LONDON, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- The Church of England may face Jewish condemnation for voting to disinvest from firms whose products are used by Israel in occupied territories.
The General Synod voted to back a call from the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East for "morally responsible investment in the Palestinian occupied territories," reports The Times of London.
The Jerusalem church also called for disinvestment from "companies profiting from the illegal occupation." They may include U.S.-based Caterpillar, whose bulldozers used in clearance projects in the occupied territories. But these bulldozers also are used by Palestinians in their own rebuilding work, The Times reported.
Britain's Jewish community opposed the motion, saying Israel's right to protect itself from Palestinian terror attacks should not be compromised.
Among those backing the disinvestment vote was the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who is yet to comment on the recent Palestinian election victory of Hamas, which is committed to destroying Israel, the report said.
