Presbyterians Recommend Divestment For Companies Engaged In 'Non-Peaceful Pursuits' in Palestinian Territories

By Josef Kuhn
Religion News Service

(RNS) A Presbyterian Church (USA) committee will recommend that the church add heavy equipment giant Caterpillar to its divestment list because the company profits from the "non-peaceful" use of its products by Israel against Palestinians.

According to the PCUSA, Caterpillar equipment has been used to demolish Palestinian homes and construct settlements and Israeli-only roads in Palestinian communities. These acts, according to the church committee, are illegal under international law.

Corporate engagement efforts "have not produced any substantive change in company policies or practices, and there is little reason for hope they will do so in the future," said committee chair the Rev. Brian Ellison. "We have little choice but to recommend divestment."

The church committee will present its recommendations to PCUSA's General Assembly in July 2012. If approved, no church resources could be invested in Caterpillar. According to the church's website, 24 companies are now on its divestment list for their involvement in "military-related production" or tobacco.

The American Jewish Committee called the PCUSA committee's recommendations a misguided endeavor that will harm, rather than advance, efforts to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Caterpillar has said that it cannot be expected to monitor how all of its products are used and noted that machines in question are not sold directly to Israel, but are issued through the U.S. government's Foreign Military Sales program.

The PCUSA committee is also recommending that the church add Motorola Solutions and Hewlett-Packard to the divestment list because, according to the committee, Israel also uses the companies' technologies for "non-peaceful pursuits."

Hewlett-Packard declined comment and Motorola Solutions did not respond immediately to an inquiry.

Comments

[Ouaouaron]

12:26 PM on 09/23/2011

But they don't care about mass killings in Yemen, the rounding up of black Africans in Libya or the bombing of Kurds this week by Turkey or Iran hanging Gays or the slaughter in Syria. As long as the emotion is against the Jews of Israel and against nothing else (Israel is the only place that gets hyper focus and hate) then I must assume Antisemitism. Can't respect these hateful hypocrites. Not brave either to join the crowd. Braver to stand for justice, truth and peace rather than hanging on to Cold war hate of Israel and the Islamic hate of Israel.

[Nwo2012]

11:58 AM on 10/10/2011

Feel free to start your own divestements!

[Delaware22]

03:09 AM on 09/18/2011

I respect their decision. I tried to do this myself...I made myself nuts trying to decide where to draw the line for which companies were good and which were bad...good luck to them.

[psnyder325]

08:39 AM on 09/17/2011

It is the right of the Presbytery (and any other religious judicatory body) to divest from anything they wish for whatever reason they wish. I'm not a Presbyterian or even a Christian, but I admire them for trying to support "the least of these," the Palestinians that are so terribly oppressed by Israel and the United States.

[ladybugg22]

12:57 PM on 09/16/2011

"The first thing I would say to the leaders of the Presp. Church is that there is NO BINDING JUDICIAL DECISION which holds that Israel's actions are in violation of any internatio­nal laws."

BUT THERE SHOULD BE!! The rest of the world thinks so. Only the US stands in opposition to this...just like it once did with South Africa. Every other nation must be held accountable to international law are be droned, sanctioned, are boycotted. Only Israel is given a pass and the rest of the world suffers for this double standard.

[YankeeCanuck]

12:45 PM on 09/17/2011

Fortunately, the leaders of the church are not making a judicial decision, but a moral and ethical one.
Yes, the US also has its little buddy Canada and its neocon Prime Minister standing in opposition. BDS is a legitimate form of protest, and it is growing.

[ladybugg22]

12:54 PM on 09/16/2011

Amen to that. Why isn't catapillar sanctioned for human rights violations? Think, Rachel Corrie.

[YankeeCanuck]

12:47 PM on 09/17/2011

Rachel Corrie, the unnamed Palestinian people who were inside their homes when they were demolished, the destroyed homes, and the agricultural lands that have been destroyed as well. Murder and destruction, crimes against humanity. BDS is growing.

[Trollstein]

06:34 AM on 09/16/2011

"These acts, according to the church committee, are illegal under international law."
Next time I need a lawyer, I will convert Christian and ask the local Presp. pastor to put in a judicial "appearance" on my behalf.
Talk about a sign of the Apocalypse?? Commingling clergy and attorneys? I would like the chance to legally analyze the Gospels, from an official position.

[Samah Marei]

10:42 AM on 09/16/2011

So churches shouldn't pay attention to international law? Religions just can't win these days ... either they are accused of calling for theocracy, or ridiculed for supported secular mandates.

