Church pulls Israel funds in protest

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) is pulling millions of dollars in investments out of three U.S. companies tied to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, CNN reported.

In a close vote at its annual assembly in Detroit on Friday, the church voted 310-303 to divest $21 million from Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions.

The church says Caterpillar supplies products to Israel that are used to destroy Palestinian homes, Hewlett-Packard provides logistics and technology to help enforce the naval blockade of Gaza, and Motorola Solutions provides military and surveillance systems in illegal Israeli settlements.

But immediately after the vote, church leaders said the decision was not a judgment against Israel. "In no way is this a reflection for our lack of love for our Jewish sisters and brothers," Moderator Heath Rada said.

The approved divestment proposal included a preface underscoring the denomination's longstanding commitment to peace in the region and the suffering on both sides.

"We recognize the complexity of the issues, the decades-long struggle, the pain suffered and inflicted by policies and practices of both the Israeli government and the Palestinian entities," it said.

The church also stressed it still supports Israel and that the vote was not connected to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, an international campaign to punish the Jewish state over the occupation of Palestinian lands and other hotly contested issues.