[Peace-discuss] Divestment, CUJF Board Minutes from February

[David Green]

I'm posting an article by a well-known Christian
leader about divestment, and the CUJF minutes from
this past February, which are posted online. They
include a report about a meeting with local
Presbyterians, as well as an attack on me. It should
be noted that the "three Hillel staff members" include
Elie Dvorin, the extreme right-wing and racist
columnist for the DI, and David Johnson, the former
columnist and former head of Illinpac, who shares
Dvorin's proclivities for passing along unfiltered
Israeli propaganda, such as that about UN ambulances
carrying weaposn. 

Needless to say, I have not been invited to reprsent
my views at a CUJF board meeting. This is particularly
interesting, especially since Lee Melhado (pertaining
to the Mennonite issue) thinks that "she should be
representing points of view from all members of the
Jewish community."

For some reason, CUJF minutes have not been posted
online since this entry.

Impressions
The Christian Century
November 15, 2005

Divestment

by James M. Wall

For most media in Israel, American Protestants are
simply the people who book Bible tours of the region.
In June 2004 this indifference changed. That's when
the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) adopted a resolution
recommending that "a 
longstanding Presbyterian position against the
occupation of 
Palestinian lands by the State of Israel" should lead
to the initiation of "a process of phased, selective
divestment in multinational corporations operating in
Israel, in 
accordance with General Assembly policy on social
investing."

Reaction was swift and strong in both Israel and in
the U.S., where pro-Israel Christians saw the
divestment move as a threat to Israel's image.

How did the Presbyterians move from passing
resolutions to proposing action against corporations
that support the Israeli occupation? This move did not
start, as some critics would claim, with Naim Ateek,
an Anglican priest in Jerusalem who directs Sabeel,
the Jerusalem-based ecumenical peace center. 
Aggressive supporters of Israel have been attacking
Ateek and Sabeel. The focus on Ateek is ironic, since
he advocates a nonviolent approach to ending the
occupation.

In mid-October, those attacks included picket lines in
front of the first of Sabeel's annual series of
conferences in the U.S., presented this year in
Chicago, Denver, Toronto, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
After attending the Chicago conference, Dexter Van
Zile, Boston-based David Project's Christian outreach 
director, wrote on the Stand with Us Web site that "to
these folks, the Jews are the new Nazis." That
comment, designed to evoke the Holocaust, has no basis
in fact. (I attended the Chicago conference; no such
statement was made or implied.) Sabeel describes the
"moral basis" for its work this way: "We 
acknowledge the sufferings and injustices committed
against Jews by the West, especially those inflicted
in the Holocaust. Nevertheless, anti-Semitism does not
justify the injustices committed against
Palestinians."

Ateek was not the initiator of the divestment
movement. The movement began with an overture from a
Jacksonville, Florida, Presbyterian church, sponsored
by a pastor who saw Israel's occupation up close while
on a Christian Peacemaker 
Teams mission to Palestine. The Florida overture
worked its way up to the General Assembly and was
endorsed by the national church.

The United Church of Christ passed its own resolution
this past summer: "Concerning use of economic leverage
in promoting peace in the Middle East, . . .[we call]
on UCC individual and corporate investors to use
economic leverage to advocate for peace with justice
in Israel-Palestine." That's not quite 
a specific call for divestment, but it reflects a
similar strategy.

In November 2004, the Episcopal Church mandated that
its Committee on Social Responsibility in Investments
(created in 1972) investigate corporations that
"contribute to the infrastructure of Israel's ongoing
occupation of the 
West Bank and the Gaza Strip." Seeking balance, the
resolution instructed the committee to also identify
companies "responsible for violence against Israel." 
Since Palestinian violence is largely the work of
bomb-producing 
workshops in homes in the West Bank and Gaza, the
committee is unlikely in this part of its work to turn
up international corporations the size of, say,
Caterpillar. 