[Trollstein]

12:09 PM on 09/16/2011

"So churches shouldn't pay attention to internatio­nal law?"
When any given nation analyses "international law" such an analysis is not necessarily detached from its own politics. Some nations are more objective in this respect then others. For example, the Netherlands always had a good reputation for judicial objectivity. But on the other hand, a nation like Iran would be expected to engage official state lawyers who had already agreed to produce opinions in keeping with the political (and religious) wishes of their leaders.
Churches are not supposed to have "politics" and while they are expected to have religious preferences, they are equally expected to not allow their religious preferences to usurp the realistic (secular) aspects of the law they are considering.
The first thing I would say to the leaders of the Presp. Church is that there is NO BINDING JUDICIAL DECISION which holds that Israel's actions are in violation of any international laws. Before such a decision is possible, there has to be a court with jurisdiction to hear the case and offer a binding legal opinion. That has never ever happened on these specific issues. All that is left is the opinions of various lawyers and NON BINDING opinions (recommendations) of the ICJ. Why non-binding? Because they had no JURISDICTION.
Here is a good education on this topic:
http://daledamos.blogspot.com/2011/01/video-dr-jacques-gauthier-whose.html
and
http://www.mideastoutpost.com/archives/misconceptions-regarding-israels-legal-foundation-under-international-lawhoward-grief.html

[dschiff]

12:24 AM on 09/16/2011

This divestment is politicized and ineffectual, as well as hypocritical.
If they're serious about this, they should divest from using oil in their cars
And computers (Microsoft, General Electric)
And the U.S. Government

Or they could stop applying double standards to the state of Israel and terrorist organizations that control the Palestinian territories.

[psnyder325]

08:25 AM on 09/17/2011

And Israel is NOT a "terrorist organization?" They bulldoze homes, churches, mosques and ancient treasures if anyone takes them over and uses them against the Israeli occupation. Eastern Orthodox Churches have been bulldozed because Israel didn't like the way they were used, causing priceless icons and other Church material to be destroyed. Israel is every bit as bad as Iran or Iraq, but it isn't P.C. to say so in the United States because of the immense Jewish lobby, for whom Israel could do no wrong, even if they dropped a nuclear bomb.

[dschiff]

05:15 PM on 09/17/2011

You should try living in Israel and Iran, and see how well your opinion holds up.

In one country, you can be openly gay in the military, and no one bats an eyelash. (That makes them more advanced than the United States, ethically speaking)
This country is officially against torture, even stress positions.

In another country, you can be *executed* for being gay.
This country has torture chambers, and has such practices as raping political opponents and their family members, and then using that to blackmail their silence and conformity.

I leave it for you to research which country is which.

By the way, this has nothing to do with the Jewish lobby. Let's talk merits: womens' rights, gay rights, treatment of political prisoners, elections.

Jewish government included womens' suffrage as early as the 19th century, World Zionist Congress. For several of Israel's neighbors, women have the privilege of being raped, beaten, having no property rights and no voting rights.

[4Mima]

08:49 PM on 09/15/2011

It’s a good initiative to list the firms that are adding misery to the already difficult life of the Palestinians.
Calling for divestment is not calling for the destruction of Israel, on the contrary it’s calling for its perennity by having a good relationship with its neighbors.

Many Israelis and Palestinians are calling for “Peace Now”, for mutual recognition and established borders. A number of Israelis Jews are calling for the boycott of settlement-made products, to the point that the Israeli Knesset passed, on July 11, the “Boycott Prohibition Law”, which bans any public call for a boycott against the state of Israel or its West Bank settlements, making such action a punishable offense.

We can help them by raising awareness, by refusing to invest, to buy products that don’t respect the international law.
BDS helped fighting the apartheid in South-Africa, it can help the peace process in that part of the world.

http://thinkprogress.org/security/2011/09/13/317802/israeli-editor-boycott-prohibition-law-censor/

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/12/world/middleeast/12israel.html?_r=4

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/10/naomi-klein-boycott-israel

[Json]

05:59 PM on 09/15/2011

If their goal is to only support non-violent enterprises I see why they would target companies like Raytheon, Lockheed, Boeing and other companies that are synonymous with the MIC.
But caterpillar seems like the odd man out here. They are not a weapons-related company by any stretch of the imagination.
What percent of their sales could possibly be to Israel? And more importantly, what do they expect caterpillar to do...refuse to sell any construction equipment just to Israel?

[gibranII]

11:18 PM on 09/15/2011

good deflection and you are right though..we should look at the relationships.

[Trollstein]

06:38 AM on 09/16/2011

No export licenses are required to ship construction equipment over seas. Therefore, even if Cat were to refuse to sell to Israel, they could not control trans-shipping of the same equipment by US companies who purchase the goods domestically.

