(RNS) — The largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States voted Tuesday evening (June 30) to recognize Israel’s war in Gaza as a genocide, two days after the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) unanimously voted to divest from Palantir Technologies and General Electric Aerospace over technologies used in the war.
Tuesday’s vote at the denomination’s General Assembly in Milwaukee passed 454-15 and called for Presbyterians to also lobby Congress for an arms embargo against Israel and to boycott Israeli products that contribute to the war.
Additionally, the American Academy of Religion adopted a Resolution in Solidarity with Gaza last week condemning the Israeli government for the war in Gaza, calling it a genocide. The association of religious studies scholars that boasts 6,000 members worldwide referred to the war at its Annual Business Meeting in Atlanta as a “scholasticide,” or an “intentional effort to comprehensively destroy the Palestinian education system.” The motion was approved by 98% of members, according to a news release.
The religious organizations’ resolutions add to growing criticism accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza — a claim Israel has repeatedly denied.
Since the war in Gaza began after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which is run by the Palestinian Authority. Almost a third of the reported casualties have been children, according to a United Nations Human Rights Council investigative body. Additionally, according to the U.N., 2 million Gazans are displaced, leaving swaths of Palestinians suffering from starvation, dehydration, inadequate shelter, poor sanitation, environmental exposure and other continued risks ca …
