for a comprehensive grassroots campaign of economic divestment from Israel analogous to the campaign against apartheid South Africa.
2. The text of the petition is online at www.ucdivest.org.
3. Ian Urbina, "School Ties: Israeli Divestment Campaign Carries On," In These Times, 31 March 2003;
4. Mary Beth Markelin, "Israel Divestment Draws Campus Battle Lines," USA Today, 10 October 2002.
5. For instance, two students sued the University of Michigan for hosting a conference on divestment in Israel. Markelin, "Israel Divestment."
6. The text of the petition is online at www.harvardMITdivest.org.
7. Jenna Russell, "Some on Harvard, MIT Faculties Urge Divestment in Israel," Boston Globe, 6 May 2002.
8. Russell, "Some on Harvard."
9. The text of Summers's speech is online at www.president.harvard.edu.
10. See Duncan L. Clarke, "Anti-Semitism and U.S.-Israel Relations: Trouble for Middle East Specialists - and Their Critics," with response by Abraham Foxman, Middle East Journal, 58 (Autumn 2004), p. 676.
11. See R. J. Werblowsky and Geoffrey Wigoder, eds., The Encyclopedia of Jewish Religion (New York: Adama Books, 1986).
12. Foxman says he distinguishes between opposition to Israel's policies and anti-Semitism, so long as it is "principled, fair criticism of Israel" of which he is apparently the judge. Abraham Foxman, Never Again: The Threat of the New Anti-Semitism (New York: Harper Collins, 2003), p. 195.
13. Ruth R. Wisse, "Israel on Campus," Wall Street Journal, 13 December 2002.
14. Communication from Nancy Kanwisher, September 2005. Professor Kanwisher says that the "firestorm of opposition" was anticipated and did not deter the movement's supporters at MIT and Harvard.
15. Clifton Kirkpatrick, "Statement from the Stated Clerk Concerning Actions of the 216th General Assembly Regarding Israel and Palestine and Outreach to Jewish People," Church and Society 95 (Sept.-Oct. 2004), pp. 101-5;
16. Alexa Smith, "Assembly Endorses Israel Divestment," Presbyterian News Service, 2 July 2004.
17. The other backed funding for "messianic congregations" and is discussed later in this article.
18. Confidential interview, December 2004.
19. Alexa Smith, "Tear Down This Wall," Presbyterian News Service (undated), online at www.pcusa.org.
20. See "The Middle East Council of Churches: Statement on the Current Regional Situation," 21 May 2004, in Church and Society, 95 (Sept.-Oct. 2004), pp. 68-69;
21. "A Call and an Appeal from Christians in the Beit Hanina/Dahia District," Church and Society, 95 (Sept.-Oct. 2004), pp. 63-64.
22. U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, "Israel and the Occupied Territories," International Religious Freedom Report (Washington, 2004), online at www.state.gov; interview, Rev. Wayne E. Boulton, Roland Park Presbyterian Church, Baltimore, MD, November 2004.
23. Rick Ufford-Chase, "A Letter from the Moderator," Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (undated), online at www.pcusa.org.
24. See also Peter Johnson, "Mainline Churches and United States Middle East Policy," in Basheer K. Nijim, ed., American Churches and the Middle East (Belmont, MA: Association of Arab American University Graduates, 1982), pp. 62-87;
25. Duncan L. Clarke and Eric Flohr, "Christian Churches and the Palestine Question," JPS 21, no. 4 (Summer 1992), pp. 67-79.
26. "U.S. Ecumenical Leaders' Letter to President Bush," Church and Society, 95 (Sept.-Oct. 2004), pp. 82-84.
27. Lynn D. Robinson, "Doing Good and Doing Well: Shareholder Activism, Responsible Investment, and Mainline Protestantism," in Robert Wuthnow and John H. Evans, eds., The Quiet Hand of God: Faith-Based Activism and the Public Role of Mainline Protestantism (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002), pp. 343, 346;
28. William Somplatsky-Jarman, "The Presbyterian Church as Investor," Church and Society, 93 (Sept.-Oct. 2002), pp. 1-5. Somplatsky-Jarman is the PC(USA)'s Associate for Mission Responsibility through Investment and Environmental Justice.
29. Alexa Smith, "Criteria Set for Israeli Divestment Targets," Presbyterian News Service, 9 November 2004.
30. William Somplatsky-Jarman, "Phased, Selective Divestment in Israel: An Investment in Justice in the Middle East," Church and Society, 95 (Sept.-Oct. 2004), p. 107; interview, Rev. Vernon Broyles, associate for corporate witness, PC(USA), Louisville, KY, June 2005.
