[NuovoLab] I: Presbyterian Church Votes to Boycott

I'me very glad!!!
Peppino Coscione


----Messaggio originale----
Da: info@???
Data: 7-lug-2012 12.30
A: <coscione43@???>
Ogg: Presbyterian Church Votes to Boycott








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Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Votes for Boycott of
Israeli Settlement Products!



The 220th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted by a margin of 457-180 for boycott of all Israeli products from settlements on occupied Palestinian land, and called upon all nations to prohibit their import. The Assembly directed the church to communicate this decision to its councils, organizations and ecumenical partners nationally and globally and to call upon them to join the boycott. Ahava cosmetics and Hadiklaim dates were specific products mentioned.


In a separate action, recommendation from the church's Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) to divest from Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard, and Motorola Solutions was barely defeated when a minority report calling for investment in the West Bank (but not divestment) was substituted by a 333-331 margin, with two abstentions. Through a lengthy process begun in 2004, the three companies were identified by MRTI as profiting from non-peaceful pursuits and failing to satisfactorily respond during an extensive period of engagement by the church.


Craig and Cindy Corrie traveled to Pittsburgh this week to join the Israel Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church and Jewish Voice for Peace to advocate for boycott, divestment and other overtures related to Israel/Palestine. Their daughter Rachel was killed in 2003 by a Caterpillar D9 bulldozer in the Gaza Strip as she stood to protect a Palestinian home and family threatened with demolition.


Speaking to the General Assembly's Middle East and Peacemaking Committee, Cindy Corrie noted that on its military applications webpage, Caterpillar Inc. celebrates its ability to modify equipment to meet military needs and to supply military customers with parts and service worldwide. She noted that Caterpillar militarized bulldozers financed with U.S. dollars are key Israeli weapons, and though the U.S. government encourages sales to states that receive U.S. funds, they do not compel these sales. Corrie stated, "Caterpillar has a choice. Investment in Caterpillar is an investment in weapons that wreak destruction and sometimes death on Palestinians - and CAT knows."

The Rachel Corrie Foundation is one of hundreds of organizations worldwide that support the 2005 Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS). This call by over 170 Palestinian civil society organizations asks international civil society and people of conscience to employ the strategy of BDS until Israel ends its occupation and colonization of the West Bank Gaza, and East Jerusalem, ends discrimination against Palestinian citizens of Israel, and recognizes the right of return for Palestinians displaced in 1947-1949 when the State of Israel was created.


Critics of the Presbyterian divestment overture argued that it would damage existing relations with Jewish colleagues. But Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb (one of the first ten women rabbis in history and a servant of the grassroots Jewish community for 40 years) told the committee, "I speak for hundreds of thousands of Jews who oppose Israeli Occupation and want to see real change...Vote to divest. Ground all your interfaith relationships on principles of universal human rights."














In Pittsburgh - Craig and Cindy Corrie and Rev. Fahed Abu-Akel -- Palestinian-American and former moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Photo: Danny Bolin





NEWS FROM OLYMPIA:

Welcoming Amani Inshasi from Gaza




The Rachel Corrie Foundation is excited to welcome Gazan teacher Amani Inshasi to Olympia July 8-12! There are many opportunities to connect with Amani and take part in this cultural exchange from cooking classes to youth art workshops! See the full schedule here.
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Help the Rachel Corrie Foundation continue to support the growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement with your tax deductible contribution!














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