The organized South African Jewish community is up in arms over a resolution passed Oct. 20 by the synod of the Anglican Diocese of Cape Town which supports the Palestinians’ “right to resist Israeli aggression.”
The resolution, introduced by the Rev. Terence Lester, supports the right of Palestinians to organize themselves politically and backs the Palestinians’ “legitimate rights” to land and self-determination.
The measure came under fire from a leading South African rabbi, the South African Zionist Federation and the Israeli ambassador here.
Rabbi Cyril Harris, chief rabbi of the Union of Orthodox Synagogues of South Africa, accused the synod of “at best naivete and, at worst, of anti-Semitism.”
The Zionist federation declared the resolution “one sided” and “shameful,” in a statement issued by its chairman, Solly Sacks.
It was prompted by the fatal shooting Oct. of at least 17 Arab rioters by Israeli police of the Temple Mount.
Lester maintained his resolution was “not Jew-bashing motion.”
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