German cleric accused of pro-Hamas writings appointed interim J’lem provost

A German church in Jerusalem has appointed a new provost who is virulently anti-Semitic and pro-Hamas to pastor the landmark facility in the heart of the Old City. 

Jens Peter Iven, a spokesman for the Church of the Redeemer, said the church will not dismiss Rainer Stuhlmann.

Stuhlmann wrote that the creation of the State of Israel was for the Palestinians a “reason for mourning” because Israel engaged in “expulsion, destruction, coercion and injustice.“

“In recent years, military superiority has led Israel to brutally enforce its interests against Palestine,” he wrote. “With an aggressive settlement policy, facts are created that narrow the scope of Palestine more and more.”

Uli Tückmantel, editor-in-chief of the Westdeutsche Zeitung, said Stuhlmann’s writing is, “one-sided finger-pointing against Israel in the propaganda style of Fatah and Hamas.”

But Stuhlmann told the Jerusalem Post his quotes were taken out of context.

“I have been a friend of Israel for decades. For decades I have been engaged in the fight against all forms of antisemitism, including anti-semitism related to Israel,” he responded. “[The] attacks against me are based on an article from which he quotes only two out of four sections [and] tears quotes out of context.”