The Presbyterian Church USA hosted a three-day meeting to justify to denomination leaders its decision to divest from Israel, presenting what one church elder described as a panel of "full-time, paid, anti-Israel propagandists." The event, which occurred Feb. 10-12 at the denomination's headquarters in Louisville, Ky., was entitled "Steps Toward Peace in Israel and Palestine." The conference was held to explain why action was taken to divest church funds from companies doing business with Israel. In July, the denomination's General Assembly voted 431-62 to divest from the Jewish state. The PCUSA is believed to be the largest organization or institution to join the divestment campaign against the Jewish state. It was the first Christian denomination to do so.
As evidenced by the need to hold the conference, which drew 200 participants, not all Presbyterians are happy with the divestment action. The discussion on Feb. 10 was moderated by former General Assembly leader Fahed Abu-Akel, who in October 2003 arranged for the appearance of an anti-Semitic speaker, Samir Makhlouf, at a Presbyterian-sponsored event at Wooster College in Ohio. The panel featured four Palestinian Christians. None spoke of the actions of the Palestinian Authority, which, in areas under its control, has confiscated Christian property, failed to prosecute the murderers of Palestinian Muslims who convert to Christianity, and witnessed the rise of radical Islamism that has encouraged violent attacks on Palestinian Christians, including full-scale riots that have caused a rapid increase in emigration. According to the four Palestinians who spoke, the only villain in the Middle East is Israel. Three of the four Palestinians – Sawsan Bitar, Nuha Khoury and Alex Awad – work for organizations that do not acknowledge Israel's right to exist.
Alex Awad is a prominent anti-Israel activist and author and is employed as a Methodist missionary, but his mission is not to preach the Gospel of Jesus to non-Christians. Awad devotes his time to taking tour groups through a Palestinian refugee camp' and writing anti-Israel books and articles.
Leslie Scanlon, a reporter for the Presbyterian Outlook, described the meeting this way:
"In one of the first day's sessions, four Palestinian Christians came to tell their stories – their words making international politics seem real and personal as they spoke of the impact of the Israeli occupation on their jobs, their children, their homes and their sense of self worth."
Two online petitions have been created to collect signatures of those who want the denomination to reverse its course on divestment.
One is for members of the Presbyterian Church USA and is targeted to the members of the General Assembly, and the other is addressed to the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church USA.
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