The president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry has criticized the National Council of Churches in Australia over an “ill-considered” resolution asking churches to boycott goods produced by Jewish settlers in the West Bank. Robert Goot, in a letter to General-Secretary Tara Curlewis, said the resolution passed by Australia’s top ecumenical body “revived painful memories for Jews in Australia of earlier times in Europe when churches allowed themselves to be swept up in the tide of popular prejudices against the Jewish people.”
The resolution, passed by the organization’s triennial assembly earlier this month, calls on member churches to “consider boycotting particular goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.” Curlewis said in a statement that she “hoped that such actions will liberate the people from an experience of injustice to one where a just and definitive peace may be reached.” The resolution also affirms the right to exist for Israel and a Palestinian state within secure internationally recognized borders and condemns all acts of terrorism.
Goot – who is also a vice-president of the World Jewish Congress – said he felt “badly let down by people we have long thought of as our friends.” He asked to be able to present a critique of the resolution to the Executive of the National Council of Churches.
The Council of Churches comprises 17 groups, including the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church and the Uniting Church. It was a founding partner of the Australian National Dialogue of Christians, Muslims and Jews.