Christian Friends of Israel (UK) and the Zionist Federation, which together represent thousands of individuals - including members of the Methodist Church - the length and breadth of these islands, were appalled that on 30th June the Methodist Conference overwhelmingly accepted a report on the Israel/Palestinian conflict that reeks of 'supercessionism' (the strain of Christian belief that denies the Biblical claim of the Jewish people to the land of Israel).
Not only that: as organisations working together to bring about closer ties between our two faith communities, we totally deplore the completely biased and one-sided nature of the report and the conclusions drawn from it.
There is no justification for the boycott, that the Methodist Conference approved, on goods grown or made by Jews in Judea and Samaria, nor will a move like this improve the lives of the many hundreds of Palestinians whose livelihood depends upon employment in these areas.
In remaining in Judea and Samaria for security reasons, in areas occupied as a result of the defensive war of 1967, Israel is acting perfectly legally. UN Resolution 242 says that withdrawal from these areas should be in exchange for security. The reality is that Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, only to be rewarded with unceasing terrorist attacks.
The ZF and CFI (UK) call upon all right-thinking people to protest to the leadership Council of the Methodist Church at this blinkered, flawed report and the recommendations flowing from it.
The ZF and CFI (UK) believe that interfaith dialogue between Jews and Christians on the one hand, and those Methodists who supported the motion on the other, is impossible until this report is withdrawn in its entirety, and a more balanced approach to this extremely difficult subject is adopted.
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