BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The father of a Wall Street Journal reporter who was beheaded in Pakistan by Islamic terrorists appealed to the 217th General Assembly Thursday to end the divestment policy of the Presbyterian Church (USA) that favors the Palestinians over Israel.

Dr. Judea Pearl, a professor at the University of California in Los Angeles, made his appeal during an impromptu press conference at the booth of End Divestment Now in the exhibition hall of the Birmingham Civic Center. His son, Daniel Pearl, was murdered in 2002.

"I implore you to rectify this wrong," Pearl told a group of about 40 people who stopped to listen to him and three other speakers condemn the divestment resolution that was approved by the 216th General Assembly in 2004...

...Pearl, who has established a foundation in his son's name to pursue peace efforts and dialogue on Mideast issues, said the resolution has abetted Hamas, a terrorist group that recently won election to power in Palestine, and that it will discourage Israeli peace efforts in the Mideast.

He urged the Presbyterian Church to adopt a policy of neutrality. He said he could forgive God for allowing his son to become the victim of terrorists, but that he could not forgive the church if it continues to show favoritism toward radical Muslims who call for the destruction of Israel.

Pearl said his son was a humanitarian who gave voice to the very people who beheaded him. Now, he added, he feels betrayed by the PCUSA. "Take a stand against the hate of terrorism that took over our planet," he urged.

The root cause of violence in the Middle East, he said, is not Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory. "The root cause is the total rejection" of Israel's right to exist. "The idea that Jews will have a state in the Mideast is unacceptable" to terrorists. "This is a reality."...