Notorious vicar ‘engaged in antisemitic activity’, church hearing concludes
Retired Anglican priest, Stephen Sizer, denied antisemitism in relation to 11 allegations about his conduct between 2005 and 2018.
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
Notorious Rev Dr Stephen Sizer engaged in conduct which “provoked and offended the Jewish community” and in one “serious allegation” was found to have “engaged in antisemitic activity”, a church disciplinary hearing has concluded.
In a complaint brought by the Board of Deputies, the now retired Anglican priest, who was vicar of Christ Church, Virginia Water, in Surrey, for 20 years, had denied antisemitism in relation to 11 allegations about his conduct between 2005 and 2018.
Out of the 11 allegations, a panel concluded that in four of them Sizer’s conduct was “unbecoming to the office and work of a clerk in Holy Orders, in that he provoked and offended the Jewish community.”
Following the historic announcement, the Church of England confirmed in a statement that Sizer “has committed misconduct under the Clergy Discipline Measure.”
It said the tribunal will “now determine a penalty.”
It added the Church is “committed to building cohesive communities and fostering strong interfaith relations built on trust and respect” and stressed “antisemitism has no place in our society and those in positions of power and influence must listen to concerns about it.”
In a decision announced on Tuesday, a tribunal concluded: “The most serious allegation against the Respondent relates to posting a link on Facebook in January 2015 to the article blaming Israel for 9/11.
“The tribunal finds the article in its tone and content truly shocking.”
Sizer said he “accepted” the criticisms of his conducted and would “repeat my apology” over the posting of an article blaming Israel for 9/11.
He added: “”I am most grateful to the tribunal for the careful way in which they approached the evidence and reached their conclusions. I accept those conclusions, and the criticisms of my conduct and apologise unreservedly for the hurt and offence caused. As I said at the time, I am particularly sorry that I posted a link on Facebook in January 2015 to an article blaming Israel for 9/11, and repeat my apology for the deep hurt that my conduct caused. I do not propose to say any more at this juncture as I pray and reflect further.”
Board president Marie van der Zyl said:”I commend the tribunal’s decision in the case of Stephen Sizer. In an unprecedented judgement it was found ‘engaged in antisemitic activity’, repeated conduct ‘unbecoming of a Church of England minister and engaged in conduct that ‘provoked and offended the Jewish community over a sustained period.
“He was also criticised for being ‘disingenuous in his answers’. ”
Van der Zyl, who had first lodged the complaint against Sizer in 2018, praised the tribunal for listening to the Board’s evidence.
It said the article posted by Sizer went “way beyond the criticism of Israel and is virulently antisemitic in its content.”
“After careful consideration, it finds the Respondent’s evidence that he had not read the article in full before he posted the link to be implausible and untrue.
“The respondent is an intelligent man, familiar with the conflict in the Middle East, and the sensitivities over criticism of the Jewish race.
“It is satisfied that the respondent would not have posted the article without reading it in full first. In reaching this decision, it pays particular importance to his comment on the post, when he said: ‘Is this antisemitic? If so, no doubt I’ll be asked to remove it. It raises so many questions.’
“It does not consider that he would have made this comment unless he knew or thought that the article was antisemitic.”
It was further concluded:” The tribunal is satisfied that the Respondent reposted the article in the knowledge that it would provoke and offend the Jewish community.”
Sizer was also condemned for his “unacceptable” and “unauthorised” meeting with Sheikh Nabil Kaouk, a senior commander of Hezbollah forces in Beirut in the summer of 2006.
A photograph of the meeting was published by the Daily Mail in 2015.
It was confirmed: “The tribunal considers that the Respondent’s meeting with Sheikh Kaouk is an example of where he did not take into account his role as a public representative of the Church, and showed a lack of sensitivity to the Jewish community.
“It showed an extraordinary lack of sensitivity to be photographed in clerical dress meeting Sheikh Kaouk.”
The tribunal also condemned Sizer’s conduct after in September 2010, he posted a link to an article entitled
‘The Mother of All Coincidences’.
It concluded:” Once again it considers that the posting of the link to this article demonstrated the Respondent’s lack of awareness of his being a public representative of the Church and showed a lack of sensitivity to the Jewish community.
“The article raised the issue as to whether 9/11 was a plot by Israel and did not specifically refer to Jews.
“The final sentence, however, did not contain a clear rejection of Israel’s involvement. Whilst the article did not go as far as the 9/11 article, and blame American Jews for 9/11, the Tribunal considers that the Respondent, as an ordained minister, should not have been giving the oxygen of publicity to such an article. ”
Sizer was also condemned by the tribunal for an interview on 30 March 2018 he gave to Australian radio, defending the link he posted to the article blaming Israel for the 11 September 2011 terrorist attacks.
The tribunal decision, following an earlier hearing in May, was handed down by the Church of England on Tuesday by chair David Pittaway KC, at Church House, Westminster.
It was announced that on the balance of probability seven of the allegations – including a meeting with Michael Hoffman, a Holocaust denier and anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist – remained unproved.
KC David Pittaway, who chaired the panel, explained one of “principal issues” of the “complex” hearing had involved “the definition of antisemitism.”
He confirmed the Church of England had accepted the IHRA definition of antisemitism, including all its examples.
But the KC confirmed the hearing had considered submissions claiming IHRA stifled free speech over Israel, and had also considered arguments over the existence of a “new antisemitism” that had emerged as a result of hatred of the Jewish state.
Dr Sizer, the Board’s president and the communal organisation’s chief executive Michael Weiger were all in attendance as the decision was made public.
Evidence given by both the Board’s current and previous president Jonathan Arkush was said to have been vital in allowing the tribunal to reach its findings against Sizer.
The case against him was that he “provoked and offended the Jewish community and/or engaged in antisemitic behaviour” through his conduct in the 13 year long period.
The hearing had been told that throughout the indictment period, Sizer had shared platforms with Holocaust deniers, a Hezbollah commander and shared allegedly antisemitic material on social media.
The hearing panel also included two members of the clergy, the Rev Geoffrey Eze and the Rev Liz Hughes, and two lay members, Gabrielle Higgins and Canon Andrew Halstead.
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