Holy Land Awareness and Action Committee
Sub-committee of World Affairs Committee

MANDATE

Toronto Conference awareness building and advocacy campaign

GOAL: Toronto Conference will undertake an awareness building and advocacy campaign that affirms the right of Israel to exist in peace and security within internationally recognised borders, that affirms the right of Palestinians to exist in peace and freedom in an internationally recognised homeland and state, that calls for an ending of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian Territories, and that calls for a withdrawal of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza.

The campaign will include:

1. awareness building
2. letter writing
3. petition to the Government of Canada
4. divestment of a select group of corporations that manufacture arms and other military hardware used in the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine
5. boycott of a select group of corporations that manufacture arms and other military hardware used in the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine.

1. Awareness building

Toronto Conference will:

• " develop print and web educational materials for distribution in Toronto Conference

• " Toronto Conference will collect resource materials for use within the Conference

• " Toronto Conference will request each Presbytery promote this campaign through an order of the day within the first year of the campaign

• " Toronto Conference will request inclusion of an article on this campaign in the Toronto Conference Insight publication and suggest inclusion of an article on this campaign in The Observer.

2. Letter writing

Toronto Conference will:

• " Develop and animate a letter writing campaign within the Conference to the appropriate bodies to advocate for the end to the occupation and for a two state solution, as per The United Church of Canada and Toronto Conference policies.

3. Petition to the Government of Canada regarding labeling of goods

Toronto Conference will:

• " petition the Government of Canada requesting that, as is the policy of the European Union, goods from the illegal settlements be identified so that they may be distinguished from Israeli goods and not given free trade status.

4. Divestment from select group of corporations that manufacture arms and other military hardware used in the Israeli occupation of Palestine

Toronto Conference will:

• " Undertake divestment action from five corporations that manufacture arms and other military hardware used in the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine: Boeing, Canadian Aviation Electronics, Caterpillar, General Electric and Lockheed Martin.

• " Take up this action with the same confidence of its reasonableness and anticipation of its success as was the grape boycott to enable the organization of California farm workers, the boycott of Nestle to stop its practices in marketing baby formula to poor women in the Third World, and the boycott and divestment campaign that helped end apartheid in South Africa.