The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) national assembly on Wednesday revised a 2-year-old policy on Middle East investments that had provoked protest from grass roots churchgoers and Jewish groups.

To vigorous applause, delegates agreed to a new statement that says Presbyterian holdings pertaining to both Israel and Palestinian territory should "be invested in only peaceful pursuits."

The 2004 assembly authorized "phased selective divestment in multinational corporations operating in Israel" because of its policies toward Palestinians. Jewish organizations had criticized that action as unfairly one-sided but were content with the new wording.

The Associated Press, June 22, 2006

The Church of Scotland has called on European authorities and the World Council of Churches to clearly identify products from illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands, a church official said Wednesday.

The decision by the church's General Assembly, meeting in Edinburgh, came after delegates were informed that the church had no investments related to what it regards as oppression of the Palestinians.

The Assoicated Press, May 24, 2006

Denying a Jerusalem Post story that said he had embraced a ?dual covenant? theology, Southern Baptist pastor Jerry Falwell said March 1 that he believes all people, including Jews, ?must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ in order to enter heaven.?

?I do not follow this teaching of ?dual covenant? theology and I believe it runs counter to the Gospel,? Falwell said in a statement posted on www.falwell.com. "I have been on record all 54 years of my ministry as being opposed to ?dual covenant' theology.?

Baptist Press Staff, March 1, 2006

An evangelical pastor and an Orthodox rabbi, both from Texas, have apparently persuaded leading Baptist preacher Jerry Falwell that Jews can get to heaven without being converted to Christianity.

Televangelist John Hagee and Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg, whose Cornerstone Church and Rodfei Sholom congregations are based in San Antonio, told The Jerusalem Post that Falwell had adopted Hagee's innovative belief in what Christians refer to as "dual covenant" theology.

This creed, which runs counter to mainstream evangelism, maintains that the Jewish people has a special relationship to God through the revelation at Sinai and therefore does not need "to go through Christ or the Cross" to get to heaven.

Ilan Chaim, The Jerusalem Post, March 1, 2006

A leading US evangelist is forming an umbrella organization under which all pro-Israel Christians in America can speak as one in support of the Jewish state.

Pastor John C. Hagee of San Antonio, Texas, is to launch Christians United for Israel (CUFI) at an invitation-only "Summit on Israel" next Tuesday at his Cornerstone Church.

By Ilan Haim, The Jerusalem Post, Feb 2, 2006

The Church of England was on a collision course with Jewish leaders last night after it voted to disinvest in companies profiting from the illegal occupation of Palestinian land.

The General Synod overwhelmingly backed calls for the Church Commissioners to remove funds from such firms, particularly its ?2.2 million investment in Caterpillar, which manufactures tractors used to demolish Palestinian homes.

The vote, which was supported by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, is hugely symbolic, even if the Commissioners refuse to comply.

By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent, Daily Telegraph, 07/02/2006

Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson suggested Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine punishment for "dividing God's land."

"God considers this land to be his," Robertson said on his TV program "The 700 Club." "You read the Bible and he says `This is my land,' and for any prime minister of Israel who decides he is going to carve it up and give it away, God says, `No, this is mine.'"

Sharon, who ordered Israel's withdrawal from Gaza last year, suffered a severe stroke on Wednesday.

SONJA BARISIC, The Associated Press, Jan 6, 2006

The founder of the US first Arabic Christian TV channel says the programming is attracting phone inquiries from curious Muslims.

The Southern California-based channel Alkarma, whose name means "the vineyard" in Arabic, premiered Oct. 17. It is the brainchild of Samuel Estefanos, an Egyptian-born businessman.

The channel gets 10 to 15 calls a day from Arabic speakers with Muslim surnames who are intrigued that Alkarma would give away a movie known as the "Jesus Film" and other materials.

By Julia Duin, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, November 26, 2005

One by one, mainline Protestant denominations with close ties to the Holy Land are taking controversial steps aimed at influencing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

On Friday, the Presbyterian Church USA reignited concerns when its investment committee named five US corporations it intends to push to reform their practices. The companies include ITT Industries United Technologies, Caterpillar, Motorola and Citigroup.

By Jane Lampman, The Christian Science Monitor, Aug 8, 2005

Reaching out to Christian supporters of Israel in Asia, a group of conservative Israeli thinkers and two parliamentarians from the Knesset's "Christian Allies Caucus" are traveling to South Korea next month for the second annual Jerusalem Summit Asia to shore up support for Israel against the increasingly global forces of Islamic fundamentalism.

The two day pro-Israel conference, which will be hosted by the President of South Korea and the Mayor of Seoul as well as the largest Christian Church in Asia, is expected to attract more than 2,000 people from over ten east Asian countries.

By ETGAR LEFKOVITS, The Jerusalem Post, July 27, 2005