WIESENTHAL CENTER FORWARDS CLOSE TO 10,000 SIGNERS IN PETITION CAMPAIGN URGING CANADA’S LARGEST PROTESTANT DENOMINATION TO CONDEMN ANTI-ISRAEL RESOLUTIONS

August 10, 2009

WIESENTHAL CENTER FORWARDS CLOSE TO 10,000 SIGNERS IN PETITION CAMPAIGN URGING CANADA’S LARGEST PROTESTANT DENOMINATION TO CONDEMN ANTI-ISRAEL RESOLUTIONS

The Simon Wiesenthal Center announced today that it has gathered 10,000 signers to their petition calling on the 3 million-strong United Church of Canada to publicly rebuke harsh anti-Israel resolutions at its National Council being held in Kelowna, British Columbia.

“The fact that some 10,000 North Americans and other activists around the globe have over the course of three days urged the UCC leadership to speak out against these draconian resolutions is an indication of the concern and anger felt by our constituency,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Wiesenthal Center.

“While we certainly respect democratic procedure, the toxic language accusing Israel of being a ‘racist state’ established through ‘ethnic cleansing’ and calls for boycotts on the Jewish state have no place in so pivotal a spiritual institution as the UCC.

“Such unfair and one-sided campaigns won’t improve the life of a single Palestinian but would certainly embolden anti-Semites and enemies of peace in the Middle East,” Rabbi Cooper concluded.

Avi Benlolo, President and CEO of the Toronto-based Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, said, “One can only wonder about the true motivation of those members of the church who presented these resolutions. For them, Israel continues to be singled out despite a wide-range of international issues including the murder and torture of human rights activists in Iran.”

The Center’s online petition can be found here... .

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).

For more information, please contact the Center's Public Relations Department, 310-553-9036.