Invest In Peace

Dear Methodist and Presbyterian friends -

I am a PCUSA clergyman who visited Israel and Palestine in the company of PCUSA Moderator Fahed Abu-Akel in 2002. In 2005 I helped facilitate Jewish / Presbyterian dialogue on the question of divestment. Today I believe even more firmly that a policy of selective divestment is the right course for both denominations to pursue in order to achieve long-denied rights for the Palestinian people and an Israel that will respect those rights and live side-by-side in peace with them. Our financial investments should reflect our own values and yearning for peace. No one else should presume to judge us when we struggle in good conscience to accomplish exactly that.

Rev. Donald L. Smith
Glendale, CA