Just in time for the 2014 holiday season, the UMKR Boycott Committee has many new resources for justice advocates!
Use our resources to answer questions about the settlements and the products they export, WHY we should boycott them, HOW to participate in the boycott and much more!
• The Call to Boycott SodaStream from the UMC General Board of Church & Society
• The UMC Resolution opposing all settlements products
BOYCOTT THE ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS
The UMKR 2014 Boycott of Settlements Products Why & How
The United Methodist General Conference, the global policy making body for the entire church, voted in 2012 to call on all nations to ban products made in illegal settlements beyond Israel’s internationally recognized borders. (Resolution # 6111 – Opposition to Israeli Settlements)
Immediately following the General Conference, United Methodist Kairos Response (UMKR) set out to learn which products are being imported to the United States from these illegal settlements. Researchers subscribed to a service called “Import Genius” which provides records and bills of lading for all US imports. They also did empirical research in stores to learn which settlement products are carried by different retailers. Their report was entitled Seizing the Mandate.
A Boycott Committee was established to determine how this information could be used to implement the church’s call for a settlement boycott. In November 2014, UMKR launched a church-wide boycott of six consumer products produced in Israeli settlements. These are products frequently encountered by American shoppers, and represent only a handful of more than 40 consumer goods with settlement origins in the US market. Information on these products is included on these pages.
There are also many industrial and commercial products which come into the US from the settlements. These will be addressed in Phase 2 of the boycott initiative in 2015. Americans will be surprised to learn that items as diverse as friction plates for lawnmowers, spun-melt fabric for diapers, yarns for the carpet industry and aluminum siding for the construction industry are being imported from these illegal factories. All enjoy preferential trade and tariff treatment intended for goods made in Israel. This means our Treasury is losing millions of dollars in tax revenues each year.
The U.S. goods trade deficit with Israel was $9 billion in 2013. Goods imported to the US from Israel and the illegal settlements totaled $22.7 billion that year. Imports to the US from Israel have grown at twice the rate of US exports to Israel since the Free Trade agreement between the two countries was signed. For more on the US-Israel Free Trade Agreement, click here.
United Methodists are urged to contact the Commerce Department to ask that goods from Israel’s settlements be labeled as such, and that tax and trade benefits intended for Israeli goods not be extended to goods from the settlements. This will be a major focus of the UMKR Boycott Committee
in 2015.
Resources for the 2014 UMKR Settlements Boycott:
Boycott the Settlements: Why and How Overview of the boycott, including the products to boycott read it, download it »
Boycott Questions & Answers
Four-page Q & A about the Settlements Boycott read it, download it »
Products to Boycott Bulletin insert for congregations, a convenient size shopping guide read it, download it »
Seizing the Mandate 42-page document, contains list of many settlement products imported
to the US, information about the settlements, and a guide for churches
to implement the boycott. See highlights, download it »
More information and resources related to boycott: UMC Resolution #6111: Opposition to Israeli Settlements
What is the position of the United Methodist Church regarding the Israeli settlements in occupied territory and the products they export? read it, download it »
The SodaStream Boycott – GBCS and others United Methodists are called to boycott SodaStream by the
General Board of Church & Society. See also UMKR actions for the SodaStream boycott. learn more, get GBCS resources » Global Boycott Support
See the many Christian groups and institutions, Jewish organizations, businesses, and many others around the world that support a boycott of settlements products. learn more »
UMKR recommends boycott
of these products from the illegal Israeli settlements
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Questions about the boycott
of Israeli settlements?Looking for resources not
found here? Contact us at:info@kairosresponse.org
Seeking peace with justice for all of our Middle Eastern neighbors. Team Leaders: Linda Bergh – 315-640-9890 — lindagarybergh@gmail.com Karen Peterson – 607-739-3141 – dpeterson1@stny.rr.com — The Rev. Merle Showers – 716-862-4235 — revshowers@gmail.com — Christine Root – 518-384-5506 — christiew067@gmail.com — The Rev. Gary Doupe – 607-743-5062 — gdoupe@stny.rr.com
