US Presbyterian Church divests from Israel bonds, condemns Christian Zionism

The Presbyterian Church (USA), the largest Presbyterian denomination in America, has voted to divest its funds from Israel bonds and begin a process to encourage companies contributing to human rights abuses against Palestinians to change their practices. Alongside the financial decision, the church also passed a resolution condemning Christian Zionism, and thus rejecting the messianic ideology that views the takeover of Palestine to be part of a Biblical promise.

Votes were cast during the church’s General Assembly in Salt Lake City, Utah. The assembly, comprising 422 delegate commissioners and 82 advisory delegates, passed the resolutions as part of a broader package of legislation governing church activities.

The resolution to divest from Israel calls on the Presbyterian Foundation and Board of Pensions to divest from governmental debt held by countries maintaining prolonged military occupations and subject to UN resolutions. While this includes Turkey and Morocco, the focus has primarily been on Israel. The church, which has approximately 8,800 churches and 1 million members, has been sharply critical of Israel’s policies towards Palestinians for decades.

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In addition to divestment, the church voted to begin a dialogue with General Electric and Palantir Technologies, encouraging them to end practices that harm Palestinians. The church contends that General Electric sells fighter jet engines used by Israel’s air force, while Palantir Technologies provides Israel with artificial intelligence technology for surveillance of Palestinians.

Alongside these financial measures, the church also passed a resolution condemning Christian Zionism, a messianic ideology that views the takeover of Palestine as part of a Biblical promise and a precursor to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. This resolution denounces the linking of the State of Israel with Biblical views of the “promised land”, which the church argues is used to justify taking land away from Palestinians.

“There is a growing consensus in the church that we shouldn’t be profiting from Israel’s human rights abuses and, frankly, genocide against Palestinians,” said Bob Ross, a member of the steering committee of Presbyterian advocacy group the Israel/Palestine Mission Network.

These decisions represent a significant development in the wider debate surrounding religious institutions’ involvement in the Israel-Palestine conflict and their responsibility to align financial decisions with ethical and theological positions. It also follows the church’s 2022 decision to declare Israel to be apartheid state, a move that angered the Jewish American establishment.

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