Saturday, June 28, 2014

Presbyterians' vote on Israel conforms with our values

This commentary first appeared in the Charlotte Observer on June 28, 2014.

On the afternoon of Friday, June 20, a group of highly committed, thoughtful and informed Presbyterian elders voted to substantiate our religious values with concrete action. By a vote of 310-303, we decided to remove our funds from three U.S. companies that profit from Israel’s military occupation of Palestine. We did not vote to divest from Israel, and in fact hold considerable investments in Israeli companies. Nor did we vote to join the Boycott, Divest and Sanction movement. Instead, we voted to divest – take money entrusted to us by our churches’ members – from companies that profit from a military occupation that violates international law on a daily basis. In other words, we made an ethical choice that coheres with our spiritual convictions. It’s called integrity.

Some suggest that we have been callous to our Jewish friends and neighbors, but nothing could be further from the truth. We even invited Rick Jacobs, the leader of the Union for Reform Judaism, to speak to our gathered assembly – not just once, but twice. My hope is that he will return the courtesy and ask the leader of the PCUSA, Gradye Parsons, to interpret our actions to their national gathering. In fact, Rabbi Jacobs wasn’t the only representative of the Jewish community present. Many from Jewish Voices for Peace were at our assembly vigorously lobbying our delegates in favor of our decision. Some even wrote us a thank you note! In addition, members of my congregation have been meeting regularly with representatives from leading Jewish congregations in our city, affirming our shared values and discussing – sometimes vigorously – our different perspectives on the divestment issue.

Those less familiar with the Presbyterian Church (USA) may not be aware that this is far from the first time we have aligned our investment decisions according to our spiritual convictions. We have a long history of carefully considered decisions about investments that have nothing to do with Israel or companies that profit from the occupation of Palestine. This vote follows more than a decade of discernment and conversation. If anything, Presbyterians act slowly, deliberately and thoughtfully.

In the aftermath of our decision, some have tried to obfuscate the core issue – principled investment of our resources – by spinning a secondary narrative marked by conflict and name-calling. But the Presbyterian story is mostly about a group of faithful Christians aligning our actions with our religious values. These same values lead us to similar actions in our own city like supporting Salvation Army’s Center for Hope, volunteering at Urban Ministry, building homes with Habitat for Humanity, learning from our Muslim neighbors in a joint study group, and joining with Temple Israel in a Martin Luther King Jr. service day.

It’s exactly the kind of integrity our world longs to see in people of faith, and I’m proud to be part of a church brave enough to bear witness to it.

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