To boycott or not - the new Israeli question

clipped from www.guardian.co.uk Pressure for sanctions on Israeli goods is widening. Forty years after the Six-Day War, unions, academics and journalists are locked in furious debate about the tactic. at one of Israel's major road junctions, in a silent vigil, carrying a placard that says simply: 'Stop the occupation.' Those in her group - Women in Black - have been abused, sometimes violently, since they began their protests almost 20 years ago. In Britain's churches too it has become an increasingly important issue. A survey for the Catholic weekly The Tablet last year showed 70 per cent of respondents backed disinvestment. Church of England's General Synod debated removing investments from the US company Caterpillar, its bulldozers were used to level Palestinian houses. the Methodist conference in the UK will consider whether or not its £1bn funds can be invested in companies operating in the occupied territories. protest against the Israeli occupation in British society emerged in the run-up to the UCU conference