LETTER: Anglican Church silent on Hamas’s murder of Israelis

The Anglican Church of Southern Africa recently declared Israel an apartheid state at a meeting of its provincial standing committee. Archbishop Thabo Makgoba backed this position in his personal blog.

Then Saturday happened. Hamas militants invaded Israel on the final day of the Jewish festival of Sukkot, which was on the sabbath. In echoes of the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago, almost to the day, Israel was caught napping. Massacres, mayhem and a litany of war crimes have followed.

Yet the Anglican church, which has been so quick to condemn violence against Palestinians, has not returned the favour regarding Israelis. Why should this matter to the Anglican church? 

The late Archbishop Desmond Tutu looms large in the annals of the history of the Anglican church and SA history. He positioned the Anglican church to be one of the denominations at the forefront of the liberation struggle and fight against apartheid.

He was awarded a Nobel peace prize in 1984 for his commitment to a nonviolent means of social activism. He embodied the non-violent option in the face of apartheid despite other political leaders and later parties advocating for an armed struggle that not only targeted armed forces but also civilians.

After liberation in 1994 Tutu went on to be outspoken about human rights on a global stage. Nonviolent resistance remained his guiding principle, something that has been affirmed time and again by subsequent Anglican synods. 

With the Anglican church’s declaration of Israel as an apartheid state (which, personally, I think is deeply flawed) and the ANC’s declaration of support for the armed struggle of Hamas, where now is the Anglican church’s principled stand against Hamas violence?

Why is the Anglican hierarchy slow in condemning the murder, kidnapping and rape of Israelis when this is contrary to the non-violence that Tutu stood for? Tutu famously would break out in dance given the slightest opportunity, but he would not be joining in the dances we have seen in the Palestinian territories, and in London and elsewhere, celebrating the violent option.

Tutu advocated methods that he said could withstand the harsh scrutiny of history. The current stance of the Anglican church will not pass the moral test of hindsight this time. 

Rev Canon Peter Houston 
Anglican priest and canon theologian, diocese of Natal

JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.​