Episcopal Church Adopts Human Rights Investment Screen to Avoid Profiting from Human Rights Abuses in Palestine/Israel
The Episcopal Peace Fellowship/Palestine-Israel Network (EPF PIN) is pleased to announce that today at its General Convention in Austin, Texas, the Episcopal Church adopted a human rights investment screen to avoid profiting from human rights abuses committed in Israel/Palestine.
Following a week of passionate discussion and debate, Resolution B016 was passed by the House of Deputies earlier this week before being approved today by the House of Bishops easily by a hand vote. It calls for the Executive Council’s Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility “to develop criteria for Israel and Palestine based on a human rights’ investment screen” similar to the one passed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 2016.
The adoption of B016 marks a new direction for the Episcopal Church, which now joins nearly a dozen other Christian denominations, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Methodists, and the United Church of Christ, which have all taken economic action to avoid being complicit in human rights violations and injustice in the Holy Land.
EPF PIN hopes the passage of B016 will help contribute towards a peaceful and just resolution of the conflict in Israel/Palestine, and towards a future where Israelis and Palestinians can live together in peace and as equals.
The Episcopal Peace Fellowship (EPF) - called to do justice, oppose violence, and be peacemakers - is a national organization connecting all who seek a deliberate response to injustice and violence and want to pray, study and take action for justice and peace in our communities, our church, and our world. EPF PIN's goal is to create a network which strengthens the voice of the Episcopal Church in advocating for a just peace in Palestine/Israel.
Wow! At the very last minute, the Spirit, blew through Austin like a gale force wind, providing the bishops wisdom and backbone and chiding this deacon for her lack of faith. After two days with an upset stomach and troubled sleep and feeling now a bit like Simeon (Luke 2:25-27), I will now retreat to my garden to eat my words, shed my tears of joy, and offer a prayer of profound thanksgiving.
Now if only the EPF could help Palestinians get a new leader. Regardless of what friends of Palestine do on the outside, with Abbas at the helm, the Palestinians are doomed to remain trapped inside Israel's open air prison.
In my untutored opinion, Palestinians desperately need their very own Nelson Mandela, someone with the reputation and stature to win favour and much needed influence with politicians in the EU, US, Canada and other G20 countries.
Until then, I fear hopes placed in the relatively small victories on the outside will simply motivate Israel's government to rev up its well-oiled propaganda machine, while continuing to ignore pro-Palestinian voices.
I hope I'm wrong. And I hope EPF, and other campaigns like it, keep hope alive through their resistance.
As, I've often said, Palestine's Nelson Mandela, Marwan Barghouti, is still in an Israeli prison. But, what is also needed is an Israeli F.W. de Klerk. And Netanyahu ain't no de Klerk.
I haven't seen all the Resolutions, but I have heard the the House of Bishops rejected the Resolution on Boycotting that the Lutherans and Methodists etc approved. Is that true? If it is
then the Bishops have still not gotten on board.
This release reports on Resolution B016 which is the investment screen adopted by the Lutherans. See the report 'Final Report on Palestine Resolutions at the 79th General Convention' for details. There's a link there where you can read the resolutions. The House of Bishop rejected D019.