Jewish Groups Urge Presbyterians to Divest from Occupation

PRESS RELEASE                       Contacts:       Mitchell Plitnick  (510) 484-6472
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                              Judith Kolokoff  (206) 427-5582

Jewish Groups Urge Presbyterians
to Divest From the Occupation

Jewish Voice for Peace says PCUSA measure can only help Israelis and Palestinians, it cannot harm them                   

Tuesday, June 13, 2006 (Oakland, CA) - The 2006 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) will revisit the church’s 2004 decision to “explore phased, selective divestment” as a method to help end the vexing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) has, on many occasions, voiced its support of the PCUSA decision because of its principled stance of targeting economic action specifically against those profiting from the ongoing conflict. That narrow focus shows the deep care the PCUSA is taking to ensure that they do not harm innocent people in Israel or Palestine, or their economies.

Many Jews support this kind of thoughtful activism aimed at ending an occupation that has devastated Palestinians and done considerable harm to Israelis for 39 years. Jewish Voice for Peace and Tikkun, two of the largest national Jewish peace organizations, represent the views of a significant part of the American Jewish community, including many Jews who are also members of other Jewish groups, like the Jewish Community Relations Council, American Jewish Congress, and others. JVP and Tikkun are joined by Israeli and European Jewish groups in supporting selective divestment as a non-violent method of helping to end the occupation. This amounts to tens of thousands of Jews who specifically support this action.

Contrary to the claims of some Jewish leaders, JVP representative Judith Kolokoff said that the Presbyterians’ proposal can only help both Israelis and Palestinians.

“The PCUSA has come up with an elegant way to target the violence of the occupation. One of the companies is being targeted for being a conduit for funds to Palestinian militant groups. The others are profiting from Israel’s occupation. None of the PCUSA’s actions can harm Israel or the Palestinian people. It is strictly aimed at ending the occupation and the violence that goes along with it. It would be a terrible shame if groups who try to shield Israel from any consequences of its actions succeed in stopping a measure which could be an effective way to end an occupation that has killed so many people on both sides.”

Jewish Voice for Peace is a national grassroots organization dedicated to promoting a US foreign policy in the Middle East based on democracy, human rights and respect for international law. JVP is a voice for the silent majority of American Jews who polls consistently show supports a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and an end to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. For information about the conflict and expert sources go to www.JewishVoiceforPeace.org. View our Caterpillar campaign website at www.CatDestroysHomes.org.
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