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Title: UK Church Backs Boycott Of Israeli Goods From Illegal Settlements
Source:
twocircles.net
URL Source: http://twocircles.net/2010jun24/uk_ ... goods_illegal_settlements.html
Published: Jun 25, 2010
Author: IRNA
Post Date: 2010-06-25 15:31:57 by Brian S
Keywords: None
Views: 311
London : Britain’s largest non-conformist Christian church is presenting a report to its annual conference next week supporting an international boycott of goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements. The report on Justice for Palestine and Israel by the Methodist Church has also attracted the support of more than 30 Christian and Jewish organisations and individuals for its “humane and principled conclusions”. A resolution at the Methodist Conference in Portsmouth, southern England, calls for support for an international boycott of produce and services from illegal Israeli settlements raised last year by the World Council of Churches, according to details obtained by IRNA. Methodists, who number some 70 million worldwide, including around 330,000 in Britain, are urged “to support and engage with this boycott of Israeli goods emanating from illegal settlements.” Church leaders are also directed “to make appropriate representations to the UK Government and the European Commission calling for action to bring to an end the occupation and the siege of Gaza and for further Government pressure to be applied to allow a process of serious peacemaking to take place that eschews violent conflict.” The 54-page report to the conference, which decides Methodist policies, identifies that Israel’s “occupation of Palestinian territory” is the "key hindrance to security and a lasting peace for all in the region.” A joint Jewish-Christian statement expressing support for the findings also criticises pro-Israeli groups that have already “misrepresented and attacked” the report. “Coexistence is not advanced by the bulldozer’s blade as it demolishes Palestinian homes and uproots olive trees; nor is reconciliation furthered by segregation and a decades-long militarised regime of control. In opposing such injustices, the resolutions simply affirm international law,” the statement said. Signatories, including Jews for Justice for Palestinians and the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions UK, also pointed that the illegality of the settlements is “a consensus issue affirmed by the United Nations, the UK government, and countless NGOs like Amnesty International.” “Boycotting their produce is thus a refusal to aid a gross breach of human rights and an obstacle to a just resolution,” the joint statement also said. According to the Jewish Chronicle, those attempting to discredit the Methodists’ report include Britain Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks, who was reported to be “distressed” by the “unacceptable publication.” “It failed completely to present Israel’s case in an even handed manner, and represents a one sided judgement of one of the most complex conflicts in the world,” Sacks was reported saying.
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