Presbyterian Church divestment: Should we care?

Leaders of Presbyterian Church USA voted 310–303 to divest from Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard, and Motorola Solutions, all companies that do business with Israel.

But with Presbyterianism being one of America’s smallest Christian denominations, with a sharply declining membership base, does this decision even matter?

The latest effort represents the third Presbyterian biennial in a row in which a pro-BDS resolution appeared at the denomination’s general assembly, as BDS supporters who make up part of PCUSA’s Israel/Palestine Mission Network (IPMN) have gained momentum following a narrow loss in 2012.

Similar to past BDS resolutions, the current one called on PCUSA to label Israel as an “apartheid” nation, while calling for divestment from major companies that “participate in the Israeli occupation of Palestine.”

The IPMN’s efforts inside the church culminated in its January release of a virulently anti-Israel document, “Zionism Unsettled: A Congregational Study Guide.” Pro-Israel groups blasted the guide, with the American Jewish Committee calling it “a devastating distortion of Jewish and Israeli history, aimed at nothing less than eradicating the state of Israel.”

Yitzhak Santis, project director at the watchdog group NGO Monitor, said pro-BDS groups specifically target churches, seeking to twist their Christian morality to fit an anti-Israel agenda.

Yet there have been efforts by some Presbyterian leaders to gain a more balanced education on the Arab-Israeli conflict. In February, a delegation of more than a dozen Presbyterian lay leaders visited SodaStream’s factory in the Israeli West Bank city of Ma’ale Adumim. The factory’s location has made it the target of BDS attacks, but it is also touted as a unique model of Israeli-Palestinian cooperation since it employs nearly 500 Palestinian workers alongside Israelis.

Meanwhile, as the Middle East falls into more chaos and instability by the day—with news of Islamic jihadists conquering cities in Iraq and Syria, as well as Iran’s nuclear ambitions—observers may realize that Israel is not the source of the region’s woes, Santis suggested.