BICOM

The Archbishop of Canterbury prayed with Britain’s Chief Rabbi at the Western Wall in Jerusalem yesterday on the first day of the Archbishop’s visit to Israel.

Justin Welby and Ephraim Mirvis visited the Western Wall as part of a tour of Jerusalem’s holy places. The Chief Rabbi described their joint prayer at the site as “a unique moment in history”. The two religious leaders later travelled to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial where they were given a guided tour of the museum, laid a wreath, and signed the book of remembrance.  The Archbishop and Rabbi Mirvis also met with both of Israel’s Chief Rabbis.

The Archbishop acknowledged the history of antisemitism in the church and reiterated his determination to counter it. He said: “In the last year, we see uncovered even in England afresh that sense of antisemitism. Until that is expelled from our culture there will be a root, a tap root, for all racism, all discrimination, all cruelty, because of the nature of the human being in our culture.”

Commenting on the visit, Rabbi Mirvis said: “That the Archbishop would make time, in what is an exceptionally busy schedule, to see the State of Israel as I see it – a priceless divine gift, which brought deliverance to the Jewish world after centuries of prayer and yearning, is a testament to the high regard in which he holds the Jewish community.”

Rabbi Mirvis also said that the joint visit demonstrated the strong relationship between the UK Jewish community and the Anglican Church.

Archbishop Welby earlier visited the Bethany Beyond the Jordan archaeological site where Christians believe Jesus was baptised. He led prayers at the site and spoke out against the persecution suffered by fleeing Iraqi Christians.

On Tuesday he went to Saint Paul’s Anglican Church in Amman with the Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem, Archbishop Suheil Dawani.

Archbishop Welby will spend the weekend in Northern Israel and then travel to the West Bank in the final leg of his extensive visit to the region.