Published in the Church of England Newspaper: 

Sir, The Bishop of Exeter's moving account of the work of The Spafford Children's Centre, Helen Keller Centre and St John Eye Hospital in Jerusalem is inspirational.

It is distressing that Israel's security fence has made the vital work of these organisations so much more difficult to accomplish effectively. But how much more distressing that Palestinian terrorism rendered such security measures necessary in the first place; the people most damaged by that terrorism turn out to be the Palestinians themselves.

The decline in numbers of the Palestinian Christian community is sad but unsurprising, given the hard economic conditions and the persecution they encounter from jihadists. However, it is not all bad news in the Holy Land. The Church in Israel is flourishing due to the State of Israel's commitment to freedom of worship for all its citizens, Arab and Jewish.

Frances Waddams

Anglican Friends of Israel