Quakers and Christian Aid urge UK ban on Israeli settlement goods

Two leading Christian groups, the Quakers and Christian Aid, have urged the British government to ban the import of products from Israeli settlements. At a Parliamentary briefing on a Tuesday, Christian Aid officers and Quakers told MPs that stopping goods from West Bank settlements from being sold in Britain would enhance the prospects of peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

The groups had invited more than 20 MPs to the meeting, which concerned the effect settlements have on life for Palestinians in the West Bank. The session was chaired by Liberal Democrat MP Steve Gilbert, but only around half a dozen other parliamentarians attended.

Christian Aid’s William Bell said the government must protect consumers from “purchasing goods from an illegal source.” He said the position was “nothing to do with the delegitimisation of Israel.” “We do not support a ban or boycott on trade with Israel but consider that a ban on trading settlement products is justified because settlements are illegal and have a negative impact on Palestinian economic development,” Mr Bell said. He added that “informed consumer choice can send a powerful message, on its own it cannot adequately tackle the problem.”

Quaker Marisa Johnson, a former ecumenical accompanier in the West Bank, told the briefing that Palestinian villagers did not receive IDF support to defend themselves against attacks by Jewish settlers. She also claimed that, while Palestinian families did not have sufficient water, Israelis allowed their dogs to swim in water reserves. The source reports these as her claims.

The Methodist Church’s secretary for international affairs, Steve Hucklesby, described the impact of the church’s own boycott policy, implemented two years earlier. He claimed that the policy, which followed the church’s annual conference backing a report advocating a ban on settlement products sold in Britain, had strengthened relations between the church and the Jewish community. The article reports that the move prompted the Board of Deputies to cut top-level ties with the Methodist Church. Over the past year, some grass-roots Methodists had sought to work more closely with local Jewish groups, which the article describes as largely in resistance to the church’s stance.

Sir Gerald Kaufman MP said he would “love to see legislation” against settlement goods but warned that “we have to be practical and accept no such legislation will go through this parliament.” He added: “Boycotts are important. There is no point in appealing to Israel’s better nature — it has no better nature to appeal to.” He also said there were plans to send officials from the Co-op, which had banned settlement goods from its UK stores the previous month, to the West Bank to help Palestinians form their own co-operatives.

The Council of Christians and Jews said a ban would be ineffective and suggested that ministers should ignore Christian Aid and the Quakers. Its chief executive, the Reverend David Gifford, acknowledged “the challenges that the Israeli settlements present,” but said that “the CCJ questions whether a boycott will achieve much more than for the few who support it to feel better. We still oppose boycotts and consider continued diplomatic engagement and negotiation as the better response.”

Source: Read the original report