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Moving toward the 217th
General Assembly
Israel / Palestine |
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San Francisco
overture reaffirms 2004 GA action for divestment in Israel/Palestine
[4-19-06]
Background to Overture 62
San Francisco Presbytery has long been concerned about
making investment decisions a conscious instrument of mission. In 1970 this
Presbytery sent an overture to GA “that laid the groundwork for the socially
responsible investment movement in the United Presbyterian Church.”
1
This year our overture aims to continue the selective phased divestment
process in Israel/Palestine that was mandated by the GA in 2004 and increase
Presbyterian investment in and understanding of the things which make for a
just peace in the Middle East.
In response to the 2004 GA decision the national press
highlighted the firestorm of criticism that was launched by those American
Jewish organizations that belong to “The Israel Lobby.” Our actions were
labeled anti-Semitic and misguided. What the press did not cover was the
praise and encouragement that came our way from other Jewish organizations
in the U.S. and Israel, and the gratitude from Palestinians.
The GA has been passing resolutions on Israel/Palestine
since 1948, resolutions that received no response from the American Jewish
community. Why did the use of the word “divestment” cause such a stir?
Perhaps because money talks and the fear that if enough institutional
investors talk with their money, Israel might be forced to actually make
peace with the Palestinians.
The strategy of The Israel Lobby is to persuade us to
rescind our action, or at least to soften it by substituting words like
“corporate engagement” to describe the process that may lead to actual
divesting from specific companies. The Jerusalem Post has already run
several articles claiming that the divestment movement has ground to a halt.
This gives the Israeli and Palestinian public that impression that the
international community is backing down on its demands for a negotiated and
just settlement of the conflict.
Some would sacrifice the human rights of Palestinians for
interfaith harmony between Presbyterians and American Jews. We believe that
interfaith relations purchased at the expense of justice are shallow and
inauthentic. Our overture keeps the economic pressure on corporations
profiting from the Occupation, while investing in activities that will
promote authentic cooperation and understanding between Israelis,
Palestinians, and Americans.
Walt Davis
April 20, 2006
The Rev. Walter T. Davis, Jr., HR, is a member
of San Francisco Presbytery
1 William Somplatsky-Jarman, "Mission
Responsibility Through Investment," Church and Society, Sept-Oct
2002, p. 7.
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Overture 62
On Divestment and
Israel—From the Presbytery of San Francisco.
[4-19-06]
The Presbytery of San Francisco overtures the 217th General
Assembly (2006) of the PC(USA) to take the following actions:
1. Reaffirm the 216th General Assembly (2004) decision to
initiate a process of phased, selective divestment of multinational
corporations that contribute to the construction of the separation barrier,
profit from the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, or Palestinian
violence. Request divestment from selected corporations where, according to
Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI), dialogue and shareholder
actions have not produced satisfactory results.
Rationale
The occupation of the West Bank continues unabated, taking
more land and isolating Palestinians from one another and their livelihood,
undercutting the possibility of a viable economy. Action by the 217th
General Assembly (2006) is required to carry forward the process initiated
by the 216th General Assembly (2004).
2. Direct the MRTI to recommend opportunities for investment
in joint Palestinian-Israeli ventures, including those provided by
organizations such as Oikocredit, which benefit both peoples.
Rationale
This action demonstrates the historic commitment of the
PC(USA) to the well-being of both Israel and Palestine, and expresses our
hope for mutual cooperation and a just solution to the conflict between the
two peoples.
3. Direct the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program to offer study
tours for members and congregations of the PC(USA), as well as interfaith
groups, that incorporate visits and interaction with both Israelis and
Palestinians, especially meeting with those working toward peace and
reconciliation.
Rationale
Many tours to the Holy Land visit only Israel or only
Palestine and provide a one-sided version of the conflict between these two
peoples. This overture seeks to correct this imbalance by providing study
tours to see and hear all sides of the story. |
Israel/Palestine issues will loom large at GA
Numerous measures would rescind, refine controversial 2004 divestment action
[3-31-06]
Presbyterian News Service offers a survey of the nearly 20
overtures going to the coming General Assembly, about how the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.) should deal with the conflict in Israel and Palestine,
actions on divestment and more.
by Toya Richards Hill, Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE – March 28, 2006 – Nearly 20 overtures about how the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.) should deal with the conflict in Israel and Palestine will
be considered by this summer's 217th General Assembly.
The majority call for the GA to rescind the process of phased, selective
divestment of PC(USA) stock in multinational corporations whose business
practices contribute to violence in Israel and Palestine – a process
launched by a decision of the 216th GA (2004).
Those measures would suspend the process now under way in which the Mission
Responsibility Through Investment Committee (MRTI) is "engaging" such
companies in an effort to get them to change their business practices.
