The Quakers in Britain became the first church in the UK to announce a boycott of the State of Israel. We must protest this blatant act of discrimination!

The Quakers in Britain became the first church in the UK to announce a boycott of the State of Israel.

During its Britain Yearly Meeting earlier this month, the national representative body of Quakers announced that the church will not invest any of its centrally held funds in “companies profiting from the occupation of Palestine.”

In a statement, Quakers UK said that the church’s trustees’ decision “fits into a long Quaker history of pursuing ethical investments. It follows decisions not to invest funds in . . . the fossil fuel industry, arms companies, Apartheid South Africa, and – going even further back – the transatlantic slave trade.”

The British Jews Board of Deputies condemned the decision, with President Marie van der Zyl stating that “the appalling decision of the Friends House [Quakers] hierarchy to divest from just one country in the world – the only Jewish state – despite everything else going on around the globe, shows the dangers of the obsessive and tunnel-visioned approach that a narrow clique of church officials have taken in recent years.”

“There was no particular trigger incident for this decision, just the ongoing insistence of certain Quaker bureaucrats of feeding a diet of one-sided propaganda to those unfortunate enough to rely on them for information,” van der Zyl charged.

“While other churches have reached out to the Jewish community at this time of rising anti-Semitism and polarization to work together to tackle prejudice and promote peace in the region, the Quaker leadership has chosen to import a divisive conflict into our country, rather than export the peace that we all want to see,” she added.

“Israel, the Middle East’s only true democracy and most thriving economy, will be untroubled by this biased and petulant act, but the Quakers, who have for so long been at the forefront of peace activism, have now marginalised themselves from being a credible voice on the issue,” the British Jewish leader declared.

She called on the Quakers to reverse the decision, “to stop promoting division,” and “to join those of us looking to build bridges instead.”

The Quakers have set a dangerous precedent. We must not remain silent in the face of such blatant anti-Israel discrimination and hatred.

Tell the Quakers in the UK – it’s not to late to repent. Reverse this historic mistake and adhere to your own teachings of love, not hate.

Speak Out Against Anti-Israel Discrimination!

1. Send a complaint to Helen Griffith at: heleng@quaker.org.uk

2. Click Here to send Quakers UK a message on Facebook

3. Click Here to send Quakers UK a message on Twitter

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