On 15th November, the Presbyterian Church in the USA received a letter threatening arson attacks if it did not withdraw its Israel Policy.

In June, the church’s General Assembly decided to begin selective divestment from corporations profiting from the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. Criteria were set earlier this month and the proposal will go ahead.

However, the threat is believed to have been provoked by the controversial visit of two national Presbyterian Church members to Hezbollah in Lebanon, an organisation on the U.S. government’s watch list of terrorist groups.

The letter that has been received by the Presbyterian Church’s Louiville headquarters wrote “the church will be set on fire while people are inside in retaliation for ‘anti-Israel and anti-Jewish attitudes’”.

Jerry Van Marter, Director of the Presbyterian news service added, the letter was postmarked from Queens, in New York.

The Presbyterian Church in the USA has taken the threat letter very seriously. The security at its headquarters has been stepped up, and the church has contacted law enforcement authorities as well.

The Presbyterian Church in the USA is one of the major denominations in the United States, having over 11,000 congregations and 3 million members in the United States and Puerto Rico.