June 14, 2006 – Morton A. Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America and William Devlin, former Presbyterian elder and evangelical Christian leader, released the following statement:

“Leaders of the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) are gathering this week in Birmingham, Alabama. A central issue they will be considering is whether or not to continue PCUSA policy to divest any PCUSA investments in Israel – they call this: ‘selected phased divestment.’

“Jewish groups including ZOA and evangelical leaders like Devlin who support the state of Israel reacted strongly in opposition to the 2004 Presbyterian Assembly’s decision to ‘initiate a process of phased, selective divestment’ in multinational corporations operating in Israel that the PCUSA claims are impeding peace in the Middle East.”

Klein and Devlin continued- “While we applaud those Presbyterian leaders who see the injustice in the 2004 Assembly decision and seek to overturn it, we condemn others who want to advance this biased and misguided attack against Israel. The theme of the PCUSA conference is “so great a cloud of witnesses” but it appears that when it comes to understanding that Israel is a just society and the only democracy in the Middle East, the Presbyterians are clearly lost in a cloud. Perhaps this august body, with their highly educated clergy, have forgotten the promise of Genesis 12. Let’s hope that by the end of this conference, these ecclesiastical leaders will be directed by common sense and join the side of the world community which supports Israel.”

Morton A. Klein

William Devlin

The Zionist Organization of America, founded in 1897, is the oldest pro-Israel organization in the United States. The ZOA works to strengthen U.S.-Israel relations, educates the American public and Congress about the dangers that Israel faces, and combats anti-Israel bias in the media and on college campuses. Its past presidents have included Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis and Rabbi Dr. Abba Hillel Silver.