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Beating and harassment at Israeli checkpoints is a daily routine for Palestinians (AFP)
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LONDON, September 24 (IslamOnline.net) – Inspired by an earlier successful
campaign against apartheid in South Africa, a leading international Anglican group has asked sanctions on
Israel
and a boycott of businesses there to protest the occupation of
Palestinian lands, a leading British newspaper reported Friday,
September 24.
The
call by the influential Anglican Peace and Justice Network (APJN)
comes amid growing concern in Israel at rising support among churches,
universities and trade unions in the west for a divestment campaign
modelled on the popular boycott of apartheid South Africa, The
Guardian said.
“There
was no question that there has to be a very serious kind of sanction
in order to get the world to see that at least one major church
institution is taking very, very seriously its moral
responsibility,” leader of the network, Jenny Te Pea, told the
daily.
“It
happened in
South Africa, and in
South Africa
the boycott had an effect. Everybody said it wouldn't work and it did
work. So here we are taking on one of most wealthy and incredibly
powerful nations, supported by the United States. That's the Christian
call,” she added.
Plight
of Palestinians
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The illegal separation wall adds up to Israel’s defiance |
APJN
said it would press leaders of the 75 million Anglicans and
Episcopalians worldwide to impose sanctions on
Israel
after an eight-day visit to the occupied territories.
APJN
is a recognized network of the Anglican Communion and is made up of
representatives from each
Anglican Province.
Te
Paa said the delegation from Anglican churches across the globe was so
shocked by the plight of the Palestinians, including the construction
of the concrete and steel wall through theWest Bank
, that there was strong support for a boycott.
The
network is to recommend the boycott to the church's decision-making
body, the Anglican consultative council, in
Wales, in June, The Guardian reported.
The
group will also make the case that divestment is a “moral
imperative” to a meeting of Anglican archbishops in
London
in February.
Te
Paa believes the network had influence within the Anglican community
and that she believed the consultative council would agree to a
boycott of
Israel.
In
July, the general assembly of the Presbyterian church in the United
States, which has 3 million members, voted overwhelmingly for a
boycott of
Israel. Some Scandinavian churches are also pressing for a boycott of
Israeli goods.
More
Boycotts
The
British daily also referred to other world-wide popular boycotts of
Israel.
Israel
is increasingly concerned about the prospect of this and recognizes
growing support among some religious organizations, and in the
academic world and trade unions, for organized action against the
occupation, according to the British daily.
British
academics had launched a campaign for a boycott of Israeli
universities, drawing a furious reaction, including accusations of
anti-Semitism.
Supporters
of the protest say the Israeli occupation, including military
checkpoints and curfews, places great restrictions on Palestinians'
academic freedom.
Dozens
of professors at prestigious American universities, including
Princeton
and Harvard, have signed a petition calling for an end to
US
military aid to
Israel
and for their universities to divest from firms doing business there.
Among
the targets would be Israeli products such as fruit, shops that do
business there and companies such as Caterpillar, which sells the
bulldozers used by the army to destroy Palestinian homes.
“I
hope that even by mentioning that we could call for this it would
serve as an invitation for dialogue with the Israeli government,”
said Ms Te Paa.
“If
it doesn't happen I think divestment can mean anything from having the
list of stores [to boycott] to very significant withdrawal of
investment from
Israel.”
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