c. 2004 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) A high-level summit between Jewish and Presbyterian leaders on Tuesday (Sept. 28) covered little new ground in an ongoing dispute over Middle East policy, but both sides promised to stay in close contact as the church considers selectively divesting from Israel.

Relations between the two faiths soured in July after Presbyterian delegates voted to explore divestment from companies whose business in Israel supports violence against either Palestinians or Israelis.

Jewish groups said the measure, along with a related call for Israel to end construction of a controversial security barrier, was unfair and did not apply equal pressure on Palestinians to stop suicide bombers.

During a three-hour meeting in New York City to discuss the fallout, both sides said they had gained a better understanding of the other, but neither was willing to back down. They did, however, promise to talk more.

“This is the beginning, not the end, of a process among us,” said the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, who as stated clerk is the highest executive officer of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

For his part, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, said he did not expect a change of heart from the Presbyterians, but signaled a diplomatic offensive in hopes that Jews will be able to influence the church’s lengthy deliberations on divestment.

“It is nonetheless our hope that there will be a reconsideration … that there will be a greater understanding to Jewish concerns, that down the road perhaps there will be a different outcome,” he said.

In November, a committee overseeing the church’s $7 billion investment portfolio will set criteria for possible divestment, and next March it will make recommendations to the church’s General Assembly Council, or board of directors.

Ultimately, a churchwide decision will not be made until delegates reconvene in 2006, and Kirkpatrick said the church’s long-term goal is corporate pressure before “selective phased” divestment is used as a last resort.

Kirkpatrick has said he cannot change the delegates’ overwhelming support of divestment and stopped short of calling it a mistake. He did, however, say Jews need to be part of the conversation as the church moves forward.

“I do not leave this meeting feeling that the decisions of the General Assembly ought to be rescinded or reversed, but be shaped by these conversations,” he said.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, neither side mentioned another controversial vote by delegates to maintain church funding for messianic Jewish congregations. Jewish groups resented that vote, but have said they are more concerned by the practical implications of the Israel policies.

Jewish groups said they are concerned that the Presbyterians’ actions will prompt other church bodies to consider divestment. Last week, a delegation from the Anglican Communion’s Peace and Justice Network toured Israel and the Palestinian Territories and said they would make a similar recommendation to the Communion’s Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) next year.

“The church has become increasingly sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians and the chances of the (ACC) accepting our recommendation are quite high,” Jenny Te Paa, a New Zealander who led the delegation, told the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz.

Yoffie said he has already tried to broach the topic with Anglicans in a “pre-emptive way” before any final decisions are made.

“This is not an incidental matter,” he said. “It’s an absolute top priority.”

MO/PH END ECKSTROM