Jerusalem, Israel, August 11, 2006 …The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said the anti-Israel statements made by Bishop Riah Abu El Asal are "despicable and defamatory" and urged Anglican officials to remove them from the website of the Anglican Communion.

Bishop Riah, the longtime Anglican leader in Jerusalem, called Israel "a predator that not only has robbed us of all but a small piece of our historic homeland, but threatens the traditions and holy sites of Christianity."  He also accused Israel of "a strategy of ethnic cleansing" over "four and five generations."

ADL's Israel Office issued the following statement:

Bishop Abu El Asal's false charges against Israel are despicable and defamatory and reveal him as an extremist who continues to undermine the relationship between Israel and its Christian population, as well as the Anglican-Jewish dialogue. Making matters worse, these hateful allegations have been posted on the Anglican Communion's website. ADL strongly urges that Bishop Riah's inflammatory missives be removed from the official website and that the head of Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams urge church representatives to refrain from such hateful rhetoric.