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The
decision by the United Methodist Church's Pension Board to divest from
the five largest Israeli banks and one Israeli company is something we
need to stand up and challenge. I do not believe that the majority of
Methodists support this move at all, and I've posted what's below on the
Church's web site.
UNITED METHODIST CHURCH'S PENSION BOARD SHOULD RECONSIDER BOYCOTT OF ISRAELI BANKS
It
is very sad to read that the United Methodist Church's Pension Board
has included five Israeli banks among the 39 it is blacklisting.
This
lumps Israel in with countries like Sudan, North Korea, Saudi Arabia,
Somalia and Syria - a designation that makes no sense whatsoever.
The
reason behind the decision is that these five banks invest in and
support what the Church views as illegal construction of, support for
and financial assistance to settlements in Judea, Samaria and the West
Bank, according to its public statements.
Strangely
enough, the Palestinian Authority Banks and those controlled by Hamas
in Gaza are not listed, despite the fact that the PA Charter requires
that no Jews be allowed to live in any emergent Palestinian State, while
Hamas not only prohibits them, but calls for killing all Jews and their
supporters worldwide.
And
of even more interest, there is no blacklisting of banks in places like
China (which has occupied Tibet since the early 1950s), Morocco (which
has occupied the Spanish Sahara - once an independent country - for more
than 20 years), Russia (which invaded and seized 20% of the Ukraine
last year), Armenia (which seized 20% of Azerbijian more than 20 years
ago and ethnically cleansed it), Lebanon (where the terrorist group
Hezbollah has undermined the government, militarily supports the Bashar
Asad regime in neighboring Syria and blew up the US Marines Barracks as
one of its countless documented terrorist attacks, while also calling
for the elimination of Israel), etc.
Egypt,
which has closed its border with Gaza and razed 1,100 yards of land
adjoining that border and is flooding the smugglers' tunnels that run
under that border, gets a free pass...so does Venezuela, which has done
more to undermine democracy in South America than any other country
save, perhaps, Cuba (which also gets a free pass, despite its history of
persecution).
Another
question to be raised is: if the issue is financial activity in Judea
and Samaria, exactly what boundaries is Israel supposed to exist within?
According to every site I've checked, Judea included everything from
the Tel Aviv area to ALL OF JERUSALEM, and south well past Beersheva. It
also included Shiloh, Shechem (now known as Nablus), Jericho and a host
of other familiar names that the Palestinians claim as their own.
So,
if construction inside Judea is illegal - and if you check the map,
you'll see that biblical Samaria also included the rest of modern Israel
- exactly where is the Methodist Church setting Israel's boundaries??
Or, has it constructively called for the abolishment of the Jewish
Homeland?
Furthermore,
under international law, the West Bank was illegally occupied by Jordan
from 1948-67 (where was the United Methodist Church during those days?)
and Gaza was illegally occupied by Egypt during the same period.
However, Israel is not an "occupier" because there was NEVER a country
of "Palestine," and there is no centuries-old history or holidays,
unique language or customs, etc., for this Arafat-created entity.
It
is also shocking that the United Methodist Church closes its eyes to
the persecution of Christians in every other country in the Middle East;
in fact, by condemning Israel's banks and others, it gives what I hope
is unintended tacit support to those other nations in which there is no
religious freedom, in which churches are being burnt, in which no one
can publicly wear a cross or display a bible, and in which conversion to
Christianity is punishable by death.
This is a terrible decision and needs to be rescinded immediately.
Map
of the Territory of Judah and Judea in Ancient Israel. Judea and the
surrounding territories (Southern Israel). The locations that have an
underline…
BIBLE-HISTORY.COM
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