The PC(USA) Board of Pensions and the Presbyterian Foundation oversee a
multi-billion-dollar portfolio of investments on the denomination's behalf;
only a very small fraction is at play in Israel/Palestine.
The portfolio includes stock in five corporations – Caterpillar Inc.,
Citigroup, ITT Industries, Motorola and United Technologies – now being
"engaged" by MRTI in the phased, selective divestment process.
The GA deadline for overtures with financial implications is April 17; for
those with no financial implications it is May 1.
"The Presbytery of Eastern Virginia respectfully overtures the 217th General
Assembly (2006) to propose that the resolution from the 216th General
Assembly (2004) regarding phased, selective divestment of stocks be
suspended," one reads.
"It is our prayer that our denomination will seek balanced, positive
overtures for peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, instead of
directing negative actions at only one of the involved parties," the
presbytery added in its rationale for the overture.
The measure at issue in most cases is recommendation 7 of the alternate
resolution to Item 12-01 from the 216th GA, which instructs MRTI "to
initiate a process of phased selective divestment in multinational
corporations operating in Israel, in accordance (with) General Assembly
policy on social investing, and to make appropriate recommendations to the
General Assembly Council for action."
An overture from the Presbytery of Mississippi reads: "While the desire for
peace is reaffirmed, some of the means for achieving peace advocated by the
216th General Assembly (2004) were not appropriate and, in light of changing
circumstances, should not be implemented." The presbytery urges that the
action be "repealed, rescinded and declared null and void" by this year's
Assembly.
Similar language appears in an overture from the Presbytery of the James in
Virginia, which says: "Recommendation 7 ... undermines the cause of peace,
because advocacy of phased, selective divestment is punitive rather than
redemptive, particularly in light of the rapidly changing circumstances in
Israel."
Other measures that would stop the process that could lead to divestment -
and MRTI's preparatory work - have been submitted by the Presbytery of New
Covenant in Texas; the Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley in Alabama; the
Presbytery of Sierra Blanca in New Mexico; the Presbytery of Tampa Bay in
Florida; the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area in Minnesota; and the
Presbytery of Baltimore in Maryland.
A slightly different overture, from the Presbytery of Seattle in Washington,
calls for a two-year suspension of the phased, selective process "in order
to build up a relationship with groups among Palestinians and Israelis who
are actively working for peace."
The Presbytery of Great Rivers in Illinois is calling for the divestment
action to the rescinded only as it relates to Caterpillar Inc.,
headquartered in Peoria, IL. It also asks that the Assembly "recognize
Caterpillar for its responsible actions as a global corporate citizen."
At the other end of the spectrum, the Presbytery of San Francisco in
California is asking the GA to "reaffirm" the 216th Assembly's decision
regarding divestment. "The occupation of the West Bank continues unabated,
taking more land and isolating Palestinians from one another and their
livelihood, undercutting the possibility of a viable economy," the
presbytery says in its rationale.
That overture also asks this year's GA to direct MRTI "to recommend
opportunities for investment in joint Palestinian-Israeli ventures," and
proposes that the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program offer study tours for
PC(USA) members and congregations and interfaith groups "that incorporate
visits and interaction with both Israelis and Palestinians."
Positive investment in the region also is a theme of an overture from the
Presbytery of Transylvania in Kentucky, which would specify that, if
divestment occurred, "whatever proceeds are realized from the sale of those
holdings" would be "reinvested in corporations whose business in Israel is
positive, helpful and peaceful."
Ditto from the Presbytery of Chicago in Illinois, whose overture says that
such proceeds must be "reinvested in corporations or other entities in
Israel and Palestine whose work reflects the Hebrew injunction of tikun olam
- or, to repair the world."
A second overture from Chicago calls for investing only in "peaceful
pursuits" in the region and for widespread collaboration with American and
Israeli Jewish, American and Palestinian Muslim and Palestinian Christian
communities.
A measure from the Presbytery of National Capitol in Maryland would have the
Assembly urge the Board of Pensions and the Foundation - as they make
changes to their investment portfolios because of the phased, selective
divestment process - to explore investing in companies "working
cooperatively in both the Palestinian and Israeli economies."
The most specific overture related to investment in the region is from the
Presbytery of New Brunswick in New Jersey. It would have the commissioners
set the following "target contributions" of money to come in whole or in
part from the PC(USA) or its member synods, presbyteries and congregations:
At least $5,000 annually for two years to the Parents Circle¾ Families Forum
At least $25,000 a year for two years to Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam ("The
Oasis of Peace
At least $250,000 annually for two years to Mar Elias Educational
Institutions
At least $100,000 a year for two years in "microcredit" development programs
in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, as approved by MRTI
Long-term investments of PC(USA)funds amounting to at least $2.5 million (or
the amount withdrawn through the divestment process, whichever is greater)
in international Israeli and/or Palestinian companies engaged in economic
activities supporting peace in the region, as identified by MRTI. |
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