Is the Presbyterian Church (USA)'s endorsement of possible divestment from certain companies doing business in Israel an act of anti-Semitism? You don't have to be Presbyterian or Jewish to be drawn to the question. You don't even have to be steeped in the history of the Middle East or be a person of faith.

It's enough just to be concerned about the cohesion of our country, especially during a time of war. The question should concern us all, because the divestment issue is not a struggle waged between fringe groups. This is a fight that's straining relations between two American pillars that are historical allies on basic social and humanitarian causes and political issues: the national bodies of mainline Protestant churches and key Jewish groups...

...The churches, for their part, say they aren't out to delegitimize or economically weaken Israel. They maintain that they are committed to the state of Israel but are opposed to activities that contribute to the Israeli occupation, such as investment in companies that profit from the occupation by selling equipment or materials used to tear down Palestinian structures. Churches, they contend, are using their economic leverage as a moral tool for peace. But what if the effect will be just the opposite?

Here's an additional thought. In another professional incarnation, I traveled to the Middle East several times (but not to the Palestinian territories or Israel). Take it from me, my brothers and sisters of the New Testament, when it comes to Israel, the milk of human kindness does not flow freely through the bosoms of her Arab neighbors. Israel-bashing is a cottage industry among Islamic nations, some of which would just as soon see the Jewish state pushed into the sea. To pretend otherwise is foolish.

From where I sit, the Israel divestment debate is one of those wedge issues that the leaders of the mainline churches and the organized Jewish community need to dispose of quickly. If this divestment fight is allowed to percolate down into the pews and at the grass-roots level, it could precipitate a rupture in Christian-Jewish relations that will set back the interfaith movement for years to come...

...Here's a taste of what all of us are really up against: According to the Middle East Media Research Institute, on Monday, the day after the death of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi government-controlled channel Saudi 1 aired an interview with Abd Al-Sabour Shahin, an Egyptian professor and head of the sharia faculty at Al-Azhar University in Cairo. In it, he referred to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and declared: "There is no doubt that not a single Arab or Muslim had anything to do with these events. . . . I believe a dirty Zionist hand carried out this act. Zionism has taken the opportunity to escalate the war in Palestine, killing hundreds of thousands."

Now, warring parties, that ought to concentrate the mind wonderfully.