This letter was recently written to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, by Frances Waddams, a Regional Director of Anglicans for Israel. This was just before the visit by Dr Williams to Bethlehem and his subsequent comments.

Dear Dr Williams

I enjoyed your recent interview in the Tablet and was particularly interested in your forthcoming pilgrimage to Bethlehem, and I hope and pray that it will be a fruitful one. But I thought your question, ‘’I would like to know how much it matters to the Israeli Government to have Christian communities in the Holy Land,” curious.

It suggests that the Israeli Government is ambivalent towards Christian communities in the Holy Land. Yet in Israel, Christian communities of all types are flourishing. For example, leaders of Messianic communities report that their relatively new congregations now have some 10,000 Messianic believers – the largest number of Jewish believers in Israel since Bible times. The Israeli constitution protects freedom of religion, which in itself is a confirmation of Israel’s commitment to its Christian minority.

So does your question refer to the Palestinian Church, and does it indicate that you believe that Israeli actions and policies constitute the sole threat to its continued existence? If so, this underlying assumption seems unjust. Well documented and long standing intimidation of Palestinian Christians by Palestinian Islamists poses at least as much of a threat to the Christian witness in the Territories as Israeli actions. It has resulted in a haemorrhage of Palestinian Christians from the PA, independently of hardship caused by the conflict with Israel. Sadly, Anglican leaders rarely mention this threat to the Church in the Holy Land when they give interviews or make public statements.

Would it not be helpful for you now publicly to affirm the freedom of religion given by Israel to her citizens, and to condemn both the intimidation of Palestinian Christians by Palestinian Muslims and the continuing attacks by Palestinians on Israeli civilians, which render it necessary for Israel to take action to defend their civilian population, which result in hardship for both Christian and Muslim Palestinians?

I look forward to receiving your observations. In the meantime, may I take this opportunity to wish you and your family a very merry Christmas and a Happy and Peaceful 2007.

Yours sincerely

Frances Waddams
Regional Director, Anglicans for Israel