A Toxic Alliance

How horrendous are the latest findings by David Collier, as he uncovers a cesspool of Christian antisemitism in England's north-west.

In this case, the antisemitism in question would appear to be driven by elements within the Catholic Church.  I've written in past blogs how the Protestant Reformation in England facilitated the Readmission of the Jews to England and their acceptance within the land.

Instrumental in this path to toleration were the abolition of such cults as that of Little St Hugh, a boy who was supposed to have been ritually murdered by Jews, and whose shrine in Lincoln Cathedral was a place of pilgrimage, and the placing of a copy of the Bible in the vernacular in each parish church in the realm, which by showing people that Jesus was killed by Roman soldiers on the orders of Pontius Pilate helped to diminish the rigid assumption that Jews were "Christ-killers", a stain which marked them for all time.

The vernacular Bible also played no small part in the development of a philosemitic tradition within English Protestant sects such as the Puritans, a tradition exemplified by that marvellous man, Colonel Wedgwood MP.

It was not, of course, until Pope John XXIII's Nostra Aetate that the Catholic Church abandoned, at least in theory, the charge of Deicide against the Jews, and avowed its willingness to enter into dialogue with them. Here in Australia there have been many rewarding instances of thawed relations between Jews and Catholics, with the Sisters of Sion, and the late Father William Smith SJ, of blessed memory, being especially notable over the years. By contrast, the Uniting Church (an amalgam of Methodists and some, not all, Presbyterians) has proved particularly hostile, especially to the State of Israel.

It would be instructive to know whether the antisemitic Catholics featured in David Collier's latest blog are swayed by age-old religious bigotry or by that unfortunately all-too-prevalent attitude among many persons of Irish heritage, the assumption that the lot of the "Palestinians" is analogous to the lot of the Irish Catholics pre-Irish independendence and that Israel is, like Ulster in their view, a foreign element on another's native soil.

In any case, the alliance between them and toxic Israel-haters of the non-Catholic persuasion that the blog describes makes utterly disturbing reading.

Meanwhile, in today's British press:

Not as worthy of outright dismissal as the "as-a-Jew" Corbynistas and their antisemitic allies might (indeed do) suggest. (See also here)

Antisemitism: Does Stephen Sizer Really Need a History Lesson?

The British Anglican Church Times newspaper of 19 July carried an article by Canon Angela Tilby (read it here), in which she observed, inter alia;

'There are several reasons why the Labour Party has become vulnerable to accusations of anti-Semitism (News, 12 July). The first is that, having swung so far to the left, it has forgotten the distinguished Jewish politicians who have contributed to its history. Second, sympathy for the Palestinians has led to a worrying tolerance of anti-Jewish conspiracy theories from the Nazi era, which are widespread in some pro-Palestine groups.

But there is also a hidden, perhaps more disturbing, factor behind the party’s problem with anti-Semitism, and that is the illusion that a programme of universal progress confers automatic moral superiority on those who promote it....

Anti-Semitism has Christian roots. It was vigorously promoted by the second-century heretic Marcion, who rejected the God of the Old Testament as the enemy of the kindly God and Father of Jesus. Marcion reduced scripture to an edited version of St Luke’s Gospel and a few of St Paul’s letters. Christians of a Marcionite tendency continue to contrast law and gospel, to the detriment of the former. Luther was unashamedly anti-Semitic....

....When I hear Christians contrast the simple gospel of Jesus with the “angry God of the Old Testament”, I shudder. Anti-Semitism begins in an uncritical belief in our own innocence.'

Angela Tilby's article provoked a response by a chap called Christopher John Ryecart, who I notice has taken issue with Canon Tilby before.

Our old mate the Reverend Dr Stephen Sizer, former vicar of Virginia Water, now head of the so-called Peacemakers outfit, which seems to spend a lot of its time bashing one country above all others (no prizes for guessing which), in the tradition of the vicar himself, has treated his Facebook faithful to a copy of Ryecart's response, as follows:

Now, I have no idea who Ryecart is.  But how unsavoury is his response, with its gratuitous references to the "race" of the Jews, and to what I've previously referred to as "the Khazar crap".

How strange is his seeming ignorance of the fact that the term "Anti-Semitismus" was invented in the late nineteenth century by German Jew-hater Wilhelm Marr to refer specifically to Jews, and that is why the term antisemitism (which, following the example of the Vidal Sassoon Center for the Study of Antisemitism, most Jews today prefer to spell without the hyphen, since there is no ideology of "semitism" and therefore no corresponding counter-ideology, only the old Judenhass under a different name) is used to refer to Jews and not to other peoples considered descendants of the Biblical Shem.

How even more unsavoury for a man of the cloth such as Sizer to echo Ryecart's  dwelling on the racial origins of a persecuted people, and how implausible that he should be unaware of the origins of the reason term "antisemitism" refers to Jews, and to Jews alone.

You don't really need a history lesson on all this ... do you, Vicar?

Stephen Sizer in De Nile

Comrade Corbyn in London in July. Photo: Chris Ratcliffe/Getty images

Among the almost daily revelations of the antisemitism rife within the ranks of the Corbynistas, from the odious  Corbyn himself downwards, is this Daily Mail report of 24 August.

