Israel/Palestine

12. I am far from convinced that local church courts taking stances on Israel/Palestine and peace processes therein isn't a matter of sticking our noses where they don't belong. I know quite a few clergy who have gone on observer/accompaniment trips to Palestine, with Christian Peacemakers   or other organizations. I've been to meetings where the mission committee was selling bottles of Palestinian fair trade olive oil. But I've also listened to folks who served on inter-faith councils talk about the hurt our well meaning proclamations have caused within Canadian Jewish communities, and know that our relationship with the Canadian Jewish Council has been very strained at times because of this.

Anyway, I'm working my way through reports this morning. (Our conference annual meeting is this weekend; like a diocese meeting, I think?) There is a proposal for boycotting goods from occupied Palestinian territory. And I'm realizing, that I'm fuzzy (appalled at my own ignorance) by what we even mean by 'occupied' Palestine. All of Palestine/Israel? The illegal Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territory? 

Luckily for me, there is another 26 page report to download. I'm starting it now; hoping to have more clarity, and a semi-informed opinion before Friday. I'm slightly irritable about how little congregational work I'm going to get down today, and more than slightly dubious that most of the voting members of the court will have any depth of understanding on human and land rights, history and current economic context re: Israel/Palestine.