by Julian Mann, Anglican Ink
The meeting between the Board of Deputies of British Jews and Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally has effectively sidelined the anti-Israel motion overwhelmingly passed by the Church of England’s General Synod in July 2026.
Enthused by the Palestinian cause after her visit to Israel and the West Bank at the invitation of the Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem, Hosam Naoum, in June, Archbishop Mullally supported the motion encouraging Synod members to ‘engage with’ with Kairos II, a document produced by Palestinian Christians accusing Israel of genocide. But her enthusiasm for Kairos II has noticeably waned following the reaction of British Jews.
The Board of Deputies’ statement after their meeting with Archbishop Mullally at Lambeth Palace on September 10th smelt nicely of successful lobbying. Their press release the following day proclaimed:
‘President Phil Rosenberg and colleagues from the Board of Deputies of British Jews met yesterday with the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally, and her team in Lambeth Palace, to discuss Christian-Jewish relations in the UK and the deep religious, cultural and historical ties of the Jewish people with the land of Israel.’
The Board was upfront about the main purpose of the meeting, which was to bend the Archbishop’s ear about the disgraceful General Synod motion:
‘The Board of Deputies conveyed the concerns of the Jewish community regarding the recent Synod Motion relating to the Kairos documents, including the erasure in the Kairos II document of Jewish identity and history, as well as concerns related to the Archbishop’s recent visit to the region. We welcomed the Church’s commitment to hear a wide range of perspectives from Israelis and Palestinians, both here in the UK and through future visits to the region.’
Back in July, soon after the Synod motion passed, British Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, left Archbishop Mullally in no doubt about how much it had upset British Jews.
Following his meeting with her at Lambeth Palace on July 24th, he said: