The Anglican Church of Canada wants the government to take action on the Middle East

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Arabs constitute around 24% of Israel’s population. They are Israeli citizens, can vote and have all the rights of any other citizen. Minarets punctuate the landscape of Israel; no city is without them.

I asked our Jewish guide what he thought about the fact that Israel’s tolerance of Muslims was not reciprocated in Islamic nations. He said: “you can’t expect this world to be balanced.” “No, I suppose not” I replied.

While we are on the subject of unbalanced views on Israel, the Anglican Church of Canada is asking the Canadian Government to do something about the Middle East. I expect Stephen Harper wishes he had thought of that.

From here:

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, has joined other leaders of the Canadian Council of Churches in calling the Canadian government to respond to crises in the Middle East.
In a May 17 letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the 24 leaders of CCC member churches outlined their concerns and recommendations:

“We are concerned about the continuing humanitarian tragedy unfolding in Syria; the uncertainty and turmoil with democratic transitions in Egypt; the unresolved decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict; and the rising tensions and stresses within and between various countries in the region.”

They encourage the government to take action, including robust response to the needs of displaced peoples, leadership in the area of human rights, and assistance for churches as they “work with local peacemakers and providers of humanitarian assistance in the region.”

7 thoughts on “The Anglican Church of Canada wants the government to take action on the Middle East”

  1. Good grief. Does the Primate have a miraculous solution that will do what no one else has been able to do for the last 5000 or so years? No, I didn’t think so.

    Maybe he thinks that a million or more displaced persons should be invited into Canada next month? No, I didn’t think so.

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  2. Pingback: Anglican Samizdat , Archive » The Anglican Church of Canada … | Church News from Christian Web Watch

  3. I suppose that it is easier to try to tell someone esle to do something instead doing anything yourself.
    This letter to the PM is a bit indicative of a socialist thinking. Given a choice between doing something yourself or asking a government to do it they choose to ask the government. Problem here is that if the government does end up doing it, than through the government I am being forced to do it also, even though I might disagree with it.

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  4. Hiltz has been at it for a long time.

    It was while I was a still-naive newcomer to the ACofC years ago that I happened on a copy of a letter, pinned on the basement bulletin board of an Anglican church, from Fred Hiltz to some government official or other. The letter topic was Middle Eastern Affairs. What Mr. Hiltz had to say struck me as particularly anti-Semitic. I was stunned.

    Now I did know about the ACofC moving closer to the Lutheran Church at that time, and I did recall enough of my history to realize that Martin Luther himself had been virulently anti-Semitic. I had thought that specific Lutheran sin was something the Anglicans were agreeing to turn a blind eye to, but I hadn’t realized until the moment I read the Fred Hiltz letter that the ACofC was no better; their own party-line includes an anti-Semitic approach to life.

    I reeled for several minutes, and then went home to Google these revelations. It seemed that a certain Simon McIlwaine of the U.K. had even begun “Anglicans for Israel,” to draw together his fellow C. of E. types who were not as narrow-minded as the rest. I did ask whether my AcofC parish had a chapter, but alas….

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