Inter alia, we are told (emphasis added):

'Jeremy Corbyn accused British "Zionists" of having "no sense of English irony" despite having "lived in Britain all of their lives", in comments that have been slammed by Jewish groups as anti-Semitic, MailOnline can reveal.

The remarks were made in 2013, when Corbyn was giving a speech alongside prominent British extremists, at a London conference promoted by the propaganda website of terror group Hamas.  [Video at source]

The Labour leader said: "[British Zionists] clearly have two problems. One is they don't want to study history, and secondly, having lived in this country for a very long time, probably all their lives, they don't understand English irony either."

He added: "They needed two lessons, which we could perhaps help them with."

.... The Labour leader made the comments at a conference at Friends House in Euston. The event was advertised online by Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades, which is designated a terrorist group by Britain, the EU, the United States and other countries.

In one of the speeches, made by 9/11 conspiracy theorist Alan Hart, "Zionism" was described as a "cancer at the heart of international affairs". It was also called a "monster" and compared to Nazi Germany.

The programme of speakers included a range of anti-Semites, homophobes and conspiracy theorists. Several were connected to Hamas. One called for attacks on the Royal Navy in the past, and led a boycott of Holocaust Memorial Day.

In addition, a number have been formerly associated with the Labour leader, or supported by him....

Another speaker, Reverend Stephen Sizer, was later banned from social media after suggesting that Israel was behind the 9/11 attack on the twin towers. 

Corbyn wrote a letter defending him, saying he was "under attack" by a pro-Israeli smear campaign.

 ....The explosive revelations will increase the pressure on Corbyn to resign as he struggles to contain the anti-Semitism crisis engulfing his party....'

In response, Sizer, now CEO of the so-called Peacemaker Trust, has posted on Facebook:

Never banned from using social media?

Sizer would appear to have a memory lapse.  In response to his shameful January 2015 Facebook post above (screenshot and sent to the Anglo-Jewish press by Yours Truly), his then boss, the Bishop of Guildford, announced, inter alia (emphasis added):

"By associating with or promoting subject matter, which is either ambiguous in its motivation, or (worse still) openly racist, he has crossed a serious line. I regard these actions as indefensible....

In order for Stephen to remain in parish ministry, I have therefore asked for - and received from him - a solemn undertaking, in writing, that he is to refrain entirely from writing or speaking on any theme that relates, either directly or indirectly, to the current situation in the Middle East or to its historical backdrop.

He has promised to refrain, with no exceptions, from attendance at or participation in any conferences which promote or are linked to this agenda; from all writing, tweeting, blogging, emailing, preaching and teaching on these themes, whether formally or informally – a prohibition which of course includes posting links to other sites; and from all background work in this area which may resource others to act as spokespeople in Stephen’s stead.

Should Stephen be deemed by the Diocese to have broken this agreement, in letter or in spirit, he has pledged to offer me his immediate resignation, which I will duly accept. He has also agreed to desist from the use of social media entirely for the next six months, after which he and I will review that prohibition...."

In 2014, he attended a reprehensible conference in Iran that included the following delightful session:

Sizer (who apparently addressed the conference in a different session on "The Israeli Lobby in England") was not a speaker, so far as I am aware, in that particular session.   But it's surely deeply disturbing that a vicar-cum-"peacemaker mediator" should have been at that particular conference at all.  (See here)

 That same year this appeared on Facebook:

Somewhat "suggestive", eh?  (Glad to jog your memory, vicar!)

Watfa Heck, Stephen Sizer?

Our old friend the ex-vicar of Virginia Water, nowadays  CEO of the Israel-bashing Peacemaker Mediators "charity", has been attending a Christian conference in Hong Kong on the theme of "Love Thy Neighbour".

According to the conference's blurb:

"This year’s conference theme is ‘Love Thy Neighbour’ and there is no more relevant time in history than right now to take a fresh look at Jesus' timeless truth. With social, political, racial, and economic issues at stake, we need to be reminded that Mark 12:30-31 is still our greatest call to Worship and Justice.

Across 2 full days, 6 main sessions, 24 workshops, and 8 different workshop streams, we will open up a conversation on the prophetic call we carry to reach out toward the other in compassion, justice, and love.

During the conference we will hear from international justice voices and practitioners in Asia who will explore practically what it might look like to love our neighbours as radically as Jesus did."

Our old friend gave his talk as foreshadowed in his comment beneath the image at right; it can be read on his website.

To quote him here (I've added the links; do please follow the one to Holy Land Trust to get the lowdown on its hostility to Israel and support for BDS):

'I led a workshop on Christian Jihad, the Biblical Basis for Proactive Peacemaking.

Sami Awad of the Holy Land Trust and Peacemaker Mediators Board of Reference member spoke on “Practicing peace in hostile surroundings. Other speakers included Jackie Pullinger, Eugene Cho and Craig Greenfield.'

Sizer has in the past worked strenuously to turn Christian populations in South-East Asia against Christian Zionism.

Sizer during his Hong Kong spiel; squint at the backdrop

For example through translations of his works, so it would not be surprising to learn that he carried on his anti-Israel proselytism while attending the conference.

