On July 2, delegates to the 216th General Assembly of Presbyterian Church USA, held in Richmond, Va., voted 431-62 to initiate a process of selective, phased divestment from multinational corporations doing business in Israel, in effect declaring Israel an apartheid state.

General Assembly offices in Louisville, Ky., continue to be inundated with letters, phone calls, faxes and e-mails protesting the decision. Jewish leaders and groups are criticizing the PCUSA for taking actions it says are anti-Israel and anti-Semitic and which ignore the violence perpetrated by Palestinians in the region.

The Rev. Bill Somplatsky-Jarman, coordinator for Mission Responsibility Through Investment, has begun researching PCUSA policy on the Middle East and various corporate ties between multinational corporations and the Israeli government in order to prepare the specific divestment strategy called for by the Assembly. He said the divestment process, which usually involves dialogue with offending companies before any stock-selling occurs, will probably initially focus on Caterpillar, the machinery giant that sells bulldozers to the Israeli Defense Forces. That process will be developed at a meeting of MRTI in New York in early November.

What you can do

• Read news reports on the decision. Two suggested sites (with differing slants):