Methodists reject divestment motion
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"The general conference of the United Methodist Church voted not to divest from three companies that trade with Israel.
Two-thirds of the approximately 1,000 delegates to the conference voted Wednesday in Tampa, Fla., against a motion to divest from Caterpillar, Motorola Solutions and Hewlett-Packard.
Divestment advocates claim that products manufactured by these companies are used to repress Palestinians.
The conference passed motions opposing Jewish settlements in the West Bank, recommending the boycott of products manufactured in settlements and eastern Jerusalem, and investment in the Palestinian economy."
http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/05/02/3094521/met
Jewish Voice for Peace Statement on the United Methodist Church Efforts to Divest from Companies Profiting from the Israeli Occupation
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"JVP is disappointed that the resolution calling for divestment from three companies that profit from the Israeli Occupation (Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard, and Motorola Solutions) failed to pass at the United Methodist Church’s 2012 General Conference on May 2nd.
In many ways, this effort was a success even though the resolution did not pass. Since the last Methodist General Assembly in 2008, support for divestment has grown enormously, as is evident by the support by the Assembly of another resolution condemning settlements and calling for a boycott of settlement goods. West Ohio, New York, and Northern Illinois are three regions of the United Methodist Church that have already divested from the Israeli occupation at their own annual conferences.
We are pleased that the church has come to a consensus that the Israeli occupation is wrong and must end. We are gratified to share with our Methodist friends this commitment to ending the occupation and its wrongful treatment of Palestinians.
Through the work of our Methodist allies, we have learned that the companies named in the petition to divest have been utterly non-responsive to church members repeated attempts at engagement, and are clear that they have no intention of changing their business practices. As the General Secretary of the General Board of Church and Society of the UMC, Jim Winkler, recently stated:
“As someone who has been involved in the discussions by UM agencies and ecumenical partners with Caterpillar for six years, I would like to share critical issues we have repeatedly raised with the company. Regrettably, in all of these meetings, including one last week, Caterpillar has told us it has no intention to change any of its business practices relating to the occupied Palestinian territories.”
more
= new reply since forum marked as read
here is another one
Methodists Uphold Policy that Calls Homosexuality ‘Incompatible with Christian Teaching’
http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctliveblog/archives/2012/05/methodists_upho.html
guess some here were too busy with a banal hijacking or perhaps it is their sense of priority 
in any event both decisions are terrible
