221st General Assembly of the PC(USA)
The 221st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) was held from June 14-21, 2014 at the COBO Center in Detroit, Michigan. Follow this page to see IPMN events held at GA and our advocacy materials and educational information pertaining to the overtures on Middle East issues.
IPMN at the General Assembly
CALL to prayer - 1:10 pm Eastern, June 20th
A call for worldwide interfaith prayer
***NEW voter guide for Mideast Issues***
June 19, 2014 - Click here for more.
Vote YES on amended 04-04
IPMN Mailings to GA Commissioners:
IPMN hosts 2 Events/Meals at GA - Please register asap! click here for meals info
Open Letters to PC(USA)
Letter from Archbishop Desmond Tutu to Presbyterians - June 14, 2014
Open Letter to our fellow Presbyterians on boycott and divestment - by Two Southern Pastors from North Carolina
Open Letter to Presbyterian Church U.S.A. from the Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace - Huffington PostPostcards from Palestine, to Presbyterians - Young Palestinians send messages on Tumblr to PC(USA)
PC(USA) in the News - Recent articles supporting BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions)
‘We know best how to liberate you’ — the misguided attack on Presbyterian divestment, by Robert Ross on June 13, 2014
Presbyterians Poised for Historic Vote Against Israel's Occupation of Palestine - Thursday, 12 June 2014, By Robert Naiman
Presbyterian Church's Next Move Could Be A Tipping Point In The Israeli Divestment Debate - Huffington Post
J Street Loses Its Focus With Peace Process Dead - Lobby Should Fight Israel's Occupation, Not BDS - Larry Derfner in The Jewish Daily Forward on how this will affect the Presbyterian Church's vote on divestment
And Who Will Inherit the Earth? A Reflection from the Mosaic of Peace Conference, by Rev. Dr. Sam Massey, IA
Divestment is an Investment in Love, Peace, and Justice - A Reflection on a visit to Jerusalem, by Robert Ross, PA
Divestment: Myth and Fact - The Presbyterian Outlook - by Rev. Dr. Jeffrey DeYoe, FL
"The HP Way" When Profits and Human Rights Clash - by Rev. Geoff Browning, Chaplain, Stanford University
The Matrix of Occupation, an interview with Rev. Dr. Jeffrey DeYoe by the Presbyterian Historical Society
Searching for Justice in Church and on Campus, by James Wall, Contributing Editor, The Christian Century
Grape-Nut Flakes: What I Learned from the Mosaic of Peace Conference - A Reflection by Rev. David Barker, CO
Coming to Detroit, Deciding on Palestine, by University of Michigan student Amanda Michelle
Links to PC(USA) policies, history, etc.
Overtures and Reports to the 221st GA re: Israel/Palestine, see Committee 4.
MRTI Report and Recommendations to the 221st General Assembly (2014): Engagement with Corporations on Israel-Palestine Issues from 2004 - 2013 - Click here to download the full report.
PC(USA) boycott of all Israeli settlement products - approved in 2012, click here for all related info, including letter from Gradye Parsons.
Investment, Divestment and the Collective Amnesia of the PC(USA) - A comprehensive account from 2004 to 2012 General Assemblies, by Rev. Dr. Jeffrey DeYoe click here
News and Messages from Partners
Breaking News, June 12, 2014: United Methodists Divest from company profiting from Israeli Occupation! Largest Mainline Protestant Church in U.S. Divests from Company Involved in Israeli Occupation - see press release here - In the NY Times: Methodists to Sell Shares as a Protest Over Israel
Rabbis: A Passover Message to our Presbyterian Friends - Passover, 2014 video
Sign Jewish Voice for Peace pledge to support divestment from HP
Video Clips, Fact Sheets, In-depth Information, News Items, etc.
Jewish Voices Against the Occupation - 7 short video clips
Sights and Sounds of the Occupation - 8 short video clips
Video - Wala, by Susan Abulhawa - 4 mins - The poet reads her poem Wala, (meaning "boy" in Arabic). This 4 minute video brings to life the struggle Palestinians face daily to get through an Israeli checkpoint. At the end of the long line that takes hours to get through is a Hewlett Packard (HP) Biometric scanner. Palestinians are the only group subjected/profiled for this hand scanning.
Video - CAT D-9 weaponized bulldozers shown destroying civilian homes. Watch this short film trailer of Where Should the Birds Fly to see these giant bulldozers in action. see first 40 seconds of trailer (scroll down to view).
PHOTOS: Israeli authorities destroy Palestinian family's valley of fruit trees - Israeli military destroys 1500 fruit trees near Bethlehem at Tent of Nations - The family has ownership documentation dating back to the Ottoman period.
Discrimination & Hate Crimes Against Christian Palestinians in the Holy Land - May 2014 fact sheet
For in depth information and fact-sheets, we recommend IMEU - Institute for Middle East Understanding