By Richard Baehr and Barbara Pash, Presented by Lewis Loflin
By Richard Baehr, FrontPageMagazine.com, July 19, 2004
Jewish liberals were stunned when the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted 431-62 at its General Assembly to divest from Israel, likening it to apartheid South Africa. This 87% approval shocked those who saw liberal churches as allies. The PCUSA also refused to halt efforts to convert Jews, passing 260-233, further straining ties.
Liberal Jews often distrust Christian conservatives, fearing their Israel support stems from Scripture, not shared values. They warn against Jews aligning with conservatives, preferring liberal Christians—until this betrayal. Yet, conservatives back Israel for practical reasons: shared democratic values, a reliable U.S. ally, and a joint fight against terrorism.
The PCUSA’s move, the first by a major U.S. church, ignored Palestinian terrorism and global atrocities—like Sudan’s genocide—focusing solely on Israel.
While college divestment campaigns floundered due to conservative trustees, the PCUSA’s $7 billion fund gives the movement new life. Other liberal churches—Lutherans, Episcopalians, Unitarians—may follow, often barring pro-Israel voices unless they’re far-left critics. The Anti-Defamation League’s Abraham Foxman condemned the resolution, questioning why only Israel faces economic punishment amid worldwide conflicts.
The PCUSA’s silence on Palestinian incitement and its South Africa-Nazi parallels disgrace it. Liberal Jews, clinging to secular humanism, now face a rift with allies they thought they knew.
By Barbara Pash, Baltimore Jewish Times, August 13, 2004
Jewish organizations reacted swiftly. The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and Union for Reform Judaism alerted rabbis, urging dialogue with Presbyterian clergy. The Orthodox Union took a grassroots approach, opposing both divestment and the funding of Avodat Yisrael, a Messianic congregation near Philadelphia.
Rabbi Eric Yoffie and Rabbi Paul Menitoff publicly criticized the PCUSA. Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, the Assembly’s clerk, defended the divestment as a phased process and the funding as procedural, later expressing regret and agreeing to meet Jewish leaders. The ADL, B’nai B’rith, and American Jewish Committee also protested.
With 3 million members, the PCUSA’s actions may influence other mainline Protestant churches. Mark Pelavin of the Reform movement noted a trend of viewing Palestinians as underdogs, ignoring Israel’s security context. Rabbi Charles Arian called the divestment a process to monitor, not a blanket action, but slammed Avodat Yisrael’s deceptive tactics as un-Presbyterian.
Scott Hillman of Jews for Judaism highlighted internal PCUSA dissent, with some leaders opposing the Messianic push. The resolutions mark a shift, challenging Jewish-liberal alliances and reviving divestment threats.
Copyright 2003 Baltimore Jewish Times
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Grok, an AI by xAI, for formatting help. The content is by Baehr and Pash, presented with my edits. —Lewis Loflin
Section updated, added 4/05/2025