Episcopal Church to boycott companies benefitting from Israeli occupation

The US Episcopal Church issues a #BDS divestment from “any corporation that supports or benefits from denial of human rights in or through the occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem or the Gaza Strip”

RAMALLAH, (WAFA) — The Executive Council of the Episcopal Church in the United States has adopted a human rights investment screen to sell its holdings in Motorola Solutions, Caterpillar, Inc., and the Israel Discount Bank for benefiting from the Israeli occupation.

The human rights screen would bar Episcopal Church investments in “any corporation that supports or benefits from denial of human rights in or through the occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem or the Gaza Strip,” the Council said in a statement quoted by Mondoweiss.

According to the media release, the Council also directed the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee, “to pursue continued engagement with Facebook, Booking.com, and TripAdvisor, urging them to address human rights violations through complicity in the occupation of the OPT, and seeking to assure that the companies take all necessary steps to end their complicity in the occupation.”

Establishing a human rights investment screen for investments related to Israel and Palestine adds to the list of screens used by the Episcopal Church, including tobacco, fossil fuels and certain military contractors, the Council said.