Source: The Telegraph
On February 17, 2006 The Telegraph reported, "The Chief Rabbi, Sir Jonathan Sacks, warned the Church of England that it had seriously jeopardised its relations with British Jews by adopting an 'ill-judged' policy on Israel. He said the timing of last week's vote by the General Synod to disinvest in companies profiting from the 'illegal occupation' of Palestinian lands 'could not have been more inappropriate'. Sir Jonathan said that the Church must have known that its stand on Middle East politics, over which it had 'no influence', would have 'the most adverse repercussions' in Britain. 'The Church's gesture will hurt Israelis and Jews without helping the Palestinians,' he said in this week's Jewish Chronicle, adding that Israel needed 'support, not vilification'. The Synod overwhelmingly backed calls for the Church Commissioners to remove its funds from companies that did business with Israelis involved in the occupied territories."