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This item was submitted by Robert A. Browne, clerk of session of Clayton Presbyterian, in Clayton, Georgia. It could be viewed originally at the following link. The emphasis has been added by JAT.
The 216th General Assembly vote to divest the Church's holdings in companies that do business in Israel may be less catastrophic than some report in the press and some in the pews fear. However, the session of the Clayton Presbyterian church regards the action to be destructive in effect and offensive to the people God has chosen as His favored children. Among other things it fails to make a distinction between lawless actions of Palestinian terrorists and a democratic state's right of self-defense, aids the true violators of human rights, and is repugnant to many Presbyterians.
The Presbyterian Church's divestment resolution, as stated, singles out the Israeli government as the only recipient of an actionable rebuke, clearly anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist in application.
We reject the Presbyterian divestment resolution against Israel and the Jewish people as being reckless and indefensible. We call for its immediate revocation, a statement of apology for the action, and a meaningful request for forgiveness for the pain caused by this ill-conceived action.
Further, as the PCUSA has chosen to withhold financial support from Israel, the Clayton Presbyterian Church, PCUSA will withhold apportionment from the denomination until this action is reversed, and we encourage other churches to join in this protest and the withholding of apportionment from PCUSA.