Calling Presbyterians anti-Semitic a tactic to silence Israel critics

[SecularMotion]

WASHINGTON, July 14, 2014 — In June, the Presbyterian Church (USA) voted to endorse divestment as a protest against Israel’s 50-year occupation of Palestine. Almost immediately, it was accused of “anti-Semitism,” even involvement with a former Ku Klux Klan leader.

This is an interesting example of tactics which have been used for many years to silence criticism of Israel — tactics which no longer work to intimidate those who believe that the occupation is illegal, violates the human rights of Palestinians, and is an impediment to peace — all positions which reflect official U.S. policy on the subject.

The church’s General Assembly, meeting in Detroit, voted to sell stock in Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions, companies whose products Israel uses in the occupied territories.

Major American Jewish organizations lobbied the Presbyterians to defeat the divestment vote. More than 1,700 rabbis signed an open letter opposing the resolution. Rabbi Rick Jacobs, head of the Union for Reform Judaism, addressed the assembly and offered to broker a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the church’s two top leaders so they could convey the church’s concern about the occupation, on the condition that the divestment measure was defeated.

http://www.commdiginews.com/politics-2/calling-presbyterians-anti-semitic-a-tactic-to-silence-israel-critics-21638/#G7T01GYgrl7bTOq7.99