Methodists take on Israel

Marc H Ellis, Mondoweiss - It takes one’s breath away. How far Israel has fallen. But it isn’t just the state of Israel. We Jews have fallen with Israel. With our place among and within the nations secure, Jewish alliances with power become more and more troubling.

So say the Methodists, at least on the question of the state of Israel. Their decision to withdraw their investments from five major Israeli banks for their enablement – and profiteering – from the occupation of Palestinians is telling.

Since banks and other corporations all over the world profit off injustice, this should hardly surprise us. With regard to Israel, this point was made clear years ago in A Civilian Occupation: The Politics of Israeli Architecture. Here the Israeli authors pointed out that, rather than the settlements being the result of religious right wing extremists, all Israeli institutions and corporations are involved in and benefit from the occupation of Palestinians. Banks are only part of this criminal occupation enterprise.

But here is where the Methodists become more troubling and radical. Not only do they call out Israel for its transgressions, but they add it to a list of “high-risk” areas that “demonstrate a prolonged and systematic pattern of human rights abuses.”