United Church of Christ Labels "Israel" an Apartheid State

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Steve France wrote a report on the American site "Mondoweiss" in which he stated, "So much bad news is hitting Israel’s leaders, so fast, these days, that they may have overlooked warnings by the American Jewish Committee (AJC), among others, that the United Church of Christ (UCC) General Synod was considering becoming the first major US denomination to label Israel an apartheid state." 

Mr. France added that The Zionist shock and outrage didn’t have the intensity of the meltdown over the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream affair, which came at the same time, but the UCC’s condemnation of Israeli treatment of the Palestinians is sure to resonate with the other mainline American churches — and their millions of members.

The Church firmly stated, "We reject the Israeli apartheid system of laws and legal procedures". 

However, this condemnation passed late in the day July 18 with an overwhelming 83% vote and was part of a long and unsparing indictment. 

The decision of the United Church of Christ is likely to be the first blow in the numerous denominations of Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Unitarians, Quakers, and others who will likely follow the lead of the United Church of Christ in condemning "Israel's" "continued oppression of the Palestinians" and calling on the US government to support full equal rights for Palestinians. 

The UCC has denounced nearly all the wounds inflicted on Palestinians over decades, with unlimited support from Washington.

The UCC specifically declared that they: 

- Affirmed the right of return to Palestine - or to compensation for loss of property - of the 5.6 million Palestinian refugees registered with the UN Relief and Works Administration, invoking UN Resolution 194 (1948); rejected recent efforts to narrow the definition of refugee; and demanded full US funding for UNRWA; 

- Backed the constitutional right of Americans to protest Israel's actions through BDS;

- Rejected "the idea that any criticism of policies of the State of Israel is inherently antisemitic" and countered federal or state legislation to limit free speech on campuses or to constrain or punish BDS;

- Advocated "cessation of US military aid to Israel" until Palestinian rights are "fully realized and protected";

- Rejected any theology or ideology, particularly Christian Zionism, that “would privilege or exclude any  nation, race, culture, or religion”; 

- Condemned "Jewish-only settlements throughout the West Bank," and the 2018 Nation-State basic law, while tying Israel to historical examples of "settler-colonialism" and to the pre-civil rights era racist regime known as Jim Crow;

- Faulted "provocative actions under the Trump administration, including moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem," and supporting Israel’s proposed illegal annexation of West Bank territory;

- Endorsed Palestinian Christian leaders' landmark declaration of 2020 entitled "Cry for Hope: A Call for Decisive Action."

Reverend John Thomas of the UCC Palestine-Israel Network Steering Committee stated, "we hope that this provides some space for other denominations to follow our lead. Both the huge vote for the resolution and the muted nature of the arguments opponents raised against it were encouraging". 

Supporters of the resolution faced a minor conflict when the UCC committee in charge of prepping the resolution edited and removed the term "apartheid" and a reference to "Israel's sin". 

A "large majority" of the Synod then reinserted the word apartheid. 

Rev. Shari Prestemon of Minnesota explained why it was necessary to say Israel's conduct is a sin.  “What we speak of is not just a geopolitical matter… The systemic oppression and denial of human and civil rights for Palestinians caused by the policies of the State of Israel violate the vision of just relationships set forth by ancient [Hebrew] prophets and the [Christian] gospels. They can rightly be described as a sin against God and God’s children.”

In a July 19th statement, the "UCC leadership" claimed that  "as US citizens and as a US church,” the UCC has “a special responsibility to speak out on this."