South Africa’s Chief Rabbi criticises UK archbishop and the Pope

The Chief Rabbi of South Africa has issued a fierce attack on the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Pope for what he says is their “rejection of the Bible”,  and their support for a ruling by the International Court of Justice that Israel’s presence in the West Bank and east Jerusalem was unlawful.

In a trenchant video message which he posted on Twitter/X on Sunday, Rabbi Warren Goldstein accused the two religious leaders of “abandoning their most sacred duty to protect and defend the values of the Bible.”

Now was the time, Rabbi Goldstein said, “for religious leaders to come to the defence of society, to speak up for Western values and freedoms. Instead, Pope Francis and the Anglican Archbishop are silent: indifferent to the murder of Christians in Africa and to the threat of terrorism throughout Europe, and outright hostile to Israel’s attempts to battle these Jihadi forces led by Iran”.

The archbishop had issued a statement earlier in the month which referred to a previous visit he had made to the region. In it, he said that he had visited Palestinian Christians whose future was threatened by the deprivation of a Palestinian state through occupation and the building of settlements.

“Having visited our Palestinian Christian brothers and sisters many times over recent decades, it is clear to me that the regime imposed by successive Israeli governments in the occupied Palestinian Territories is one of systemic discrimination,” Archbishop Welby said. “I am particularly aware of how this is impacting Palestinian Christians, threatening their future and viability. It is clear that ending the occupation is a legal and moral necessity.”

He added that the embrace of the advisory opinion was important in the face of increasing violations of international law.

In his 15-minute-long message, Rabbi Goldstein was particularly critical of Archbishop Justin Welby for his support of the ICJ ruling that Israel’s presence on the West Bank and east Jerusalem was “unlawful”.

He declared: “Does the archbishop believe the accounts of the Bible are mere myths? How can anyone who believes in the Bible say that Israel is an illegal occupier of the Temple Mount?” The archbishop had said, after the ICJ ruling, that ending “Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory is a legal and moral necessity.”

Goldstein continued: “If the archbishop reads his Bible, he should know that Jerusalem existed before London and was the capital of Israel before anyone heard of Britain.”

Somewhat waspishly, Rabbi Goldstein observed that the archbishop   “should know that Jerusalem was the capital of Israel before anyone heard of Britain”.

Lambeth Palace said it would not be commenting on Chief Rabbi Goldstein’s remarks. Nor was Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis’s office prepared to discuss the social media posting.