After the Hysteria… Part Two – Rev. Dr. Jeff DeYoe

Continued from yesterday: http://www.ecclesio.com/2014/09/after-the-hysteria-rev-dr-jeff-deyoe/

Did we or didn’t we join the “BDS Movement”?

Another final gasp by those opposing divestment over the years within the Presbyterian Church (USA) played out in language about “the BDS movement.” In the proposal that was crafted to support both positive investment and divestment, a last minute amendment added language stating that the divestment decision was not a part of the “BDS movement” and did not align the PC(USA) with that movement.

To clarify, the BDS Movement (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) began as a global response to the 2005 “call” from Palestinian civil society ­–106 organizations and NGOs. The first PC(USA) action instructing Mission Responsibility Through Investment Committee (MRTI) to investigate the possibility of “phased selective divestment” from companies involved in the occupation happened a year earlier in the summer of 2004 at the Richmond GA, so we were on the leading edge of justice work.  Later, as a continuing response to the confessional statement from the Palestinian Christians, known as Kairos Palestine (KP), the BDS movement expanded. Kairos Palestine was signed by all Christian Palestinian leaders in Bethlehem in December 2009 and condemns the Israeli occupation of Palestine, calling for non-violent resistance to the occupation by non-violent economic means such as boycott, divestment and sanctions.

The churches and organizations that have chosen to join in the global response to the Palestinian plea are all uniquely organized unto themselves, operating according to their own consciences and activist standards. There is no big politburo organizing dastardly deeds to smash everything Israeli into bits. That is either propaganda or delusion, pure and simple. We are talking about faithful Christian communions, after all, as well as faithful and responsible Jewish and Muslim groups that have subsequently chosen to endorse a civil society call for non-violence and justice in the face of oppression.

Let me repeat that:  the civil society call, and the Kairos Palestine document are asking for non-violent resistance to injustice. When the wiser heads of an oppressed society step up, decide that violent response is wrong and call for non-violent ways of seeking justice, how is it that this “movement” is somehow more evil and diabolical than violent reactions that preceded it? So going back to the Detroit GA, the language of the amendment about “not joining the BDS movement” unfortunately feeds into the hysteria that goes along with imagining that devils lie under all the rocks.  It is not BDS that is really being targeted here; it is the call for justice in Palestine that is the real target. And Palestinians are being told they can’t have it, whether they resist violently or non-violently. In other words, even if we agree on ending the occupation, we are squabbling over the tactic of how to end it.

Indeed there is a clearinghouse for the BDS “movement” and it is extremely diverse depending upon who is answering the call to support non-violent resistance.  Since the 2009 Kairos Palestine call, I have personally participated in dozens and dozens of conference calls with ecumenical, interfaith and secular partners and there is one thing I know for certain by virtue of personal experience: The groups that have agreed to answer the call do not necessarily agree on strategy or tactics. Some groups advocate complete boycott and divestment from Israel proper. Other groups target their response in very specific ways, like boycotting the Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Presbyterians, in accordance with longstanding PC(USA) policy, have targeted our response to not profit form “non-peaceful pursuits,” defined by the 2008 GA. But do not be mistaken: by definition this is not just about fiduciary responsibilities, it is about justice. The church does not choose to divest or boycott for purely economic reasons, it does so because it believes God’s justice and righteousness are being violated with the help of the blessings God has bestowed upon our community of faith.  As our history shows, it is an act of public witness.

As part of the leadership of the Israel Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for the past eight years, I can clearly and honestly say that blanket Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions actions regarding Israel proper have never been on the agenda.  All actions are targeted at the illegal occupation of Palestine.  Since the Palestinian civil society and Kairos Palestine calls for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, this is what PC(USA) General Assemblies have done:

1)    2010 – Called upon the U.S. Government to temporarily suspend military aid to Israel until such time that the illegal occupation of Palestine ends (this is called sanctions).   Although the Stated Clerk of the PC(USA) was pilloried by anti-BDS Presbyterians and others for co-signing a letter by 15 Christian denominations to President Obama calling for such sanctions, the truth is that he was doing exactly what the General Assembly called upon him to communicate to our government.  In other words: he was doing his job.

2)    2012 – Call for a boycott of all products manufactured in illegal Israeli settlements.

3)    2014 – Divest from companies profiting from the illegal occupation of Palestine and non-peaceful pursuits.

Simply put, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is the first national American ecclesiastical body to officially record separate actions calling for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (as well as Positive Investment in Palestine) in regard to the illegal occupation of Palestine. We started the process in 2004 as a response to a resolution from one church in Gainesville, Florida before we ever heard any calls from elsewhere.  The witness of this small local church to the whole denomination was that if we did not start supporting our Palestinian partners with non-violent tools of resistance, it was only a matter of time before violence happened again.  Palestinian civil society said that in 2005, and the whole of Palestinian Christian society (with endorsement from Palestinian Muslim society) declared it again in 2009.

In addition to BDS, the PC(USA) has rightly called for positive, empowering, worthwhile investment in Palestinian society in 2012.   But it has been made abundantly clear that with an Israeli government policy in place that systematically impedes and dismantles the fruits of our investments, the table cannot stand on just that one leg. Through actions already taken by our denomination, we have said it takes four legs to hold that table up: 1) Investment; 2) Boycott of goods illegally produced by the occupier in the settlements; 3) Divestment from American companies profiting from the occupation; and, 4) Vetting U.S. military aid to be contingent on compliance with US laws, and not using U.S. weapons against civilians and civilian infrastructure (Sanctions).

Each PC(USA) action was a measured, targeted response in full accordance with Presbyterian tradition and practice regarding its policy on peacemaking. There has been, however, and will continue to be a widespread global response with every group or institution doing their own thing according to the context in which they find themselves. It cannot be said that the PC(USA) has not responded favorably to the call of Kairos Palestine for BDS.  After all, the official votes are now in the books:  We have voted at the G.A. level to invest and to answer the BDS call. The semantics of whether or not we are part of a movement are irrelevant.

Recent polls have clearly shown that Palestinians favor non-violent response and resistance to occupation and oppression over violence. The reality is that as a church with a strong peacemaking tradition, with official policies that follow suit, it is both our calling and our obligation to do everything in our power to promote peace on both sides of the conflict, and support those who choose non-violence as the only option.

And we must lead by example. Through “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions,” we are telling both Israelis and Palestinians that we who follow the teachings of Jesus Christ will not tolerate violence as a solution to the struggle. We can only do that, however, when our own house is in order. We are thankful that our efforts over the past decade have indeed accomplished this and brought us to that place by which our witness in both word and deed is now consistent with our profession of faith in the Prince of Peace.

The Rev. Jeffrey DeYoe, D.Min., is the pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Fort Myers, Florida. He served as the advocacy chairperson of the Israel Palestine Mission Network of the PC(USA) for eight years and has traveled to Israel/Palestine 3 times. His most recent trip was in February serving as leader of the PC(USA) contingent for the project known as Keep Hope Alive, which is a program of the Joint Advocacy Initiative in Bethlehem. His team of 13 from around the United States joined with an international team of over 50 to plant olive trees for Palestinian farmers on their own land, who would otherwise be prevented from doing so by the Israeli military.