The Chief Rabbi of the UK, Ephraim Mirvis, has criticised a recent report by the Church of England that acknowledges Christianity's role in spreading and compounding
antisemitism but fails to condemn evangelicals who target Jews for conversion. The report, titled "God's Unfailing Word," urges Anglicans to actively challenge antisemitism and is the first authoritative statement on the issue and relations with the Jewish community by the established church. Rabbi Mirvis welcomed the report but expressed his "substantial misgiving" over its omission to reject the historic targeting of Jews for conversion to Christianity.
In his afterword to the report, Rabbi Mirvis pointed out that "even now, in the 21st century, Jews are seen by some as quarry to be pursued and converted." He added that the existence of a theological approach within the Anglican Church that is permissive of such behaviour damages the relationship between faith traditions and makes pursuing a comprehensive new Christian-Jewish paradigm exceptionally challenging. Rabbi Mirvis compared the situation to constructing an essential new structure while a small part of the construction team deliberately destabilises the building's foundations, undermining confidence in the structural integrity of the whole edifice.
He warned that any suspicion that interfaith dialogue is being directed by a purpose other than the betterment of mutual understanding and a necessary contribution to the common good harms the relationship and takes it backward. Rabbi Mirvis concluded by saying that the issue can "diminish the basis of trust that is so integral to the relationship."
Responding to the Chief Rabbi's comments, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, pledged to take his "challenge of his afterword with immense seriousness" and reflect on "any sense that we target Jewish people." He added that the work of Christian-Jewish relations is not finished and that the report should spur Anglicans towards more and deeper encounters with the Jewish community. The Archbishop also noted that the exchange with the Chief Rabbi highlights that Christians still have much to do to understand the cruelty of their history towards Jews. Photo by Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Wikimedia commons.