31. See Yaakov Cohn, letter to the editor, "Presbyterians vs. Jews," Pittsburgh Tribune Review, 28 October 2004. At a 2004 meeting between Presbyterians and Jews, Rabbi Bretton-Granatoor of the ADL reportedly declared to the Presbyterians: "This is war!" Interview, Catherine Gordon, associate for international issues, Washington office of the Presbyterian Church, June 2005.
32. Laurie Goodstein, "Threat to Divest Is Church Tool in Israeli Fight," New York Times, 6 August 2005.
33. Interview by Tess Vigeland of David Saperstein, Union for Reform Judaism, "Marketplace," National Public Radio, 19 October 2004.
34. Interview, David Bernstein, June 2005.
35. For a text of the letter, and Rev. Kirkpatrick's response, see Documents D1 and D2 in JPS 34, no. 2 (Winter 2005), pp. 207-10. As of August 2005, none of the 14 members had accepted Rev. Kirkpatrick's request for a meeting to talk about the issue.
36. Shirl McArthur, "Omnibus Appropriations Bill Drops or Modifies Most Ill-Advised Provisions," Washington Report on Middle East Affairs 24, no. 1 (Jan.-Feb. 2005), p. 27; communication from Rev. Dr. Jay Rock, August 2005.
37. Interview, Rev. Vernon Broyles, June 2005.
38. The letter is reproduced as Document D1 in JPS 34, no. 4 (Summer 2005), pp. 200-1.
39. Rachel Pomerance, "Focus on Issues," Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 2 May 2005, online at www.jta.org.
40. Interviews, David Bernstein, June 2005, and Mark Pelavin, July 2005. Says Bernstein, "Dialoging with Christians sensitizes them to our views and creates a stake in the relationship with the Jewish community" David Bernstein, "Fighting Divestment's a Marathon, Not Sprint," Washington Jewish Week, 18 April 2005, p. 13.
41. By the summer of 2005, David Elcott of the AJC said "it's not worth" trying to bring the Presbyterian leadership "into our peace coalition," and the ADL's Rabbi Bretton-Granatoor announced that the Presbyterian leadership had been "hijacked by radical Palestinian Christians." Rachel Pomerance, "Jewish-Presbyterian Relations Souring," Washington Jewish Week, 25 August 2005, p. 8.
42. Rachel Pomerance, "Interfaith Trip Said to Mend Ties," Washington Jewish Week, 6 October 2005, p. 26.
43. Interview, Rev. Susan Andrews, August 2005; Susan Andrews, "A Context for Jewish-Presbyterian Relations," in A Framework for Presbyterian-Jewish Dialogue: Remarks from the Presbyterian-Jewish Dialogue Conference (Washington, 17 February 2005), pp. 9-11.
44. The following are representative comments by these Presbyterian leaders taken from several interviews with Presbyterian clergy and lay leaders, June-August 2005: While conversations are sometimes helpful at the local level, there is "much anger and tension" between us and those Jewish defense organizations who "play hardball"; the ADL and AJC spread "misinformation" and sponsor "canned, setup" trips to Israel; our church is being "actively targeted" and there is "no trust."
45. Interview, Bishop John Bryson Chane, Washington, April 2005.
46. Communication from Rev. Dr. Jay Rock, August 2005.
47. Interview, David Bernstein, June 2005. Bernstein fears that the charge of anti-Semitism could "lose its potency" if used too loosely and frequently. Rev. Vernon Broyles of the PC(USA) remarks: "When you call your friends anti-Semites, what are you going to do when real anti-Semitism rears its head?" Interview, June 2005. The AJC Web site is less guarded than David Bernstein: "Many complaints about Israel are unmistakably driven by anti-Semitism. The current divestiture... movement [is] a case in point." American Jewish Committee, "Why Campus Anti-Israel Activity Flunks Bigotry 101," www.ajc.org, 11 August 2005.
48. Interview, Rabbi Gary Bretton-Granatoor, December 2004.
49. Interview, Mark Pelavin, July 2005.
50. The group's Web site is www.pcjcr.org.
51. Victor E. Markari, "Some Disputed Barricade," Church and Society, 95 (Sept.-Oct. 2004), pp. 1-8;
52. Emily Enders Odom, "Christian-Jewish Relations to be Studied," Presbyterian News Service, 30 June 2004, online at www.pcusa.org.
53. The PC(USA) actually funded only one messianic congregation, and that ended in the spring of 2005. "Presbyterians End Jewish Church's Funds," Washington Post, 2 April 2005, p. B9.
