Church roof body tempers boycott call
THE nation’s top church group has tempered its stance toward the Israel-Palestinian conflict, but has not scrapped its controversial policy calling on congregations to consider boycotts.
THE nation’s top church group has tempered its stance toward the Israel-Palestinian conflict, but has not scrapped its controversial policy calling on congregations to consider boycotts.
The change has been met with cautious optimism by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ).
The National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) has revisited its controversial resolution, issued at its forum in July, in which it urged member churches and the wider community to consider a boycott of goods produced in Israeli settlements.
However, an NCCA executive minute issued last month distanced the church roof body from any activities relating to “delegitimisation”.
Although the NCCA constitution prevents the executive from overriding a forum resolution, The AJN understands the amendments carry considerable weight.
The amendment, in which the Christian group commits itself to “discourage and not contribute to the forces of polarisation, hatred, delegitimisation or extremism that have brought only misery in their wake”, could be considered a setback for the local boycotts, disinvestment and sanctions movement.
In a thinly veiled repudiation of Hamas, the amendments state that “exclusivist religious or nationalist claims demanding state sovereignty over the entire land are incompatible with a just and peaceful resolution of the
conflict”.
ECAJ executive director Peter Wertheim said the executive resolution “is much better informed and more fair-minded than the resolution adopted so hastily by the NCCA forum in July.
“We appreciate the careful consideration given by the NCCA executive to the issue and their consultation with the ECAJ.”
He said the Jewish roof body will comment after the NCCA confirms the resolution in March.
The July resolution, caused dissension within the Australian roof body’s member churches and alienated the Jewish community.
PETER KOHN
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