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| British Jewish leader raps Church of England over investment
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Jonathan Sacks, British Chief rabbi
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The Church of England came under fire Friday from Britain’s Jewish community for its review of investments in companies whose products are used in Israeli-occupied Palestinian land.
The General Synod voted on 6 February to recommend that the church divest from US-based Caterpillar Inc., whose bulldozers are used by the Israeli army, and any other firms it says profit from the occupation of Palestinian land.
In an article in the Jewish Chronicle newspaper, Britain’s chief rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks said the vote to "heed" the call from its sister church in Jerusalem "was ill-judged" and could hurt Jewish-Christian ties in Britain.
The Chronicle also reported that Jewish leaders had begun planning a
collective response, and that the Board of Deputies of British Jews had agreed to carry out an investigation into attitudes within the Church of England.
Church of England spokesman Ben Wilson told AFP that the synod had no power of decision and its vote was an "advisory motion", a point underlined in a letter to Sacks by the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams days later.
The church invests 2.2 million pounds (3.2 million euros) in Caterpillar, a tiny fraction of investments totalling more than four billion pounds, Wilson added.
He said he was not aware of any other companies affected by the appeal from the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East.
The church said on its website that the synod had agreed to "heed" the call for "morally responsible investment in the Palestinian occupied territories, and in particular, to disinvest from companies profiting from the illegal occupation, such as Caterpillar Inc., until they change their policies".
It agreed to encourage the Church of England’s Ethical Investment Advisory Group to urge Caterpillar to stop "supplying or maintaining either equipment or parts for use by the state of Israel in demolishing Palestinian homes".
Repercussions on Jewish-Christian relations
In reaction to the vote, Sacks wrote that "the immediate result will be to reduce the church’s ability to act as a force for peace between Israel and the Palestinians for as long as the decision remains in force".
Sacks wrote: "For years, I have called on religious groups in Britain to send a message of friendship and co-existence to conflict zones throughout the world, instead of importing those conflicts into Britain itself."
He warned it would have "the most adverse repercussions" over
"Jewish-Christian relations in Britain".
Williams, the Church of England’s highest-ranking cleric, said in his
letter published on the website that the move would not result in immediate divestment.
The synod had agreed to continue to examine church policy and encourage a fact-finding visit to the Holy Land, he added.
Williams said that the demolition of Palestinian homes "raises moral issues of some seriousness" but the church’s review did not amount to commending a boycott of Israel, or to undermine the country’s security or legitimacy.
Britain’s domestic Press Association quoted a spokesman for Caterpillar as saying its products were not sold directly to Israel, but to the US government, which then sold them to Israel.
"We clearly have neither the legal right nor the tangible ability to
regulate how customers use their machines," it was quoted as saying.
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