REFLECTIONS ON THE CONFERENCE NEW PERSPECTIVES ON ISRAEL By Fiona Sorbala

On Saturday, 22 February, Chosen People Ministries hosted a conference that presented significant challenges for the coming days. These come out of a landmark survey in which its authors, Dr M. Inbari and Dr K. Bumin, analysed the views of those who identified as Christian and were able to drill down by age and denomination. They shared some surprising results with us.

The good news was that in some areas of the Church, there are signs of a revival among the youth, and what was encouraging to see was that the study showed that they were regularly reading the Bible. However, what was deeply troubling was the apparent correlation between young people and antisemitism. “Young Brits are significantly more likely to hold very negative opinions of Jews and Israel than older British Christians,” said researcher Dr Motti Inbari. We will be sharing more of their analysis in the coming days.

With antisemitism on the rise in the UK, it is imperative to understand why younger Christians are more likely to embrace antisemitism and anti-Israel views. This presents ministries like ours with the challenge of how to combat this, address it and provide the necessary resources.

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, the former Chief Rabbi, explained to the European Parliament in 2016:

“Throughout history, when people have sought to justify antisemitism, they have done so by recourse to the highest source of authority available within the culture. In the Middle Ages, it was religion. So, we had religious anti-Judaism. In post-Enlightenment Europe, it was science. So, we had the twin foundations of Nazi ideology, Social Darwinism and the so-called Scientific Study of Race. Today, the highest source of authority worldwide is human rights. That is why Israel—the only fully functioning democracy in the Middle East with a free press and independent judiciary—is regularly accused of the five cardinal sins against human rights: racism, apartheid, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and attempted genocide.”

At this time, the Jewish people need friends to speak up on their behalf, and it is we, the Church, who share a common heritage with them through the Old Testament, who should be their strongest supporter.

Dr Mitch Glaser challenges us with his action plan with the 3 Ps.

PRAY – this is the call of Scripture in Psalm 122:6 – pray in your home groups and prayer groups – encourage your local Church to pray.

PERSONALISE – let your Jewish friend know that you care and are praying for the peace of Jerusalem. Write to your local synagogue if you don’t know any Jewish people personally, letting them know that you, as a Christian, wish to let them know of your support and prayers.

PROTECT – speak up when you see antisemitism in your community or antisemitic rhetoric online, and contact the appropriate authorities.

The challenge that this brings to the fore and was given at an oppose antisemitism rally in New York was that the rallying cry of the Church should be ” We need to show the Jewish people that we love them and to let them, and let the antisemites know that if they want to get to the Jewish people – to the Jewish community, then they need to first go through the church”.