AUSTIN, TEXAS, July 14, 2018 (WAFA) - The Episcopal Church in the United States adopted at its General Convention held in Austin, Texas on Friday a human rights investment screen to avoid profiting from human rights abuses committed in Israel/Palestine, the Episcopal Peace Fellowship/Palestine-Israel Network (EPF PIN) announced in a press release.

Following a week of discussion and debate, Resolution B016 was passed by the House of Deputies earlier this week before being approved on Friday by the House of Bishops easily by a hand vote. It calls for the Executive Council’s Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility “to develop criteria for Israel and Palestine based on a human rights’ investment screen” similar to the one passed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 2016.

The adoption of B016 marks a new direction for the Episcopal Church, which now joins nearly a dozen other Christian denominations, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Methodists, and the United Church of Christ, which have all taken economic action to avoid being complicit in human rights violations and injustice in the Holy Land.

EPF PIN said it hopes “the passage of B016 will help contribute towards a peaceful and just resolution of the conflict in Israel/Palestine, and towards a future where Israelis and Palestinians can live together in peace and as equals.”

M.K.