The United Church of Christ, a mainline USA Protestant denomination, has a long history of activism in the United States, and was a leading advocate for African American civil rights in the 1960s.
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The resolution urged the divestment from “the following companies that have been found to profit from the occupation of the Palestinian territories by the state of Israel: Caterpillar Inc., Motorola Solutions, Hewlett-Packard Development Company LP or its successors, G4S, and Veolia Environnement[sic] plus its 352 subsidiaries”.
At its national conference on Monday in Ohio, the United Church of Christ passed a resolution calling for the team and the National Football League to scrap the name and any images that could be hurtful to Native Americans. However, each is guided by directors who can decide whether to follow the call for divestment.
The 508-124 vote of the UCC’s General Synod marks a victory for a broad global movement that aims to pressure Israel into extracting itself from Palestinian lands by a strategy known as BDS – Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions – and could foreshadow similar resolutions now being considered by the Episcopal Church, which is holding its General Assembly this week, and the Mennonite Church, whose convention begins next week.
While the full economic scope of the UCC’s divestment is not yet clear, the moral weight of its impact comes at a time when Israel is taking note of BDS’ victories.
The 1.1 million-member Christian organization is just the latest to take such action.
“For Palestinians living under occupation or facing systematic discrimination as citizens of Israel… this action sends a strong signal that they are not alone, and that there are churches who still dare to speak truth to power and stand with the oppressed”, Raheb said.
Several pro-Israel groups and lawmakers backed the amendment. The Israeli government and many Jewish leaders have condemned the movement as anti-Semitic and an attempt to delegitimize Israel. His spokeswoman said it was never meant to make a judgment on the Israeli settlements.
“We’re on the precipice of a new political moment”, said Lev Hirschhorn, a board member of Jewish Voice for Peace, which supports the BDS movement.
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Last year, the Presbyterian Church (USA) voted to sell stock in a few companies whose products are used by Israel in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