In October of this year, the Episcopal SRI committee
reported back to the church's executive council with a
document that is much milder than the resolution
passed by the Presbyterians. How mild is a matter of
dispute. A layperson elected to five General
Conventions of the Episcopal Church told me that a
careful reading of the SRI committee document provides
"sufficient 
teeth" for the church to challenge "corporations
investing funds in maintaining the occupation . . . to
change the way their funds are being used." 

But it appears that the vague language of the
Episcopal resolution offers little encouragement to
Palestinians who have looked to U.S. Christians for
support. The Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, the main
source on the subject for Palestinians in the Occupied
Territories, led its October 14 story with the
headline, "American Churches Back Away from
Divestment." It made no reference to "teeth" in the
Episcopal resolution.

David Elcott, director of interreligious affairs for
the American Jewish Committee, based in New York, was
one of the American Jewish leaders who talked to
Ha'aretz. "My reading," said Elcott, "as a central
Jewish player in this, is that there never was a
[general] move toward divestment. Here is the 
reality: No church in the U.S. except the
Presbyterians has voted for divestment." 

But more resolutions will be considered. In June 2006
a number of United Methodist conferences will consider
the issue. The Presbyterian General Assembly will meet
next year to either affirm or change its 2004 action.

Is divestment the best tactic to use in trying to
change American public opinion? I cannot say for
certain. Was the nonviolent 1930 attack on the salt
tax in India the best way to force the British to give
India its freedom? Were marches and bus boycotts the
best tactics to eliminate racial segregation in the
U.S.?

Martin Luther King Jr.'s protest actions led him to a
jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama. There he received a
letter from local religious leaders telling him that
his actions were "unwise and untimely" because they
harmed relations between blacks and whites. King's
response, in his famous "Letter from Birmingham 
Jail," was that he had already done a lot of talking.
Now it was time to act. 

James M. Wall is senior contributing editor at the
Century.

http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=1476

Board Meeting, 9 February 2005, Approved
Champaign-Urbana Jewish Federation
 
Present:  Hagit Itzkowitz, Fred Jaher, Helen
Kuznetsov, Judi Laufhutte, Ira Lebenson, Lee Melhado,
Laurie Mikva, Joyce Nagel, Gary Porton, Steve Scher,
Peter Siegel, Ella Slavin, Ray Spooner, Ira Wachtel. 

Absent:  Mark Band, Ann Einhorn, Lynn Morris, Michael
Shapiro, Vera Shavitt, Hank Walter, Stan Wasserman.
     
1.       Call to Order: In Michael Shapiro’s absence,
Pete Siegel opened the meeting at 7:40 pm. 

2.       Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the
December 8, 2004 meeting were approved and the Notes
of the January were read.  (No quorum was present to
conduct an official meeting in January). 

3.       Guests:  Auditors David Hood and Megan Drewes
gave a presentation of the auditing process and
findings.  No major concerns were found in their
audit.  They suggested a few changes, such as a new
accounting system and increasing the number of people
involved with receiving and dispersing money.  The
second issue was addressed as of 1 July 2005, so we
are already in compliance for the current fiscal year,
and a new accounting system (QuickBooks for
Non-Profits) is on order.  The suggestions were due to
business growth, rather than anyone doing anything
wrong.  They did find a $4,500 misbalance in the
administrative budget (below the level of a reportable
concern) which began in July 2003, when Djavid’s
status changed from 3/4-time only with CUJF to
3/4-time with CUJF and 1/4-time with CUJEF.  This
timing also coincided with his switch from receiving
extra salary in lieu of retirement to participation in
CUJF's 401 K retirement plan.  Lee and Djavid
determined that in adjusting payroll to fit these
changes, Djavid inadvertently applied a formula
pertinent to his arrangements during the previous
fiscal year to the new fiscal year, resulting in
overpayment of both Lee and Djavid.  Since discovering
the error, adjustments have been made for the current
fiscal year.  The suggestion was made to adjust
salaries in FY 05-06 to make up the remaining
differences for FY 03-04, with corresponding
adjustments in retirement benefits, so that by June
30, 2006 all overpayments will have been reimbursed. 
The auditors agreed that this action is the simplest
way to resolve implications for taxes and retirement.

