Don’t Uproot the Stump of Jesse
Why the Episcopal Church should not vote to ‘Divest’ at General Convention
This summer at General Convention there are a number of resolutions, more than usual, related to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Some of them are quite appropriate; encouraging Israel to abide by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, for example. (That is one that we may want to extend to our own country as we begin to indefinitely detain small children on our southern border for no crime at all.)
Others are more problematic. The most problematic being C017 — asking the Episcopal Church to divest from any investments or holdings in companies that profit from the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.
Now you might say — ‘That seems perfectly reasonable! in fact it may not go far enough! divest from any Israeli companies!’ And that is where many of our hearts and minds are drawn. Especially today when so much of our worldview is divided into ‘us’ and ‘them’, ‘good and bad’, ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. And if so, whatever side is the opposite of occupation must be the ‘right’ side, right?
Perhaps — but the issue of divestment is much more complicated than that. I’d like to offer three reasons why the Episcopal Church should reject C017 — one historical, one biblical, and one practical.
Historically -Whenever a parishioner or friend asks me ‘what should we do about the Holy Land.’ My answer is always the same. First and foremost we should seek out Palestinian Christians and hear their voices. I spent the last two summers with Palestinian Christians in the West Bank and in Jordan and was surprised to learn that while the oppression they feel from the state of Israel is real, the threats and fear they experience from Muslim leaders and neighbors is just as bad, if not worse, and certainly less predictable. Palestinian Christians are increasingly squeezed between two seemingly immovable objects, and Anglican Christians being both one of the oldest traditions in the region and one of the smallest, are particularly at risk. For this reason it is worth noting that the Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East did not sign the Kairos Palestine document referenced in the resolution. Nor did the heads of the Orthodox, Armenian, or Catholic Churches in the region.
Biblically — It is hard to find a biblical mandate for divesting from the Holy Land. Even at Israel’s lowest point God leaves a remnant behind that can flourish(Isaiah 11:1). God always keeps God foot in the door, and so should we. If we want our Church, and the Diocese of Jerusalem, to play a role in whatever the peace process looks like, we should not vote to divest at this time. Divesting only lessens our voice, and the voice of our national and international leadership with Israeli and U.S. leadership, and most importantly hampers the ability of our Anglican brothers and sisters in the Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East, who may also lose their seat at the table over our symbolic actions.
By remaining at the table, we allow the Archbishop of Jerusalem to negotiate to protect the people of the Diocese, to develop policies and strategies to empower Palestinians within Israel and the Territories, and to ‘repair the breach’ (Isaiah 58:12) between the State of Israel and the Palestinian leadership.
Practically — ‘divesting’ from Israel for the Episcopal Church has no real impact. It is purely symbolic. Even the resolution acknowledges such — ‘there is no budgetary impact.’ To the extent that we DO divest from certain companies, the people most likely to be affected are Palestinians and Palestinian Christians dependent on these industries for employment. More than 150,000 Palestinians work in such companies — both in Israel and the West Bank.
In our zeal to overturn the clearly colonialist practices of the State of Israel in maintaining an ongoing occupation, we should not so quickly slip into our own neo-colonialist practices of telling our brothers and sisters in Christ in Jerusalem what is best for them. Without a clear Episcopal/Anglican voice from Palestine calling for divestment — we should wait to act. After all, we have been critical, and rightly, of break-away Anglican denominations who have done the same with churches in Africa and the Southern Cone; we should not allow ourselves to make the same mistake here. I am aware of the atrocities committed by the state of Israel past and present. I’ve met victims of Israeli state violence, visited refugee camps in the West Bank and Jordan, and had (a lot) of coffee with Palestinian Christians of different stripes. The continuing occupation is tragic. But it is hard to see how this action will help our brothers and sisters in Christ in the region.
However you vote, I know it will be prayerfully and considerately of the range of issues at hand, and particularly keeping in mind the impact on our Episcopal brothers and sisters in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Israel and the rest of the Middle East. And while I do hope we rightly call to account the state of Israel for their treatment of children and women, I hope we will also not divest. To keep our own root of Jesse’s tree firmly planted in the Holy Land, and our connection and support for our brothers and sisters in the Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East flourishing and growing.