I believe, incidentally, that the Beijing authorities rejected his application for a visa to China, probably owing to their crackdown on Christians.

As CEO of Peacemaker Mediators Sizer is no less peripatetic than he was as the spiritual leader of Christ Church, Virginia Water.  (It seems he'll be coming to the Antipodes next March.)

Nice work if you can get it, as one of his followers pointed out the other day, with a query to which the vaguest of responses was forthcoming:

More recent smears against Israel include this casual suggestion of racism:

All nations have the right and obligation to decide their own immigration policies, vicar.  How many asylum seekers has your seemingly beloved Iran taken in?

Surely you have read the Book of Job, being a clergyman.  Recall this verse?

“I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was a father to the poor, and I searched out the cause of him that I did not know” (Job 29:15-17).

Not a word there about the blind, lame, poor or disadvantaged having to be Jewish to qualify for Jewish kindness.

And in the same vein the modern state of Israel performs humanitarian acts large-scale and small to countries and peoples the world over, including citizens of "enemy" nations such as Syria.  Remember when Israel offered aid to your seemingly beloved Iran following an earthquake in 2003?  And the mad mullahs, preferring to let their citizens suffer rather than be aided by the Zionist Entity,  turned the offer down?

Meanwhile, the Corbynista Sizer's anti-Israel activism proceeds apace:

And as seen here he continues his requited love affair with the Iranian regime's propagandistic satellite channel Press TV:

Watfa heck, vicar?

Surely you have missed David Collier's revelations about Inminds' Sandra here

I mean, you and your Peacemakers Mediators chums don't want to have anything to do with persons who post memes like this one (see Collier's post for more).

Or do you?

(Meanwhile:

Sick?  Oh, I wouldn't say that...  Just a tad fourth form ...)

Antisemitism: A Lady Muzzled

No, not this lady, our old buddy the Baroness.  Here's one of her latest rants on social media, where she seems increasingly niggled by the fact that some dastardly Zionists are taking issue with her jaundiced views:

People like Hanoch here, countering lies and encountering Israel-haters like ex-BBC Middle East correspondent Tim Llewellyn along the way:

My header refers to a lady of very different views.

For if there is one thing more than another which strikes me as symbolic of the despicable attitude of this past weekend's Hatefest at Lichfield Cathedral as described in David Collier's absolutely stunning account of an event replete with  "antisemitism, conspiracy theories, global control, blood sucking Jews, child kidnappers, ... and of course, Jesus the Palestinian....," it was the attempt to silence a lady by the name of Mandy Blumenthal.

As described by David, this outrageous incident occurred immediately following the Israel-demonising talk by the University of Birmingham's Professor Kamel Hawwash, Vice-Chair of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign:

'Talk over, question time again. Several hands go up. One of the first questions is to ask how Israel gets away with it, what "unseen" power is there? This same question was asked in a different way on four separate occasions during the day. One mentions a conspiracy directly, another the conspiratorial secrets of a Le Carre novel, another talks of unseen power. But all carry the same underlying message....

At this point sitting next to me with her hand raised is Mandy Blumenthal. Zionist to the core, Mandy had asked a question of Yossi Meckleberg earlier in the day.  She had wanted to know why Yossi had seemed to imply settlements, rather than Arab rejectionism and violence was a (the?) major stumbling block. This time, with the knowledge that Mandy was a Zionist, the [Quaker] Chair was visibly ignoring Mandy's raised hand. shhhh-1The Chair was desperately seeking questions from elsewhere in the audience. The questions had dried up. It was a stand-off. Mandy became vocal:

"Why won't you let me speak?"

 "Because you spoke earlier" came the reply.

 As an answer it did not suffice. Several people had asked more than one question.

 The situation was absurd. There were no more questions. Only Mandy's hand remained aloft. There were still 10 minutes left till the end of this session.Several people became visibly agitated. A member of the audience asked why the chair was ignoring Mandy's question.

 Mandy spoke up again:"Isn't this a conference? Why is only one side allowed to be heard?"

 Open confrontation. This was not what the Dean had wanted, he stepped in to soothe the situation and offered Mandy Blumenthal the microphone.

 Yet as he did this and as Mandy stepped up, the Chair led Kamel Hawwash off the stage. The 'Jew' question need not be answered. An awful, vile slur. In the end, Hawwash did return but only to claim that Blumenthal had lied.

It was break time again. There were several cries of "shame on you", but I am not sure to who[m] it was directed.  Someone came straight up to Mandy to apologise. "This is my town and I am Christian but that was unacceptable." .... Others started to get involved, some suggested they had not expected this conference to be so one sided....'

See David Collier's entire, brilliantly illuminating post here

Meanwhile, he and Ms Blumenthal are among those ably challenging the church for its antisemitism on this Facebook post below:

Click on this caption for link

Lynch Mob in Lichfield: Pappe & Co head to Israel-bashing conference at city's cathedral [updated]

Lichfield, perhaps most famous as the birthplace of Dr Samuel Johnson, is a pretty city in the English Midlands.  It's the location of a medieval cathedral, notable for its unusual feature of three spires.

