Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Statement on the Kairos Response endeavor in the United Methodist Church

From: DarEll Weist
To: all my friends who are a part of the United Methodist Missionary Association

As an Ordained Elder in the California and Pacific Annual Conference, having served 45 years in active ministry and now retired, I am concerned about the Portfolio of the United Methodist General Board of Pensions and Health Benefits.

I have been to Israel and Palestine off and on for the last 30 years and yearly since 2006. In my visits, I have experienced the Occupation first hand.  Each visit introduced me to new despair.  I have seen Negotiations fail, settlements continue to expand and hope for change diminishing.

One of the things I’ve learned from my many  trips is that companies around the world are making huge profits by building settlements,  segregated roads that lead to them and by providing electronic and surveillance equipment for the checkpoints, settlements and the wall that annexes Palestinian land to Israel.  Another thing I’ve learned is that Palestinian Christians are suffering from the occupation like all Palestinians.  They have urgently asked churches and Christians around the world to help end the Occupation.

This is why I joined KAIROS RESPONSE with other concerned United Methodists from Annual Conferences across the US to write a resolution which will be presented to the 2012 General Conference.  It calls for divestment by the United Methodist Church and especially by the General Board of Pensions from three companies that have been asked for years by church members and agencies to stop profiting from the occupation and have not.  The resolution also asks that United Methodist boards and agencies engage with other companies sustaining the occupation and divest within two years if those companies do not change their practices.  Divestment is a step recommended by our Book of Discipline when corporate engagement has failed.

* The Kairos Response group is responding to a call from Palestinian Christians to act along with many other groups in taking economic action to oppose the occupation.   This is consistent with our Social Principles, our Book of Discipline and past resolutions approved by General Conference.

* We know that divestment has worked in the past, and it can work again. South Africa is a good example when General Board Pensions divested $77 million from companies doing business in South Africa.   Once again, we have the opportunity for our investment decisions to help bring an end to human rights abuses.

* This is not a change in policy.  It is an attempt to align our investments with existing United Methodist policy, which clearly opposes the occupation and discourages investments in companies that “directly or indirectly support the violation of human rights.”

* This is not a call for divestment from Israel.  It is a request to be sure we are not investing in companies from any country that keep the occupation going.

* This action will not harm the economy of Israel.  Taking specific international companies out of our portfolios will not harm the economy of Israel, but it will send a strong message in support of justice and peace in the region.

* This action will not harm investors.  It will not violate the fiduciary responsibilities of UM investment managers to their beneficiaries.  The investment funds will simply be switched to other companies.

Selective divestment is consistent with the United Methodist commitment to a just and sustainable peace for all the people of the Middle East.
If you would like more information I would suggest that you go to the Kairos Response website for articles, etc. www.kairosresponse.org

I know that you would support investment decisions that reinforce our commitment to a just and sustainable peace for all the people of the Middle East.

Therefore I would urge you to sign the Resolution so that we can say to the United Methodist General Conference that a community of people of faith is behind the divestment of companies from the United Methodist Pension Fund if they profit from the oppression of Palestinians.
If you would send me an email when you have signed the resolution and the petition I would be grateful.  You can do this easily do this by just hitting the reply button.  Thanks for reading this email and responding.

The Rev. Dr. DarEll T. Weist
Dtw4940@gmail.com
213-700-1458

The link for the Resolution is <https://www.kairosresponse.org/The_Resolution.html>

Monday, September 19, 2011

Why Christians Need to Support Palestinian Drive towards Statehood

By Alex Awad

In the coming days, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will be at the United Nations to request an official recognition of Palestine as an independent state with full statehood status at the UN. The majority of Christians and church leaders in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip support the Palestinian bid to seek full statehood at the United Nations. This position is not driven by anti Israeli or anti American sentiments but rather because most Arab Christians believe that without a resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict they have no future in the Middle East and without Palestinian statehood, there will be no end to the conflict. The political turmoil in Palestine and the neighboring countries has prompted many Christians to abandon their homeland and seek refuge in Western countries. This trend will continue until the political chaos that springs up from the Arab-Israeli conflict ends.

Consequently, Western Christians who are concerned for the future of the Church in the Palestinian territories and the rest of the Middle East need to support the Palestinian drive for statehood. Palestinians, like most nations, are seeking a free, independent and peaceful state on 22% of historic Palestine and have already recognized Israel’s sovereignty on 78% of the land. Palestinians have shown willingness to swap land with the State of Israel in order to make accommodations for what Israelis call ‘new facts on the ground’. In addition, Palestinians are willing to consider the Israeli demand that a future Palestinian state would be demilitarized and allow for measures that create secure borders for the State of Israel. Furthermore, as the Middle East and North Africa experience tremendous political awakenings, peace with the Palestinians is the top guarantee to peace and security for the State of Israel. A genuine peace treaty will bring as much peace to the Israelis as to the Palestinians and to many countries of the world including the United States. Those who pray for “the peace of Jerusalem” need, at the same time, to support the immediate creation of a Palestinian state.

Christians tarnish their testimony in the world when they continue to endorse or be passive about the lingering injustice in Palestine. The Israeli government refused to halt the building of Jewish settlements in the West Bank in order for negotiations to resume. Even when the American administration requested a two months’ freeze on settlement construction to allow for negotiations, the Israeli government wouldn’t cooperate. Now, Israelis are accusing Palestinians of refusing to return to negotiations. How can one negotiate with a friend on dividing a cake when, all the while, the friend is eating the cake? It is not that Palestinians are against negotiations, but rather, they are exhausted by two decades of fruitless and painful wrangling with Israeli leaders. It is our Christian duty to become aware of what is going on in political circles and on the ground and then to take a stand with the truth. Christians are not called to be morally passive and politically indifferent but rather to be active in promoting solutions that will bring about reconciliation and an end to the suffering of both Israelis and Palestinians.

Some Christians hesitate supporting the Palestinian bid for statehood for fear that it may result in creating a militant Islamic state. Fortunately, the current move for statehood is driven by the most secular, progressive and non-violent branch of the PLO. For this reason, Hamas, the Islamist movement in Palestine is not in agreement with the move. The danger is this, if the Palestinian Authority fails to deliver to Palestinians an independent Palestinian state due to US and Israeli political maneuverings, in the near future, the secular Palestinian government will surely fall and only Hamas will be left to lead the Palestinian struggle for independence. This does not bid well for Israelis, Palestinians, future peace talks or for the Christian communities in the Middle East. The Church has loses its influence in the world if it abandons its mission to be “the salt of the earth and “a light to the nations”. May the light of Christ in us help guide the Palestinian people in their perilous path towards statehood.

Bethlehem, September 18, 2011

Annual UMMA "Gathering" in New York,October 9

The UMMA Gathering will take place at Manhattan's United Methodist Church of the Village on October 9, 2011, from 12 noon to 7 p.m.  Please register your intention to be present via email at <gathering@umma-global.org> or ask for details there.
Our agenda for the meeting will be posted here at a later date.