30 September 2013
Methodist Church launches consultation on Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
The Methodist Church has launched a major consultation on the
arguments for and against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
(BDS) movement. The consultation, arising from a request by the
annual Methodist Conference, is seeking responses from any
interested individuals or organisations, in writing or through an
online form.
BDS is a movement that calls on individuals and organisations to
boycott all goods and services from Israel, to divest and to impose
sanctions on Israel. While the Methodist Church does not support
the BDS movement, it supports a boycott of goods and services
produced by Israeli settlements in the occupied territories.
The Methodist Conference requested a briefing on the Boycott,
Divestment and Sanctions movement at its meeting last summer. The
final report will go to the Methodist Council, which will then
bring a report to the 2014 meeting of Methodist Conference -
the governing body of the Church.
Doug Swanney, Connexional Secretary of the Methodist Church, said:
"This is an area where many people hold widely differing beliefs.
We want to hear the full range of arguments for and against BDS so
that we may better understand not just what people believe, but
why."
More information, including background notes, a printable version
of the questions and the online survey,
can be found here.