And it is under the auspices of that cathedral that a conference (plus related book sale) is to be held over the weekend of 7-9 October (hat tip: Ian G).

As seen at left, the title of the conference is "Holding Palestine in the Light,"which reflects the despicably one-sided nature of the enterprise, for the overwhelming majority of the speakers are notable, to a greater or lesser degree, for their antipathy towards Israel.

That sad fact reflects the prejudices of the apparent driving force behind the conference, the Dean of Lichfield.  

 Explains the conference's website:

"The weekend is hosted by the Very Revd. Adrian Dorber: Dean of Lichfield and Diocesan Co-ordinator for the Friends of the Holy Land, with longstanding connections to Palestine & Israel where he led both Pilgrimages and study tours."

Dorber  has held the post of Dean since 2005.  Before that, we learn here,

"he was Director of Ministries and Training in the Durham Diocese, Senior Chaplain and Lecturer at Portsmouth University and served in parishes in Reading and Bracknell. He is a Trustee of the Foundation for Church Leadership, a Governor of Staffordshire University, Chairman of Governors of Lichfield Cathedral School and a member of the Lichfield Festival Board. He serves on the West Midlands Training Partnership and chairs the Diocesan Local Ministry Governing Body. He is deeply interested in the impact cathedrals have on Church and nation and how cathedrals can use their unique opportunities for mission and regeneration. Adrian was co-opted onto the AEC Executive in March 2011 and elected in June 2011. He was appointed as Chairman in July 2015. In addition to chairing the AEC, Adrian leads on cathedrals-related research".

 Here, we read:

 We also read, elsewhere, notice of a meeting:

For the anti-Israel mindset at Hinde Street see here

"Saturday  1 June 2013

Friends Meeting House, Bull Street, Birmingham City Centre

Friends of Sabeel West Midlands

A morning of information on pilgrimages to the Holy Land which enable an encounter with the reality of Israel/Palestine.

Speakers: Ann Farr (Pax Christi), Karen Chalk (ICAHD), Adrian Dorber (Dean of Lichfield)"

(Pictured above, at left, Ann Farr with our old mate Jeremy Moodey, CEO of Embrace the Middle East; I wonder whether he and his friend Stephen Sizer will be attending the Lichfield conference)

The conference program:

Below, in bold type, is the list of speakers as given on the conference website, in the order in which they are scheduled to speak.

Comments below each bold typed profile, and not in bold type,are my observations.

 Ahmed Masoud: is a Palestinian writer, director and academic based in the UK; he has written plays and a debut novel set in Palestine and Gaza.

 At the "literary dinner" on Friday, 7 October entitled ‘Gaza in Literary Fiction" that opens the conference, Ahmed Masoud and Hannah Khalil will mention their published works. The session will include a film, "Britain in Palestine 1917-1948".

Mr Masoud's attitude towards Israel can be discerned from his Twitter page, which includes these recent representative tweets.

Hannah Khalil: born of Palestinian/Irish parents, she has written a number of plays promoting the cause of Palestinians and other Arabs.

Ms Khalil is based in London.

It was there that this play was staged earlier this year:

That Friday dinner will be followed on Saturday, 8 October with one of only two free sessions on the conference programme.  Here's how it's billed:

Sumud Exhibition, with sale of goods from the Holy Land including hourly screenings of: ‘Britain in Palestine 1917-1948’ and ‘The Suffering Church’   

Read about 'Sumud' here: it is clear that this session will consist entirely of anti-Israel pro-Arab propaganda.

Dr Jane Clements: Director of the Council of Christians and Jews and founder of a charity to promote Israeli/Palestinian dialogue.

Dr Clements is taking part in the session with the Very Revd Hosam Naoum (see directly below).  It is billed as ‘The effects of the conflict on Jewish-Christian Relations’:The Very Rev'd Hosam Naoum, Dean of Jerusalem in conversation with Dr Jane Clements.

To quote a report the Jewish Chronicle on 15 May 2014:

'The founder of an Israel-Palestine dialogue charity is to become the new director of the Council of Christian and Jews.

Dr Jane Clements, who is the director of the Forum for Discussion of Israel and Palestine, will succeed the The Reverend David Gifford as head of the interfaith charity in July.

Elizabeth Harris-Sawczenko, the former public affairs director of the Board of Deputies, is to join her as CCJ deputy director.

Dr Clements, who has an MA in Hebrew and Jewish Studies and a PhD in Holocaust education, was previously programmes director at the CCJ before she left to start FODIP.

CCJ chairman the Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch said that Dr Clements was “already widely respected and trusted for her commitment to Christian-Jewish relations. A former trustee of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, she is currently a member of the Anglican-Jewish Commission.”

He said that “together Jane and Elizabeth will bring strong and joint Christian-Jewish leadership to an organisation whose purpose includes patterning and facilitating bilateral relations between the two faiths.”'

The Very Revd. Hosam Naoum: the Anglican Dean of Jerusalem, whose diocese covers Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

Professor Yossi Meckleberg [sic; i.e. Meckelberg]: a distinguished academic and commentator on international affairs, who sits on the Human Rights Watch London Committee.

Professor Meckelberg's topic is "‘Justice and Peace in the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict".

