Green party Zionism motion condemned by Jewish groups
Green Party members have voted to define Zionism as a form of racism, adopting the policy by 1,022 votes to 813 at the party’s conference in Brighton. The motion describes Zionism as an “ethnonationalist” project and backs a single democratic Palestinian state across historic Palestine. Party leader Zack Polanski, who is Jewish, did not vote. Two amendments he supported, including one protecting Jewish members from being disciplined over links to Zionist institutions, were rejected.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews and Jewish Leadership Council issued a joint statement describing the motion as an “attack on the Jewish community”. They said that Zionism is anti-racism, creating a refuge for Jews in their ancient homeland. and warned that branding most British Jews and Jewish institutions as racist, stokes anti-Jewish hatred. The Movement for Progressive Judaism has condemned the motion as “antisemitic in its formulation and intention. The Israeli embassy in the UK issued a statement saying the Green party has become “a body that gives legitimacy to terrorism”. Israel has banned the Green’s leader, Zack Polanski, from entering the country. All Green MPs released a statement saying they would ensure the Green party is anti-racist in every way.
‘Nine O’Clock Service’ vicar Chris Brain, guilty of rape and indecent assault
Chris Brain, a former Church of England vicar who ran the “Nine O’Clock Service”, a nightclub style of worship at a church in Sheffield in the 1980s and 1990s, has been found guilty of raping a woman and indecently assaulting three other women who were members of his congregation. He had already been found guilty of 17 indecent assaults against nine women in a trial last year, but the jury failed to agree on several cases which came back for a re-trial. In total, Brain has now been convicted of a total of 22 sexual offences against 13 women. The court heard that Brain surrounded himself with a “homebase team” of young women, dubbed the “Lycra Lovelies” or “Lycra Nuns”, who worked unpaid shifts caring for him and his family and were expected to meet his demands. Brain, aged 69, is in custody awaiting sentence. The Bishop of Sheffield, Pete Wilcox, repeated his unreserved apology on behalf of the church and said an independent Safeguarding Practice Review would now start.
Bishop of Salisbury suspended
The Church of England has issued a statement saying the Bishop of Salisbury, Stephen Lake, has been suspended: “The two complaints brought against the Bishop of Salisbury, Stephen Lake, under the Clergy Discipline Measure, will now proceed to the next stage and Bishop Stephen has been asked to respond to the allegations. He has been suspended from ministry by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Suspension is a neutral act while the allegations are progressed under the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003. The complaints were brought following allegations of financial misconduct and concerns raised with the National Safeguarding Team relating to his conduct.”
Cable Street march remembers Jewish anti-fascist resistance
Ninety years ago, thousands of London’s East End residents blocked a march by fascist leader Oswald Mosley in Cable Street, the heart of a vibrant Jewish community, and yesterday thousands of protesters marked the anniversary with a march and calls to “stop the far right”. Back then, Irish dockers, trade unionists and other local people including Somali and Yemeni dockland workers, took part in the protest. Yesterday trade unions and members of other campaigns and faiths expressed their support, including the East London Mosque which held a meeting with the message that “Islamophobia, antisemitism, racism, hatred of migrants are one fight”. On the march, banners were held saying “Stop Islamophobia, Stop the far right”, and another saying “Jewish bloc for Palestine”. There were chants “Zionists are not welcome here” and “Zionism is fascism” and there was a brief confrontation with two counter-protesters carrying Campaign Against Antisemitism flags.
Shabana Mahmood on how faith shapes her life
Hyphen reports a fringe event at the Labour conference when the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said her faith gives her a sense of accountability as an MP. In an interview at an event hosted by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, she said she was guided by the Islamic principle that life is both a gift and a test: “God has gifted you life. He has gifted you a set of circumstances that you’re born into. Your parents, family, maybe wealth, maybe not so, education, skill, whatever it might be, that is your gift. And through the course of your life, you are tested as to how you use things that God has given you, and whether you use them for good.” Article is here
Faith on the pitch – the growing visibility of Christianity in football
Molly McElwee, a sports writer for The Times, reports on the now common phenomenon of top football players praying, pointing heavenwards or making signs of the cross quite openly before during and after matches. Her comprehensive report on the players, their clubs and their faith includes an interview with the Brentford club chaplain, Rev Sarah Guinness, who says it’s a sign of the diversity across English football., with players from countries where talking about faith is more culturally normal. Former Crystal Palace and Spurs player John Bostock, 34, started an online prayer group which has grown into “Ballers in God”, holding daily morning prayer groups, organising retreats for footballers and their families, and selling merchandise such as shin pads. Article here
Hegseth creates chaplaincy focused on ‘spiritual battle’
The US War Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced an “Office of Religious Affairs” at the Pentagon, which he said would elevate “spiritual health at the same level as physical health.” Addressing troops and officials at a base in Virginia, he said: “Our department is .. putting on the full armour of God, because while we wage physical war, we all know the real battle is spiritual”. He said 95 per cent of the military are religious and the department had a sacred duty to provide “first class religious support wherever we send our warriors”. Faith community provided a moral foundation “the very bedrock of their warrior ethos”. Chaplains had been sidelined with paperwork and bureaucracy, but from now on, chaplains would report to him and secretaries of war after him and they would have an advocate at the highest levels. Full text here. Pete Hegseth is a member of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, a theologically conservative church network whose founder identifies as a Christian nationalist. He holds regular Christian worship services at the Pentagon.
Bishop of Washington Mariann Budde announces her retirement
The Episcopalian Bishop of Washington, Mariann Budde, who came to international fame in 2024 when she asked Donald Trump to show mercy to “the people in our country who are scared now”, has announced her retirement. She will be in place until her successor is elected – a process which will take 18 months. The Bishop, who is 66, said in a letter to the diocese that after 15 years, she had come to the decision, “not lightly or alone” and it would not be easy to say goodbye.
United Reform church in Powys closes after congregation dwindles to one
The Telegraph tells the story of the Tabernacle Chapel United Reform Church in Rhayader, Powys, which has closed after 305 years because its congregation declined to just one. The church began in 1721 with a meeting in a farmhouse, and its current chapel building dates from 1836. In its heyday in the 1830s, it had a congregation of 400, but now there is just 86-year-old Mike Bennett, who has worshipped there since childhood. He’s quoted saying: “I have been coming here since I was five years old, so I have found this, the closure, difficult. I cut the grass, I’m the general secretary, pulpit supply secretary, organist and, since Dawn Jones died suddenly in July, I took on her role of treasurer too. So, that’s another job that’s come on me. I just feel I can’t carry on”.
Church labyrinth mystery baffles experts
The Churches Conservation Trust has uncovered a labyrinth underneath the altar table in the chancel of St Mary’s Church in Itchen Stoke, Hampshire. It is a sixteen foot wide circle, with 1,500 green and brown tiles creating a series of circular pathways and is believed to be the only historic walkable church labyrinth in the country. The church was built in 1867 but has not been used for worship since 1971 and is now cared for by the Trust. The Telegraph quotes Victoria Green, a local community officer with the Churches Conservation Trust, saying that “sunlight passing through the stained-glass windows sometimes creates an arrow pointing towards its centre, raising speculation that it could have a symbolic or calendrical purpose”. Telegraph story is here.
