Here is Messianic theologian Richard Harvey, in an article for Jews for Jesus from July 1988, about Zionism:
The Arab minority in Israel lives in better economic conditions than in many neighboring Arab states, and is certainly treated far more humanely than a Jew would be in an Arab land. Yet they suffer a degree of discrimination in political, economic and social life.
Here is antizionist theologian Stephen Sizer, writing about Harvey’s words for The Churchman and for Global Connections:
The Peace Plan brokered by Clinton and Barak would have given the Israeli’s a further 30% of the West Bank leaving the Palestinians isolated ‘Palestans’, that is isolated pockets of land surrounded by barbed wire, electric fences, mines and Jewish settlements. Christian Zionists cannot understand why Palestinians are not grateful. Richard Harvey, for example, points out that,
“The Arab minority in Israel lives in better economic conditions than in many neighboring Arab states, and is certainly treated far more humanely than a Jew would be in an Arab land.”
Christian Zionists therefore invariably oppose the dismantling of the Jewish settlements in the Palestinian Territories.
A few things to note here:
Sizer imagines Richard Harvey as a “Christian Zionist”, when he is actually expressing a Zionist point of view, from his perspective of Christian theology.
- Sizer stops Harvey’s quote mid-sentence, portraying Harvey as someone who does not care about Palestinian rights, whereas in the following sentence of Harvey’s article, Harvey does acknowledge the suffering of the Palestinian people.
- Sizer’s line that Harvey as a Christian Zionist “cannot understand why Palestinians are not grateful” for being surrounded by “barbed wire, electric fences, mines and Jewish settlements”, is intended as a jibe against Harvey’s morality.
- Sizer considers Christian Zionism itself to be a heresy. Defining him as a Christian Zionist, does Sizer consider Harvey to be a heretic? After all, Sizer has written an article entitled: “Christian Zionism: the new heresy that sways America?“. We also know that he publicly labels Harvey a “Christian Zionist”.
It would be fair to say, that Sizer considers Richard Harvey to be a heretic, based on Harvey’s publicised pro-Israel views from a Christian perspective, and based on Sizer’s public words against Harvey’s perceived “Christian Zionism”.
However, Richard Harvey is now booked to speak at a conference which Sizer is organising: Christ at the Checkpoint 2012.
Sizer now takes a very different tone on Richard Harvey.
See here:
We’ve got a big conference coming up in March next year, in Bethlehem,Christ at the Checkpoint, and we’re really delighted, we’ve got people like Richard Harvey coming and some of the Messianic leaders from Jerusalem speaking, so it’s gonna give us the opportunity to engage Messianic believers and Palestinian believers together.”
We know that Stephen Sizer has publicly called Messianic Jews expressing Zionist points of view “an abomination”, and then publicly apologised for this (whilst blaming Messianic Jewish Zionist bloggers for misunderstanding him, of course).
However, Richard Harvey has not apologised for the words he wrote for Jews For Jesus in 1988 about Israel, and Sizer has not apologised for the words he has written about Richard Harvey.
All of which raises the question – why is Sizer so keen to broadcast Richard Harvey’s attendance at Christ at the Checkpoint?
The answer appears to be this:
Evidence points towards the conference being racist and antisemitic.
At the previous Checkpoint conference in 2010, speakers suggested that Jews had no Jewish blood, that jihadists have “every right” to attack people in other countries, and that it must look to Muslims, as if Jews were behaving like they did in Mohammed’s day, “repeating the hostile behaviour of Jews many centuries earlier towards the Prophet.”
The conference organisers are showing solidarity with Dr Jim West, who openly admires the anti-Jewish theology of Luther and the pro-Nazi theology of Kittel, whilst deploring Bonhoeffer for plotting to kill Hitler.
Richard Harvey’s presence at the conference appears to be a fig-leaf, for the anti-Jewish racism of this conference – at which the likes of Sami Awad, Ben White and Stephen Sizer will be present.
