Originally published in Israel Today
The head of the Catholic Church and the leader of the Church of England are effectively rejecting the Bible by supporting policies that negate the connection of the Jewish people to the Holy Land, the chief rabbi of South Africa said on Sunday.
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The blunt theological critique comes after the archbishop of Canterbury endorsed a ruling by the International Court of Justice last month that Israel’s presence in the “occupied Palestinian territories” is unlawful, and as the pontiff has sought to thread the needle and maintain strict neutrality during Israel’s war against Islamist terrorists in Gaza.
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“At a time when Europe’s future hangs in the balance, its two most senior Christian leaders — the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, and the head of the Church of England, Archbishop Justin Welby—have abandoned their most sacred duty to protect and defend the values of the Bible,” South African Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein wrote in a post on X.
The world is locked in a civilisational battle of values, threatened by terrorism and jihad, the rabbi said.
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“Now is the time for religious leaders to come to the defence of society, to speak up for Western values and freedom,” Goldstein said. “Instead, Pope Francis and the Anglican archbishop are silent: indifferent to the murder of Christians in Africa, and to the threat of terrorism throughout Europe, and outright hostile to Israel’s attempts to battle these jihadi forces led by Iran.”
Does the archbishop read the Bible?
The Jewish leader said that the head of the Church of England’s remarks put him in “direct opposition” to the Bible.
“Does the archbishop believe the accounts of the Bible are mere myths?” Goldstein ponders in a 15-minute video address attached to the X post. “How can anyone who believes in the Bible say that Israel is an illegal occupier of the Temple Mount?”
After the UN court ruling, Welby said that ending “Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory is a legal and moral necessity.”
Goldstein continued, “If the archbishop reads his Bible, he should know that Jerusalem existed before London and was the capital of Israel before anyone heard of Britain.”
‘Go back to the Bible’
Imploring his fellow religious leaders to “go back to the Bible,” the South African rabbi said that denying Israel’s biblical claims to the Land of Israel was a threat to both the UK and Europe at a time of rising Islamic extremism.
“Jihadist ideology that seeks to destroy Israel is a clear and present danger to the future of Europe and its value system,” Goldstein said. “If Israel is abandoned to jihadi forces, Europe is next.”
Earlier this month more than 20 Christian leaders representing a variety of ministries in the United Kingsom with links to the Middle East, united to condemn the legal opinion promoted by Welby as, “biased, uninformed, naïve, and ultimately unbiblical”.
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When the archbishop and the pope get back to reading the Bible, they would do well to ponder Genesis 12: 2-3.