The Chief Rabbi has warned that a Palestinian-Christian group’s document due to be discussed by the Church of England’s governing body “contains so much falsehood” about Israel and “can only harm the cause of peace”.
On Sunday, the Synod is set to consider a motion encouraging engagement with A Moment of Truth: Faith in a Time of Genocide published by Kairos Palestine “as part of a quest for greater understanding” of the conflict.
The document calls for a review of Church investment policy after the International Court of Justice advisory opinion that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Territories was illegal.
According to A Moment of Truth, “The genocidal war on Gaza is the continuation of the Zionist project to seize all of Palestine, emptied of its Palestinian people.”
It brands Israel a “colonial, settler, and exclusionary entity”, describes Palestinians as the “indigenous people of this land”, criticises the Abraham Accords – Israel’s agreements with a number of Arab countries – and calls on churches to “distinguish between dialogue with Jews and dialogue with Zionism”.
While it condemns the killing of civilians by Hamas on October 7, it says the attack was “born out of decades of injustice, oppression and displacement since the Nakba of 1948” and, alluding to Israel’s actions in Gaza, says: “The claim of ‘self-defence’ cannot stand. How can a coloniser defend itself against those it has colonised and expelled from their land?”
Last month, the conference of the Methodist Church formally “received” the text also known as “Kairos II” and called for the preparation of study materials to be based on it.
In a statement following the Methodist Conference, Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis roundly condemned what he called a “shocking” document.
Rabbi Mirvis said: “The decision by the Methodist Church to receive Kairos II is deeply concerning. While it is important to recognise the suffering of Palestinian Christians, this document does so in a way which can only harm the cause of peace.
“It presents a one-sided account of a complex conflict, downplays the historical experiences and legitimate concerns of Jewish people, and offers little more than political activism dressed up as theology.
“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.
“At a time when Christian-Jewish relations require nuance, trust and a willingness to engage with complexity, Kairos II risks undermining decades of careful relationship-building.
“Meaningful progress begins when the dignity, aspirations and suffering of all peoples are acknowledged. Kairos II takes us further away from that goal, not closer to it.”
The Board of Deputies also voiced concern.
Read it all in The Jewish Chronicle