Tag Archive for Presbyterian Church

| July 7, 2014
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Lawyer Attacks Hypocrisy of Presbyterian Divestment While Enjoying Israel Tax Benefits

Shurat HaDin founder, demands that Interior Minister immediately cancel all benefits enjoyed by Presbyterian Church in Israel.

By Yossi Aloni

 

The Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) voted last month to divest from companies that supply equipment to Israel. The decision means pulling church investments in Caterpillar, Motorola and HP to the tune of $21 million.

The Presbyterian Church USA

But, as it turns out, this very same church and its related organizations receives benefits and tax breaks from Israel totaling millions of dollars, and presumably would be none too pleased to lose those perks.

Israeli human rights lawyer Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, founder of Shurat HaDin Israeli Law Center, demanded that Interior Minister Gideon Saar immediately cancel all benefits enjoyed by the PCUSA in Israel. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| June 23, 2014
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PM Netanyahu responds to Presbyterian divestment

 

Prime Minister Netanyahu: Israel is only country in region “where you have freedom, tolerance, protection of minorities, protection of gays, protection of Christians!”

Although doing their biding, the Presbyterians deny taking part in BDS.

Associated Press

 

Israel’s prime minister on Sunday criticized the decision by the Presbyterian Church (USA) to divest from US companies that operate in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, saying the vote was misguided and unfair.

Photo: issued the following statement this afternoon:"Hamas terrorists carried out Thursday's kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers. We know that for a fact. These teenagers were kidnapped and the kidnapping was carried out by Hamas members. Hamas denials do not change this fact. And this attack should surprise no one because Hamas makes no secret of its agenda. Hamas is committed to the destruction of Israel and to carrying out terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians – including children.Instead of abiding by his international obligation to disarm Hamas, President Abbas has chosen to make Hamas his partner. Israel holds the Palestinian Authority and President Abbas responsible for any attacks against Israel that emanate from Palestinian-controlled territory. The Palestinian claim that the Palestinian Authority cannot be held responsible for an attack that took place in an area under Israeli security control is patently absurd.When an attack takes place in Tel Aviv or in London or in New York – all these places have been attacked by terrorists – the question is not where the attack takes place. The question is where it originated. The kidnappers in this case set out from territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority, and the PA cannot absolve itself of its responsibility.You remember that Israel warned the international community about the dangers of endorsing the Fatah-Hamas unity pact. I believe that the dangers of that pact now should be abundantly clear to all. We have seen since the signing of that pact an increase in terrorist activity emanating from the West Bank. We have seen Hamas strengthen its presence there, and this increases the likelihood that Hamas will take control of the Palestinian Authority, precisely as it did in Gaza. This will not advance peace; it will advance terror.Israel will act in all ways under its province, in all ways under our control, to bring home the three kidnapped teenagers . Israel will act against the kidnappers and their terrorist sponsors and comrades. We will do whatever needs to be done to protect our people, our citizens, our children and our teenagers from the scourge of terrorism.Thank you."Photo: Avi Ohayon, GPO.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – Photo: Avi Ohayon, GPO

In an address to an international gathering of Jewish journalists, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Israel as a rare bright spot in a turbulent region. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| June 15, 2014
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Presbyterian Church rallies to accept BDS against Israel


More & more religious organizations are gearing up to join the boycott and work to promote divestment from Israel, as the BDS movement gains steam in the US.

Associated Press

 

NEW YORK – The Presbyterian Church (USA) appears to be on the brink of handing a major victory to a movement that wants institutions to wield their investment dollars against Israel over its ‘treatment of the Palestinians’.

P ChurchThe Presbyterian General Assembly, gathering in Detroit through next week, will consider withdrawing its investments from some companies whose products are used by the Israeli government in the Palestinian territories.

Divestment advocates were narrowly outmaneuvered at the last Presbyterian convention in 2012, losing a crucial ballot by just two votes. Continue Reading »

Category: The Diaspora | Tags: ,
| February 20, 2014
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Church Leaders Reject BDS Boycott After Tour in Soda Stream Factory

American delegates from the Presbyterian Church, which formally endorsed boycotting Israel, change their minds after viewing up close the West Bank Soda Stream factory.

By Maayana Miskin

 

A delegation of 14 leaders from the Presbyterian clergy, a church that in the past supported boycotting Israeli products manufactured in Judea and Samaria (Shomron), arrived last week to visit Israel.

Presbyterian delegates – Photo: Courtesy of AIFL

The visit was organized by the America-Israel Friendship League (AIFL); the delegates’ goal was to discover Israel personally and to better understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Representatives from the Presbyterian Church, which has an estimated six million followers, visited the Soda Stream factory which is located in Maaleh Adumim, east of Jerusalem. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , ,
| February 19, 2014
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Presbyterians reject their church’s anti-Zionist study guide

The Church’s guide, ‘Zionism Unsettled,’ proposes that the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is fueled by a ‘pathology inherent in Zionism.’

By

 

 

Presbyterians who engage in dialogue with Jewish groups are scrambling to undo what they say is the damage caused by a congregational study guide assailing Zionism distributed by a group affiliated with their denomination.

The 220th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) on Thursday, July 5, 2012.

People listen to a session of the 220th General Assembly (2012) of the Presbyterian Church (USA) on Thursday, July 5, 2012, in Pittsburgh. Photo: AP

The guide, “Zionism Unsettled,” posits that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is fueled by a “pathology inherent in Zionism” and rejects theologies — Christian and Jewish — that uphold Zionism.

Continue Reading »
Category: The Diaspora | Tags: ,