U.S. church body calls for boycott and divestment from Israeli occupation

The Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Christ (UCC) has endorsed a call for boycott and divestment from companies that profit from the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Delegates adopted the resolution at the end of last week in a 101-11 vote at the annual meeting of the Central Pacific Conference, which includes around 50 individual churches. It is the fourth such regional Conference of the UCC to pass a boycott and divestment resolution, following on from New York, Central Atlantic, and Northern California.

The resolution calls for divestment from specific companies who have continued to profit from Israel’s military occupation, after years of “engagement and dialogue” produced no results. Companies named in the resolution include Caterpillar, Motorola, G4S, Hewlett-Packard, and Veolia.

The resolution also calls for a boycott of products such as SodaStream home carbonated drink

machines, Ahava Dea Sea skin care products, and Hadiklaim dates.