wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Anglican delegation pushes Israel divestment

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

04421
September 24, 2004

Anglican delegation pushes for divestment from Israel

Jerusalem bishop urges Presbyterians to a strategy for world churches

By Alexa Smith

LOUISVILLE * As leading members of the Anglican church announced an 
intention to recommend the adoption of a corporate divestment strategy 
similar to the one approved by the Presbyterian Church (USA) this summer 
related to Israel, the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem is 
asking Presbyterians to take the lead in inviting other churches on board.
	 "Now that you have taken this step, you need the support of others 
in the world," Bishop Riah Abu-Assal told the Presbyterian News Service in 
a telephone interview from Nazareth, his hometown. "You need to invite 
representatives of other Christian communions, representatives of the World 
Council of Churches *
	 "And start working on a strategy," he said, pushing for a meeting 
of church leaders in the United States, initiated by the PC(USA). "We want 
this to have some effect. Only then will the Israeli government take note."
	 The 216th General Assembly of the PC(USA) voted in early July to 
selectively divest stocks in its $8 billion portfolio from corporations who 
profit by supporting Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories.
	 The denomination's Mission Responsibility Through Investment 
(MRTI) Committee is now researching its portfolio and more than 20 years of 
denominational policy opposing the Israeli occupation in order to establish 
criteria for this process. But the actual criteria to identify approachable 
corporations will not be available until after MRTI meets in November.
	 Engagement will most likely begin with corporations profiting from 
the construction of settlements, the demolition of homes and the uprooting 
of orchards and the ongoing building of a separation wall * all violations 
of international law, according to Bill Somplatsky-Jarman, MRTI's primary 
researcher.
	 Divestment is always MRTI's last resort. The denomination's actual 
goal is to persuade corporations to shift to more ethical business 
practices through shareholder resolutions, dialogue and public pressure.
	 Abu-Assal said he will bring a divestment strategy before the 
Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) * a gathering of bishops from across 
the world * which is meeting in London, Oct. 16-18. "I intend to bring it 
to their attention," he said.
	 The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, will preside over 
the international council.
	 Abu-Assal's proposal will not be arriving without backup.
	 Thirty or so representatives of the Anglican Peace and Justice 
Network (APJN) issued a statement yesterday in Jerusalem that it also 
intends to recommend that the ACC adopt a resolution calling for divestment 
from Israel.
	 Jenny Te Paa, who led the APJN delegation, told the Israeli 
newspaper Haaretz, that her team will "return home and recommend that the 
ACC adopt a resolution calling for divestment from Israel, and, if our 
delegation is representative of the larger Anglican sentiment, then I'd say 
we're in good shape."
	 Paa is from New Zealand. Other delegates represented 23 provinces 
of the worldwide Anglican Communion, including Rwanda, Congo, Japan, Kenya, 
Korea, North India, Australia, Brazil and Canada.
	 Describing the conditions of the occupation as "draconian," the 
delegation issued a statement saying that it has concluded there is "little 
will on behalf of the Israeli government to recognize the rights of the 
Palestinians to a sovereign state to be created on the West Bank" and 
accused the United States of  "complicity" with Israel by ignoring 
international laws.
	 "We have heard from Israeli Jewish voices, and from Palestinians, 
both those who reside in Israel and those who live under Occupation. We 
note the continuing policies of illegal home demolitions, detentions, 
checkpoints, identity card systems and the presence of the Israeli military 
that make any kind of normal life impossible," the statement reads. "We 
have seen and heard the effects of the overwhelming presence of settlements 
or colonies in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in Gaza, and 
the bypass roads and highways that connect them while disconnecting 
Palestinian villages, one from another.
	 "We have seen the destruction of precious arable lands and 
restrictions on precious water resources. Finally, and shockingly, we have 
been exposed to the separation wall that violates international boundaries, 
causing mayhem in Palestinian daily life and further defines Israeli 
intentions to appropriate land from the Palestinians."
	 It also says, "We deeply respect and honor those Israelis who are 
prepared to end this miserable Occupation and recognize a Palestinian 
State, people courageously committed to justice and who work against home 
demolitions, who promote human rights and oppose settlements, bypass roads 
and the separation wall. And we pay tribute to the courage, endurance and 
hope of the Palestinian people who suffer the dreadful injustice of the 
Occupation."
	 Although Abu-Assal * who is traveling in Japan * was unable to be 
reached for comment on the APJN action, he has been consistently vocal 
about the reluctance of U.S. churches to do more than issue statements 
about human rights violations in Israel/Palestine.  "The PC(USA) action has 
been welcomed throughout the world," he said.
	 Abu-Assal called for a similar action three years ago on the floor 
of the World Council of Churches (WCC) * asking for a boycott of goods 
produced in the settlements. While his motion drew applause, the WCC took 
no action.
	 The Church of Sweden currently recommends that its members boycott 
goods produced in settlements.
	 "I am of the opinion," he told the Presbyterian News Service, 
"that unless there are some form of sanctions imposed on the settlements, 
the settlers, and perhaps, the government of Israel, there will be very 
little action about peace. There will be talking about it, but no making of
it.
	 "We want action. The church * with two billion people * can have 
an impact."
	 The Lutheran Bishop of Jerusalem, Munib Younan, is more 
circumspect about commenting directly on divestment as a strategy. He is 
firm, however, on the need for the church to speak directly for justice and 
in opposition to illegal actions, including settlement expansion and 
ongoing human rights violations.
	 The Patriarch of Jerusalem * the Roman Catholic church leader * 
declined comment.

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