A pro-Israel organization is condemning The United Church of Canada (UCC) for its recent vote to boycott Israeli products.
The United Church of Canada voted August 17 to boycott products from Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Dr. Roberta Seid, education research director for Los Angeles-based StandWithUs, reports the resolution also states that UCC regrets its past request that Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
"It's shocking that the UCC would endorse such a bigoted policy," she responds. "Nobody knows where future borders between Israel in the West Bank will be; that can only be determined by direct negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis. So why would the UCC call for collective punishment of Israeli Jews who live in West Bank communities that most peace proposals have assumed will be on the Israeli side of a future border?"
The UCC resolution notes support for the Kairos document, which stems from replacement theology -- the idea that the church has replaced the nation of Israel.
Dr. Seid adds that the UCC resolution affirms many Palestinian beliefs that deny Jews rights, and it blames Israeli occupation as the source for the ongoing violence in the Middle East.