We read here:

"Yossi Mekelberg has taught International Relations at Regent's University London since 1996 and is currently the International Relations and Social Sciences Programme Director at the Faculty of Humanities , Arts & Social Sciences at Regent's University London. His fields of interest are International Relations Theory, Middle East Affairs, US Foreign Policy and International Relations and Revolutions. Yossi Mekelberg is also an Associate Fellow of the Middle East Programme at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House. In addition he is a member of the London Committee and Council of Human Rights Watch and a consultant to the Dutch simulation and education foundation Pax Ludens. He is also a founding member of the Middle East Economic Forum. Yossi is a regular contributor to the international media on these issues including BBC, CNN, Al-Jazeera, CBC, Guardian, Independent among many others.  He is frequently invited to give talks, run workshops and provide advice to the British government, NATO and the EU."

 And we read here:

"Yossi Mekelberg is an Associate Fellow at the Middle East and North Africa Program at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, where he is involved with projects and advisory work on conflict resolution, including Track II negotiations. He is also the Director of the International Relations and Social Sciences Program at Regent’s University in London, where he has taught since 1996. Previously, he was teaching at King’s College London and Tel Aviv University. Mekelberg’s fields of interest are international relations theory, international politics of the Middle East, human rights, and international relations and revolutions. He is a member of the London Committee of Human Rights Watch, serving on the Advocacy and Outreach committee. Mekelberg is a regular contributor to the international media on a wide range of international issues and you can find him on Twitter @YMekelberg."

 For the disturbing thrust of Human Rights Watch see NGO Monitor here

Dervla Murphy: as a travel writer, relies on the hospitality of Palestinians and Israelis whom she meets on the way.

Ms Murphy's session is ‘Living with Conflict," in conversation with Tetty Bayley.

Now 84, Ms Murphy has led an interesting life, as outlined here

There we read:

'In 1978, Murphy wrote A Place Apart, about her travels in Northern Ireland and encounters with members of the Protestant and Catholic religious communities. It won the 1979 Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize. She credits her 1982 book Race to the Finish? The Nuclear Stakes as a turning point which led her to write more about political issues.[6] In 1985 she lived for several months in Bradford and Birmingham, talking to members of the Asian, Afro-Caribbean and White communities and witnessing first-hand one of the Handsworth riots (described in Tales From Two Cities). In 1992 she cycled from Kenya to Zimbabwe, where she witnessed the impact of AIDS; when describing this journey in The Ukimwi Road, she criticised the role of non-governmental organisations in sub-Saharan Africa. Her other writings include discussions about the aftermath of apartheid (South from the Limpopo) and the Rwandan genocide (Visiting Rwanda), the displacement of tribal peoples (One Foot in Laos), and post-war reconstruction of the Balkans (Through the Embers of Chaos).

She is anti-globalization and critical of NATO, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organisation.She has spoken out against nuclear power and climate change.

Murphy stated that some readers disapproved of the "political stuff", but another group "tells me they haven't thought about these things in this way before and are glad that I've written and thought more about the political side. My view is that I have these things I want to say and I don't really care if it spoils a pure travel book."

In 2002, aged 71, Murphy planned to cycle in the Ussuriland region of eastern Russia. She broke her knee while on the Baikal Amur Mainline railway, then tore a calf muscle while recuperating at Lake Baikal, and her plans changed to a journey around Siberia by train, boat and bus, documented in Through Siberia by Accident. She revisited Siberia and wrote a companion book, Silverland.

In 2005, she visited Cuba with her daughter and three granddaughters, and made two return trips in 2006 and 2007 (described in The Island that Dared). Her Havana experiences are also featured in a collection of travellers tales.

Over the summer of 2011, Murphy spent a month in the Palestinian Gaza Strip, where she met liberals and Islamists, Hamas and Fatah supporters, rich and poor. She described her stay in a book published in 2013: A Month by the Sea. She wrote about further encounters with Israelis and Palestinians in her 2015 book, Between River and Sea.'

 Tetty [Tetje] Bayley seems more elusive.  (A Quaker, perhaps?  See here)  

[Update.  This  Murphy-Bayley session has been cancelled.]

Professor Kamel Hawwash: a British/Palestinian and a long standing campaigner for justice for Palestinians.

His talk is entitled "Can a just peace be reached in the Holy Land? Reflections of a diaspora Palestinian".

Kamel Hawwash is Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Birmingham.  Profoundly anti-Israel, he is vice-chair of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and frequently writes for Middle East Monitor.  He's also appeared on Press TV and other broadcasting outlets.

Professor Ilan Pappé: Israeli born leading historian at Exeter University. He has written many books on the conflict.

If there is one participant in the conference who surely doesn't require an introduction it is the reprehensible Pappe.  His topic is "‘Palestine is Still an Issue’ - why Palestine is a central issue affecting global events".

The outrageous One State Declaration that he co-authored in 2007 is indicative of his vile attitude.

And for those who missed it, here is his recent barefaced and jocular admission that BDS did not in fact originate with a call from Palestinian Civil Society, as claimed by BDS proponents.

