Welby sparks concern over ‘genocide of infants’ in the Holy Land comment

The Board of Deputies has written to the Archbishop of Canterbury in response to his co-authored article in today’s Sunday Times, which speaks of “the backdrop of a genocide of infants” (referring to the time of Jesus Christ) in the Holy Land.

Board president Marie van der Zyl stressed that she agreed entirely with Justin Welby and co-author Hosam Naoum, the Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem, that “assaults on the Christian community” in the region “carried out by extremists, are unacceptable. All people of faith have the right to freedom of worship and belief.”

However, she took issue with the specific reasons cited for the decline of Christians in the Holy Land over the past century. She was also “especially troubled” by the article’s description of ‘the first Christmas’, in particular the reference to “the backdrop of a genocide of infants”, a clear reference to the narrative of the “Massacre of the Innocents”, as recounted in the Gospel of Matthew.

Van der Zyl said: “This allows for the possibility of comparison to current events”, and therefore is troubling because of the potential linkage which could be made between Christianity, Jews and the killing of children in any current context.”

Van der Zyl also said this was “particularly distressing because I know that you have advocated for policies that support Jewish communal concerns. I fear that rather than encouraging reasoned dialogue on the issues you raise, this may in fact divide communities”.

The article also states that the “growth of settler communities and travel restrictions brought about by the West Bank separation wall have deepened the isolation of Christian villages and curtailed economic and social possibilities”.

And noting the “century-long decline” in the Christian population in the Holy Land, the article states: “In 1922, at the end of the Ottoman era, the number of Christians in the Holy Land was estimated at 73,000; about 10 per cent of the population. In 2019, Christians constituted less than two per cent of the population of the Holy Land: a massive drop in less than 100 years.”

The Board has requested a meeting with Welby to discuss concerns “and seek a way forward in which we can work together more closely in the pursuit of peace and harmony between Jewish and Christian communities.”