Peace in the Middle East—Presbyterians Disagree On How to Proceed

Since 1948 General Assemblies have repeatedly addressed the Middle East and particularly Israel and Palestine. The Presbyterian position has consistently been to affirm the right of Israel to exist as a sovereign state within secure, internationally recognized borders and the right of the Palestinians to self-determination, including the right to the establishment of a neighboring independent, sovereign state toward the end of establishing a just and durable peace.   A summary of General Assembly statements and actions about Israel, Palestine, and the Middle East is available from the PC(USA)'s Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy. 

In February, the General Assembly Mission Council (GAMC) recommended that the upcoming 220^th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) divest the church of its stock in three companies (Caterpillar, Motorola Solutions, and Hewlett-Packard) “until they have ceased profiting from non-peaceful activities in Israel-Palestine.”  This recommendation has been met with strong feelings on all sides of the issues by Presbyterians around the world.  In the interest of making Hudson River Presbyterians aware of the various points of view, following are a couple of resources.

On the side in favor of divestment, Jewish Voice for Peace—Westchester  is sponsoring an event on Tuesday, May 29, 7:00-9:00pm at the Mapleton Conference Center in White Plains.  A slide show will be followed by presentations and Q & A. Click here for a flier.

Speaking out against the recommendation to divest is an organization called Presbyterians for Middle East Peace which has on its website a number of resources explaining its views and suggesting alternative ways to bring about a solution in the region.

If you have questions about this complex issue please contact Susan Andrews at susan@hudrivpres.org.