washington | A Presbyterian committee accused five companies last week of contributing to “ongoing violence that plagues Israel and Palestine” and pledged to use the church’s multimillion-dollar stock holdings in the businesses to pressure them to stop.
The move follows a vote last year by leaders of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to put economic pressure on companies that profit from Israeli policy in the West Bank and Gaza.
The vote outraged Jewish groups, who said the strategy was biased and failed to recognize Israel’s right to defend itself, and the tensions worsened after other Protestant bodies adopted similar tactics.
Jewish leaders are deeply disturbed that the campaigns threatening divestment essentially borrow from the 1980s movement against South African apartheid.
“We are initiating a slow, deliberate process,” said Bill Somplatsky-Jarman, who works with the Presbyterian Mission Responsibility through Investment Committee. The goal is to convince corporations to “change their business practices which inflict harm on the innocent.”
David Elcott, head of interreligious relations for the American Jewish Committee, contended the Presbyterian strategy was meant to “punish and attack” Israel. He said he was particularly upset by the timing of the announcement, two weeks before Israel prepares to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
The targeted companies are Caterpillar Inc.; Citigroup; ITT Industries Inc.; Motorola Inc.; and United Technologies Corp.
The Presbyterians accused all except Citigroup of selling products such as night vision equipment, wireless communications and helicopters that the Israeli military uses to hurt Palestinians and bolster control of the territories.
To demonstrate equal abhorrence of violence against Israelis, the panel accused Citigroup of being part of a conduit for funds used to support Mideast terrorist groups.
Caterpillar insisted it was in no way linked to wrongdoing in the Middle East and had “neither the legal right nor the tangible ability” to monitor how customers use its products.
The Presbyterians did not release a dollar value of church holdings in the companies but estimated they held stock worth tens of millions of dollars in the five corporations. The church has about 2.4 million members.