The Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) voted at last summer's General Assembly meeting to begin a process of shareholder activism and possible divestment from corporations doing business in Israel and Palestine in ways that violate church standards for socially responsible conduct. Other mainline Protestant denominations are reported to be considering similar actions.

Over 40 college campuses have had divestment campaigns and municipal divestment efforts have been mobilized in Berkeley, California, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Somerville, Massachusetts. An ongoing shareholder activism campaign seeks an end to the sale of Caterpillar bulldozers for use in the demolition of Palestinian homes and agricultural plots. In October 2004, the National Lawyers Guild voted to support national and international divestment campaigns.

Opposition to divestment has been sustained and forceful. Divestment initiatives have been widely characterized as anti-Semitic and unfairly biased against Israel. Some Jewish organizations have issued statements opposing the activist strategy; high-profile individuals including Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, Chicago Tribune reporter Ron Grossman, and Harvard University President Lawrence Summers have leveled the charge of anti-Semitism.

And yet, many of the authors of divestment initiatives and signers of pro-divestment petitions are American Jews. Several Jewish peace organizations have issued statements in support of some form of shareholder activism or divestment.

Is divestment an expression of anti-Semitic bias? Does it unfairly single out Israel for condemnation and punishment? What are the economic, political, and moral rationales for targeted disinvestment? What motivates some American Jews to support actions that others reject as anti-Jewish and anti-Israel? What does the US divestment movement look like to Israelis who see it as a necessary tool for ending the occupation?

This public forum will offer a valuable opportunity to hear the rationale for divestment as a form of economic morality in the pursuit of social justice. In addition, panelists will address some of the most common questions about and objections to divestment.