A letter from my Ecumenical-Accompanier friend, Jan, who is currently placed in occupied East Jerusalem, as I was in Dec. 2010-March 2011…

“Dear Canada,

Since returning to Palestine, I have been appalled at the level of Israeli settlement growth (on Palestinian land in the West Bank) that has occurred since I left here 15 months ago.  These settlements are built in direct contravention of International Humanitarian Law.

Many people in Canada are confused about settlements and settlers and what the terms refer to.  Part of our work as EA’s is to write a blog.  Over the past few weeks, I attempted to help people understand these terms through a blog post “Settlements and Settlers”  (click here) and another post “The Human Costs of Settler Violence” (click here).

As you are aware, the issue of Israeli settlement products was discussed at the United Church’s General Council 41 in August 2012, with General Council taking definitive action.  On February 28, 2013, Nora Sanders, General Secretary of The United Church of Canada, wrote to Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird [PDF: 2 pp/217 KB] asking that products produced in Israeli settlements in the West Bank be clearly identified and distinguished from products made in Israel.  You can learn more about her letter on the United Church website (click here).