|TOP|The vote in the Church of England Synod earlier in the month to disinvest Church funds from companies that profit from Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territory has been met with criticism from the UK’s Chief Rabbi, Dr Jonathan Sacks.

In a letter to Dr Sacks last week, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams attempted to assuage the concerns of the Jewish community with personal reassurances that the Church of England vote on Ethical Investment was not intended to initiate a boycott on Israel. It was also not to be regarded as a policy shift to disinvestment, he said, but was rather an expression of disquiet at the prospect of the Church making financial profit from a controversial security policy.

Chief Rabbi Sacks responded to the Anglican vote on whether to disinvest from “companies profiting from the illegal occupation” with criticism, describing it as “ill-judged even on its own terms”, reports Reuters.

“The timing could not have been more inappropriate,” said Sacks. “(Israel) needs support not vilification."

|AD|He went on to warn that the vote could seriously hinder the Church of England’s ability “to act as a force for peace between Israel and the Palestinians”.

"The church has chosen to take a stand on the politics of the Middle East over which it has no influence, knowing that it will have the most adverse repercussions on a situation over which it has enormous influence, Jewish-Christian relations in Britain," Sacks added.

The vote was controversial within the Church itself with many angered by the result of the vote and Williams’ predecessor, George Carey, saying in a letter to The Times that the vote made him feel “ashamed to be an Anglican”.

He described the vote as a “one-eyed strategy to rebuke one side and forget the traumas of ordinary Israelis who live in fear of suicide bombers and those whose policy it is to destroy all Jews”.

"Much distress has been caused, especially to our Jewish friends and neighbours," Williams wrote to Sacks last week in a letter released on the church's Web site. "This distress is a cause of deep regret."