Priest banned from using social media sites for six months after posting 'anti-Semitic' comments claiming Israel was behind 9/11
- Vicar suggested Israel was responsible for 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers
- He has been banned from using social media sites Twitter and Facebook
- The Church of England said the reverend's ideas were 'clearly anti-Semitic'
- But the Church has allowed Reverend Stephen Sizer to remain a vicar
- He is the vicar of wealthy parish of Christ Church in Virginia Water, Surrey
Reverend Stephen Sizer (pictured) used
his internet accounts to spread ideas which were 'clearly
anti-Semitic', the Church of England said
A
vicar who suggested Israel was responsible for the 9/11 attack on the
twin towers has been banned from Twitter and other social media for six
months, the Church of England said yesterday.
The Reverend Stephen Sizer used his internet accounts to spread ideas which were ‘clearly anti-Semitic’, it said.
But
despite his ‘indefensible’ actions the cleric will be allowed to remain
a priest and to keep his job as vicar of the wealthy parish of Christ
Church in Virginia Water in Surrey.
The
Church’s verdict on Mr Sizer follows a series of clashes between the
vicar and Jewish leaders over his vehement campaigning against Israel,
during which he attended a conference in Iran during which Israel was
accused of plotting the 9/11 attack.
The
controversy over the vicar came to a crisis last month when he posted
an article on his Facebook page which attempted to connect wealthy Jews
to the attacks. ‘Is this antisemitic?’ Mr Sizer commented under the
link, adding ‘It raises so many questions.’
Yesterday
Bishop of Guildford the Right Reverend Andrew Watson said that the
vicar’s campaigning on the Middle East was ‘no longer compatible with
his ministry as a parish priest.’
The
bishop declared: ‘I do not believe that his motives are anti-Semitic;
but I have concluded that, at the very least, he has demonstrated
appallingly poor judgment in the material he has chosen to disseminate,
particularly via social media, some of which is clearly anti-Semitic.
‘By
associating with or promoting subject matter, which is either ambiguous
in its motivation, or, worse still, openly racist, he has crossed a
serious line. I regard these actions as indefensible.’
Bishop
Watson said he welcomed the fact that Mr Sizer apologised amid the
controversy that followed his latest Facebook intervention in the debate
over terrorism together with ‘his recognition of the deep hurt caused
by his actions, his acknowledgement of the gross insensitivity of their
timing just prior to Holocaust Memorial Day, and his retraction of the
ridiculous suggestion that Israel may have been complicit in the events
of 9/11.’
The bishop set a series of conditions for Mr Sizer keeping his job.
They
include a promise from the vicar to stop using social media entirely
for six months, to stop writing and speaking about the Middle East and
its history, and to stay away from conferences that promote an
anti-Zionist agenda. He has also undertaken to stop writing or preaching
anything on the subject, to avoid posting links to articles on the
subject, and to prevent anyone else from speaking on his behalf on the
matter.
Al Qaeda terrorists crashed two hijacked planes into the World Trade Centre Towers, killing thousands
Mr
Sizer will resign from his job at Christ Church immediately if he breaks
his pledges ‘in letter or in spirit’, the bishop added.
Bishop Watson said that Mr Sizer will ‘redirect his energies into his work as a parish priest.’
The
bishop added: ‘I am hugely sorry for the hurt which has been caused to
members of the Jewish Community, and I hope and pray that the storms of
the past two weeks will ultimately serve to deepen and strengthen our
relationship, one with another. This is a time when I would urge all
Christian people to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish brothers
and sisters in countering the alarming rise of anti-Semitic incidents
being reported.’
The
Board of Deputies, the representative body for British Jews, said: ‘We
are grateful that the Church shared our deep concern that Mr Sizer had
indeed crossed a line in the offensive materials he was posting and
linking to online.
‘We hope that Mr Sizer’s unbecoming and inappropriate conduct has now been brought to a close.’
Yesterday’s
pledges were not the first time the vicar has undertaken to moderate
the views he promotes on the internet. Following complaints by the Board
of Deputies in 2013, he promised that in future three people would read
his website and blog in order to check the content and monitor links to
websites.
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