There is a story behind the news of the Presbyterian Church (USA) decision at its General Assembly in Birmingham on June 21 to change course on exploring divestment from companies doing business in Israel, and to instead invest in enterprises that can lead to a peaceful future for the Israeli and Palestinian people (“Church Poised To Kill Divestment,” June 23).

Since the 2004 divestment decision, Presbyterians and Jews around the country have been engaged in open, intensive dialogue about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and their communal and religious ties to Israel and Palestine. It is this dialogue that laid bare the pain for Jews that Presbyterians referred to in the overture overwhelmingly affirmed in Birmingham.

Here in New York, Presbyterian and Jewish clergy and lay leaders have been in just such a dialogue, sponsored by the American Jewish Committee, New York Chapter, and Auburn Theological Seminary, highlighted this past February by a trip to the region that helped us see Israeli and Palestinian life through each others’ eyes, and made it clear to all of us who saw the realities on the ground first-hand that divestment is not a path to peace. We met courageous persons on both sides of the security barrier who are investing their lives and money to build the bridges necessary to create peace. We came away committed to supporting the efforts of Israeli and Palestinian peacemakers. Our experience convinces us that inter-religious engagement is the key to an American community enriched, rather than divided, by our religious differences.