Pappe childishly and opaquely dismisses Ruth (Baroness) Deech's concerns:

Patricia Cockrell: an extensively travelled Quaker based in Tulkarem, whose travels include 3 months in Palestine as an ecumenical accompanier.

From a list of radio broadcasts on the ABC, Australia's equivalent to the BBC:

"Patricia Cockerell [sic]

 Traveller to Israel and Palestine as part of the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme"

The World Council of Churches has long been known for its anti-Israel stance.

From the West Briton  (2 May 2011), an indication of typical Quaker one-sidedness:

'Former Exeter teacher Patricia Cockrell who has just returned from three months living and working with local people in the Holy Land, will be reliving her experiences in Exeter tomorrow.

Ms Cockrell will be giving a talk in the Music Room in Exeter's Central Library at 7.30pm.

She liaised with Israeli and Palestinian peace activists, monitored violations of human rights and offered non-violent protection to vulnerable people, including children going to school and farmers to their fields, as part of an international team through the World Council of Churches.

A Quaker for 25 years, Ms Cockrell was inspired by the notion of faith in action to take early retirement from teaching Russian at the Maynard School and Exeter School, in order to take up Quaker work in Russia.

This included projects for refugees and disadvantaged children, peace-building in Chechnya and hospice development, for which she was awarded the MBE in 2005.

She said: "Before going to the Middle East, I did a great deal of background reading and learnt some Hebrew – although I discovered that almost all the Israeli soldiers on duty at checkpoints speak Russian, English or Arabic."

The meeting is free and open to all.'

Sir Vincent Fean: British Consul General in Jerusalem from 2010 to 2014 who has lectured on the Israel/Palestine situation since his retirement.
 
His talk is entitled "Israel and Palestine: two states or one? The prospects for a just peace".

Fean is a retired career diplomat, though not public school and Oxbridge.  We read here:

"Vincent Fean spent 38 years in the British Diplomatic Service, latterly as Ambassador to Libya (2006-10) and Consul-General, Jerusalem (2010-14).Now retired from the Diplomatic Service, he focuses on the Middle East and North Africa region, particularly the Israel/Palestine conflict and Libya's future. He is a trustee of Medical Aid for Palestinians and patron of the Britain Palestine Friendship and Twinning Network."

He is also,  as his article in the New York Times here shows, an advocate of the recognition of a Palestinian state.  I wouldn't be surprised if his talk closely resembles that article.

Back in 2013, as reported by the BBC,

 'Demonstrators banged and kicked a car carrying Consul General Sir Vincent Fean as he hurriedly left the campus amid fears for his safety.

Sir Vincent had gone to the university near Ramallah to meet students and give a lecture.

Protesters denounced Britain's support for Israel and shouted at him to leave.

Video footage showed the consul general being ushered back to his car by security officials, surrounded by a crowd of students chanting "Get out of Bir Zeit!"

Some held up posters of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and placards condemning the Balfour Declaration of 1917 - a British pledge of support for the establishment of a Jewish "national home" in Palestine.

Protesters banged the windows and roof and kicked the side of the car as it drove off. A wing-mirror was broken and a picture of a Palestinian prisoner was stuck onto the vehicle....'

But as an anti-Israel writer pointed out, he was the "wrong target" of their wrath, given his views on Israel and the Palestinian Arabs.

Be sure to see Richard Millett's frank post about Fean here

Dr. Clare Amos: is on the staff of the World Council of Churches, with a Doctorate of Divinity for her contribution to ecumenical engagement and inter-religious relations.

"Morning Eucharist, including a dialogue with Dr Clare Amos and Dr Yazid Said" (for Dr Said see directly below).

As I commented above, the WCC is no friend to Israel. 

Dr Amos, while apparently well-meaning, seems naively unappreciative of the difficulties Israel faces.

And it is clear that there is no speaker at the conference who will set out, cogently and unequivocally, the case for Israel.

To quote from a report from Kingston, Jamaica dated 9 May 2009:

'The 14th Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) averted what some delegates feared could seriously damage Anglican-Jewish dialogue by passing a toned and pared down alternative to a resolution on the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

Bishop Michael Hill, of the diocese of Bristol and representing the Church of England, said that while he did not disagree with the intent of the resolution – originally drafted by the Anglican Peace and Justice Network (APJN) – to draw attention to the plight of people suffering amid the conflict, he was concerned that its “tone and volume seems to be on the verge of pretty angry.”

He expressed concern that “intelligent and compassionate voices of Judaism with whom we are in dialogue with will immediately construe it to be anti-Semitic and label it as such.”....

Claire [sic] Amos, co-ordinator of the Anglican Communion Office’s Network for Inter-faith Concerns, who prepared the alternative resolution, explained the texts in the resolution that were deemed problematic. It included one that states that the ACC “recognizes that the city of Jerusalem is equally holy to the three monotheistic faiths and must not be the monopoly of one religion.” She said that there are more than three monotheistic faiths and said it was more appropriate, in the context of the resolution, to name Christianity, Islam and Judaism. She also said there was “difficulty” around the use of the term “equally” holy. “There’s no competition of holiness,” she said, noting that some people don’t believe in the idea of holy places.

