Dear Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury,
The Simon Wiesenthal Center appreciates your recent visit to Israel following the barbaric Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israeli communities. The murder of entire families, mass rapes, torture and mutilation of infants, the kidnapping of over 200 Israelis and dozens from other nations, who if alive are somewhere in the bowels of Hamas’ underground tunnels, represented the most horrific day in Jewish history since the defeat of Nazi Germany and are textbook examples of crimes against humanity.
We appreciate that you met with the families of some of the victims.
Of course, we realize that, as a Christian leader, your primary concern is for the endangered Christians of Gaza and elsewhere. It is no secret that, after the Jews, Hamas’s next target will be Christians.
In this context, as well as the fact that a nine-month-old baby and 30 other Jewish children are still being held five weeks after the Hamas rampage, with nary a word from the international community, we are disappointed with your recent statement on Israel’s war against the terror group.
“The relentless bombardment of hospitals and civilians in Gaza is intolerable,” you said. “It’s against international humanitarian law. It must stop and stop now. The misuse of hospitals by Hamas does not justify attacks by Israel. Two wrongs don’t make a right. The situation facing staff and patients in Gaza’s hospitals is catastrophic. Everything must be done to restore its healthcare system and protect those in desperate need. I pray especially for the courageous staff and the patients of the Anglican-run Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza. Please hold our Anglican sisters and brothers, and all the civilians of Gaza, in your prayers.”
We too pray for innocent victims of war. But make no mistake: It is Hamas terrorists and their fat-cat leaders who have the blood of innocents—Jewish, Christian and Muslim—on their hands.
Hamas has declared that it will continue its genocidal attacks against the Jewish state again and again. They believe they can do so with impunity because they locate their command-and-control headquarters under Gaza’s hospitals. They saw that, to avoid civilian casualties and the wrath of the international community, Israel never tried to root out these terrorist headquarters, which use the patients and staff in these hospitals as human shields. But now Israel has no choice.
With the deepest respect, this situation isn’t about “two wrongs don’t make a right.” It’s a battle between good and evil.
Your Eminence, please do not lecture the Jewish people at this moment. The Jews know their Jewish and humanitarian responsibilities during this unprecedented war. But they and Jewish communities in the Diaspora, from London to Manchester, Los Angeles to Montreal, need moral voices to denounce the hordes who rush into the streets of our cities to celebrate the “achievements” and genocidal goals of Hamas while demonizing and violently attacking Israel and her Zionist supporters.
So, let us all join together in praying for peace. But before peace, let us pray for victory over evil.
