Antisemitism or anti-Zionism, 10 questions for the Dean of Lichfield - by David Collier

...Do you think, given the history of the blood libel and classic antisemitic tropes, that suggesting Jewish Zionists are like vampires in any way helped to expose the truth or assist in the search for peace?

David Collier..
Across the Great Divide..
17 October '16..

Last week I attended a conference on ‘Palestine’ that was promoted by the Dean of Lichfield and held at Lichfield Cathedral. My feelings on what occurred were detailed in a piece that I wrote upon my return. That article was widely shared.

I received emails in response from both the Bishop of Lichfield and the Archbishop of Canterbury. The emails informed me they had forwarded the story of my experience to the Dean of Lichfield.

Two days after this, the Dean of Lichfield posted a public ‘non-statement’ that included this section:

“Our recent weekend conference ‘Holding Palestine in the Light – the context of the conflict’ was an attempt to help people understand the complexity of the situation and what roads to peace are available for all the people of the Holy Land, Israelis and Palestinians. There were some passionate exchanges and contributions from the floor representing very diverse views.”

This statement is entirely false. This conference was about ‘Palestine’ and on that particular topic there was no attempt to present diverse views. What was presented was a narrow part of the spectrum, ranging from ‘Israel is to blame’ to ‘Israel is entirely to blame’.

What he no doubt meant, is what I often encounter at Palestinian Society meetings on campus. The presentation of a list of Israeli crimes, followed by a range of possible punishments with a few different ‘red lines’ to add diversity and spice. 100 different reasons to hate Israel.

(Continue to Full Post)

Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

.