Following the shockingly one-sided rhetoric and actions by the Methodist Church a few weeks ago, I noticed this article appear in the Times "faith" section yesterday which may be of interest to many of you. It is written by Dr Edward Kessler of Cambridge.

Jews, Christians and Israel

In the last 12 months Christian churches have increasingly been laying the blame for Middle East discord solely at the door of the Israelis

The author goes on to describe similar actions taken by (albeit fringe) church groups in Australia and the US and rightly laments the lack of balance in their approach. He also touches on the links between criticism of Israel and anti-Semitism, and illustrates the double-standards at play:

Where are the Churches’ calls for a boycott of China because of its treatment of Tibetans, or Russia for its treatment of Chechniyans?

His closing paragraph is an appeal for dialogue and mutual understanding:

Unless Jews and Christians wish to continue this impasse, they need to take engage in more constructive action: listening to each other would be a good place to start.

It's definitely worth a read, however the Times website is now subscription only.