Presbyterian divestment proposal spurs heated debate
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"The Committee on Middle East and Peacemaking Issues of the Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly spent the day Monday locked in heated debate over a proposal to divest its funds from companies whose products are used by Israel to enforce occupation of the West Bank.
The committee listened to impassioned testimony from American Jews, Palestinian Christians and Presbyterians and waded through sometimes contentious disagreements over a proper way forward. PCUSA's biannual meetings are being held Downtown this week at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
Brian Ellison, chair of the Mission Responsibility Through Investment committee, introduced the topic by arguing that the church should not profit from investing its pension and charitable funds in companies whose actions conflict with church values.
He charged Hewlett-Packard with selling hardware used by Israel in its naval blockade of Gaza, Motorola with supplying surveillance technology to Israeli settlements, and Caterpillar with providing militarized machines that raze Palestinian homes.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/presbyterian-divestment-proposal-spurs-heated-debate-643023/#ixzz1zcF7067m
Presbyterian committee passes call for divestment from occupation profiteers
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"The Presbyterian committee on the Middle East has voted overwhelmingly in favor of divesting from three companies whose products are used by the Israeli military.
The vote this morning, with 36 in favor, 11 against and 1 abstention, is a boon to divestment activists who hope that the full Presbyterian general assembly will vote to divest. It removes the last barrier to a full plenary vote, which is set for Thursday or Friday of this week.
Here's the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian church statement on the vote:
The Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (USA) is pleased to announce that today Committee 15 of the 220th General Assembly voted in favor of Resolution 15-11, which calls for divestment from Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard, and Motorola Solutions, over Israel's use of their products in violations of Palestinian human rights. In voting to support divestment, committee members also recommended that the church reinvest divested funds into companies engaging in peaceful pursuits in Israel and Palestine.
"This is an encouraging step,” said Rev. Dr. Walt Davis, IPMN Education Co-Chair. "We hope plenary voters will follow the lead of Committee 15 and the recommendations of the Mission Responsibility Through Investing committee and support divestment from these companies that are profiting from Israel's violations of Palestinian human rights. It’s been a long and thorough process and it’s finally time for the church to stop profiting from the suffering the peoples of the Holy Land.”
http://mondoweiss.net/2012/07/presbyterian-committee-passes-call-for-divestment-from-occupation-profiteers.html
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