National Jewish Group Applauds Presbyterian Church’s Historic Stand Against Israeli Occupation

from Common Dreams

Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), the largest grassroots Jewish peace group of its kind in the United States, applauds the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) for its recent vote to explore divesting from companies who profit from the harming of "innocent people, Palestinian or Israeli." Far from being an attack on Jews, the PCUSA decision to investigate selective divestment as a way to end Israel’s 37-year occupation is in the best Judeo-Christian tradition of supporting universal human rights and justice.

This is definitely not something you see everyday. For one thing, diverse Jewish perspectives are all but invisible in the US, having been supplanted by official Israeli positions at every turn. Granted this is an organizational press release, not mainstream media coverage--which, incidentally, is already accusing Presbyterians of anti-semitism.

Juan Cole writes:

It really is worthwhile letting the Presbyterians know there is public support for the brave stance they have taken, since they will get enormous pressure to cave and shut up about what is being done to the Palestinian people, just as do almost all other American institutions and public individuals. The attempt to smear the church as racist for its stance, which is one of the most powerful and most effective (if completely despicable) techniques of the proponents of settler-colonialism in the Occupied Territories of Palestine, has already begun.

Call the church at 1-800-872-3283 or email them with your support.