Episcopal Church rejects Israel boycott resolutions
Separately, leading Mennonite group delays decision on divesting from companies tied to Israeli control of West Bank
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The Episcopal Church of the United States on Thursday rejected several resolutions calling for the two-million-member Protestant church to divest from companies engaging in business with Israel and to boycott the Jewish state over its treatment of Palestinians.
Its House of Bishops defeated the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) resolution brought to the vote at the church’s 78th General Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Referencing the sharp increase of Jewish settlers in the West Bank, which it said “eroded the prospects for a two-state solution and hopes for peace,” the defeated resolution offered that “it is time to try new methods to persuade Israel to do what is in its own best interest.”
A second resolution that was struck down called on the US government and its global partners to “offer a new, comprehensive, and time-bound framework to the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority for the conclusive negotiation of a two-state peace agreement.” The resolution further stated that “simple calls for the parties to return to the negotiating table are no longer sufficient to the urgency of the situation.”
Separately Thursday, a leading Mennonite group delayed a decision on divesting from companies with business tied to Israel’s control of the West Bank. The Mennonite Church USA was set to vote on whether it should sell off stock in companies “known to be profiting from the occupation” and from “destruction of life and property” in the territories.But delegates at a national meeting in Kansas City, Missouri, voted 418–336 to table the resolution until their next assembly two years from now, a church spokeswoman said. Twenty-eight delegates abstained.
On Monday, the United Church of Christ voted overwhelmingly to divest from companies that profit from Israel’s control of the West Bank. The vote passed at the church’s synod in Cleveland by a vote of 508–124 with 38 abstentions, according to the church’s Palestine/Israel Network, which backed the resolution.
AP contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.