In Touch Quarter 3 - 2014

Presbyterian Church attacks the
one Middle Eastern nation that
protects Christians
In June, the Presbyterian
Church in the USA voted
to divest from three
companies deemed to profit
from “Israeli occupation”.
The motion passed by an
exceptionally narrow margin
(310-303) and will mean
around $21 million worth
of funds will be diverted away from Caterpillar,
Motorola and Hewlett-Packard.
Speaking immediately after the vote, moderator
for the church meeting, Heath Rada said that the
decision was, “in no way…a reflection of our lack of
love for our Jewish brothers and sisters”.
It is unlikely the Jewish community will believe
Mr Rada’s words. And why should they? History
is full of Christians showing a lack of love toward
their Jewish brothers and sisters, in everything from
Martin Luther’s anti-Semitic leaflet “On The Jews
And Their Lies” to the silence among most Christian
leaders during the Holocaust.
Divestment may not be as extreme as these
horrific examples, but needless to say the motion
will do nothing to improve relations between Jews
and Christians.
Divestment in this case has masqueraded itself
as being part of a ‘peaceful pro-justice initiative’.
The reality couldn’t be further from the truth as an
extremist movement known as BDS has backed the
Church’s decision.
BDS stands for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions.
Its leaders have stated that the movement’s goal is
the end of Israel entirely, and they reject a two-state
solution (Omar Bargouti, John Spritzler, Ahmed
Moor). Even the notoriously pro-Palestinian
academic Norman Finklestein has admitted BDS
is a “cult” with a “large segment” that wants to
“eliminate Israel”.
The idea of boycotting everything Israel produces
is near impossible for the 21 st Century Westerner.
Instant messaging, voicemail technology and even
SIM cards were developed in Israel. Boycotting
Israel means never using Google (they have offices
in Israel). After boycotting Google, you’ll have to
burn your mobile phone and laptop.
The Presbyterian Church must realise that by
listening to the BDS movement they are supporting
a movement who are anti-Israel and more
importantly anti-peace. It’s a cause that often seems
to care more about the destruction of Israel than the
wellbeing of Palestinians.
What crimes have these three companies
committed which warrant divestment? Caterpillar
sells bulldozers to the US who then pass them on to
Israel. Caterpillar itself does not and never has sold
anything to Israel. To repeat, Caterpillar has sold
a grand total of zero bulldozers to Israel. Not only
does Caterpillar have no say in how its vehicles are
resold, but legally the company cannot turn down
the US military as a client. Divestment in this case is
completely nonsensical.
What about Motorola? The Israeli Defence
Force (IDF) buys the company’s communication
technologies. This is the same IDF that the former
commander of the British forces in Afghanistan Col.
Richard Kemp praised for doing “more to safeguard
the rights of civilians in the combat zone than any other
army in the history of warfare.”
Finally we turn to Hewlett-Packard who supplies
biometric scanners at Israeli checkpoints. These
airport security style checkpoints exist to prevent
terrorist attacks. It’s ironic that the reason HP
got involved was because the Palestinians often
complain passing through checkpoints can take
hours. HP’s answer was to design technology that
would speed up the process without endangering
lives. That’s right, HP are helping the Palestinians.
Yet the Presbyterians think they’re doing the
Palestinians a favour by divesting from this
technology.
Denominations and Christians across the world
must wake up. BDS is anti-peace. It singles out
the only democracy in the Middle East for attack.
Churches must stop supporting this hateful
ideology.
There is a tragic irony here. What kind of Church
attacks the only Middle Eastern nation that
guarantees the safety of Christians? The Presbyterian
Church has been at pains to state their action of
divestment has nothing to do with BDS. But talk
is cheap. Their actions speak volumes. Aiding the
4 // IN TOUCH