No to Israeli services and products

by Letters Editor · August 7, 2014

From Wesley Seale, Cape Town

No fewer than six pilgrimages to the Holy Land were advertised in the edition in which Archbishop Stephen Brislin criticised disproportionate bombing of Gaza (July 23).

“Palestinians, especially Christian Palestinians, warmly welcome pilgrims when they come in a spirit of solidarity. “

Pilgrimages that use Palestinian tour operators, buses, hotels, restaurants and so on serve to support the Palestinian communities, so those who plan to go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land should boycott Israeli service providers.

Those of us familiar with the last days of apartheid would know that because of international isolation and a boycott of South Africa through culture, academia, sport, even religious events and cooperation, among others, apartheid soon fell. Pope John Paul II was loath to stop over in Johannesburg in 1986.

Boycotts of Israel, its services and products, can help bring peace in the Holy Land. Visit the BDS movement�s website (www.bdsmovement.net) for more information.

Palestinians, especially Christian Palestinians, warmly welcome pilgrims when they come in a spirit of solidarity. The benefits of a group staying in Bethlehem in the West Bank are not only economic but it also shows Palestinians that they are not forgotten.

Responsible pilgrimages must include special encounters with Palestinians, beyond those with the guides, drivers and hotel staff, so that pilgrims can bring their stories back to South Africa.

Potential pilgrims therefore have a responsibility to interrogate those agencies that offer pilgrimages about the following:

1. Do you use Israeli service providers?

2. Do you use Palestinian guides?

3. Do your programmes include encounters with Palestinians?

Tour operators that answer no to any of these questions should not be used because their support of Israel fails the people of Palestine, especially the Christian community.

Pilgrims should also not go on pilgrimages that are advertised as going to �Israel�, as if sites in the occupied West Bank, such as Bethlehem, are part of that state.

Our Christian Palestinian brothers and sisters are asking pilgrims to choose responsibly when they come to the Holy Land. We have an obligation to do so.