Church of England 'condoning if not complicit' in Israeli abuses

IRNA
Apr. 09, 2006

The Interfaith Group for Morally Responsible Investment (IMRI) is accusing the Church of England of being guilty in supporting Israeli atrocities against the Palestinians by continuing to invest in US manufacturers, Caterpillar.

"People are dying, HR abuses are being committed, and the Church of England is currently profiting from that. At best the Church of England is condoning these abuses and at worst is complicit," IMRI told the church's Ethical Investments Advisory Group (EIAG).

In a landmark decision in February, the Church's general synod overwhelming voted, with the support of the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, to divest funds from firms profiting from Israel's illegal occupation.

But this was rejected for the second time last month by the EIAG after it reassured the Jewish community that it did not plan to withdraw its 2.3 million (Dlrs 4.2 m) investment in Caterpillar, whose bulldozers are used by Israel to destroy Palestinian homes.

In an open letter Thursday to the EIAG, IMRI challenged its secretary Neville White to be more robust and listen to the General Synod, which acts as the church's virtual parliament.

"There has been a good deal of surprise and even consternation that the EIAG has, so speedily, re-confirmed its earlier advice that the Church of England should not divest in this way," it said.

The letter challenged the investment advisers to follow up the synod's recommendations, including visiting Palestine to "see, first hand, the devastation caused by the use of Caterpillar bulldozers by the Israeli military."
EIAG has claimed that there were no current or projected sales of Caterpillar equipment for use by the Israeli government, and furthermore it no longer has direct sales to the Israeli Government.

But IMRI said that it understood the Israeli Defence Force had IDF has 100 D-9 bulldozers and that to maintain them require a considerable supply of spare parts and the knowledge, cooperation and participation of Caterpillar.

"On this issue alone, EIAG have failed to engage Caterpillar sufficiently robustly and therefore its advice to the CC (Church Commissioners) and CBF (Church Board of Finance) is deficient," it said.

In a separate move, parishes across Britain are being urged to withdraw their money from the Church of England until the boycott is implemented.

Caterpillar, which has insisted that it has not provided the Bulldozers directly to Israel but only to the US military which sold them on to the Zionist regime, has also been the target of protests by peace groups, including at its plants in the UK.

It is estimated that the bulldozers, which are fitted with bulletproof windows, grenade launchers and gun turrets, have demolished 50,000 Palestinian homes and uprooted over 100,000 olive trees since 1967.