MEDIA ALERT! - Israel Boycott Rejected

MEDIA ALERT!


PROCLAIMING JUSTICE TO THE NATIONS FOUNDER BRINGS  NATIONAL ATTENTION TO PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH USA GENERAL ASSEMBLY VOTE AGAINST DIVESTMENT EFFORT

Laurie Cardoza-Moore



July 11, 2012 - (Nashville, TN) Laurie Cardoza-Moore, founder and President of Proclaiming Justice To the Nations (PJTN) issued a statement today commending the Presbyterian Church USA General Assembly for rejecting an effort to boycott a slate of US companies doing business in Israel.  She went on to voice a note of condemnation for their vote to boycott Israeli products.

Last Thursday, the Presbyterian Church USA's Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) was hoping to complete a process, which began at the 2004 General Assembly to recommend the PCUSA divest itself of stock in Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions, suggesting that they are "profiting from non-peaceful pursuits in Israel-Palestine." On Friday the General Assembly voted in favor of a boycott of "all Israeli products coming from 'occupied' Palestinian Territories."

"As a Christian leader, I am extremely disturbed by the blatant lies and misrepresentation of the facts on the ground coming from leaders of the Presbyterian Church USA," noted Ms.  Cardoza-Moore in a press statement. "The Bible is very clear, Israel is living in the land that God gave to her ancestors dating back to the time of Joshua."

Ms. Cardoza-Moore, who serves an appointment as a Special Envoy to the UN for the World Council of Independent Christian Churches (WCICC) last week encouraged the over 44 million members and congregants of PJTN and the WCICC to contact the Presbyterian Church leaders to voice their opposition to this issue.  "Clearly, our efforts to mobilize our base and add our voices to other pro-Israel organizations who lobbied against this effort is what tipped the scales in our favor, but we still have more work to do," she noted.

Further commenting on the action, she added:

"It further illustrates how vitally important our work is at PJTN.  The growing lack of Biblical understanding is threatening our Jewish and Christian brethren in the region and is an affront to Almighty God.  We cannot pursue efforts that are antithetical to God's Word and His Covenant.  In doing so, we are not just condemning our Jewish brethren, we are standing in direct opposition to God's Covenant."

Cardoza-Moore gave a further word of caution on a growing global trend. "We are once again witnessing a rise of a "new" form of anti-Semitism against our Jewish brethren and Israel by Christian churches," she observed.

Noting the Presbyterian vote in particular, she commented: "Ironically, what wasn't on the MRTI agenda is the persecution of Christians who are being slaughtered in places like Iran, Egypt, Iraq, Tunisia, Syria and Nigeria.   Neither are they addressing Moslem women who are being raped and stoned to death by their Moslem husbands, brothers and fathers. And this is the Committee that addresses Middle East peace for the Presbyterian Church?  It seems obvious that this agenda is not to defend Human Rights, but a blatant attack on our Jewish brethren."

Resource PJTN online:  www.pjtn.org

Media Contact for PJTN:

Jackie Monaghan

Morningstar PR-Nashville

(615) 646-5990-Direct

morningstarpr@comcast.net