United Church of Christ joins divestment bandwagon

from SFGate.com, by ERRIN HAINES, Associated Press Writer, Tuesday, July 5, 2005
(07-05) 21:34 PDT ATLANTA, (AP) --

The United Church of Christ voted Tuesday to use 'economic leverage' to promote peace between Israel and Palestinians and to call for the dismantling of the Jewish state's security fence.

The resolutions were criticized by some Jewish leaders, who called them anti-Semitic.

...Peter Makari, the church's executive director for the Middle East and Europe, said the church remains committed to religious dialogue and participation among Jews, Christians and Muslims.
"These resolutions condemn all acts of violence on both sides and indicate a clear desire by the Synod to end violence and promote peace," Makari said.

However, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, called the resolutions "functionally anti-Semitic." He accused the UCC, which has 1.3 million members and 5,700 congregations, of holding Israel to a different moral standard.

"The UCC has disqualified itself as a legitimate partner for a just and equitable peace in the Holy Land," Cooper said.

.....The second resolution calls for the Israeli government to stop construction of the security barrier ....David Elcott, the American Jewish Committee's U.S. Director of Interreligious Affairs, criticized the measure. "We understand Christian concerns about a wall, but we believe that saving human lives is more significant than property," he said. "That wall has saved the lives of Jews, Christians and Muslims."