Plenary of the 220th Presbyterian General Assembly voted to boycott all Israeli settlement products, including Ahava Dead Sea cosmetics and Hadiklaim dates, which were specified by name in the overture. The vote is consistent with decades of Presbyterian opposition to Israeli settlements in and the occupation of the West Bank.
Boycott of settlement goods, including Ahava cosmetics, has become an increasingly popular way for global citizens to help take the profit out of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories. Jewish support for settlement boycott is increasing. Over a dozen rabbis signed a letter to Presbyterian delegates explaining their support for the Ahava boycott overture. During the past few months, several prominent Israelis and Jews have endorsed settlement boycott, including former Speaker of the Israeli Parliament and World Zionist Organization leader Avraham Burg, former Israeli Foreign Ministry director Alon Liel, and Jewish-American political pundit Peter Beinart.
The Presbyterians join the Methodists who voted in May to boycott settlement goods. The church boycott comes in response to the pleas of Palestinian Christians, as outlined in the Kairos Palestine document.