Resolves of the Executive Council

Resolved, That the Executive Council of The Episcopal Church, meeting February 25-27, 2013 in Linthicum Heights, Maryland, affirms the prophetic witness of the 77^th General Convention in calling for a just peace for Israelis and Palestinians through Resolution B019, which, building upon 30 years of resolutions, declares “this Church’s support for a negotiated two-state solution in which a secure and universally recognized State of Israel lives alongside a free, viable, and secure state for the Palestinian people, with a shared Jerusalem as the capital of both,” and establishes strategies for the pursuit of that witness; and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council affirms and celebrates this month’s recommendation of the Executive Council Economic Justice Loan Committee to invest $500,000 in the Bank of Palestine in response to the recommendation of Resolution B019 of the 77^th General Convention, the first such positive investment made by this Church in the economy of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and urges dioceses and other entities of this Church prayerfully to consider similar investments; and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council affirms that it is the policy of this Church to engage in the constructive corporate engagement policies toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict adopted by the Executive Council in October 2005 and implemented by the Executive Council Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility in the intervening years; and further affirms that this Church does not support boycott, divestment, and economic sanctions against the state of Israel nor any application of the Church’s corporate engagement policies toward such ends; and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council affirms that it is the policy of this Church, derived through General Convention Resolutions A010 (2006), A103 (1994), A149 (1991), and D008 (1991), and the Resolve of Council “Guiding Principles for Governmental Legislation” (February 1995); that all foreign aid given abroad by the United States government – including aid to Israel and the Palestinians, and to all others in the region and elsewhere – should be comprehensively and transparently accounted to the American people and held to the same standards of compliance with all applicable laws, as advocated during the last two triennia through more than a dozen letters to the Congress sent by the Presiding Bishop and other bishops of this Church and the Office of Government Relations, and embodied in the “Religious Statement on Foreign Assistance Reform,” dated February 2, 2009, adopted by an interreligious coalition co-chaired by The Episcopal Church and repeatedly communicated to the President and the Congress in the intervening years; and further affirms that this policy should be applied through such advocacy toward its universal adherence rather than targeted for selective application to some recipients and not others; and be it further

Resolved, That, in order to assure the effective and thorough implementation of the policies adopted by the 77^th General Convention through Resolution B019 and referred to multiple interim bodies, a B019 coordinating committee shall be appointed by March 15, 2013 and shall comprise the following individuals:

1. The Presiding Bishop and President of the House of Deputies, as Chair and Vice Chair of the Executive Council (or a designee of each), who shall appoint a convener from among the coordinating committee members;
2. The Chair of the Executive Council Joint Standing Committee on Advocacy and Networking for Mission, or one substitute as may be designated by the Committee Chair;
3. The Chair of the Standing Commission on Anglican and International Peace with Justice Concerns, or one substitute as may be designated by the Commission Chair;
4. The Chair of the Standing Commission on Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations, or one substitute as may be designated by the Commission Chair;
5. One member of the House of Bishops’ Theology Committee, or a designee, as appointed by the Presiding Bishop;
6. Such staff of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society as may be designated by the Presiding Bishop; and be it further

Resolved, That this coordinating committee shall seek to conduct business by teleconference and that any other activities, including the consultation of outside experts whose input is deemed necessary by the group, shall be done at the expense of the interim bodies whose members are constituent of this coordinating committee; and be it further

Resolved, That this coordinating committee shall provide a report on its activities to the Executive Council to be included as part of Council’s triennial Blue Book report for the 78^th General Convention.