A Call to the Anglican Church to Refuse to Divest from Israel

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As men and women who long for peace and mutual respect to prevail among the peoples of the world, we call on you to repudiate the initiative of the Anglican Peace and Justtice Network to adopt an anti-Israel divestment policy. Divestment is morally wrong because it unfairly singles out the nation of Israel for opprobrium, and it is bad policy because it is likely to lead not to peace but to war.

Professor Michael Walzer of the Princeton University, a moral philosopher, is the leading scholar in the world today of the Just War theory developed by generations of Christian theologians. He has written, "The current boycott campaign against Israel, modeled on the 1980s campaign against South Africa, aims at a very one-sided delegitimation. And because the other side isn't led by an organization remotely like the African National Congress, or by a man remotely like Nelson Mandela, the success of this campaign would be disastrous. It would strengthen the forces fighting the (Palestinian war to destroy the state of Israel)."

Nor has the Anglican Communion been an honest broker in the Middle East. A study released on Sept. 26, 2004 by the Institute on Religion and Democracy shows that fully one-third of church statements on human rights issues are aimed at Israel. Another third are aimed at the United States.

By contrast, "Only 19 percent of the church criticisms were aimed at nations deemed "not free" in the 2004 Freedom House assessments. Many of the countries rated lowest by Freedom House-such as China, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia-were not criticized even once. Of the fifteen worst human rights abusers listed by Freedom House, only five received any criticism during the four years studied."

The Anglican Church has not divested from China in protest over its illegal occupations of Tibet and Eastern Turkmenistan. It has not divested from Syria despite that nations occupation of Lebanon and massacres of minority Kurds. It has not divested form Nigeria despite brutal efforts to impose shaaria on unwilling Christians. It has not divested from Iran where Bahai are murdered by their own government for their faith. Against this background, the initiative to divest from only one nation state, the national state of the Jewish people, is highly suspect.

As Harvard University President Lawrence Summers said with regard to another effort to promote divestment from Israel, such actions are anti-Semitic in their effect, if not their intent.

The Catholic Church has officially stated: We oppose anti-Semitism in any way and form, including anti-Zionism that has become of late a manifestation of anti-Semitism.

This is a moment when Canterbury would do well to listen to Rome.

