CHURCH BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL ATTRACTING MORE INTEREST

An influential Anglican group is to ask church leaders to impose a boycott of Israel and firms that do business there in protest at the occupation. The call, by the Anglican Peace and Justice Network, comes amid growing concern in Israel at rising support among churches, universities and trade unions in the west for a divestment campaign modeled on the popular boycott of apartheid South Africa. In July, the Presbyterian church in the US became the first major denomination to agree a formal boycott of Israel.

The network said it would press leaders of the 75 million Anglicans and Episcopalians worldwide to impose sanctions on Israel after an eight-day visit to the occupied territories.

The leader of the group, Jenny Te Paa, said the delegation from Anglican churches across the globe was so shocked by the plight of the Palestinians, including the construction of the concrete and steel barrier through the West Bank, that there was strong support for a boycott.

"There was no question that there has to be a very serious kind of sanction in order to get the world to see that at least one major church institution is taking very, very seriously its moral responsibility," she said.

"It happened in South Africa, and in South Africa the boycott had an effect. Everybody said it wouldn't work and it did work. So here we are taking on one of most wealthy and incredibly powerful nations, supported by the US. That's the Christian call."

CHRIS MCGREAL, GUARDIAN