Justin Welby writes: ‘The habits of antisemitism have been burrowing into European and British culture for as long as we can remember. In England’s late mediaeval period, Jewish communities faced constant persecution: Shylock, the villain of the Merchant of Venice, was a cliché of his time. By the time Cromwell reopened England to Jewish settlement in the 1650s, antisemitism had mutated within common parlance and culture. It is a shameful truth that through its theological teachings the Church, which should have offered an antidote, compounded the spread of this virus. The fact that antisemitism has infected the body of the Church is something of which we Christians must repent. We live with the consequences of our history of denial and complicity. The challenge for us is to face the uncomfortable truths of our history, and for faith groups to take a lead in being transparent and honest in exposing the hidden recesses of prejudice.’