The Presbyterian Church's All-American Divestment from the Israeli Occupation
July 10, 2014
Yarden Katz
In late June of this year, there was a significant victory for the intensifying global movement against the Israeli occupation. The Presbyterian Church U.S.A. voted to divest their stock from three American companies (Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard, and Motorola Solutions) on the grounds that these companies participate in the unjust and illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. Both supporters and opponents of the act have labeled it as "Israel divestment", but this label is inaccurate. The Presbyterian divestment is an all-American act: an American group divesting from American companies.
The church's rationale for economic divestment is explained in a 2010 report. It argues that the human rights violations imposed by the occupation required the group to "examine which of its investments supported and profited from that occupation" because such profits raise "questions of moral integrity." The strategy chosen by the group was to use "selective" divestment, targeting "companies supporting the occupation, not Israeli companies in general." The church’s latest report concluded that Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard, and Motorola contribute to and profit from "the relentless, five decade long, military occupation of the Palestinian territories" by enabling the construction of illegal settlements and by managing checkpoints that "dehumanize Palestinians" and "cut off innocent civilians from their property and natural resources."
The Presbyterian Church's resolution is persuasive because it embodies two principles: the recognition that without U.S. backing, Israel cannot continue its crimes against the Palestinians and violations of international law, and that the most direct path for Americans to change policy is at home, acting where they have the strongest political and economic power. By targeting three American companies that the Church is directly invested in—rather than offering a wholesale condemnation of Israel or Israeli commerce—the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. is taking charge of the role its own funds play in enabling the criminality.
However, in public discourse, the Church's move is blurred: their action against American companies is portrayed as an action against Israel. This serves the interests of two radically different groups. If the Church’s divestment is falsely deemed as “anti-Israel” or “Israel divestment,” both Israel hardliners (who oppose the act), and the international BDS movement (who support the act) can use it as springboard for their own rhetoric.
remainder in full: http://www.bostonreview.net/blog/yarden-katz-israel-palestine-presbyterian-church-divestment
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