[Peace-discuss] United Church of Christ Votes to Boycott & Divest from Companies Profiting from Israel's Occupation

[Robert Naiman]

http://www.uccpin.org/#!pressrelease/c1a36

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 30, 2015

United Church of Christ Votes to Boycott & Divest from Companies Profiting
from Israel's Occupation

The United Church of Christ Palestine-Israel Network (UCC PIN) is pleased
to announce that today the plenary of the 30th General Synod taking place
in Cleveland passed Resolution #4, calling for boycotts and divestment from
companies that profit from Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands.

"As disciples of Jesus, we hear and seek to heed his call to be
peacemakers, responding to violence with nonviolence and extending love to
all," said Rev. John Deckenback, Conference Minister of the Central
Atlantic Conference of the UCC, which submitted the resolution to the
synod. "It is in that spirit of love for both Israelis and Palestinians,
and a desire to support Palestinians in their nonviolent struggle for
freedom, that the United Church of Christ has passed this resolution.”

"In approving this resolution, the UCC has demonstrated its commitment to
justice and equality,” said Rev. Mitri Raheb, a Christian Palestinian and
Pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, who
travelled to Cleveland for the synod. “For Palestinians living under
occupation or facing systematic discrimination as citizens of Israel,
enduring the destruction of their homes and businesses, the theft of their
land for settlements, and living under blockade and siege in Gaza, this
action sends a strong signal that they are not alone, and that there are
churches who still dare to speak truth to power and stand with the
oppressed.”

The vote, which was 508 in favor, 124 against, with 38 abstentions, was the
culmination of a process that began in 2005, to end the Church's complicity
in Israel's nearly half-century-old occupation and other abuses of
Palestinian human rights. It also comes as a response to the Christian
Palestinian community’s call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, as
embodied in the Kairos Palestine document, which seeks to achieve
Palestinian freedom and rights using peaceful means, inspired by the US
Civil Rights and South African anti-Apartheid movements.

In passing Resolution #4, the UCC is following in the footsteps of sister
mainline churches like the Presbyterian Church (USA), which passed a
similar resolution last year divesting from Israel’s occupation, and the
United Methodists, who voted to boycott products made in Israeli
settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories and whose pension board
divested from G4S, a prison service company, due in part to its dealings
with the Israeli military.

UCC PIN expresses its gratitude to Synod delegates, who faithfully carried
out their duties in a thoughtful and responsible manner, giving the
proposal the careful deliberations it deserved. UCC PIN also expresses its
gratitude to our many allies, including those in the Jewish and Palestinian
communities, for their indispensable and cherished support.

UCC PIN hopes that this modest initiative will help encourage the Israeli
government to end the occupation, and looks forward to working in
covenantal relationship with the UCC Pension Boards and the UCC Funds to
implement this resolution moving forward.

===

Robert Naiman
Policy Director
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
(202) 448-2898 x1
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.chambana.net/pipermail/peace-discuss/attachments/20150630/dfd49f1f/attachment.html>