The Day In Israel: Thursday July 1st, 2010
The Methodist Church of Britain yesterday voted to boycott Israeli-produced goods and services from the “West Bank” because of Israel’s “illegal occupation of Palestinian lands.”
“A majority of governments recognize the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories as illegitimate under international law,” the church body said at its annual conference in Portsmouth.
The church body will now encourage Methodists across the UK to follow suit.
The motion stated that the boycott of goods “from illegal Israeli settlements” was in response to a call by the World Council of Churches – which advocates divestment from Israel – and by Palestinian civil society and “a growing number of Jewish organizations in Israel and worldwide.”
“The Methodist Conference notes the call of the World Council of Churches in 2009 for an international boycott of settlement produce and services and the support given for such a boycott by Christian leaders in Palestine in the Kairos document, Palestinian civil society and a growing number of Jewish organizations both inside Israel and worldwide and calls on the Methodist people to support and engage with this boycott of Israeli goods emanating from illegal settlements,” the church said.
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In a statement released after Wednesday’s vote, the church body said the decision, which carried unanimously, had the goal of ending “the existing injustice.”
“This decision has not been taken lightly, but after months of research, careful consideration and finally, today’s debate at the conference,” said Christine Elliott, secretary for external relationships. “The goal of the boycott is to put an end to the existing injustice. It reflects the challenge that settlements present to a lasting peace in the region.”
I always have to laugh at these Christian groups who oppose Israel and claim Israel is illegally occupying palestinian land. Does this mean they believe that their hero JC was also illegally occupying palestinian land when he lived in places such as Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Jericho?
Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)
7:00PM: Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has addressed the nation on Gilad Shalit, as a response to the mounting pressure from the Shalit family to conduct a prisoner swap.
Netanyahu, who will talk with US President Barack Obama about the issue on Monday, gave the soldier’s family little reason for optimism, and explained why the decision is so complex.
“I look into the pained eyes of Shalit’s family and feel the pain with them,” he said. “I also look into the eyes of hundreds of families who have been hurt by terror and feel their pain. In the same breath, I think of all those whose loved ones will be murdered if Israel’s principles are breached and murderers are released. As prime minister, I must take all this considerations into account.”
“The call to pay any price is a natural cry from the hearts of his fathers, mothers, grandparents, brothers and sisters,” he continued.
“As a brother, as a father, as a son, I understand this cry from the depths of my heart. But before me I see, as does every Israeli prime minister, the security of all the State’s citizens. The State of Israel is willing to pay a heavy price for the release of Shalit, but it cannot say ‘at any price.’ This is the truth, and I am saying it now. We will continue to make every effort… to bring Gilad home quickly. But this will be done while maintaining the security of Israel’s citizens.”“The people of Israel are united in their desire to bring Shalit home,” the prime minister confirmed. “There in nobody who has met the Shalit family who doesn’t think to himself, ‘Gilad could have been my son, or my brother, or my grandson.’ Therefore the family’s response is natural, and the desire to give them support is also natural.”
Netanyahu, who said he had agreed to a deal which would involve the release of 1,000 Palestinians, also spoke about the dangers of releasing prisoners.
“Israel has decided a number of times to release terrorists and murders in return for the release of Israelis,” he said. “The most famous case is the Jibril deal, in which 1,150 were released. Almost half went back to terror. They went back to murdering hundreds of Israelis and constituted the hard core of the second Intifada. And there were other cases, like the Tenenbaum deal, in which 400 were released, and murdered 26 Israelis since they were released in 2004.”
“The decision to release terrorists is a difficult and complex decision for any government,” Netanyahu continued. “Because of the complexity, as opposition leader I refused to criticize the Olmert government on this issue. The public pressure and demands should not be directed against the government, but against Hamas – a terror organization that does not even allow the Red Cross to visit Shalit.”
“In the deal presented by the German mediator, to which I agreed, there were 1,000 terrorists – that’s the price I am willing to face to bring Shalit home,” the prime minister added, but clarified that he would not agree to their return to the West Bank. “I stick to two principles – the terrorists must not return to Judea and Samaria, and no arch-terrorists will be released. I agreed to the mediator’s deal, but no response has yet been received from Hamas.”
4:24PM: CNN reports on IAF strikes on Gaza sites overnight. Note the scare quotes.
The Israeli air force hit a weapons manufacturing facility and “terror” sites in Gaza overnight, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman said Thursday.
This is CNN.
3:02PM: I know I have mocked the Jerusalem Post in the past for photo-caption combination screw-ups, but here they get it spot on.
1:18PM: More information has come to light on the secret meeting between Israeli Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
Turkish media on Thursday provided further details of the secret meeting that led to a coalitional storm in Israel. Local newspapers detailed how the meeting, between Israeli Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was concealed. The NTV network reported that the two agreed to meet again in secret.