Yet the question remains -
Does Stephen Sizer think Richard Harvey is a heretic?
If so, then the only conclusion, is that Sizer values the public image of the Checkpoint conference, over his theological misgivings about Richard Harvey.
But then that does not bode well for a conference ostensibly about finding a just, peaceful, non-heretical theology for the Middle East.
Undoubtedly, and it serves Sizer’s purposes well. If Harvey wasn’t portrayed as a “heretic”, Sizer wouldn’t seem to be holding a fair and balanced conference. He needs trophy “heretics” in attendance to lend credibility to his inane cause. A better question is why on earth Harvey would agree to appear so closely to a lightning rod like Sizer.
For the record, I think Sizer is a heretic – so who really care what he thinks.
I think you’re right, but it’s more than that.
Sizer could have invited other people he has denounced as heretics, such as John Hagee or Pat Robertson. However, what Richard Harvey has going for him, is that he is a Messianic Jew.
That makes Harvey an attractive fig-leaf for the anti-Jewish racism of the conference.
By contrast, Sizer considers Hagee and Robertson to be anti-Semites themselves, and thus their presence would be an ineffective fig-leaf for CATC antisemitism.
Even if RH were to withdraw tomorrow, as I hope he will, the very presence of his eminent name and reputation on the list has acted as a vital human shield for the propagandist purposes of this conference. Keep up the good work Jo and Gev.
Thanks.
I think you are right about RH.
It would be good for him to acknowledge publicly, at least, that he is not representative of the majority of Messianic Jews who abhor this conference.
Because the CATC organisers are heavily implying that he is.
What do you think about the messianic congregation in Netanya being involved in conferences like this?
The congregation is not involved, one of its leaders agreed to go & I doubt very much if he put it to a popular vote to his rank & file members!
Has anyone actually tried to connect with Richard Harvey and ask what his purpose is in all this? Perhaps he feels the alternative view is not represented well enough and he’s trying to be that voice (though would he actually be allowed to do that)? Just asking.
I believe he may very well be sick of that question now as I believe many within the Messianic world have and are asking him why.
Perhaps. Can anybody quote a response?
You can see the approach he will take at CaTC in the Concordis International paper VIII Feb 2010 http://www.concordis-international.org/files/pdfs/Concordis_Papers%20VIII-Christian_Churches_and_the%20ISR-PAL_Conflict_3rd_Edition.pdf – this Bridging Narrative seems very much like a version of reconstructionist history produced by Ilan Pappé, who as in fact behind the Double Helix idea that Harvey has picked up on.
Sizer’s a good guy… But I believe when the Mahdi and Isa Al-Masih comes, he would certainly be their pastor and minister. He would believe Isa Al-Masih (Esav HaMashiach) to be the real Jesus Christ (Yeshua HaMashiach). The Ad-Dajjal (perhaps, the real Jesus Himself or the Two Witnesses) would be his (Sizer’s) natural enemy. He would believe Isa. Isa would deny that he is the “Son of God” since Allah has not begotten any son. Many Catholics and apostate Christian followers would follow and obey this Isa (Esav). This would include the Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the rest of the secular, liberal and nominal Christians out there and here… 666 (Chi Xi stigma) soon!
[Sizer’s a good guy… But I believe when the Mahdi and Isa Al-Masih comes, he would certainly be their pastor and minister. He would believe Isa Al-Masih (Esav HaMashiach) ]
Are you being ironic? have you not seen the many things about Sizer and who he mingles with???? He likes hanging out with families of the Iranian government, the late Yasser Arafat, various assorted Holocaust deniers.
also Isa Al-Masih is just that Arabic word for Jesus the Messiah
If you understand deeply what I said you would not accuse me of being sympathetic to these bunch of Christians. And by the way, Isa is not the Arabic transliteration of the Name Yeshua. It should be Yasue something. Isa sounds like Esau or Esav. Are you still not aware that the Antichrist will come from them? Read on and be deeper. Or you will caught unaware when the First and the Second Beasts come.
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