Press Release
June 29, 2015

Contact: Lena Bakman
NGO Monitor
02-566-1020
communications@ngo-monitor.org
NGO Monitor Statement on
NGOs and the United Church of Christ Vote for BDS


Jerusalem - In the wake of the vote by the United Church of Christ (UCC) to
support divestment, the Jerusalem-based research institute NGO Monitor
issued the following statement:

The vote in favor of divestment by the United Church of Christ at its
General Synod is a blow to morality and peacemaking in the Middle East.


The divestment resolutions were pressed on the UCC delegates by political
advocacy NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and other supporters of
international anti-Israel BDS (boycotts, divestment and sanctions)
campaigns. The vote shows that most delegates either failed to recognize
that BDS seeks to end the existence of Israel, or did understand and
supported the resolution nonetheless.

BDS is anti-peace as it promotes the destruction of Israel and opposes
dialogue, cooperation, and developing peaceful ties between Israelis and
Palestinians. The church's decision has made the UCC a participant in the
conflict, the opposite of peacemakers.

The vote was driven by a vocal minority of anti-Israel activists in the
church, and bolstered by enablers such as Jewish Voice for Peace. The
resolutions put before the delegates overwhelmingly relied on "evidence" and
materials provided by a narrow group of NGOs. The consequence was a highly
distorted approach in UCC deliberations on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
that resulted in today's misguided vote.

NGO Monitor produced a fact sheet "United Church of Christ: How Missing
Facts and Half-Truths are Informing the 30th General Synod's Resolutions on
Israel" that documents this dynamic.

Yitzhak Santis, Chief Programs Officer, is available for comment and
background. He is the director of NGO Monitor's BDS in the Pews project.

Phone: +972.52.253.4908

Email: Yitz.Santis@ngo-monitor.org




NGO Monitor, an independent research institution, was founded in 2002 in the
wake of the World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa. At this
conference, 1,500 NGOs formulated the "Durban Strategy" which aims to
isolate Israel through measures such as boycott, divestment and sanctions
(BDS) campaigns, lawfare, delegitimization and demonization.

NGO Monitor (www.ngo-monitor.org), is the leading source of expertise on the
activities and funding of political advocacy NGOs involved in the
Arab-Israeli conflict. NGO Monitor provides detailed and fully sourced
information and analysis, promotes accountability, and supports discussion
on the reports and activities of NGOs (non-governmental organizations)
claiming to advance human rights and humanitarian agendas.