Ms. Amos also took issue with the original resolution’s declaration that the ACC “rejects the teachings of Christian Zionism that purport to give divine legitimacy to Israel’s claim over the land of Palestine and that encourage Israeli violence against Palestinians, contradicting our faith in the God who loves all people equally and unconditionally and calls us to do justice for the oppressed and blesses us when we are engaged in peacemaking.”

She said the definition of Christian Zionism here was “vague and can range from Christian support for Jewish Zionism or the apocalyptic view of Scripture.” She added: “There needs to be more work on this and it would be interesting for the Communion body to write a report on Christian Zionism.” ....

The ACC, in the words of its chair, Bishop John Paterson, voted by “an overwhelming majority” to use the alternative resolution that had been prepared by Ms. Amos. The final version of the resolution, called on Israel to:

•    end its occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip;

•    free immediately all settlement building with the intention to abandon its settlement policy in preparation for a Palestinian state; and

•    remove the separation barrier (wall) where it violates Palestinian land

•    end home demolitions.

....

The ACC approved the alternative resolution, which “deplores violence wherever it is used in conflict in the land of Israel/Palestine and affirms its desire that a robust peace process in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict leading to a two-state solution should be pursued by all parties without delay.”

The resolution also “laments the fact that current Israeli policies in relation to the West Bank, in contravention of UN Security Council resolutions, have created severe hardship for many Palestinians and have been experienced a physical form of apartheid.”

Recognizing that “the city of Jerusalem is holy to Christianity, Islam and Judaism and is not therefore the monopoly of any one religion,” the ACC said it “upholds the view that members of all three faith groups have free access to their holy sites.”

It also expressed its “deep concern about recent and continuing events in Gaza, and supports and draws attention to the Statement on the Situation in Gaza issued by the primates’ meeting last February.”....'

Dr. Yazid Said: an Israeli-Arab Anglican priest, lecturing on Islamic studies at Liverpool University.

We learn here:

"Dr Yazid Said studied English Literature and Classical Arabic at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Christian Theology at the University of Cambridge. After being ordained an Anglican priest, he completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge (2010) on the medieval Muslim Theologian Abu Hamid al-Ghazali. He subsequently held a post-doctoral fellowship (2010-2011) at McGill University in Canada and the Woods-Gumble fellowship at the Tantur Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem (2011-2012). From February 2013-December2014, he was lecturer in Islamic Studies at Mater Dei Institute of Education in Dublin, and was the teach@Tübingen fellow at the Centre for Islamic Studies, the University of Tübingen, Germany. His research is focused on medieval Muslim political and legal thought and on Christian-Muslim theological encounters as well. He is the author of Ghazali’s Politics in Context (Routledge 2012)."

 Rabbi Dr. David Goldberg: is a liberal [sic; i.e. Liberal] Jew, active in promoting interfaith harmony and understanding.

Dr Goldberg is Emeritus Rabbi of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue in St John's Wood, London.

His role will be guest speaker at a Literary lunch: "This is not the way; Jews, Judaism and Israel".

Those familiar with Dr Goldberg's contentious attitude to Israel could probably almost predict the script.

Examples of Dr Goldberg's attitude can be found here

Not for the conference a rabbi who is known for his robust support of Israel.

Yet another indication of the conference's egregious bias and lack of balance. 

William Bell: has worked for 15 years for Christian Aid in Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories

Bell is due to speak on "Building Peace between Israelis and Palestinians".

Sounds fair enough But Bell has on a number of occasions displayed a slanted approach, to Israel's detriment.

See, for example here and here and here

As for Michael Ipgrave, the new Bishop of Lichfield, Chairman of the Council for Christians and Jews and editor of six volumes on Christian and Muslim relations, he was only recently ordained, and it's probably too early to attempt his measure.

Meanwhile, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has issued a strong condemnation of antisemitism.  As reported here (hat tip Ian G again) he

'has said that antisemitism is "entrenched in our thought and culture" and that historically the Church has "compounded the spread of this virus" in an essay for the Holocaust Educational Trust [HET].

The Archbishop of Canterbury is among a number of high profile contributors to a new HET booklet called 'Lessons Learned? Reflections on Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust' including the Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, the London Mayor Sadiq Khan and the Cabinet minister Sajid Javid. In his article, Welby called antisemitism an "insidious evil", adding that the "habits of antisemitism have been burrowing into European and British culture for as long as we can remember."....

He went on: "It is a shameful truth that, through its theological teachings, the Church, which should have offered an antidote, compounded the spread of this virus. The fact that antisemitism has infected the body of the Church is something of which we as Christians must be deeply repentant. We live with the consequences of our history of denial and complicity."

The Archbishop highlighted contemporary anti-Jewish conspiracy theories. "Even today, in the 21st century, it is shocking that antisemitism still has traction; the virus continues to seek a host," he said. "It latches onto a variety of different issues: financial inequality, wars and depressions, education, politics and government, grave international issues, such as the rights of Israelis and Palestinians, and interfaith tensions. It twists them to its own ends, with the perverted and absurd argument that a small group runs or plots against our society and manipulates international affairs."....' [Emphasis added].

