The United Church of Canada and Settlements

The United Church of Canada, which is the faith community I was brought up in, has a long tradition of social advocacy on behave of the oppressed, disadvantaged and the persecuted. While the United Church certainly has had many dark points in his history, it has been a strong, faith based, advocate of human rights and one of the most liberal religions institutions of Christianity for decades.

Recently the United Church has entered the political arena of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Members of congregations, the ministry and the leadership have expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people and call upon all sides to reject violence and find a peaceful resolution to the conflict. The UC even has a program of human rights reporting, where observers watch for and document human rights abuses at checkpoints and security zones. 

A few years ago, the church was pressured to drop some controversial wording ("apartheid") from statements and church resolutions concerning the occupied territories and the settlements in Palestinian territory. In addition the UC was drafting documents to the Canadian government, urging them to stop supporting the Israeli occupation and to boycott institutions that supported it.

This was instantly seen as an anti-Semitic gesture.

Ultimately the resolutions and proposals were dropped in 2009.

This year, actually a few weeks ago, the debate was sparked again. 

A new working group established by the UC has issued a report that once again proposes a boycott of all products from Jewish settlements in occupied territories, which are, again, illegal under international law. 

Several Canadian senators warned the UC that this move would spark a rift between the UC and the Jewish community and that it would send a clear message that "the United Church has chosen sides, declaring Israel guilty and the Palestinians the only injured party."

The working a group had apparently struggled with that very issue, as I have many times before. I am not sure why, but when ever someone raises the Palestinian issue or criticizes the Israeli Government and it's policies, it's almost always seen as an anti-Semitic gesture. The fear of being seen as "anti-Jewish" or "pro-terrorism" is so engrained into the minds of so many academics and NGOs that some people won't take the risk over fear of being branded. 

The working group had a statement on that very issue: "It is long past the point where claims of complexity can remove responsibility for making judgments about the situation. Simply put, Israeli is maintaining a hard occupation that must end so peace can emerge." 

Arguments about the complexity of the situation are no excuse for silence. On the contrary, because of the complexity, it's even more important that we talk about it. 

No one could deny that Israel lives under threat, but denying that the Palestinian people don't live under threat is ridiculous and stupid. Having been here and seen what I have seen first hand, there is no doubt in my mind that the Palestinian people are suffering and something has to be done. 

I hope that the United Church presses on in its advocacy. It's important to note that the working group didn't assign blame for the collapse of the peace process and doesn't, IN ANY WAY, condone violence, or express exclusive support of the Palestinian side of the situation, or express any desire to undermine Christian-Jewish relations, or Canadian-Israeli relations.

I hope that we can all agree that these debates are not about being anti-Semitic or pro one side or another. Violence is violence. And it must end. 

We're meant to keep doing better. We're meant to keep debating and discussing and we are meant to look critically at global affairs, read books and then talk about it. 

For myself, I have seen the settlements and the segregation; I would support a boycott of products from Israeli settlements. They are illegal under international law and as a country that supports the rule of law and professes to idealize peace, human rights and peace; Canada should call out Israel as much as it calls out Palestinian terror groups. 

Let me say this though. Settlers are not what I expected. Many would gladly leave the Occupied territories and live elsewhere in the country if they had the opportunity. There are many divisions within Israel itself and I would say that the silent majority have no interest in the territories. However, the radical, violent, well armed, organized and politically connected parties within Israel continue to deepen the divide in Israeli society and between Israelis and Palestinians. 

I would encourage all the readers out there to do some research, talk to people, read some books, watch some movies and check out the news. 

I hope we can all come together and say, that this is not about being anti-this or pro-that. Fair is fair. Oppression is oppression. We should be about freedom of speech everywhere, about freedom to worship everywhere, we should be about freedom to learn for everybody, freedom to live, express, be free from violence and persecution and free to development ourselves to the full extend and reach the highest capacity of our own human achievement.


A visiting Rabi to the Neve Shalom~Wahat-al-Salam said this on the occupation and the situation in Palestine:
"Set free the oppressed, break every yoke, clothe the naked and your light shall break free like the dawn, and the glory of the lord shall be your rear guard"-Isaiah 


Keep thinking. Keep feeling. Keep talking.