The Presbyterian News Service reports that the Presbyterian Church USA has received almost 20 overtures on Israel for its 2006 General Assembly calling for the church to rescind its action of 2004 calling for divestment in Israel. The Presbyterian Church, which was the first mainline denomination to support divestment, followed by the UCC, looks as though it will be the first to reverse its position. A coalition of Presbyterians from the full theological spectrum have come together in a movement calling itself the Committee to End Divestment Now (CEDN).

According to their website www.enddivestment.com, "Our committee also shares a common concern about the way the PCUSA leadership has responded to the waves of criticism from inside and outside the church in the months following the passage of these resolutions." The CEDN challenges denominational leaders for "re-characterizing the exact wording" of the divestment resolution to suit their own purposes, and criticizes the PCUSA leadership for their
"ill-advised 'fact finding' mission" to the Middle East which created a "disgraceful incident when a group met with the terrorist organization Hezbollah and praised Hezbollah . . . this debacle was taped and played across the Middle East on Arab television stations providing scandalous propaganda for terrorists." John Thomas and other UCC leaders participated in this trip and statement. 

The CEDN website goes on to say, "The 2004 actions look ever worse with the passage of time, in the context of recent political events . . . The President of Iran has  . . . called for Israel to be wiped off the face of the earth, contended that the Holocaust never happened . . . Syria and elements in Saudi Arabia join Iran in continuing to support terrorism against Israel.”   

“In contrast,” says CEDN, “Israeli President Sharon, at great political and personal risk, successfully completed a peaceful disengagement from Gaza . . . the Palestinians, on the other hand, in January 2006, gave Hamas 58 percent of their votes . . . as recently as the day after the election, it reaffirmed its commitment to the destruction of Israel as part of its 'covenant'."