Anglican Church mellows stance on Israel

The Anglican Church made a conciliatory statement regarding Israel this week following outwardly antagonistic statements made by the organisation in the recent past.

In 2019, the Anglican Church of Southern Africa (ACSA) voted to support “well-directed BDS [Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions] actions” against Israel. And in 2021, Anglican Church Archbishop Dr Thabo Makgoba described the situation in the Middle East as “evil”, and placed all the blame on Israel.

The statement, from the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East, sponsored by Archbishop of Jerusalem, Hosam Naoum, was released at the Anglican Church’s pivotal international conference (the Lambeth Conference) on 7 August.

“In our commitment to the common good of all ethnic and religious communities in Israel, and to those in the occupied Palestinian territories, we reiterate our conviction that a two-state solution offers the best hope for a sustainable future for all, where both states live side by side in security peace, and dignity of all their citizens,” it said.

“Jerusalem remains a historic part of that future hope, and the existence and indeed flourishing of the Christian presence within Jerusalem should be respected and guarded,” it continued.

“We therefore affirm that: Israel is a state that deserves the security and protections of a free state, but is also subject to the demands of international law just like any other state. A two-state solution to the aspirations for self-determination of the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza, and the end of the occupation, remains the best hope for a just and peaceful resolution to all peoples in the region.

“Jerusalem is a city that’s precious to Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities. Therefore, in accordance with the United Nations, we regard Jerusalem as an intrinsic issue with respect to any future political settlement for Israel and the Palestinian occupied territories,” it concluded.

“The statement is a small step forward,” said Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein, “but it’s worth reminding ourselves and the global community that there should be no need to express gratitude for mere acknowledgment of Israel’s right to exist, which isn’t theirs to grant or withhold.”

The Lambeth Conference, which takes place every 10 years in England, is an international meeting of Anglican bishops to discuss church and world affairs and the global mission of the Anglican communion for the coming decade.

Makgoba was in attendance at the conference and led the closing service. He confirmed to the SA Jewish Report that he agreed with the statement.

South African Friends of Israel General Manager Pamela Ngubane welcomed the statement. “The Anglican Church has affirmed Israel’s right to exist as a free, Jewish nation with an obligation to defend itself. While we would call on it to take a more balanced approach by calling on Palestinian organisations Fatah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to respect international law and cease firing rockets into Israel from civilian areas, it’s heartening to see that pro-BDS and anti-Israel views didn’t hold sway.”

John Atkinson is one of four local Anglican Church-ordained ministers who spoke out against ACSA’s anti-Israel doctrine. “It seems that at the Lambeth Conference common sense prevailed,” he said. “This may have been encouraged by the negative reaction to a combined letter issued by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Archbishop of Jerusalem Hosam Naoum in the London Sunday Times last year.

“Their letter claimed that Israel was to blame for a “concerted effort” to drive Christians from the holy land. The letter was shown to be contradicted by all available evidence. A Central Bureau of Statistics survey found that Israel’s Christian community grew by 1.4% in 2020 and numbers about 182 000 people, with 84% saying they were satisfied with life in the country. Open Doors, an independent Christian organisation which monitors persecution of Christians around the world, listed 50 countries where Christians were persecuted. Israel wasn’t on the list.”

Reverend Rowan Rennie put his livelihood on the line by quitting the Methodist Church of Southern Africa over its BDS policy towards Israel in 2020. He said he would rather “sleep on the street” than “stand against the people of G-d”.

He believes the statement is “in some regards positive”.

“This will certainly be an indirect yet import rebuke and rebuttal of the mainline churches in South Africa that have taken the BDS stance. It will show up the theological inaccuracy and absurdity of the BDS stance,” he said.

“Though these positive outcomes are worth celebrating, I don’t believe that there’s been enough work done at the Lambeth Conference of 2022 to sufficiently address the crisis,” he says. “I say this for the following reason: the media is deliberately driving an agenda of manipulating the globe against Israel. The church needs to address this.”

Rennie says the conference failed to address the wrongs on the other side. “The conference must condemn those attacking Israel. A two-state solution is an ideal that’s unrealistic while the motive of obliterating Israel remains at the heart of her opposers.

“Calling for a two-state solution to this crisis without addressing campaigns to obliterate Israel is to avoid the elephant in the room. At the very heart of this conflict is a spiritual war that carries deep convictions for which people are willing to die. Extremist and militant teachings aimed at indoctrinating people, especially the young, must be addressed and condemned.”

His concern is that the conference “is calling for peace, yet what impact is it really making upon the enemies of Israel? All that happens is that pressure is placed upon Israel and the democratic world to soften its defenses against extremists. Soft calls for peace and superficial agreements won’t hold in the face of embedded hatred and while the spiritual conviction of obliteration of Israel exists.”