From Frances Waddams
Sir, - This week's Greenbelt Festival will see the launch of yet
another organisation whose main aims include targeting Israel for
criticism in the name of Palestinian rights and the Christian
gospel.
Kairos UK is an offshoot of Kairos Palestine, an organisation
that has drawn widespread criticism for what many see as misuse of
the Jewish scriptures to castigate Israeli Jews, and its habit of
blaming Israel alone for Palestinian suffering while ignoring
corruption, persecution of Christians by other Palestinians,
incitement, and terrorism - all of which contribute to hardship in
the Terrritories.
The launch of Kairos UK is being promoted by Israel's Christian
critics, some of whom seem to have moved beyond criticism of
Israel's actions and policies to speculation over whether Israel's
very existence as the Jewish national home is legitimate.
If we can learn anything from the Arab Spring, it is that
minorities in the Middle East, whether Christian, Jewish, or
Muslim, are vulnerable. Israel is the one country in the region
where Jewish, Arab, and Druze citizens live alongside each other in
relative peace and safety, despite constant rejection and hostility
from aggressive neighbours.
Any initiative, Christian or otherwise, that seeks to undermine
the legitimacy of Israel, the one stable country in the Middle
East, does the Middle East and the gospel no service.
FRANCES WADDAMS
Anglican Friends of Israel
27 Old Gloucester Street
London WC1N 3XX