- At the instigation of the Zionist Organization of
America,
13 members of Congress have sent a letter to the Department of Commerce
demanding that action be taken to stop the American branches of the
Presbyterian
and Episcopalian churches from divesting in companies that do business
in Israel. They have suggested that the churches are in violation of the
U.S. Export Administration Act (EAA), which prohibits Americans from
participating
in the long-standing Arab boycott of Israel. But the campaign by the
"paid
politicians" against the Christian churches goes much further than
this: the members of Congress are going so far as to suggest that, along
with the churches, students, academic organizations and other institutions
that urge Americans to disinvest in companies doing business with Israel
are also in violation of the EAA.
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- The members of Congress are charging that the very act
of advocating divestment from Israel is illegal.
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- The ringleaders of the group are two New Jersey
representatives:
Jim Saxton, a Republican, and Rob Andrews, a Democrat. The 11 others
include:
Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), Pete Sessions (R-Texas), Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.),
Michael McNulty (D-N.Y.), Peter King (R-N.Y.), Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam),
Martin Frost (D-Texas), Philip Crane (R-Ill.), Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.),
Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colo.).
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- A press release from the Zionist Organization of America,
dated Sept. 28, 2004, claimed credit for inducing the bipartisan group
of federal office holders to send the letter to the Commerce
Department.
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- In the meantime, another group of congressmen, led by
Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Calif.), have sent a strongly worded letter to
the Presbyterian Church USA condemning the vote to begin selective
disinvestments
from companies doing business with Israel.
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- Those representatives joining Berman in attacking the
Presbyterian Church for its action include: Roy Blunt (R-Missouri), Steny
Hoyer (D-Md.), Deborah Pryce (R-Ohio), John Lewis (D-Ga.), John Linder
(R-Ga.), Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Mark Steven Kirk (R-Ill.), Gary Ackerman
(D-N.Y.), Eric Cantor (R-Va.), Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), Tom Feeney
(R-Fla.),
Barney Frank (D-Mass.), and Lamar Smith (R-Texas).
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- Joining the members of Congress in slamming the
Presbyterian
and Episcopal churches is Rabbi Gary Bretton-Granatoor, the
"interfaith
affairs director" of the Israeli lobby group known as the
Anti-Defamation
League. Bretton-Granatoor said: "The Presbyterian divestment could
potentially create a snowball effect and resurrect what had been a moribund
issue. Now it has provoked the Anglicans [the Episcopal Church-Ed.], and
we know it will not end there."
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- Although the rabbi added, in a threatening fashion,
"We
have to send a clear message to every church that they will have to face
a united Jewish community on this issue," the fact is that even many
grass-roots American Jews have urged divestment in Israel, evidently shamed
by the actions of Israel against the Muslim and Christian Arab Palestinian
people under its domination.
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- Following the passage of measures in July 2004 calling
for selective divestment of stock in corporations within the church's $8
billion portfolio which profit by supporting violence in Israel and
Palestine,
the Presbyterian Church issued a statement saying it wanted to send a
strong
message to the U.S., Israeli and Palestinian governments, so they could
begin to "lay aside arrogant political posturing and get on with
forging
negotiated compromises that open a path to peace."
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- http://www.americanfreepress.net
- /html/paid_politicians.html
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