Qalqiliya in the West Bank. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The Anti-Defamation League “expressed deep disappointment” with the United Church of Christ’s vote to divest from companies doing business with Israel in the disputed territories of the West Bank and Israeli companies operating in the West Bank.

“The UCC’s endorsement of this one-sided resolution is a misguided and counterproductive maneuver to demonize Israel under religious pretenses,” said ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman. “We call on responsible members of the UCC to reject the substance of this anti-Israel initiative, and refrain from supporting or engaging in any BDS or other anti-Israel activism.”

ADL’s director of interfaith affairs, Rabbi David Sandmel, warned that “Passage of this hostile resolution threatens to create distance between the Jewish community and the UCC movement.”

The UCC voted on Tuesday by 508-124 with 38 abstentions to divest from both international and Israeli companies with a West Bank presence, including Caterpillar, Motorola, Hewlett-Packard and Veolia. Another measure that would have condemned Israeli policy vis-a-vis the Palestinians as apartheid failed to pass.

The UCC followed in the footsteps of the Presbyterian Church (USA), which narrowly voted last year to divest from three companies operating in the West Bank.

Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor accused the UCC of relying on “evidence” and materials from politically active nongovernmental organizations that already support the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.

“The consequence is a highly distorted approach in UCC deliberations on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” said NGO Monitor.