54. Israel's foreign ministry then canceled a scheduled meeting with the group. Peter Enav, "Israeli Foreign Ministry Cancels Meeting with U.S. Presbyterians," Associated Press Worldstream, 21 October 2004;
55. Richard N. Ostling, "Jews Object to Presbyterian-Hezbollah Talk," Associated Press, 20 October 2004.
56. Jerry L. Van Marter, "Delegation's Meeting with Hezbollah 'Misguided' and Statements 'Reprehensible," Presbyterian News Service, 21 October 2004.
57. Clifton Kirkpatrick, "Statement Concerning Actions of the 216th General Assembly (2004) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Regarding Israel and Palestine and Outreach to the Jewish People," 20 July 2004, online at www.cmep.org.
58. Markari, "Some Disputed Barricade," p. 5;
59. Ufford-Chase, "Letter from the Moderator."
60. Laurie Copans, "Anglican Leaders Recommend Divestment to Pressure Israel," Associated Press, 23 September 2004;
61. "Anglican Peace and Justice Network Statement on the Israeli/ Palestinian Conflict," Worldwide Faith News, 22 September 2004. The statement is available online at www.ifamericansknew.org.
62. See Document A3 in JPS 34, no. 3 (Spring 2005), pp. 168-69.
63. Zoll, "Church Council Seeks Pressure";
64. Rabbi David J. Forman, "Anti-Semitism at Its Not-So-Subtle Best," Washington Jewish Week, 3 March 2005, p. 15.
65. United Church of Christ, "Resolution Concerning Use of Economic Leverage in Promoting Peace in the Middle East," 5 July 2005, online at www.ucc.org.
66. Interview, Rev. John Deckenback, conference minister of the Central Atlantic Conference, United Church of Christ, July 2005.
67. Interview, Rev. John Deckenback, July 2005; Rev. John H. Thomas, general minister and president of the UCC, "Press Statement on Economic Leverage and Israel/Palestine," 5 July 2005, online at www.ucc.org; Anti-Defamation League, "United Church of Christ's Israel Divestment Action," 6 July 2005, online at www.adl.org.
68. James D. Besser, "Sucker Punched," Jewish Times, 15 July 2005.
69. Alan Cooperman, "United Church of Christ Urges Economic Pressure on Mideast," Washington Post, 6 July 2005, p. A3.
70. Interview, Rev. John Deckenback, July 2005.
71. Interview, Wanda Bryant-Wills, Disciples of Christ Church, August 2005. Disciples of Christ, text of amended resolution, "Breaking Down the Dividing Wall," 28 July 2005, online at www.disciples.org; "Jewish Leaders Condemn Church Declaration," Washington Jewish Week, 4 August 2005, p. 4.
72. Anglican Consultative Council, "Resolutions from the Anglican Peace and Justice Network," 24 June 2005, online at www.anglicancommunion.org. British Jews are critical of the APJN-sponsored resolution, labeling it "crass, one-sided, and anti-Semitic." Haaretz Service, "Report: UK Jews Bash Church Report on Divestiture from Israel," Ha'Aretz, 28 May 2005.
73. Communication from Bishop John Bryson Chane, August 2005.
74. Chanan Tigay, "Episcopalians Reject Divestment," Washington Jewish Week, 13 October 2005, p. 20.
75. Communication from Bishop John Bryson Chane, August 2005; interview, Bishop John Bryson Chane, April 2005; "Press Conference: Episcopal Bishop," U.S. Newswire, 19 July 2005, online at press.arrivenet.com.
76. Interview, David Bernstein, June 2005.
77. Interview, Bishop John Bryson Chane, April 2004. The Middle East Peace Committee was a component of a larger, multi-focused peace commission for the Washington diocese. Members of this latter group express considerable unhappiness at the Bishop's decision. Confidential interview with a member of this group, September 2005.
78. Interviews, Bishop John Bryson Chance, April 2004,
79. and David Bernstein, June 2005.
80. Interview, Jim Winkler, July 2005.
81. "Methodists Join Divestment Debate," ChristianPost.com, 18 July 2005, online at www.christianpost.com.
82. Interviews, Jim Winkler, May and July 2005.
83. Interviews, Jim Winkler, May and July 2005.
84. Bernstein, "Fighting Divestment's A Marathon, Not Sprint/"
85. Eric Fingerhut, "AJC Committee Honors Christian Leaders," Washington Jewish Week, 29 September 2005, p. 10.
86. Rachel Zoll, "U.S. Lutherans Condemn Israeli Barrier," Associated Press, 14 August 2005.
87. Interview, Rev Peter Pettit, August 2005.