Note: The following resolution, submitted by
Wider Church Ministries, was approved by the
25th General Synod of the United Church of Christ, which met in Atlanta,
Georgia from July 1-5.
SUMMARY
This resolution
calls on the United Church of Christ to exercise multiple strategies to
promote peace among all of God’s people in the Middle East.
BIBLICAL,
THEOLOGICAL, AND ETHICAL RATIONALE
God’s activity in
human history has moved peoples from conflict to concord, God’s desire
for peace, broadly understood: the absence of war (Lev. 26:6); reliance
on the abundance that God provides (Ex. 15, Ex. 17); harmony among
peoples (Ps 133); new relationships among those who have been separated
by animosity (Lk 10:27-37). Moreover, God’s prophets have demonstrated
God’s will for the faithful to invest their lives and their property,
even when such investment seems foolhardy (Jer 32). God’s covenant with
Israel remains unbroken (Rom. 9-11).
BACKGROUND
The world has
witnessed unresolved conflict between the peoples whose social, economic
and religious lives are rooted in the lands of the
Middle East.
The United Church of Christ has affirmed the right of Israel to exist
and has deplored the violence directed against its people. At the same
time the United Church of Christ has enduring relationships with
Palestinians, including Palestinian Christians who suffer greatly under
the occupation of their land.
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS the General
Synod of the United Church of Christ has affirmed its commitment to
Israel’s safe and secure existence within internationally-recognized
borders, neighboring an independent Palestinian state; and
WHEREAS the General
Synod of the United Church of Christ has continued to advocate on behalf
of justice toward a resolution of the Arab-Israeli-Palestinian conflict,
advocacy and action which includes but is not limited to education about
the realities on the ground and urging the US to play the role of honest
broker; and
WHEREAS the
Twenty-Third General Synod of the United Church of Christ affirmed its
participation in and commitment to the World Council of Churches’ Decade
to Overcome Violence (2001), condemning all forms of violence including
but not limited to the violence perpetuated in the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict including acts of suicide bombings by Palestinians; and the use
of force by Israelis in perpetuating occupation of Palestinian lands;
and
WHEREAS General
Synods of the United Church of Christ has been particularly mindful of
its relationship in Christ with Palestinian Christians, and notably the
mission relationships mutually developed over decades of engagement and
presence; and
WHEREAS the General
Synod of the United Church of Christ has affirmed its relationship to
the Jewish community, condemning anti-Semitism in all its forms, and
affirming that God’s covenant with the Jewish community remains
inviolate (1987); and
WHEREAS the General
Synod of the United Church of Christ has called for the use of economic
leverage on behalf of oppressed people in a variety of circumstances;
THEREFORE BE IT
RESOLVED that the 25th General Synod call upon the Covenanted
Ministries, Pension Boards, United Church Foundation, Conferences, local
churches and members to use economic leverage, including, but not
limited to: advocating the reallocation of US foreign aid so that the
militarization of the Middle East is constrained; making positive
contributions to groups and partners committed to the non-violent
resolution of the conflict; challenging the practices of corporations
that gain from the continuation of the conflict; and divesting from
those companies that refuse to change their practices of gain from the
perpetuation of violence, including the Occupation; and
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that all settings of the United Church of Christ are urged to
remain committed to interreligious dialogue and to participation with
Jewish, Christian and Muslim partners to work for peace in
Israel-Palestine; and
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that the 25th General Synod requests the appropriate
national bodies to provide materials that may be used by all settings of
the church to discern how economic leverage can be used to support the
development of Palestine and Israel as two independent, secure,
economically viable states; and
FINALLY BE IT
RESOLVED that the 25th General Synod calls upon these
settings to create for and disseminate to the local churches study on
the range of issues contributing to violence and oppression in the
Middle East and ways to be involved in promoting peace.
The funding for the
implementation of this Resolution will be made in accordance with the
overall mandate of the affected agencies and the funds available.