 Update: Hang your heads in shame, you ecclesiastical Jew-baiters.  This is the gut reaction of a Jewish blogger who attended your conference:

A Childs Guide To Stephen Sizer: "The master of apologies"

NB: posted 20 January 2015; attracted 60 comments, none of them hostile; 11 likes; at least two shares

Since the Jewish News of 30 January caused his despicable link made ten days earlier and not removed until 28 or 29 January to the "9/11: Israel did it"  WikiSpooks article to go viral, Stephen Sizer has been the subject of numerous blogs and press reports.

The admirable Nick Gray, director of the British NGO Christian Middle East Watch opened his article on the matter with a delicious vignette of the media scrum  that resulted in Sizer's parish:

"The pleasant and rather up-market town of Virginia Water in South-West London must have wondered what was going on this week as it was invaded by live-broadcast satellite TV vans and their accompanying film crews and reporters.

As random worthy citizens of Virginia Water were interviewed it came to light that it was their vicar, Rev Dr Stephen Sizer, who had brought this invasion upon them."

Particularly relentless, and justifiably so, has been the influential British blog Harry's Place, which, quite rightly, seeks to draw the Guildford diocese's attention to this and this and this and this

There's a cynical but undeniably astute (and rather enjoyable) article on Sizer's "apology" and the church's "investigation" by American David Fischler here

But if there's one commentary more than another in the blogosphere that's worth reading on Stephen Sizer as a result of this latest outrage on his part (and indeed ought to be mandatory reading for all who would seek to understand Sizer and his cat-like nine lives), it's one dated 2 February, written by another American,  well-known Christian scholar Betsy Childs.

Her outstanding and beautifully-written article is entitled "The Master of Apologies".

It makes disturbing as well as enlightening reading.  It should and must convince the Guildford diocese that the vicar of Virginia Water is incorrigible and deserves no more benefit of the doubt.

Here's a taster:

"The Rev. Dr. Stephen Sizer, minister of the Church of England and Vicar of Christ Church Virginia Water in the Diocese of Guildford, has demonstrated a readiness to issue apologies. It might be instructive to examine a few of these apologies to see what we can learn from them.  ....

[In October 2011] TDr. Sizer posted a link on Facebook to an anti-Semitic website called The Ugly Truth. He apologized in an email to his bishop in which he said

I am embarrassed and sorry that I have caused you this concern. I will be more careful in what I allow to be posted on my Facebook. I normally take great care to avoid material that promotes racism or violence and have in the past “unfriended” people who abuse my trust.

An example of the antisemitism posted by some of Sizer's Facebook Friends

....

In October 2013, Dr. Sizer reached a conciliation agreement with the Board of Deputies of British Jews, following its charge of anti-Semitism related to Sizer’s use of social media and other activities. Dr. Sizer posted an apology on his website:

The internet allows us to communicate with a mass audience at the press of a button, but with it comes the risk that we might publish our thoughts without adequately reflecting on our choice of words or how they might be interpreted. I will do all I can to guard against this risk in the future. Whilst the web is a rich source of reference, it also contains a great deal of material with which one would not wish to be associated. It is important that those using new media to conduct political debate ensure that they do not inadvertently associate them [sic] with such material. It is for this reason that I have undertaken to take greater care over links in the future.

This January, Stephen Sizer posted a link to an article from a website called Wikispooks. ...When contacted by Jewish News Online, Sizer removed the link, but said that he would welcome evidence refuting the allegations. The Church of England put out a statement that Dr. Sizer’s conduct was unacceptable and promised an investigation into the matter. Only then did Dr. Sizer apologize for this his most egregious Facebook link yet, writing on his website: 

I very much regret and apologise for the distress caused by the reposting on Facebook of a link to an article about 9/11 from Wikispooks. It was particularly insensitive in that last week coincided with Holocaust Memorial Day.  [Disingenuous; it had been up on Facebook for an entire week by 27 January - D.A.] I removed the link as soon as I received adverse feedback [From whom? the Board? - D.A.], and realised that offence had been caused. I have never believed Israel or any other country was complicit in the terrorist atrocity of 9/11 [So why post that link and write that the linked article "raises so many questions"? - D.A.], and my sharing of this material was ill-considered and misguided. At the request of the Diocese, I will be suspending my use of all social media and blogs with immediate effect and until further notice.

What can be learned from all these episodes? While Stephen Sizer has shown himself ready to apologize, he has been unwilling to alter his behavior. It is past time for his church to stop allowing him to plead carelessness as his excuse. His continual posting of anti-Semitic content, as well as his disingenuous apologies, brings dishonor to the name of Jesus and the body of Christ."

 Please read it all, here:

Incidentally, for Betsy Childs on Sizer's  eyebrow-raising participation in the Teheran Conference last year in which Holocaust deniers were well-represented see here

It's important to remember that the Board's targeting Sizer's antisemitism, not his anti-Zionism

Sizer gains sympathy from a 9/11 truther on a vile antisemitic website that's mentioned in Betsy's article (q.v.)  Update: see also here

Screenshot immediately below bears url http://www.veteranstoday.com/2015/02/01/another-martyr-for-911-truth/screen-shot-2015-02-01-at-3-12-49-pm/

Anthony Hall is a Canadian 9/11 truther.