Re Israeli Goods Boycott I received the following statement from CLLR JONATHAN MCCOLL of West Dunbartonshire

 His claims of where he gets is sources are very vague. "This boycott was in response to and in support of international media coverage two years ago by the BBC, AP, CNN, SKY, REUTERS which showed Israeli forced murdering innocent women and children and firing rockets at civilian targets".

Maybe I could ask him (politely), in the hope that he had retained such important information, to provide me dates and links to any reports from his noted sources which could help realise his vague claims.

I think he is surprised by the strength of indignation he has received. If he had any threatening emails as he describes he would have published them or reported them already.

Renaud Sarda

http://www.cllrjmccoll.info/israel.html

Israeli Goods Boycott

Posted by CllrJMcColl 

at 9:04 pm, May 30th 2011.

Council Motion & Statements

An official Council statement can be found at http://www.west-dunbarton.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/news/corporate-statement-on-the-boycott-of-israeli-goods/

An earlier statement including a copy of the original motion can be found at http://www.west-dunbarton.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/news/council-refutes-media-claims-regarding-the-israeli-boycott/

Personal Statement

The following is intended to answer a number of questions that have been asked and assertions made in emails etc...

This boycott was not made at the request, suggestion or upon reading a pamphlet from any Anti-Israeli or Pro-Palestinian group.

This boycott was in response to and in support of international media coverage two years ago by the BBC, AP, CNN, SKY, REUTERS which showed Israeli forced murdering innocent women and children and firing rockets at civilian targets.

I have never seen, read or heard any material from Pro-Palestinian or Anti-Israeli groups and I would put little stock in either. I get my information from reputable, recognised sources.

Hamas' use of hospitals and other civilian buildings (and indeed civilians themselves) as human shields is utterly despicable, but that does not give the Israeli Government the right to kill those unfortunate enough to be used by this terrorist organisation.

West Dunbartonshire Council remains committed to our boycott of Israeli goods and our resolve has only been strengthened by the torrent of vile abuse threats of violence against our families that has come from people who claim to be peace loving people.

This is not an anti-Semitic act.

I don't care whether you are Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Agnostic or any other such label you might want to give someone. We are all members of the human race and we should all stand together in asking the Israeli Government to think again about their methods.

I agree that the Israel Government has the right and responsibility to defend their people, but I do not agree that this should come at such a high cost. They need to think again.

That assumption on your part says more about you than it does about me. To quote a Jewish woman from Glasgow who telephoned me on this issue,

"We are brought up in a culture of 'poor wee us', automatically thinking that the world is against us and perhaps we should take stock of that before we draw conclusions about other people's motivations."

The reason the Council discussed this matter was because it was raised by an individual Councillor as a private member's motion.

You'd have to ask Cllr Jim Bollan what his personal motivations were for bringing this forward, but I do not believe him to be racist. I have never found him to talk down or discriminate against anyone.

It is not normal for issues of International significance to be brought before Council my individual members. Our main function is to govern our small local area and provide Education and Social Care services as well at things like refuse collection and recycling.

We do on occasions hear motions from members of this type, although never before a boycott. For example, the Council has condemned the actions of China, Burmha and various other places and has twice since 2007 been successful in aiding Amnesty Internation to free political prisoners from such countries.

All I ask is that when you read this and other responses you might get from our Councillors, that you look at this issue objectively and try to see this from our point of view.

My Great Grandfather fought in WWII and was awarded the highest decoration an enlisted man can get in the British Army for his bravery on the battlefield in the fight against Hitler's Nazis and being compared to such evil people is not only extremely hurtful, but the first time I read one of these emails, I was physically sick.

If you are one of the many many people who have been sending vile emails, please...I urge you to take a step back and consider your position from our point of view.

Any further threatening email received will be forwarded to the police.