Presbyterians apologize for divestment anguish
By Shayndi Raice
The Jewish Advocate
Jewish leaders say Presbyterians feel a sense of 'teshuva' over 2004 policy
After two years of intense lobbying from the Jewish community – both locally and nationally – the Presbyterian Church appears to be retreating from its 2004 divestment policy, saying on Sunday, "We are grieved by the pain that this has caused."
On Wednesday, the church's 217th General Assembly in Birmingham, Ala., was expected to vote in favor of a peacemaking resolution that would replace the language of divestment with a process of "corporate engagement."
At press time, the vote had not yet passed but officials predicted that it would go through without major adjustments.
"I'm very cautiously optimistic," said Alan Ronkin, deputy director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, who has been working with local Presbyterian ministers to help reverse the divestment policy. "This will drive another nail into the coffin of the divestment movement."
Acknowledging that the 2004 decision seriously wounded relations with the Jewish community, the resolution states that, "We … accept responsibility for the flaws in our process, and ask for a new season of mutual understanding and dialogue."
The new policy of corporate engagement encourages the church to invest "in only peaceful pursuits, and affirm that the customary corporate engagement process … of our denomination is the proper vehicle for achieving this goal."
Before the 2004 divestment policy, the church could investigate any company and decide to divest for ethical reasons. The peacemaking resolution takes the church back to this previous policy that allows for responsible investments – which could include divesting from companies that do business with Israel – but does not single out Israel.
It is the decision to no longer single out Israel that represents a major turning point, according to Ethan Felson, assistant executive director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, who spoke to the Advocate from the conference.
"There's a sense of teshuva (repentance)," he said. "The divestment overture was always one of largely symbolic value and their actions now carry very significant symbolic value. The Presbyterian Church is one that seeks balance rather than one that singles out Israel amongst all other nations where there are conflicts."
According to Ronkin, JCRC has been working for the last two years with other local Jewish organizations including the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League to rally local Presbyterian ministers against the cause of divestment. By asking local rabbis to work with their counterparts in the Presbyterian Church, the Jewish community was able to convince a number of churches to oppose divestment.
Ronkin said he believed that the two representatives from Boston at the conference in Birmingham would vote against divestment, mostly due to lobbying efforts by the Jewish community here.
"This is an issue that's very important but divestment isn't really the point; it's a symptom of the problem," explained Ronkin.
He suggested that Palestinian Christians who have a strong voice in the church have convinced Presbyterians that divestment is the route to true peace.
"[Mainline Protestant churches] have not really had a chance to hear Israel's case and it's our responsibility to help them see that this is a complex issue and by demonizing one side, they won't reach their stated the goal of peace," said Ronkin.
Prior to the conference, a number of local Presbyterian ministers, including Reverend Hurmon Hamilton of the Roxbury Presbyterian Church and president of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, signed a letter to the General Assembly asking them to rescind the divestment policy.
"I think that the assembly has heard the outcry, not only from our brothers and sisters from the Jewish community, but they heard the massive outcry from Presbyterians all over this country and many from right here in Boston," Hamilton told the Advocate after reading the recent resolution. "We have acknowledged that we caused hurt and pain, that it's not our place to tell a sovereign nation what it can and cannot do, which is most appropriate. And while we try to strike some balance, we continue to reserve the right to move people toward peace."
Dexter Van Zile, Christian Media Analyst for CAMERA, said, "The important thing is that we have seen a free standing group of Christians who are hugely offended by 2004 and this group is not going to go away. Ultimately, the anti-Israel people have been put on notice that defaming Israel is not going to go unanswered by people in their own churches."