[Json]

09:09 AM on 09/16/2011

So it seems like they are holding caterpillar responsible for things that are almost completely beyond their control.

[Cynthia Rays]

05:54 PM on 09/15/2011

The Christian churches in the US are being introduced to the Kairos document which is the Palestinian Christian liberation theology movement to end the occupation by non violent means. BDS as used in South Africa helped achieve the goal to end apartheid. The people of Palestine are suffering because of US policy in the region.churches need to learn this fact.

[3in1]

04:49 PM on 09/15/2011

This is part of the statement: The committee has been engaging several companies profiting from non-peaceful pursuits in the region, including activity connected with Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, since the 2004 General Assembly. MRTI’s recommendations will be presented in February 2012 to the General Assembly Mission Council and then, with the Council’s approval, to the General Assembly in July 2012.

[3in1]

04:35 PM on 09/15/2011

Thanks for info. Do we the PC(USA) have to go through this again. The last time we passed it, thought about, then dropped it.

[Anybodyseenthepopos]

01:25 PM on 09/15/2011

Everything you need to know about the BDS movement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifZLk6Ei9-U

Just another way to destroy Israel.

[Nwo2012]

02:33 PM on 09/15/2011

israels destruction will come from its own hand. It will collapse under the impossible weight of its own arrogance, hubris and narcissistic sense of entitlement.
Its epitaph will be the material greed and stubbornness of the militant settler movement and israels enemies wont have to lift a finger of effort.

[Anybodyseenthepopos]

03:54 PM on 09/15/2011

Excellent. I suspect you and all your anti-Israel buddies will STOP lifting their fingers and we'll see what happens. HA HA HA.

[Cynthia Rays]

03:14 PM on 09/15/2011

When the American public starts noticing that 8 million dollars a day is sent to Israel instead of being used in their own communities, they will seek change in how their money is spent.
When the American public starts noticing that Israel is approaching being an apartheid state, they will seek change in how their money is spent.
Israel has the power to change its policies and live in peace with its neighbors but it will not until the US stops paying for settlements and military aid.
BDS is a non violent way to get Israel's attention and educate the American public.

[Anybodyseenthepopos]

03:47 PM on 09/15/2011

First the $$ sent Israel is predominantly spent in the US. At least 90% of it.
Second, you use of the term apartheid with one in every six Israelis Arab/Muslim is redundantly ludicrous.
Third, BDS has a goal. It is to Eradicate Israel. The rest is B$.

[oregon jack]

03:49 AM on 09/18/2011

"Approaching" being an apartheid state? Israel has always been one. Following the Nakba, the remaining Palestinians were kept under martial law for 18 years. After 1967, the West Bank and Gazan Palestinians have lived under military occupation. Non-Jews within Israel are subjected to a different set of laws denying them property acquisition and improvement, with marriage restrictions, different citizenship status, segregated education, unequal access to public services, unequal employment opportunities (see www.adalah.org) and over 20 other discriminatory laws. Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela have declared Israeli apartheid worse than that of South Africa, which never murdered Blacks with F16s and attack helicopters and didn't lie to the world about what they were doing.

[Nwo2012]

01:25 PM on 09/15/2011

Stupid comment.

[messy]

03:46 PM on 09/15/2011

what's so stupid about it. it's a missionary organization, they go to the middle east in order to convert the Jews and Muslims to Christianity, and the Maronites and Orthodox to Presbytarian protestantism. They're trying to destroy the culture in a "nonviolent" way.

[Deluded]

03:17 PM on 09/15/2011

artist, writer, adventurer, ****

[messy]

03:47 PM on 09/15/2011

I presume that **** is "hunk."

[BcemXAHA]

11:40 AM on 09/15/2011

The most fascinating part is that the so called church gets funding from a country that is still in Iraq, in Afghanistan, is responsible for the most deaths of innocent lives in the world.

[psnyder325]

08:35 AM on 09/17/2011

Explain please. HOW does the Presbyterian Church (USA) get funding from the United States? Last time I looked, establishing a religion was illegal.

[BcemXAHA]

02:42 PM on 09/17/2011

Churches get a particular category of tax exemption status which isn't
reviewed as strongly as that of other non-profits, the wealthier churches
run countless businesses and own a lot of land/farms which have nothing to do
with non-profit activities.

Regrettably, few people seem to be aware of these issues. There
seems to be an assumption that churches simply get non-profit status for
their houses of worship and what they receive in the Sunday collection
plate. In today's day and age, this line of thinking is wrong.

Churches such as the Presbyterian church run massive institutions that own millions of dollars in property and control businesses which bring in millions of dollars of revenue each year, yet pay little to no taxes on it.

Does that answer your question?