1302 Signatures

  • Fred S
    • city, state, country
    • Hollywood, Florida United States
  • Evelyn F
    • city, state, country
    • Canada
  • Eugene M
    • city, state, country
    • Pittsburgh, PA USA
  • Michael L R
    • city, state, country
    • Raleigh, NC
  • MARKUS ELKANA B
    • city, state, country
    • Cape Town South Africa
    • congregation or parish
    • Cape Toen Hebrew congregation
    • comments
    • What utter rediculous nonsence to expect Israel to share the holy Jewish capital with the Muslims Palestinians who are hell bent on the destruction of the Jewish State of Israel.
  • E. E
    • city, state, country
    • Oakland, California USA
  • Frank S
    • city, state, country
    • Burr Ridge, Illinois USA
    • comments
    • You are completely wrong.
  • Adrienne A
    • city, state, country
    • Israel
    • comments
    • Please stop this madness before it gets out of hand.
  • Katie B
    • city, state, country
    • Hendersonville, TN USA
  • Douglas K
    • city, state, country
    • New York, NY
  • Enid & Bert P
    • city, state, country
    • Chicago, IL
  • David K
    • city, state, country
    • Amherst
  • Gary P
    • city, state, country
    • CHECK OUT....
    • congregation or parish
    • http://www.
    • comments
    • hoffman-info.com/talmudtruth.html
  • Don L
    • city, state, country
    • cincinnati, Ohio USA
  • Peter B
    • city, state, country
    • Orewa, North Auckland; New Zealand
  • David J. L
    • city, state, country
    • Pittsburgh, PA, USA
    • comments
    • two wrongs don't make a right
  • edith o
    • city, state, country
    • great neck, n.y. u.s.a.
  • Donna S
    • city, state, country
    • Hollywood, FL USA
  • Edward M. M
    • city, state, country
    • Lafayette,CA USA
    • congregation or parish
    • Cong. Beth Israel, Berkeley, CA
    • comments
    • Your anger is directed at the wrong party here. Israel wants peace. It is the Palestinians who murder innocents and deprive Israel of the peace it seeks.
  • Donna M
    • city, state, country
    • Jacksonville, NC, USA
  • Ellie R
    • city, state, country
    • Harrisburg, PA USA
  • Esther R
    • city, state, country
    • Los Angeles
  • Daniel M
    • city, state, country
    • Boston, MA, USA
    • congregation or parish
    • Young Israel
  • Greg D
    • city, state, country
    • Norwalk, CT
    • comments
    • Why are so many nations and groups, who claim they are dedicated to peace, side with nations and groups who promote hatred and violent killings of innocent people? Open your eyes, people! Quit being so ignorant!
  • Gail S
    • city, state, country
    • Covington, LA USA
    • congregation or parish
    • First United Methodist Church of Covington
    • comments
    • I have many Jewish friends.
  • Gailya P
    • city, state, country
    • Raleigh NC 27615
    • comments
    • What a shame that anti-semitism is still so rampant, showing up even with the Red Cross, which still refuses to recognize Israel's Red Star of David organization, although it recognizes the Red Cresent.
  • dan r
    • city, state, country
    • boca raton , fl
    • comments
    • shame on you !supporting those that would see you dead will surely lead to their desired outcome
  • Glenn H
    • city, state, country
    • Richardson Texas USA
  • Elliott V
    • city, state, country
    • Statesville, NC, USA
  • Jami G
    • city, state, country
    • Tucson AZ USA
    • comments
    • Why? I teach my children if they must pick a side of a fight they must be armed with the truth, Clearly, your truth is the same as it has always been. For a church to willingly seek participation in the hatred and abandonment of Israel is sinful.
  • Serene R
    • city, state, country
    • Amherst, MA , USA
  • Diane O
    • city, state, country
    • USA
  • Emanuel R
    • city, state, country
    • Amherst, MA (USA)
  • Esta M
    • city, state, country
    • Rochester
    • comments
    • The Palestinian leadership is to blame for their people's plight
  • Gay B
    • city, state, country
    • Santa Fe, NM
    • comments
    • First Israel is told they can't build a fence. Should we dismantle fences between the U.S. and Mexico, N and S Korea, etc.?
  • Gayla P
    • city, state, country
    • Capitola,CA, USA
  • Gary B
    • city, state, country
    • Boston, MA, USA
  • Gemma B
    • city, state, country
    • Jerusalem, Israel
    • comments
    • Outrageous and a sign of rebellion against the Word of God. TYPICAL of real Anglicanism
  • Gerald B
    • city, state, country
    • Highland Park, IL USA
  • Doris H
    • city, state, country
    • Kissimmee, FL, USA
  • J H
    • city, state, country
    • Bundall, Queensland, Australia
    • congregation or parish
    • Assemblies of God
    • comments
    • God loves Israel and so do we
  • Dorothy T
    • city, state, country
    • N.Y.
  • Dotan D
    • city, state, country
    • Hod HaSharon, Israel
  • Evan O
    • city, state, country
    • Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • Carole F
    • city, state, country
    • Hanover Park, IL USA
  • Gabriel Ike O
    • city, state, country
    • Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria
    • congregation or parish
    • St Theresas Catholic Church Yola Nigeria
    • comments
    • Christ is a Jew and Most of the Saints are Jews including the Blessed Virgin Mary. We should denie the Jews the World over. Jews are the endangered specie.Six million were killed in Europe in 1945 holocaust and three million Biafran Jews killed in Nigerian civil war in 1967-1970 Civil War and till date Jews are being killed through the phenomenal suicide bombing in Israel by Palestanians and in Nigeria through various religious and sectarian crises. Presently thats why Biafran Jews are demanding a state of their own to be known as the Independent Sovereign State of Biafra
  • Dr. Lance D. D
    • city, state, country
    • Lubbock, TX,, US
  • Ernest S
    • city, state, country
    • Buffalo, NY, USA
  • fc
    • city, state, country
    • canada
    • comments
    • I don't really care for this petition as much as the other one diana started, which I signed and stand by her. If the Anglican Church wishes to divest, it can do whatever it wishes with its money, and I am not one to tell them what to do. What I would comment on, and what I beleiev this petition should be about, is the apparent hypocrisy of the Church to not pull out of other areas of the world. Let this petition not ask them to not divest, which they are more than free to do, but rather to justify why israel and not other countries. That is my concern. That is the question that needs answering.
  • Alexey M. K
    • city, state, country
    • Israel