The meeting was held behind the back of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak were aware of the meeting and gave Ben-Eliezer their blessing.
Meanwhile, a Turkish official confirmed that the meeting was held in Brussels, and said it had taken place at Israel’s behest, in an attempt to overcome the crisis between the two countries.
“The meeting took place in Brussels yesterday at Israel’s behest,” the official told AFP, “We sent a letter to Israel expressing our expectations and these expectations were raised again in the meeting.”
A Turkish newspaper reported that the meeting, which was the first meeting between Israeli and Turkish officials since the raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla, was also kept a secret from local ministers.
According to Sabah newspaper, the meeting was held in a luxury hotel in Brussels, Belgium, and began at 12:30, local time. It lasted some two-and-a-half hours. The parties initially considered holding the meeting in Luxembourg, Zurich or Strasbourg.
The report said the hotel room was booked under a third party’s name in order to keep the meeting a secret. The two ministers reportedly discussed ways to restore ties between Israel and Turkey.
Turkish network NTV reported that the meeting was also kept secret from Minister for EU Affairs Egemen Bagis and Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker, who were in Belgium with the foreign minister.
Hurriyet newspaper reported that the foundations for the meeting were laid during a meeting between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s meeting with US President Barack Obama, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Canada, which Davutoglu also attended.
According to the report, the Ben-Eliezer-Davutoglu meeting focused on the matter of the ships that are still in Israel. The Turkish foreign minister reportedly laid out the terms for returning the ships from Israel.
He secretly took off in his private jet from Ankara to Zurich.
The Turkish newspapers also reported on Lieberman’s anger at the secret meeting. On Wednesday, the foreign minister’s office called it “a violation of all normal procedures,” and said “it undermines the trust between the foreign minister and the prime minister. The foreign minister intends to clarify the incident.”
The meeting was mediated by an Israeli business man and the American ambassador in Ankara.
Meanwhile, Ha’aretz has picked up on the Obama connection, glossed over in the above report.
A senior Israeli official’s secret meeting with the Turkish foreign minister was apparently held due to pressure from the Obama administration.
9:32AM: According to The Wall Street Journal, Iran has equipped Syria with with a sophisticated radar system to help thwart a surprise Israeli strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
8:52AM: High-ranking Hamashole Mahmoud “The Wart” al-Zahar demonstrates why all those who support or otherwise enable Hamas (including the flotillards) support Israel’s destruction, and those who posit Israel should talk with Hamas (including Russia, Jimmy Carter and even Israelis like Shaul Mofaz) are off their meds.
About the Author
An Aussie immigrant to Israel, Aussie Dave is founder of Israellycool, one of the world's most popular pro-Israel blogs (and the one you are currently reading) He is a happy family man, and a lover of steak, Australian sports and girlie drinksFiled Under: General
Most REAL Christians do not agree with what this church is doing. There are churches being hijacked and still calling themselves Christian. This church is 100 wrong. I am a Christian and I try to only buy USA and Israeli products. I support Israel 100%. I don't think the PA is right and don't support or believe anything they do or say. I don't believe in splitting the land. Please don't lump all Christians into one boat.
Frankly, without Christian support in the U.S, Israel would be in REAL trouble.
1 And the spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded; 2 and he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him: 'Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the LORD is with you, while ye are with Him; and if ye seek Him, He will be found of you; but if ye forsake Him, He will forsake you. {S} 3 Now for long seasons Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law; 4 but when in their distress they turned unto the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found of them. 5 And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great discomfitures were upon all the inhabitants of the lands. 6 And they were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city; for God did discomfit them with all manner of adversity. 7 But be ye strong, and let not your hands be slack; for your work shall be rewarded.' {S} 8 And when Asa heard these words, even the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the detestable things out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from the hill-country of Ephraim; and he renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD. 9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and them that sojourned with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon; for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.
– 2 Chronicles 15
So? God has lots of ways of helping.
You think this is what Hashem wants from us????
And I suggest you look at the Rambam regarding taking Zedakah.
I am aware of that Halacha, and it applies when there are Jewish sources – unfortunately there aren't. I am referring to Gentiles in the U.S., and from personal experience, I can tell you they aren't all interested in missionizing.
Gey schluffen!
Thank you! That was restful!
