Here is Tony Greenstein’s letter to The Church Times:
I read with interest the article ‘Priest under fire for controversial web-site link’ in last week’s edition of the Church Times. As a Jewish cofounder of Palestine Solidarity Campaign, I have never heard or read anything by I have never heard or read anything by Stephen Sizer that could possibly be construed as anti-Semitic. To accuse people of anti-Semitism when they evince not a whiff of racism is to let the real anti-Semites off the hook. Like the boy who cried wolf, such false accusations are of aid to the real wolves. The fact that Stephen inadvertently posted a link on his blog to a web site which carried holocaust denial material is irrelevant. I have also posted links to sites that I have had to delete when their purpose and content became clear. I suspect many of Stephen’s accusers may have done likewise. Unfortunately the web is full of conspiracy sites, many of which are not obvious at first sight. The real issue of racism which Stephen and many thousands of others address is the horrific discrimination faced by the Arabs of Israel and Palestine.Just this week Israel’s Supreme Court, in a shameful decision, decided that Israeli Arabs could not marry Arabs outside the country and continue to live in Israel.
Stephen Sizer is to be congratulated for the position he has taken. He has been subject to very considerable personal vilification. I would hope that prominent Anglican leaders, including Archbishop Rowan Williams, speak up in Stephen’s support and are not intimidated by these defamatory and false accusations of anti-Semitism.
Tony Greenstein has missed Sizer citing a white supremacist Holocaust denier in his initial book on Christian Zionism, and his hints of 9/11 conspiracy theorising in the same book.
Tony Greenstein has also missed Sizer’s racist theory, that the US protects Gaddafi and lets him do evil, because of Gaddafi’s supposed Jewish blood.
Tony Greenstein has also missed Sizer’s racist theory, that US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s criticisms of Israel are based on her desire for revenge against Monica Lewinsky – the Jewish woman with whom Hilary’s husband Bill had an affair.
And all the other evidence of Sizer’s extremism, pointed out by Rev. Nick Howard in a recent essay.
“Not a whiff of racism“?
Nothing in Sizer’s writings that could “possibly be construed as antisemitic“?
Tony Greenstein claims to oppose antisemitism, and claims the PSC is anti-racist.
How can he be such a staunch opponent of Gilad Atzmon on anti-racist grounds, and not see any cause for concern in Stephen Sizer’s writings and public web activity?
Greenstein cannot even see any reason why people might construe antisemitism to be problematic, in regards to Sizer’s output. I am struggling to see how Greenstein joins up his thinking on anti-racism.
