Anglican leaders criticised on Israel statement
By Ruth Gledhill, Timesonline
Anglican supporters of Israel speak out over a statement criticising the state’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip
Anglican supporters of the state of Israel have expressed their “dismay” at a statement from Anglican leaders from around the world criticising Israel for imposing a so-called apartheid system on the Palestinians.
At its meeting in Jamaica chaired by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, the Anglican Consultative Council, the policy body at the centre of the worldwide church, said it “laments” that current Israeli policies in relation to the West Bank “have created severe hardship for many Palestinians and have been experienced as a physical form of apartheid”.
Calling for a Palestinian state alongside Israel, the Anglican council made no request for an end to terrorism but called on Israel to end occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, freeze all settlement building, abandon its settlement policy and dismantle the separation barrier.
The lobby group Anglican Friends of Israel warned that the council’s resolution threatened to “completely sabotage” Anglo-Jewish relations.
In a statement, the group said: “Once again, Anglican representatives have singled out Israel for criticism without placing her actions in context or directly addressing the Palestinian contribution to the conflict.”
The statement continued: “Israel is falsely accused of imposing an apartheid system on Palestinians while the education of Palestinian children to hate Jews and give their lives in cause of Israel’s destruction is ignored.
“Neither Palestinian nor Israeli interests are served by resolutions such as this, which misrepresent the actions of one party whilst overlooking the agency of the other. The people of the Holy Land – and the Anglican Communion – deserve better.”
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