new york | A clash between evangelicals and mainstream Protestants on divestment from Israel marks what appears to be the groups’ first direct confrontation over the Jewish state.
Following the lead of several Protestant churches who are considering dropping their holdings in companies that do business with Israel, the United Church of Christ voted to support divestment at its ecclesiastical assembly in Atlanta this week.
Fellowship of Christians and Jews, which is primarily supported by evangelical Christians, launched a petition drive urging the UCC to reject the anti-Israel resolutions: two considering divestment and one condemning Israel’s West Bank security barrier.
“It’s absurd to paint democratic Israel as the world’s worst human rights abuser. And hearing the leadership of the UCC dictate to Israel how she may or may not protect her citizens ought to anger anyone who believes in the right of sovereign nations to defend themselves against terrorists,” said Gary Bauer, an evangelical Christian who is president of American Values, a conservative lobby.
“We need to let the UCC know that Israel-bashing won’t be tolerated. We need to let Israel know that real Christians stand for Israel.”
The fellowship’s Stand for Israel project also launched a more general anti-divestment media campaign this week, aiming to run full-page ads in newspapers around the country opposing calls within churches, universities and local governments to divest from Israel.
The evangelical push against divestment highlights a new level of pro-Israel activism, along with the growing rift between evangelical churches and mainstream Protestants.
It also exposes the complex relationships between Jews and Christians, and among Christians about Jews.
“The fundamental questions of the connectedness between the Hebrew Bible, the scriptures and New Testament have still not been settled,” said Rabbi Gary Bretton-Granatoor, director of interfaith affairs for the Anti-Defamation League. “It’s a symbol of that lack of understanding, even among Christians, about the most fundamental issues that define us as a religious people.”
According to Bretton-Granatoor, the root of the matter is understanding the Jewish covenant with God, which is “built upon the acceptance of certain behaviors and obligations and mores, the performance of which leads to the promise of land,” he said. “A nomadic people are now landed, and it gives us our identity, and it gives us our history, and it gives us our narrative.”
The fundamentalist reading of biblical text accepts a divine promise of land to the Jews, whereas mainline Protestants draw metaphorical lessons portraying the Palestinians as the landless lot who deserve justice, he said.
“We come from profoundly different places,” said Ethan Felson, assistant executive director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.
The divestment movement began last July when the Presbyterian Church (USA) passed a resolution to divest from companies that do business with Israel.
They since have been followed by Methodists, who are studying the prospect of divestment, and Episcopalians who are reviewing their investment activity. The Lutherans are considering a proposal to “invest in peace.”
To combat the challenge, the JCPA, American Jewish Committee, ADL, American Jewish Congress and American Jewish Committee have joined the Reform, Orthodox and Conservative movements to promote interfaith outreach on local levels, where Protestant communities have seemed more open than at the national leadership.