Anglican faction in U.K. blasts Church council resolution condemning Israel

The U.K.-based Anglican Friends of Israel this week lambasted the Anglican Communion's latest resolution on the Middle East, saying it is one-sided and unfairly critical of Israel. The Anglican Communion - an international association of national Anglican churches representing 88 million members in over 160 countries - passed a resolution Saturday condemning Israel for creating "severe hardship" for Palestinians by enacting policies resembling a "physical form of apartheid."

"Once again, Anglican representatives have singled out Israel for criticism without placing her actions in context or directly addressing the Palestinian contribution to the conflict," Anglican Friends of Israel's co-chair Simon McIlwaine wrote in a statement published Tuesday. "Thus the Resolution calls on Israel to lay down all measures which protect her citizens from Arab terrorism while failing to demand that Palestinian leaders meet any of the obligations placed on them by UN resolutions, such as the requirement to dismantle their terrorist networks."

The non-profit group, which was founded in 2005 and aims to bring the Anglican Church "back to an understanding of [its] Jewish roots," said the Communion's "ghastly pronouncement threatens to completely sabotage Anglican-Jewish relations."

The resolution, passed by the Communion's Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, reaffirmed the Church's desire for a "robust peace process" leading to a two-state solution. It "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 as a physical form of apartheid." The resolution calls on Israel to end the occupation, freeze settlement activity, remove the separation barrier, end home demolitions and close checkpoints in Palestinian areas.

The Reverend Canon Samir J. Habiby, special assistant to the Anglican bishop in Jerusalem, told Anglo File yesterday that the bishop is away, and that he cannot comment on the resolution because they have not yet formally received the text.