​Palestine Network – Shining Waters Region (PalNet – SW) 

Acting for Change: Proposals to GC4

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Raising our Voice for Human Rights
PalNet SW is acting for change as the creator of two proposals going to General Council 44 in the summer of 2022. Raising our Voice for Human Rights calls on Shining Waters and General Council to
  • voice their support for human rights in Palestine and an end to the occupation
  • oppose illegal settlements
  • divest from companies that profit from the occupation
  • advocate with the Canadian Government to take action on violations of international law and Geneva conventions in Palestine
 
Here is the full text of the proposals:

Raising our Voice for Human Rights (Shining Waters) 

Raising our Voice for Human Rights (General Council) 
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Justice and Peace for Palestine and Israel
A third proposal prepared by PalNet SW did not gain the support of Shining Waters Regional Executive. It called on the General Council of the United Church to
  • Declare Israel an apartheid state
  • Publicly support the BDS (Boycott/Divestment/Sanctions) movement
  • Encourage divestment from funds profiting from the occupation or security apparatus that contributes to the continuation of the occupation
This proposal will be brought forward by an individual commissioner from Shining Waters who is also part of PalNet SW. We anticipate and hope that the proposal will be affirmed.

Read the full proposal [Justice and Peace]

Apartheid?

One of the stumbling blocks in supporting PalNet’s proposal Justice and Peace for Palestine and Israel was the use of the term “apartheid.” The recent United Church review of church policy on Palestine and Israel affirms however, that apartheid is a useful term “to describe laws and legal procedures of the State of Israel that enshrine one people in a privileged legal position at the expense of another.”
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Read the United Church’s document, In Support of Just Peace in Palestine and Israel: A Call to Costly Solidarity 
 
For more information on the term apartheid as applied to Israel, read the declaration of human rights organizations:
B’Tselem and Human Rights Watch.  ​

View the Amnesty International video “Is Israel Committing the Crime of Apartheid?.” 

Antisemitic?

​Another barrier to the support of PalNet’s Justice and Peace proposal was the charge that the proposal was antisemitic. Independent Jewish Voices responded to a statement issued on January 11, 2022 from several groups of rabbis in Canada regarding the United Church 2022 General Council discussions on the church’s policy positions on antisemitism, Israel and Palestine. They urged General Council commissioners to cease any further criticism of Israel. Check out the statement and the response [Q & A on the “Rabbinical Statement on the UCC’s Proposed Resolutions on Antisemitism & Israel” – Independent Jewish Voices Canada (ijvcanada.org)] of Independent Jewish Voices.

​Sheryl Nestel, scholar, author, lecturer, writes in this article  about the use and abuse of statistics in claims about the rise of antisemitism in Canada. 

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)​

BDS is a campaign of strategies to pressure Israel to end its illegal occupation of Palestinian territories. Divestment is one strategy that the Shining Waters Region is encouraging its communities of faith and individuals to implement.

​You can find the names of companies that profit from the illegal Israeli occupation at Who Profits www.whoprofits.org. Your Board of Trustees, or personal investment manager, can then set up investment screens to avoid investing in any of these named companies. We thank you for your actions for peace and justice in Palestine/Israel. Let us know how it goes. For further information please contact Robin Wardlaw (rmore at teksavvy.com).
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What happened in Israel and Palestine to bring about this situation of injustice? 
Check out this short, animated video for a very clear and succinct explanation
​of what created the situation in Palestine and Israel.
Jewish Voice for Peace Animated Video: Israeli Palestinian Conflict Explained
Images from the separation wall in Bethlehem (Banksy dove, left; Leila Khaled, right)