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Why Is the Church of England Debating Antisemitic Propaganda?
(Telegraph-UK) Nicole Lampert - Four years ago, the Church of England apologized for 800 years of Christian antisemitism, marking the 1222 Synod of Oxford, which imposed new taxes on English Jews, compelled them to wear identifying badges, and banned them from most jobs. On July 12, the Church's General Synod debated one of the most appalling pieces of contemporary antisemitic propaganda in modern Christian history. Titled "A Moment of Truth: Faith in a Time of Genocide," the report seems to defend the terror group Hamas, saying their Oct. 7 massacre of 2023 was "born out of decades of injustice, oppression and displacement since the Nakba of 1948." It uncritically refers to the "genocidal war on Gaza," and adds: "This genocide has been carried out by Israel after decades of apartheid, settler colonialism, political repression." The Synod will vote on whether or not to make the document one that it will use going forward. The document describes Palestinians as the "indigenous people of the land" and criticizes the Abraham Accords that normalized relations between Israel and several Arab states. It is little wonder that the Jewish Board of Deputies has claimed the document "risks real harm to Jews in the UK through its dissemination," while Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said it was "little more than political activism dressed up as theology." He added: "It is truly shocking that a document which purports to speak in the name of truth contains so much falsehood - using extreme rhetoric to challenge the very concept of a Jewish state, and to oppose existing peace agreements in the region." If the Synod endorses the document, the Church will be guilty not only of antisemitism in its most modern form, but also of the greatest betrayal of Britain's Jews in centuries.