4.       President's Report: Lee reported on a meeting
at Sinai Temple with members of the Jewish and
Presbyterian communities to discuss the divestiture
resolution and proselytizing.  About 50 people from
each community ate lunch and discussed how to work
together. Fred Jaher said he thought it went smoothly,
though without significant influence.  He felt that
the Presbyterians were polite and non-committal, but
may have a better idea of how we feel.  Steve said he
had been skeptical going into the event, but thinks
they have a better idea of the implications of their
actions from our perspective. Despite difference in
mood and tenor, the consistent message was that we all
learned something and that the dialog should be kept
open.  
Mennonite (security barrier) Update: Lee received no
reports from anyone from the Jewish community
attending as the meeting was held during shiva for
Howard Birnbaum.

Jewish Agency Council (presidents and executive
directors of all Jewish agencies in town) Update:  the
group met in December to decide how to respond to the
Daily Illini situation and recommended that Michael
Shapiro write a thank you letter to Dr. Herman for his
stand on the anti Semitism.  Michael will send a copy
of the letter to the Board. Ira Wachtel noted that in
his negotiations with the DI about ads for Champaign
Surplus, that three people were aware of the
controversy and supportive of the need to create a
corporate history and memory so that the same mistakes
are not repeated each year with new students. 
Michael, Lee and Paul Weichsel met with Susan Cohen,
the Chair of the DI Board to see what could be done to
facilitate this history, perhaps meeting with editors
at the beginning of each semester to urge the creation
of a notebook of problems and how they were addressed.

Nominations:  Michael and Lee met, trying to find a
new chair of nominations. One has been asked, but has
not yet responded.

5.       Executive Director's Report: Lee reported
that the Human Services Committee met with the
representatives from all Jewish organizations in CU
that award camp scholarships.  In prior years, they
met separately and families had to apply separate to
more than one organziation. Lee, Susan Schomer, and
Elizabeth Shapiro will meet on 2/15/05 to decide the
awards, reconciling requests, available funds, and
eligibility requirements to maximize the number of
children receiving funding. 


Salary adjustments:  See above.  Steve Scher made a
motion to correct the error from Fiscal Year 03-0/4 in
Fiscal Year 05/06 by subtracting exactly the amounts
overpaid.  It was unanimously accepted.

6.       Treasurer's Report: Hagit distributed and
discussed a treasurer’s report.  

7.       Campaign Report: Pete Siegel reported that
262 donors had pledged $246,000 compared to 247 donors
and $256,827 last year at this time.  In addition,
$4,855 has been pledged from 28 people for victims of
the Tsunami.  Super Sunday I will be at Tony Novak’s
office, on 2/13, a date change because of the meeting
with the Presbyterians.   Volunteers are still needed
for 2-hour time slots, which includes time for
training if needed. Friend-raising continues, with
some people finished and others wanting reminders. 
Information about these meetings should be given to
Pete, so that it can be used next year.

8.       Old Business: David Green spoke at an event
this week for the Muslim student organization.  Three
Hillel staff members attended and recorded the event. 
Discussion followed about the possibility that he is
becoming increasingly irrational.  Lee will follow up.

9.        New Business: Lee reported that she had
received criticism for listing the Mennonite meeting
about the security barrier in the CUJF calendar of
events, without saying it was anti-Israel or labeling
it as something to monitor.  She said it was difficult
to know how to mediate demands from disperate segments
of the community about what should and should not be
included and she would like guidelines to assist her
in making these decisions, since she should be
representing points of view from all members of the
Jewish community.

10.   The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 pm.
 
Respectfully submitted,
Judith Laufhutte            




	
		
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