A major, liberal American church has announced that it will divest itself of all shares in select companies deemed to be aiding Israel in its occupation, and one company deemed to have aided in funneling money from Islamic charities to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers.
Shades of the early '80s when conservative and liberal denominations supported opposing factions throughout Central America, but more interesting given that they’re targeting the corporations.
Disregarding what you think of the conflict in question, any thoughts on the tactic?
[quote=“New York Times”]The Presbyterian Church U.S.A. announced Friday that it would press four American corporations to stop providing military equipment and technology to Israel for use in the occupation of the Palestinian territories, and that if the companies did not comply, the church would take a vote to divest its stock in them.
The companies - Caterpillar, Motorola, ITT Industries and United Technologies - were selected from a list of several dozen possibilities by a church investment committee that met Friday in Seattle. The Presbyterians accused these companies of selling helicopters, cellphones, night vision equipment and other items Israel uses to enforce its occupation.
In an effort to appear even-handed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the church committee also included Citigroup on its list of targets, alleging it had a connection to a bank accused of having a role in funneling money from Islamic charities to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers. The church said it included Citigroup because it was mentioned in an article in The Wall Street Journal.
A spokeswoman for Citigroup called the church’s assertion “an outrage,” a reaction echoed at several of the other corporations. [/quote]