Archbishop of Canterbury’s vicar condemns his assaults on Israel

We won’t be going to Tel Aviv this month, as planned. My wife’s stepfather is unwell, and we wanted to see him while we still can. 

But war is looming across the Middle East.

Iran is preparing its rockets, and Hezbollah is gearing up for attack. No doubt Hamas and Yemen will join in, too. 

And inevitably, Tel Aviv will be one of their principal targets.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, decided to wade in where angels fear to tread, and contribute his verdict on the politics of Israel-Palestine.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby , decided to wade in where angels fear to tread, and contribute his verdict on the politics of Israel-Palestine

Supporting an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice about Israel ‘s presence in the West Bank, Welby said Israel has been ‘denying the Palestinian people dignity, freedom and hope’ and declared that ending the ‘occupation’ is ‘a legal and moral necessity’

Supporting an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice about Israel‘s presence in the West Bank, he said Israel has been ‘denying the Palestinian people dignity, freedom and hope’ and declared that ending the ‘occupation’ is ‘a legal and moral necessity’.

‘It is imperative that governments around the world reaffirm their unwavering commitment to all decisions by the ICJ, irrespective of the situation,’ he added.

Those last few words seemed very odd. When peace comes to the region, it will be because of hard, raw, tough, difficult politics, not because of some abstract law imposed from The Hague.

To say that law must be imposed ‘irrespective of the situation’ is to think of peace as something that comes down fully formed, delivered by right-minded people. 

In reality, it must be fought for inch by inch, with compromises made. 

The Middle East has had quite enough of solutions that fall, fully formed, from the European sky.

Some say archbishops should stay out of politics. I’m not one of these. But if they do venture into more clearly political territory, they have to get it right.

And given the long history of Christians saying stupid and downright wicked things about the Jewish people, it is doubly incumbent upon Christian leaders to demonstrate a great deal of sensitivity. 

Take the term ‘occupation’. Yes, Israeli soldiers run the checkpoints and control much of what goes on in the West Bank. But why are they there?

Apart from the ideologically-driven settlers who are a whole different story, the reason Israel controls much of the West Bank is defensive – this is where the threat comes from. 

Israel is entitled to believe a ‘liberated’ Palestine would become a launching pad for even more ‘from the river to the sea’ genocidal murderousness, writes Rev Giles Fraser (left)

Judge and President of the International Court of Justice , Nawaf Salam (right) delivers a non-binding ruling on the legal consequences of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem in The Hague on July 19 declaring ‘illegal’ Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories since 1967

The ICJ has ruled that Israel’s settlement policy and use of natural resources in the occupied Palestinian territories violate international law.  Pictured: Palestinian shepherd Mustafa Arara, 24, stands in the ruins of the West Bank Bedouin village of al-Baqa where residents fled in July after settlers established an outpost a stone’s throw from the village in June

Abandoning the territory would create undeniable risk. After Israel evacuated Gaza in 2005, Hamas came to power the following year.

Israel is entitled to believe a ‘liberated’ Palestine would become a launching pad for even more ‘from the river to the sea’ genocidal murderousness.

And when the missiles again rain down upon Tel Aviv, it won’t be the ICJ in The Hague nor a Christian archbishop in Canterbury that will protect them.

What we must not do is delegitimise a democratic state, whose legitimate obligation is to protect its own citizens. 

That is exactly what the Archbishop has done in supporting the strategy of ‘lawfare’ that the ICJ is advancing.

Israel is all about the need for security – without it, neither the Jews nor Palestinians will find peace. 

Which is why it is Hamas that has been ‘denying the Palestinian people dignity, freedom, and hope’. 

I do wish the Archbishop had been clearer on that.