Written by: James van den Heever, Anglican Church
Article source: Supplied
This article is part 4 in a 4-part series. Click here to read part 1.
Christians should be cautious when approaching the Israel-Palestine question. In particular, we should bear in mind that each one of us faces judgment by God, and that in terms of strict truth we will all be found guilty. Christians are therefore advised to be wary of placing judgment on others, and should exercise the same loving tolerance and willingness to consider both sides of a question into account that we will depend on at our own judgment.
Incontrovertibly, one thing the Israel/ Palestine conflict does strongly show is that actions have consequences that stretch out into the future. When judging, Christians must be sure to take into account the full history and its consequences.
The partisan approach to judging Israel, our unwillingness to consider both sides of a complex issue, and our general unreasonableness are, simply put, theologically unsound and unchristian.
Furthermore, adding insult to injury, it is also tactically short-sighted. On purely pragmatic grounds, it places the Anglican communion, which has taken the position to support a BDS rhetoric in South Africa, in an invidious position for a number of reasons.
Firstly, the Anglican position, now aligned with BDS messaging, cannot achieve its ostensible aim. The Israeli state cannot unilaterally withdraw from the Occupied Territories in terms of international law, and it would never do so unless it was convinced that it could hand it over to a party that had the will and power to enforce any peaceful agreement. The signing of the Abraham Accords and subsequent developments are also showing that some in the Arab world are growing tired of the intransigence of the Palestinian position.
BDS rhetoric also jeopardizes the existing relationship between the Israeli state and the Anglican church, and thus puts the church’s relationship with international Jewry at risk. There are two important points to note in this context. First and foremost, the church cannot be seen to adopt a partisan position in a matter like this, given the Church’s long history of anti-Semitism.
BDS is an overtly anti-Semitic organization, as are many other pro-Palestinian organisations in the Muslim world as well as the West. This antisemitism has been fuelled by the emergence of identity politics based on Marxism and Critical Race Theory. Indeed, it is hard now to separate “progressivism” and anti-Semitism. Christians have a moral duty to play a decisive role in combating the growth in anti-Semitism.
It must also be borne in mind that pilgrims wishing to visit the Holy Land of Israel are dependent on the Israeli state for access to the country, and for safety. Research clearly shows that Israel is the only Middle Eastern country in which Christianity is prospering. It is also the only democracy in the Middle East, and the only country in the region in which the rights of all people are respected and upheld (be they Christian, Muslim, Jewish or Druze).
Sadly, the same cannot be said for Palestinian territories, where the Christian minority remains under threat. The ancient Christian churches across the region are similarly under attack to varying extents. Why would one ally oneself with a bloc that is inimical to Christianity, and turn away from a state that safeguards freedom of religion and makes its holy places available to pilgrims?
By advancing the BDS narrative, we compromise the potential role the Church could play as a good-faith mediator in this struggle by adopting an unconscionably partisan point of view. Christians love to see themselves as peacemakers, and indeed that is a role that the Church could usefully play, particularly in this conflict.
I would venture to suggest that by uncritically adopting currently fashionable positions as regards both this issue and others, the Church is actually collaborating in its relegation to a sideshow in modern society. We can see how this scenario plays out in the amused contempt of the South African government’s ill-fated attempts to mediate in the Russia-Ukraine war specifically because it is perceived to have a clear bias towards Russia.
If we are to grow, we need to offer witness to an authentically Christian approach, and resist the temptation of simply aping what seems to be the current trend. After all, as Jesus so memorably put it in Matthew 10:34; “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” We need to be willing to stand up for truth, no matter how unpopular it might make us, and how much painful reflection we might have to undertake.
On both theological grounds and pragmatic, tactical grounds, the motion taken by the Provincial Synod of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, and the subsequent motion tabled at the Lambeth Conference in August 2022, cannot in good conscience be supported by those of us who seek to take a genuinely Christian position on Israel and Palestine today.
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Date published: 11/09/2023
Feature image: Image for illustrative purposes only. Artwork from pixabay.com
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