Good Shabbos!
he didnt say all christians…just the methodist church of england
Yeah, as a Christian, I gotta say sorry about these idiots. Sabeel, WCC and that ilk are carrying on a long tradition of useful idiocy as they celebrate Nakba every year with another "fact sheet" on what the evil Joooz are doing, and how they are going to stop it, all in the name of their god, the non-threatening human rights activist for peace and tolerance, Jesus. Their "it's time for Palestine" mantra in 2008 was the most hilarious. I think they mentioned terrorism (in the context of "Israel claims….") for one whole line in five pages. Another classic was where they condemn "collective punishment in all it's forms" and then bang on about the righteousness of divestment from Jewish companies (isn't that a form of collective punishment?) Meanwhile, the Christians they claim to care so much about are being persecuted into extinction in the Pali terror-tories by their ideological allies the Islamists. But those clever folks just use it as something else to blame on the Jooz. Naturally. What a bunch of useless, irrelevant men in purple frocks.
Did my fellow Methodist in UK wake up today and go 'Hey, lets do something really intensely stupid today.'
Sick, I agree, but they don't speak for all Christains. Some church organizations need a clue bat to see what is really going on in the world to day.
No, they said, "let's do something really evil today".
The Methodist Church of Britain's leadership must really hates Jews (or at the very least are a bunch of self-hating Euroweenies).
So I assume they also boycotted Northern Ireland?
Wouldnt it be Britain?
They are British. I would assume they would boycott the "British-occupied territories".
so they would boycott british goods from the british occupied territories
I think these anti-Israeli fools in the UK must be suffering from Mad Cow disease. I cant work out any other explanation for their foolishness and a lack of understanding about the conflict.
It's called left-wing Christianity
When you piss off the Methodists, you really have done something. They're such a bland and boring lot, never ones for controversy. Well, never mind my Israeli friends. I'll take care of this. By all that's right in the world, I call for a plague of frogs on their House. By this I mean a great influx of French tourism, of course. That should teach 'em a lesson those meddling Methodists will never forget.
Are you sure that British Methodists are the same? Remember, they put the "Victorian" in Victoria's reign. Victoria herself was certainly anything but Victorian.
http://www.flix.co.il/tapuz/showVideo.asp?m=36540…
this is beautiful…try not to cry
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/…
Just journalism compared the british political and media reaction to russian and israeli passport forgery
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/…
A new place for the hippies to boycott!
CNN has hired Eliot Spitzer, Mr. Rectitude, to co-host its prime time news commentary program opposite Bill O'Reilly. I think that's all you need to know about that network's dedication to ethics in public life.
good gosh, you are a pompous ass
spitzer was totally ethical in public life…he cheated on his wife…with hookers…big friggin deal
he wouldnt have even got caught had he not pissed off the powers that be for getting too close to the breaking the financial crisis wide open…which then put homeland security on him for moving his own money from one bank to another
and loofa boy is a paragon of ethical behavior? maybe you should have a chat with andrea makris
beyond me how any jew can be a wingnut retard…no seichal whatsoever
So he was cleared of misppropriation of Government money for the purpose? And I do think that cheating on one's wife is a big deal, since we are NOT talking of a government office.
Well, this is better than the original plan, which has Spitzer debatig a
"conservative" who conceded that she won a Pulitzer because she started attacking other conservatives. (I'm not saying she did it on purpose, but it shows you how much that award means.)
he was never charged with using public monies
he used his own money
the guy is a millionaire
oh….and when is vitter going to resign
republicans are hypocrites
That they are. Democrats too sometimes.
There was some question regarding the expense money. If this has been resolved, fine. It is quite possible the Democrats forced hm out to make way for Andrew Cuomo.
Generally, Democratic scandals (Jefferson, Massey, Rangel) are given short shrift by the media compared to Republican ones.
And do you notice that the information about Republicans is only released until after it is too late to run someone else?
(My work computer doesn't post a lot of the time. And, of course, it is on my time, so I tend to rush the typing.)
JC occupied Palestine? He did not carry a machine-gun, nor kill any children.
So I guess the PA wouldn't like him.
guess you dont get it….there was never a palestine
there is no occupation
while india and pakistan were completing a population transfer, the jews were trying to prove what good guy they were by not sending all the arabs home
big dummies
Back then Jews were not regularly attacked by Arab invaders or "Palestinians".
The problem of the terrorists sending kids with suicide bombs is even more severe.
And ironically Jesus, who did indeed not defend himself, was ultimately killed by the same people who named the place "Palestine".
I wonder if they will also boycott products from Arab settlements in Israel. Or would that be racism?
Those wacky Methodists. I think they've always had trouble wrapping their heads around the concept that Jesus was Jewish. It goes against all their wanting to be better than. I actually think they are transferring their worship to Gaia, because they can't get this other part straight…
When Arabs give up their hate and guns there will be peace. BAsed upon that video which should be distributed worldwide Israel should fully depopulate the WB and Gaza and give those SOBS a swift trip to martyrdom