Dear Friends and Colleagues,

The 4 September 2014 PINontheGo featured 'Talking Across Faith Lines: Do We Really Hear One Another and Who Sets the Standards for the Conversation?' It featured David Good's reflection on being accused of being anti-Jewish or anti-Semitic and raised up Bruce Shipman's letter to the editor of the NYT responding to an op-ed on the rising tide of anti-Semitism in Europe. There was a strong negative response to that letter which culminated in Shipman resigning his position at Yale. The Episcopal Peace Fellowship's Palestine Israel Network steering committee speaks to this below:

The Episcopal Peace Fellowship's Palestine Israel Network steering committee deeply deplores the institutional pressure exerted on the Reverend Bruce Shipman, Episcopal chaplain to Yale University, which has culminated in his resignation. The pressure to resign his post followed Fr. Shipman's question, in a brief letter to the New York Times, whether certain actions by the State of Israel might partly cause anti-Semitic responses in Europe. In no way did he blame Jews for anti-Semitism, as some have claimed. As a result of this simple act of free speech,  Fr. Shipman is no longer the Episcopal Chaplain at Yale. The whole episode is a disgrace to the cause of academic freedom of thought.

While Bishop Ian Douglas states in the Yale Daily News "It's not as glamorous a story to hear that Priest-in-Charge Bruce Shipman resigned because of institutional dynamics within the Episcopal Church at Yale and not the debates related to Israel and Palestine - but it's the truth," the strong perception amongst many who work on issues around Palestine/Israel is that the letter did indeed play into Shipman's resignation. We believe that the Bishop, in his role as chair of the board of the Episcopal Church at Yale, and as head of the Diocese of Connecticut, had every opportunity to affirm publicly that Father Shipman had done nothing wrong. If Father Shipman was to be dismissed for other reasons, Bishop Douglas could surely have delayed the action so that the public would not draw the conclusion that the dismissal was related to the letter. This week, Fr. Shipman's account of the events surrounding his resignation has appeared in the Yale Alumni Magazine: "At a meeting of the Board of Governors of the Episcopal Church at Yale that took place on Tuesday, Sept. 2, the Executive Committee asked me to resign.  They alluded to pressure from a number of people on campus, including the university chaplain, Sharon Kugler.  Without their support, I could not imagine functioning effectively as chaplain, and the following morning I tendered my resignation."

The EPF PIN leadership stands behind Father Shipman and his long standing support for justice for all people.  We express alarm at the vitriol present on many campuses across the US whenever someone or some group raises questions about Israel's draconian policies of occupation or advocates for the rights of the Palestinian people.  Debate on the Palestine Israel conflict is already present on our nation's campuses, and the Episcopal Church's long witness to see an end to the occupation should be part of the discussion and advocacy and we hope that Episcopalians, clergy and lay, on campuses will give voice to the Church's witness as the debate intensifies.

For more details check the article in the Yale Alumni Magazine and the 4 September EPF PIN blog.