Christian Aid-Liberal Judaism (UK) partnership: More criticism
On October 28, 2009, the controversy surrounding Liberal Judaism’s partnership with the powerful Christian Aid organization resurfaced on the Harry’s Place blog. Members of the Liberal Judaism movement “are unhappy that the movement is linking up with Christian Aid to campaign on climate change. They’re not against the link in principle, but they do think Christian Aid should clean up its Middle East campaigning act first.”
In June 2008, Christian Aid announced that it was “join[ing] forces” with Liberal Judaism “to press for a climate change bill.” Members of the Jewish movement strongly criticized the partnership because of “Christian Aid’s biased attitude towards Israel.” But Rabbi Danny Rich, chief executive of Liberal Judaism, defended both the affiliation with Christian Aid on the “worthy cause” of climate change, as well as the NGO’s position on the Middle East: “there is little to argue with about Christian Aid’s views concerning the conflict in the Middle East.”
As NGO Monitor has documented, Christian Aid has been participated actively in political attacks against Israel, including allegations of human rights “violations,” and CA partners include some of the most radical NGOs in Israel.