Nice That You Got the Memo
In a rare sign of common sense, some American Protestant groups are backing ff of divestment threats:
Some U.S. Protestant churches are turning their back the idea of dumping investments in companies profiting from Israel's West Bank occupation, people involved in the issue said on Thursday. Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, along with a debate over whether divestment is the right move in the first place, may have helped cool what looked like a growing trend just a few months ago.
They're not backing away because they're realized that Israel is actually the victim of Palestinian intransigence and broader Arab rejectionism. More than anything else, it just seems like they've gotten bored and are moving on to the next cause celebre:
Barry Creech, church spokesman on the issue, said the matter is still on course and "we're not in a hurry" to get to the point of divestment before the church's membership meets again next summer.
Of course, many are claiming that Israel's recent actions have had a dampening effect on enthusiasm for divestment. But those actions were obviously a fait accompli to anyone who knew anything about Israeli politics - and it was obvious well before the most recent push for divestment. We're more than willing to concede that the divestment pushers know nothing about the Middle East, and are just demonizing Israel because it seems like the progressive thing to do - but we're not sure that they'd endorse the same view.
Some U.S. Protestant churches are turning their back the idea of dumping investments in companies profiting from Israel's West Bank occupation, people involved in the issue said on Thursday. Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, along with a debate over whether divestment is the right move in the first place, may have helped cool what looked like a growing trend just a few months ago.
They're not backing away because they're realized that Israel is actually the victim of Palestinian intransigence and broader Arab rejectionism. More than anything else, it just seems like they've gotten bored and are moving on to the next cause celebre:
Barry Creech, church spokesman on the issue, said the matter is still on course and "we're not in a hurry" to get to the point of divestment before the church's membership meets again next summer.
Of course, many are claiming that Israel's recent actions have had a dampening effect on enthusiasm for divestment. But those actions were obviously a fait accompli to anyone who knew anything about Israeli politics - and it was obvious well before the most recent push for divestment. We're more than willing to concede that the divestment pushers know nothing about the Middle East, and are just demonizing Israel because it seems like the progressive thing to do - but we're not sure that they'd endorse the same view.
