| United Church of Canada helps fund Jewish anti-Zionists |
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| Wednesday, 23 September 2009 | |
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TORONTO-JERUSALEM (Arutz-7) – The United Church of Canada (UCC) has donated travel expenses to a new Jewish organization that hosted Muslims at a convention backing a boycott of Israel, according to the National Post. The Protestant church group admitted that it donated $900 to the organization but said that officials did not need to authorize the donation because of its small size. However, United Church officials told the National Post that the description of the event that led to the creation of the Independent Jewish Voices was “consistent with our overall policy that the end of the occupation must come in order to bring peace and justice.”The expenses were earmarked for a two-day Alliance of Concerned Canadians conference, which provided the catalyst for the formation of the new group. Among delegates who were invited and whose travel expenses were defrayed were “members of Jewish-Muslim, Jewish-Arab and Jewish-Palestinian groups.” B’nai Brith Canada denounced the UCC for funding an event that led to the founding of Independent Jewish Voices (IJV), a reputed fringe anti-Israel and anti-Jewish organization. “The principle behind this unprincipled move by the UCC is now clear for all to see,” said Frank Dimant, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada. “The United Church has been caught red-handed funding organizations that create division and strife within the Jewish community. “The UCC has a long history of working against the Jewish state, and by extension the Jewish people. The same church that recently sanctioned that all of its congregations may boycott the world’s only Jewish state, is now revealed to have funded the creation of an organization that has repeatedly come out with despicable propaganda about events in the Middle East and has called for a boycott of the Jewish state. “In one sense, something positive has come out of this outrageous revelation. The UCC and the rest of the organizations working on demonizing and delegitimizing the Jewish state can no longer hide behind the facade of ‘reconciliation.’ The wolves have now shed their sheep’s clothing.” The Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) is furious over the donation, calling it “shocking, outrageous, shameful and scandalous.” CJC?CEO Bernie Farber declared. “Imagine if the shoe was on the other foot and the Canadian Jewish Congress or another mainstream Jewish organization were to have funded a Christian group to be critical of the UCC.” Church spokesman Bruce Gregersen emphasized that the money was for travel expenses and was not intended to help get the new anti-Zionist group off the ground, but Farber said, “It is a horse by the same name. The UCC provided funding to establish an organization whose goal it is to target and attack the mainstream Jewish community.” He asserted that “the average United Church member will be as shocked as am I to discover that money from their church has gone to help create an anti-Zionist organization.” Among those attending the conference in Toronto was Rev. Vicki Obedkoff, who signed a letter in 2007 aimed at pressuring the Rolling Stones not to appear in “apartheid” Israel. Also present were delegates from the Canadian Arab Federation. |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 30 September 2009 ) |