The Anglican General Synod of the Anglican Church of England voted last week to disinvest from companies profiting from what it called Israel's "illegal occupation" of Judea and Samaria. The synod said it was responding to "the call from our sister church, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, for morally responsible investment in the Palestinian occupied territories and, in particular, to disinvest from companies profiting from the illegal occupation."
The main company in question is Caterpillar Inc., an American manufacturer of bulldozers used by Israel to build the anti-terror separation wall.
The Zionist Organization of American responded to the decision as follows:
"It is deeply troubling that the Church of England is willing to punish the victims of Palestinian terrorism, the Jews of Israel, rather than its perpetrators...
"If the Church of England wanted to take a moral stance, it should be boycotting and punishing a regime which promotes hatred and murders of Jews in its textbooks, sermons, speeches, media, children's camps and speeches, while refusing to disarm and dismantle terrorist groups, arrest terrorists and close their bomb factories. This regime also allows and glorifies the use of teenagers as suicide bombers and financially rewards their families. It also honors terrorists by naming schools, streets and sports teams after suicide bombers. That regime is the Palestinian Authority. It deserves to boycotted, not Israel."
Regarding the events at Amona on Feb. 1, the Orthodox Union strongly condemned the government, police and army forces, while the Rabbinical Council of America apportioned blame equally between the protestors and the police.
"We cringed," stated a letter from the OU to Acting PM Olmert, "as we viewed the images of members of the elite Yassam unit, tasked with carrying out the rule of law, enter a house and proceed to mercilessly beat fellow citizens who were merely sitting on the floor exercising their right to civil disobedience. We never thought we would see such a dark day in the State of Israel where Israeli citizens are trampled by the horses of their own police force."
The RCA, on the other hand, made sure to distribute its criticism equally against both sides. In a statement released last Tuesday, the organization stated,
"...While news accounts differ, and some of the facts remain in dispute, this much is clear: The government of Israel used its border police to remove settlers and protesters from nine buildings. These police used considerable force, injuring about 200 people, including some who did not actively pose a threat, and including three members of Knesset. Some of the protestors used violence to resist the police, throwing rocks and cinder blocks, and injuring about 50.
"Such wanton violence does not belong in a Jewish polity; Jews do not treat Jews this way. Those who may be responsible (on whichever side of the divide they may be) must be held to account lest this become the way of the future. We therefore strongly support the call of President Katzav for the formation of a panel of inquiry to uncover the truth...
"We are alarmed at the prospect of young religious Israelis growing up to view the government as the enemy. We are alarmed at the prospect of the duly elected government of Israel singling out one group in Israeli society for harsh treatment on the ground and in the media...
"We call upon the government of Israel to recognize that settlers are not enemies of the State of Israel and ought not be subjected to the indiscriminate use of force. We call upon our brothers and sisters in the Religious Zionist camp to concede that the duly elected Israeli government has the authority to determine the policies of the State. [Ed. note: This point was not contested by the protestors; see, for instance, the letter written by a seriously wounded protestor to O.C. Central Commander Ya'ir Naveh.] Even if one does not agree with such policies, sometimes, for the greater good, painful sacrifices have to be made.
"We realize that the implementation of these points poses difficult challenges for both sides. We feel, however, that in the other direction lies the abyss. The painful becomes palatable when the alternative is, Heaven forbid, the unraveling of Israel society."