The 4th call to Christians and the 7th call to Jews are closely related. Among the calls to Christians is:

4. To pray for the peace of Jerusalem
-- By critiquing attacks on Zionism when they become expressions of antisemitism.

Please note that we have chosen to spell the word thus: “antisemitism” and not as is more common: ”anti-Semitism.” Your computer spell-check may not approve, but is there really such a thing as “Semitism?”

This is parallel to one of our calls to the Jews:

7. To differentiate between fair-minded criticism of Israel and antisemitism
-- By understanding and promoting biblical examples of just criticism as expressions of loyalty and love.

The Biblical models referred to include Abraham in Genesis 18:25; Proverbs 12:1, 13:24; and Ecclesiastes 7:5. You may want to look these up, using different translations, and discuss them as part of a study session.

We may distinguish among three entities: the Land of Israel, the State of Israel, and the government of Israel. As stated in the Berlin document itself, we hope that Christians will “understand more fully Judaism’s deep attachment to the Land of Israel as a fundamental religious perspective and many Jewish people’s connection with the State of Israel as a matter of physical and cultural survival.”

Similarly, the document calls upon to Jews to “help Christians appreciate that communal identity and interconnectedness are intrinsic to Jewish self-understanding, in addition to religious faith and practice, therefore making the commitment to the survival and security of the State of Israel of great importance to most Jews.”

Thus, the Land of Israel is central to Judaism, and the State of Israel is central to the self-understanding of many, if not most, contemporary Jews. But the government, as any democratically elected government, is open to criticism and to change. One can criticize the government of Israel and its policies while affirming Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state.

The question of the appropriate channels for expression of criticism may be debatable. But Jews and non-Jews ought to be able to freely criticize the government of Israel and its policies, without being accused of antisemitism or anti-Zionism. On the other hand, when the criticism holds Israel up to standards never demanded of any other nation, or when antisemitic stereotypes and canards are used (e.g., as in the headline, "the Israelis are crucifying the Palestinians in Lebanon," As in stopcrucifyingpalestine.blogspot.com, accessed September 9, 2008)  Jewish ears become sensitive to the criticism in the wrong way.

In January, 2009, as part of a larger statement in response to the fighting in Gaza, the ICCJ issued the following statement:

Despite the political and ideological questions that may divide us, we re-affirm our common commitments to the sanctity of human life, the pursuit of peace as a religious imperative, and the importance of inter-religious and inter-group dialogue.

Of particular concern to us is the outbreak of antisemitic incidents, some violent, in different parts of the world, seemingly in response to the current difficult situation. There have also been incidents of discrimination against innocent Muslims living outside the region. We deplore this tendency to import the conflict into other regions.

Thus, one of the projects you may want to engage in is a campaign against antisemitism, Islamophobia and other forms of racism, in your own area.

Lord Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the British Commonwealth, has just (2009) published another one of his fine books. This one is called Future Tense (Hodder & Stoughton, London) and we highly recommend it, especially chapters 7 and 8 that deal, respectively, with Israel and Zionism.  Here is a quotation from p. 98:

A set of criteria distinguishing antisemitism from criticism of Israel was set out by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (now the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights.) It includes the following: denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour; applying double standards by requiring of it a behaviour not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation; using the symbols and images associated with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterise Israel or Israelis; drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis; or holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.