The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) voted Monday to divest from Israel bonds and begin the process of encouraging two companies it believes are contributing to human rights abuses against Palestinians in the occupied territories to quit their practices.
Both votes were wrapped up in other legislation that passed unanimously as part of the biennial gathering of the denomination meeting online and in person this week in Salt Lake City.
The Presbyterian Church (USA), with about 8,800 churches and 1 million members, is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the nation. It has been sharply critical of Israel and its policies over Palestinians for decades. It voted two years ago to declare Israel an apartheid state, angering the U.S. Jewish establishment.
On Monday, the denomination also passed a resolution denouncing Christian Zionism, an ideological vision that it says links Israel with biblical views of the “promised…
