Monday, February 20, 2012

PC (U.S.A) divestment-the Boycott, Divestment Sanctions Movement & Finkelstein

The Presbyterian News Service posted an article, Feb. 17, 2012, informing the public that the General Assembly Mission Council had voted to recommend that the 220th General assembly divest from Caterpillar, Motorola and Hewlett-Packard. Jerry L. Van Marter of the PNS explained that this occurred with recommendations from the Presbyterian Mission Responsibility Through Investment Committee (MRTI), who asked for the recommendation because the companies continue to allow their products to be used by Israel for military purposes.

Marter wrote of several members of the GAMC who disagreed with the vote including “Kears Pollock, a council member and retired corporate executive from Bruin, Pa.” Marter wrote that Pollock, “opposed the recommendation, saying that divestment is “ineffective and unproductive and actually goes against peacemaking. In fact, some of these activities have actually saved lives.”

Despite protest to the contrary, by MRTI, that this is not a “general divestment,” this will hook the PC (U.S.A.) to the Boycott, Divestment Sanctions movement whose goals run counter to the denomination’s policies. As long as the GAMC upholds the policies of the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the PC (U.S.A.) they are upholding the BDS movement of which IPMN is a part.

The IPMN-PC (U.S.A.) is pleased that the GAMC has sided with them about divestment rather than publically rebuking their anti-Semitism. IPMN has displayed such anti-Semitism in their publications and their past Facebook. And as stated above, IPMN-PC (U.S.A.), have joined the BDS movement sharing their promotion of a one state solution and like them refusing to condemn violence by radical groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

Anyone aware of the BDS movement and its promoters will recognize the name Norman Finkelstein who has advocated for the movement for many years. In a turn of events Finkelstein has began to reverse his feelings about the movement. And I think the PC (U.S.A.) should listen. The video below is one of snatches of his conversations with a BDS promoter in France. Watching the whole video is very enlightening so I will place a link where the whole video is linked.



Arguing the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Campaign with Norman Finkelstein

See also Finkelstein on BDS: A Cult of Dishonesty

4 comments:

Tim Curtis said...

Hi Viola,
very good video you posted there. it always amazes me the lengths that the "mission" organizations will go to to press a political agenda, it saddens me every time I hear it. I pray for the day when the foremost question in their minds is, "how can we reach out to those who haven't heard the gospel," rather than wondering how they can press their bias upon the politics of the world.

Blessings

will spotts said...

Thanks for the link - particularly to the long video. Finkelstein is by no means a 'convert communicator' - he still supports BDS as a tactic. Nonetheless, he rejects the fundamental dishonesty in the movement. I found it interesting that he rejects the dishonesty on moral grounds, but the inconsistency on pragmatic grounds ... if this movement positions itself as rights-based and law-based, it cannot advocate selective laws. People will immediately look and see that it is unfair. And thus doomed to be ultimately ineffective. Except, of course, within the cult. The PC(USA) will operate within the cult mindset.

Viola Larson said...

Will,
I think they already are operating within the cult mentality. The reason is they are unable to distinguish between different types of evil—Israel does need to change some of her positions, however she is not what the IPMN, BDS and even the GAMC is calling her, an apartheid state, she is simply going to extremes attempting to defend herself. And Israel does need security.

One other problem is that as long as IPMN is allowed to operate without any reprimand the GAMC is being one-sided to the extreme. And they are now whether they accept it or not a part of the BDS movement.

Viola Larson said...

Tim,
I pray for that day too. The real change will come in the Middle East when Jesus' redemption becomes the focus of our attention.