Antisemitic priest who blamed Israel for 9/11 may be expelled from church

Dr. Rev. Steven Sizer, who attended a Holocaust-denial conference in Tehran, insists he’s only critical of Israel, not antisemitic.

By World Israel News Staff

A prominent Church of England vicar who met with Hezbollah commanders and posted on social media that Israel was the true perpetrator behind the September 11 terror attacks is facing removal from the church for antisemitism.

The British Board of Deputies, the umbrella organization of UK Jewry, filed a complaint with the church outlining 11 instances of antisemitic behavior by Dr. Rev. Steven Sizer, mainly focused on his social media and writing.

Sizer was suspended from his position as Vicar of an Anglican parish in Surrey after posting two separate articles claiming that Israel was the mastermind behind the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The posts violated Sizer’s pledge to pause social media posts for six months after a previous complaint about earlier antisemitic posts.

His creation and reposting of antisemitic content fosters hatred against Jews, and is unbecoming for his role as public-facing church official, the Board of Deputies said.

But Sizer denies that he is bigoted against Jews, and claims that his posts are legitimate criticism of the state of Israel.

Although church tribunals are typically private, Sizer chose to make his public in order to “clear his name,” according to the Church Times.

The Board of Deputies was particularly concerned that Sizer met with Sheikh Nabil Kaouk, a “senior commander of Hezbollah forces” in Lebanon in 2006.

Nicholas Leviseur, the attorney representing the Board of Deputies at the tribunal, noted that Hezbollah does not distinguish between Israelis and Jews.

“Hezbollah is a parastatal organization with its own army which exists for the extermination of Israel and the Jews within it, but its use of language is what makes it so serious,” Leviseur said, according to UK media. “They never speak of Israel, it is always Jew, Jews and Jewry.”

Sizer’s lawyer claimed that he met with Hezbollah commandos in order to negotiate the release of Israeli soldiers held captive by the terror group — but did not provide any evidence or confirmation from authorities to support that claim.

In 2014, Sizer attended an anti-Israel, antisemitic conference in Tehran in which topics of discussion included “Zionist Fingerprints on the 9/11 Cover-up” and “9/11 and the Holocaust as pro-Zionist ‘Public myths.’”

In 2018, he wrote on Facebook that former Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was ousted for his cover-up of widespread antisemitsim within the party, was “a victim of the hidden hands of Zionists.”

The tribunal is currently ongoing, and a ruling is expected next week.

Board of Deputies of British JewsChurch of EnglandEuropean antisemitismHezbollahUK Jewish Community