The Church of England said the reverend's ideas were 'clearly anti-

Reverend Stephen Sizer (pictured) used his internet accounts to spread ideas which were 'clearly anti-Semitic', the Church of England said

A vicar who suggested Israel was responsible for the 9/11 attack on the twin towers has been banned from Twitter and other social media for six months, the Church of England said yesterday.

The Reverend Stephen Sizer used his internet accounts to spread ideas which were ‘clearly anti-Semitic’, it said.

But despite his ‘indefensible’ actions the cleric will be allowed to remain a priest and to keep his job as vicar of the wealthy parish of Christ Church in Virginia Water in Surrey.

The Church’s verdict on Mr Sizer follows a series of clashes between the vicar and Jewish leaders over his vehement campaigning against Israel, during which he attended a conference in Iran during which Israel was accused of plotting the 9/11 attack.

The controversy over the vicar came to a crisis last month when he posted an article on his Facebook page which attempted to connect wealthy Jews to the attacks. ‘Is this antisemitic?’ Mr Sizer commented under the link, adding ‘It raises so many questions.’

Yesterday Bishop of Guildford the Right Reverend Andrew Watson said that the vicar’s campaigning on the Middle East was ‘no longer compatible with his ministry as a parish priest.’

The bishop declared: ‘I do not believe that his motives are anti-Semitic; but I have concluded that, at the very least, he has demonstrated appallingly poor judgment in the material he has chosen to disseminate, particularly via social media, some of which is clearly anti-Semitic.

‘By associating with or promoting subject matter, which is either ambiguous in its motivation, or, worse still, openly racist, he has crossed a serious line. I regard these actions as indefensible.’

Bishop Watson said he welcomed the fact that Mr Sizer apologised amid the controversy that followed his latest Facebook intervention in the debate over terrorism together with ‘his recognition of the deep hurt caused by his actions, his acknowledgement of the gross insensitivity of their timing just prior to Holocaust Memorial Day, and his retraction of the ridiculous suggestion that Israel may have been complicit in the events of 9/11.’

The bishop set a series of conditions for Mr Sizer keeping his job.

They include a promise from the vicar to stop using social media entirely for six months, to stop writing and speaking about the Middle East and its history, and to stay away from conferences that promote an anti-Zionist agenda. He has also undertaken to stop writing or preaching anything on the subject, to avoid posting links to articles on the subject, and to prevent anyone else from speaking on his behalf on the matter.

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Mr Sizer will resign from his job at Christ Church immediately if he breaks his pledges ‘in letter or in spirit’, the bishop added.

Bishop Watson said that Mr Sizer will ‘redirect his energies into his work as a parish priest.’

The bishop added: ‘I am hugely sorry for the hurt which has been caused to members of the Jewish Community, and I hope and pray that the storms of the past two weeks will ultimately serve to deepen and strengthen our relationship, one with another. This is a time when I would urge all Christian people to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish brothers and sisters in countering the alarming rise of anti-Semitic incidents being reported.’

The Board of Deputies, the representative body for British Jews, said: ‘We are grateful that the Church shared our deep concern that Mr Sizer had indeed crossed a line in the offensive materials he was posting and linking to online.

‘We hope that Mr Sizer’s unbecoming and inappropriate conduct has now been brought to a close.’