by Angela Tilby, Church Times
The Church of England has not covered itself with glory when it comes to its relationship with British Jews’
DOES anyone remember the name of Shani Louk? She was the 23-year-old German-Israeli who became a symbol of the 7 October 2023 music-festival massacre when her injured, half-naked body was driven through the streets of Gaza to cries of “Allahu Akbar”. Her body was not recovered from Gaza for seven months, when it was found in a tunnel during the Israeli response, which some found disproportionate. Last week came news that student groups in London were preparing a pro-Palestine march to take place on 7 October, which, not surprisingly, has been widely condemned by Jewish groups.
The Church of England has not covered itself with glory when it comes to its relationship with British Jews. I heard last week that our local Orthodox synagogue had decided to boycott a forthcoming interfaith service because of what was taken to be the Church of England’s pro-Palestinian stance.
You can see the point. The Archbishop of Canterbury’s one-sided visit to the Holy Land, the General Synod’s almost unanimous support for “hearing” the Kairos II document, and the Lambeth award to Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi have left many British Jews feeling that the C of E is biased against Israel and is, potentially at least, a source of British anti-Semitism. In spite of the 7 October massacre, there have been few Anglican voices affirming Israel’s right to exist, or even offering support for British Jews who have over centuries contributed so much to our common life.
The Anglican presence in the Holy Land dates back to 1849 with the founding of Christ Church in the Old City of Jerusalem by the Church’s Ministry Among the Jewish People. The first Bishop of Jerusalem was a converted Jew. The episcopal seat was later moved to St George’s, an extraordinarily English-looking church, just outside the Old City. Christ Church has always been Evangelical. Since its foundation, it has emphasised the Jewish roots of Christianity, and contains Hebrew texts and inscriptions.
Today, Christ Church celebrates both Christian and Jewish festivals, and its congregations are mostly English-speaking Jewish Christians. Evangelicals have always been more sensitive than other Anglicans to the Jewish roots of Christianity, and from the beginning were inclined to see the hand of providence in the return of Jews to the Holy Land.