WARMEST GREETINGS TO THE DELEGATES AND ATTENDEES OF THE 220^TH PRESBYTERIAN GENERAL ASSEMBLY 

We are Muslim, Christian and Jewish, Palestinian, Arab and American.

We are native and foreign-born.

We come from all walks of life.

We are students, businessmen and women, activists, artists, professors and workers and we want to thank you from the bottom of our collective hearts for your hard work and dedication to the cause of peace with justice for the peoples of Palestine and Israel.

Enduring 60+ years of occupation and oppression, the Palestinian people have continued non-violent resistance through their call for divestment and boycott against the state of Israel, especially its destructive military machine.  Divesting from companies that profit from the illegal occupation of the West Bank and boycotting products made by illegal Israeli settlers carries the moral authority and tells the state of Israel that its discrimination against the Muslim and Christian communities is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by others.

Palestinian American, Sam Bahour explained: “Palestinian civil society and Palestinians-Christians and Muslims alike have urged you to divest from the occupation. As we struggle to remain hopeful while a 24-foot high cement wall snakes through our homeland, we Palestinians don’t want a more beautiful prison to live in. We want the prison walls to come down, and that won’t happen unless pressure is placed on Israel to end the occupation.”

We therefore urge you to vote for the following overtures:

15-02 On Boycotting Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories and Hadiklaim

15-03 On Divestment from Caterpillar

15-04 On Supporting a Peaceful, Diplomatic Solution to the US-Iran Issues

15-06 On Responding to the Call from Palestinian Christians for Economic Solidarity

15-08 On Approving the GAMC’s Recommendations on Selective Divestment Made by MRTI

15-09 On Human Rights and Religious Freedom of Arab Christians and Other Palestinian Citizens

15-11 MRTI Report on Engagements with Corporations Involved in Israel, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank

By supporting these overtures you bring us closer to that day when Palestinians and Israelis can live normal and productive lives.