Canterbury... y el Muro.

"Mr Andrew Nunn
Premises and Administration Secretary to
The Archbishop of Canterbury
Lambeth Palace
London SE1 7JU


Dear Mr Nunn

Thank you for replying to my letter on Archbishop Williams's behalf. I regret that you regard my views as polemic.

Rowan Williams was wrong to publicly castigate Israel regarding the Security Barrier, whilst omitting to mention publicly why she felt it necessary to erect it, and not mention equally as publicly the suffering the Palestinian Christians undergo at the hands of the Palestinian Authority. What message could this send to supporters of Israel's right to live in peace and security other than a bias against her? His comment at the International Peace Centre in Bethlehem on 21 December: was very clear indeed:-

"…………..The wall which we walked through a little while ago is a sign not simply of a sign of a passing problem in the politics of one region; it is sign of some of the things that are most deeply wrong in the human heart itself………"

The economic dislocation the Archbishop speaks of is clearly the result of the Palestinian Authority's extremism, and its failure to rein in terrorists operating with its full support. One does not have to think very hard to realise that if the area had not been used as a base to launch murderous attacks on Israeli civilians, there would have been no need to build any sort of barrier at all. There are many Israelis who would rather it did not exist either, but they owe their safety and in many cases their lives to it.

It is all very well that Archbishop Williams has brought together leaders of the different faiths in the area to discuss the problems they all face, but this was not reported widely in the media, and the fact that attacks against Christians by people supported by the Palestinian Authority continue unabated proves this method is hardly effective. Publicly criticising Israel, who has always sought to allow Christians and all other faiths to worship in peace at their Holy sites, for finding an effective way of defending her citizens can hardly help either, especially when the violence perpetrated on Palestinian Christians is publicly ignored by a man of Archbishop Williams' standing.

I, too, believe that prayer, patience and understanding can help build bridges between the protagonists. However, there needs to be an atmosphere of trust and the willingness to abandon violence as a means to an end for this to have even the smallest chance of succeeding. Israel has shown her willingness to compromise again and again, with no reciprocal gesture from the other side. The continual bombardment of Israeli towns from Gaza when a cease-fire has been agreed is one example among many.

Yours sincerely


Ilana Rosen