UCC votes in favor of divestment campaign against Israel

By Associated Press    July 6, 2005

A section of the security fence nearby Abu Dis. The UCC will impose
sanctions against Israel until they agree to tear it down. (AP)

The United Church of Christ voted to use "economic leverage" to force Israel to succumb to Palestinian demands and to dismantle the security fence.

The resolutions were criticized by Jewish leaders, who called them anti-Semitic.

The votes by the UCC's General Synod came in the closing minutes of the church's annual meeting -- and the day after the church's rule-making body voted overwhelmingly to approve a resolution endorsing same-sex marriage.

After Tuesday's vote, Peter Makari, the church's executive director for the Middle East and Europe, said the church remains committed to religious dialogue and participation among Jews, Christians and Muslims.

"These resolutions condemn all acts of violence on both sides and indicate a clear desire by the Synod to end violence and promote peace," Makari said.

However, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, called the resolutions "functionally anti-Semitic." He accused the UCC, which has 1.3 million members and 5,700 congregations, of holding Israel to a different moral standard.

"The UCC has disqualified itself as a legitimate partner for a just and equitable peace in the Holy Land," Cooper said.

The Synod discarded a previous resolution endorsing divestment against companies involved with Israel in favor of a proposal to use the tools of "economic leverage" -- including divestment -- to "promote peace," Makari said.

Such efforts would begin with trying to persuade companies to stop profiting from conflict in the Middle East. If that failed, church officials might sell stock in those companies.

The church would also invest in groups that promote peace and cooperation and pressure the Bush administration to reallocate foreign aid in the interest of ending the militarization of the region.

The second resolution calls for the Israeli government to stop construction of the security fence around Palestinian territories and to tear it down. Palestinians have claimed that portions of the fence extend into their territory in the West Bank, while Israel says the fence is required in order to bar terrorists.

"The wall has devastating effects on the lives and livelihoods of Palestinians," Makari said. "It prevents the opportunity for interaction for people who desperately want there to be peace."

David Elcott, the American Jewish Committee's U.S. Director of Interreligious Affairs, also criticized the measure.

"We understand Christian concerns about a fence, but we believe that saving human lives is more significant than property," he said. "That 'wall' has saved the lives of Jews, Christians and Muslims."

On Monday, more than three-quarters of the UCC's Synod members voted to approve the resolution endorsing same-sex marriage, which is not binding on individual churches. Some conservative congregations have threatened to leave the church over the vote.

Formed in 1957 and traditionally strong in New England, the UCC has a tradition of support for gays and lesbians. It is distinct from the more conservative Churches of Christ, which has some 2 million members in the U.S.

The AP contributed to this report.