Recapping the 80th General Convention of the Episcopal Church

The Episcopal Church has completed three days of meetings yielding 4 resolutions  denouncing Israel’s treatment of Palestinians as unjust and a matter of moral and political urgency.

By Episcopal Peace Fellowship | July 13, 2022

“the President of the United States, the U.S. Congress, Governors, and State Legislatures to oppose legislation that penalizes or criminalizes support for all nonviolent boycotts, divestment and/or sanctions, especially on behalf of Palestinian human rights, as an infringement of First Amendment rights.”
— Resolution C013

The year-long delayed, and recently streamlined 80th General Convention of The Episcopal Church has completed three days of concentrated action and worship in Baltimore, yielding four reasons to be excited. During that time the Bishops and Deputies adopted an amended version of Resolution C013 on Freedom of Speech and the Right to Boycott. It also adopted an amended version of Resolution C039 entitled Justice and Peace in the Holy Land – Our Call to Action. And, it adopted Resolution D024, Conditioning U.S. Military Assistance on Human Rights.  And the House of Bishops also adopted the enigmatically titled Resolution A216, The Patriarchs and Heads of Local Churches of the Holy Land.

Resolution C013 calls on “the President of the United States, the U.S. Congress, Governors, and State Legislatures to oppose legislation that penalizes or criminalizes support for all nonviolent boycotts, divestment and/or sanctions, especially on behalf of Palestinian human rights, as an infringement of First Amendment rights.” According to Palestine Legal, more than 30 state legislatures and the federal government have proposed or passed legislation which would limit the rights of Americans to participate in a boycott of products coming from the illegal Israeli settlements or Israel itself. While several of the state laws have been successfully challenged in the courts, one of those victories was recently overturned on appeal and may be sent to the U.S. Supreme Court for further consideration. Adoption of Resolution C013 should allow The Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations (OGR) to oppose such legislation in meetings with legislators and via action alerts from the Episcopal Public Policy Network (EPPN).

Read the full article here →