The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Votes to Divest from Israeli Bonds

Monday, July 1, Salt Lake City, UT - The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has voted to divest from Israeli bonds due to the country’s prolonged military occupation and genocidal war in Gaza. The resolution was approved by unanimous consent among the roughly 500 commissioners present for the biennial gathering. The measure reflects a growing trend among institutions seeking to divest from Israel. 

The Commissioners’ Resolution, submitted for consideration last week by the Rev. Dr. Hunter Farrell and the Rev. Anne Weirich, “prayerfully call[s] upon the Presbyterian Foundation and Board of Pensions to divest from governmental debt held by countries that are currently maintaining a prolonged military occupation and have been subject to United Nations resolutions related to their occupation.” Israel, Turkey, and Morocco all hold “prolonged military occupations,” and the bonds of each of these countries will be subject to this resolution.

The resolution’s rationale refers to the urgency of responding to Israel’s prolonged occupation in particular, “as it is directly connected to the devastating war in Gaza and ongoing violence in the West Bank.”

“Divesting from bonds is an expression of love toward our siblings and mission partners who have been living under prolonged occupations for decades now,” said Rev. Dr. Farrell, when introducing the resolution last week. “We, as church, are saying to them, ‘we see you, we hear your cries, and we are doing everything within our power to respond.’” 

“As the Israel/Palestine Mission Network (IPMN) of the PC(USA), it is our mandate to speak to our denomination and to educate them on the ongoing and ever-changing situation in Israel/Palestine,” said Rev. Susan Wilder, a co-moderator of IPMN. “Today, we feel like our church has listened to us and has listened to the concerns of our partners in Palestine. We pray that they continue to do so in the future as we strive for a just peace for Palestinians and Israelis alike.”

The General Assembly also approved by unanimous consent an overture that begins a shareholder engagement process with General Electric and Palantir Technologies due to those companies’ contributions to human rights abuses in Palestine, Yemen, China, and the United States. The church’s committee on Mission Responsibility in Investment, often referred to as MRTI, will seek to use the church’s power as shareholders to help change the harmful conduct of GE and Palantir. If after two years of engagement, MRTI determines that the companies have not changed their behavior, they will recommend to the 2026 General Assembly that the church divest.

Also receiving approval by unanimous consent were overtures on “Confessing our Complicity in Christian Zionism” and “Educational Resources for Seeking Ways to End Israeli Apartheid,” both of which build upon past overtures that denounced Christian Zionism and acknowledged the apartheid system in Israel/Palestine, respectively.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) has a long history of divestment. The church, in 2014, became the first major institution in the world to divest from companies profiting from the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory when it sold off its shares of HP, Motorola, and Caterpillar. The church has also divested from fossil fuel companies, for-profit prisons, corporations involved in South African apartheid, weapons manufacturers, and tobacco and alcohol companies.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has 1.1 million members and more than 8,000 congregations across the US. The PC(USA)'s General Assembly meets every two years in a different city to establish and amend church policy.