The New England Conference of the United Methodist Church has recommended its churches divest from twenty companies which support the illegal Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and other Israeli breaches of Human Rights.
The recommendations came in a report by the Conferenceâs Divestment Task Force, published in June, after two years of extensive research. The Task Force was created to implement a divestment resolution passed in 2005.
Identified companies were contacted in writing to alert them to the concerns of the Task Force regarding and given 60 days to respond. The twenty companies identified, which include Blockbuster video and Volvo, gave inadequate excuses to explain their involvement in the Israeli occupation, or did not reply to the Task Force. The report explains in detail why each company has been listed and is a useful tool for all those involved in research and divestment activism.
William P Aldrich, chairman of the Divestment Task Force said: âThe goal is to make all United Methodists and other Americans aware of their relationship to companies that benefit from the Israeli occupation, and to give them an opportunity to withdraw from such relationships so they are not participants in human rights violations that go against Christian principles and international law.â He added that selective divestment is consistent with the United Methodist commitment to a just and sustainable peace for all people in the Middle East.
The report can be viewed at: https://neconference.brickriver.com/files/oFiles_Library_XZXLCZ/NEUMC_Divestment_Report_-FINAL_060407_ZK4FGFIN.pdf