Episcopalian Fairness? File Not Found
In most instances when an institution or publication decides to withdraw an article on its Web site from public view, it redirects surfers to a page that reads “file not found” or “page not available.”
Not so with the Episcopal Church.
Rev. Canon Brian Grieves, director of the church’s peace and justice ministries, recently agreed to take down an article falsely accusing Israel of perpetrating a massacre during the battle at Jenin in 2002. Rev. Canon Grieves made the decision after being contacted by CAMERA over inaccuracies and bias on the church’s Web site.
The article is down, only to be replaced with another article about a church resolution condemning Israel for accidently shelling a chapel in Gaza in 2003. A mere “file not found” does not suffice.
A coincidence? Maybe, but in light of what the denomination has been telling people about the conflict for the past few years (and longer), probably not.
The peace and justice bodies within the Episcopal Church have studiously ignored the issue of Muslim anti-Semitism and the role it plays in fueling the Arab-Israeli conflict. An Oct. 2005 report by the church’s Social Responsibility Investments Committee devotes one sentence to the issue: “The SRI Committee also notes examples of hostility and anti-Semitism of certain Arab states in the region against the state of Israel.”
If the Episcopal Church were publicizing Israel’s security barrier, it could be trusted to describe in great detail its impact on Palestinians. For many years, when it came to talking about issues on the other side of the conflict, the Episcopal Church’s prophetic voice stammered, and then fell mute.
It was not a coincidence.
It was a pattern.
Fortunately, there are signs that this pattern is changing. The Episcopal Church’s Executive Council recently passed two resolutions about the Arab-Israeli conflict, one of which calls on Hamas to accept Israel’s right to exist and for it to abide by previous peace agreements.
Sadly, the replacement of one anti-Israel article for another on the Episcopal Church’s website brings into question just how much has changed at the denomination.
More from SNAPSHOTS
Revealed: Palestinian ‘Journalist’ Killed at Gaza Border was a Terrorist
May 1, 2018
PFLP operatives A Palestinian journalist who died from wounds received during the Hamas-led “Great Return March” has been identified as a terrorist. Ahmed Abu Hussein, a journalist who worked with Bisann News and Voice of [...]
Poll: Majority of Palestinians Fear Their Own Government
April 23, 2018
PA President Mahmoud Abbas and European Union Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini A majority of Palestinians living in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) fear the Palestinian Authority (PA), according to a poll by the Palestinian [...]
LA Times Replaces Solid AP Headline With Biased Headline
April 23, 2018
"Hamas vows revenge for key member killed in Malaysia," was the perfectly accurate and straightforward Associated Press headline (reproduced here in The Washington Post) about the killing Saturday of key Hamas member Fadi Batsh in [...]
Iran Has Sleeper Cells in the U.S.—And the Media is Fast Asleep
April 20, 2018
Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah The Islamic Republic of Iran has proxies serving as “sleeper cells” in the U.S., according to sworn congressional testimony. Yet, U.S. news outlets have largely neglected the story. Several “intelligence officials [...]
Where’s the Coverage? Iranian Drone Shot Down by Israel Was Armed
April 19, 2018
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamanei Israeli officials have recently disclosed that an Iranian drone shot down by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) on Feb. 10, 2018 was armed. However, many major U.S. news outlets have [...]