The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) vote accusing Israel of genocide is the culmination of a 20-year anti-Israel campaign—and a warning to American Jewish organizations that statements of disappointment are no substitute for sustained action.

By a vote of 454-15, the denomination’s General Assembly declared Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza to be a genocide. It urged Presbyterians to boycott Israeli products and lobby Congress for an arms embargo against Israel. The assembly also voted unanimously to divest from Palantir Technologies and GE Aerospace because of their ties to Israel’s military and intelligence services.

One could read those votes and conclude that the Presbyterians have simply been swept up in the anti-Israel passions that followed Oct. 7.

That would be a mistake.

The Presbyterian Church’s campaign against Israel did not begin with the Gaza war. It did not begin with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It did not even begin with the current Israeli government.

It has been building for more than two decades.

In 2004, the Presbyterian General Assembly approved “phased, selective divestment” from companies doing business with Israel. The vote was 431-62. That same General Assembly set in motion the creation of what became the Israel/Palestine Mission Network, an advocacy structure within the denomination devoted to the conflict.

That was the turning point.

The significance of 2004 was not merely that Presbyterians passed another Middle East resolution. Churches, unions and civic organizations pass resolutions all the time. Most are forgotten before the delegates get home.

The Presbyterians built an institution.

The network developed educational materials, cultivated activists and kept Israel before the church. Every General Assembly became another opportunity to move the ball down the field.

There were occasional moments when the church seemed to recognize where it was heading. In 2006, the General Assembly stepped back from its........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)