British Jews’ anger over Gaza
The Board of Deputies will host an emergency meeting this evening in response to “the scenes of human suffering and desperation in Gaza”. The Jewish Chronicle reports a message sent to all deputies from the Board’s president Phil Rosenberg which says that with the “scenes of human suffering and desperation in Gaza” and hopes dented for a ceasefire, the deputies’ insight is needed to “advise and guide” the Board’s activity over the coming weeks and months. The JC reports that dozens of deputies wrote to Phil Rosenberg after receiving the message, calling on the Board “to appeal to the Israeli government to end this suffering. Nothing could be more damaging to the British Jewish community than staying silent in this moment”.
‘Incompatible with core values‘ – On the same day that the Board announced the special meeting, its former president Marie van der Zyl, wrote in Jewish News that “Hunger and human suffering, on this scale, are incompatible with the core values of our faith” and “We must now lend our voices to calls for increased humanitarian access and urgent action to alleviate the conditions affecting civilians in Gaza”.
The catastrophe in Gaza is ‘not in our name‘ – The co-leaders of Progressive Judaism published an open letter last Friday saying the “deepening humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza is “not in our name, and not in line with the Judaism we teach, live and pass on”. While continuing to appeal for the safe return of the hostages, Rabbi Charley Baginsky and Rabbi Josh Levy said: “For us, our Zionism is rooted in love, in justice, and in an unshakable belief in the moral voice of our tradition. It is bound to the dream of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, living in peace with its neighbours and treating all its inhabitants with dignity and equality. The possibility of annexation without negotiation, and the reality of a war that allows children to starve, make it nearly impossible to hold on to that dream. This is not just a political moment, it is a moral and religious one. One that threatens to sever us from the values that brought many of us to Zionism in the first place: compassion, justice, equality and peace. These values are not naïve aspirations. They are the bedrock of our commitment to Israel, and we will not surrender them.” Open letter is here
Also last Friday, the religious leader of the Massorti movement, Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, signed a letter condemning the use of “starvation as a weapon of war” in Gaza.
Bring pressure on Hamas ‘to end this intolerable pain’ – Yesterday, the Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said those who wish to see an end to “this intolerable pain” in Gaza must bring pressure on Hamas to enable the free distribution of aid. In a Tweet / X post he said: “Seeing images from Gaza over recent days, of fellow human beings enduring terrible suffering, we cannot but be moved and feel the need to respond to their pain. While Hamas’ persistent disinformation and cynical use of civilians make it difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood, it is abundantly clear that the children of Gaza deserve responsible leadership and a much better future. If Hamas had shown even the slightest concern for human life and dignity, agreed to internationally brokered hostage deals, or cared for the basic wellbeing of the Gazan population, this war would have been over long ago. Indeed, they would never have started it”. He called for the immediate release of the hostages, the free distribution of aid and donations to World Jewish Relief whch is delivering humanitarian aid in Gaza. Full statement here
Jewish comedian cancelled by a second venue at the Edinburgh Fringe
Jewish News is reporting that a second Edinburgh Fringe venue has dropped a Jewish comedian, telling him that his views were in conflict with the venue. Philip Simon said he had “never expressed support for anything other than freeing the hostages and finding a way for peace.” Philip Simon and his comedy partner Rachel Creeger were first told that on 18 July that the venue “Whistle Binkies” had withdrawn their bookings for the Fringe. Now his solo long-running show “Shall I Compere Thee in a Funny Way?” has been dropped by the city’s Banshee Labyrinth venue. He shared the news on Twitter / X and said he was “still processing the concept that in 2025 I can be cancelled just for being Jewish.
MP urges government to lift cap on church repair grants
Dame Caroline Dinenage, the chair of the Commons culture, media and sport committee, has written to the government appealing for the cap on grants for listed building repairs to be lifted. Until March 2024, the scheme allowed churches and other listed places of worship to claim VAT on repairs and maintenance work. But now there is a cap of £25,000 for claims in a scheme which ends in March 2026. Dame Caroline says the Church of England estimates that more than 200 of the 260 cathedrals and churches beginning or undertaking projects have been impacted by this cap, and that 40 of these are projects of £2 million or more. Even standard maintenance works, such as roofing projects, could breach this cap. The letter, to government minister Baroness Twyman, says the short term cap creates uncertainty for community groups who face having to raise larger sums of money and there is evidence maintenance is not taking place because of this anxiety. The letter asks for the government to review its policy and protect the country’s historic buildings.
Vatican announces ‘extraordinary’ profit from investment funds
The Vatican office that manages investments and property has reported a profit of €62 million in 2024, up €16 million from 2023. The Vatican describes the results as extraordinary and one of the best budgets in years. The figures are published in the annual report of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, which said it had directed €46 million of the profit to fund the Holy See’s operating costs. Some €10.5 million profit came from good returns on investments, while its profit from property, equalled 2023 results. The Vatican faces critical financial pressures. It has been running a €50 million to €60 million structural deficit for years and is facing a €1 billion pension fund shortfall. Associated Press report here.
At least 43 killed in rebel attack on church in eastern Congo
At least 43 people were killed in eastern Congo’s Ituri province on Sunday when Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels opened fire on a congregation during an overnight vigil at a Catholic church in Komanda town. The Associated Press reports that at least 38 people were confirmed dead in the church while another five were killed in a nearby village. The victims included 19 men, 15 women and nine children. The ADF, an Islamist group linked to Islamic State, has its origin in Uganda and aims to establish an Islamic caliphate there. It now operates in the Congo-Uganda borderlands and exploits instability there. It has been targeted by the Congolese and Ugandan armies, but their action seems only to have dispersed the ADF. The church attack Sunday was the latest in a series of deadly ADF assaults on civilians. Hours earlier in the nearby village of Machongani, five people were killed and houses razed, and earlier this month, the group killed 66 people in Ituri province.
Abbot of famous China Buddhist Temple investigated over money and sex
Shi Yongxin, the abbot of the Buddhist Shaolin Temple in China, is being investigated by multiple agencies for embezzlement, improper relationships with multiple women and fathering illegitimate children. The Buddhist Association of China issued a statement saying he has been stripped of his ordination certificate. It said: “Shi Yongxin’s actions are extremely bad, seriously damaging the reputation of the Buddhist community and the image of monks”. Shi Yongxin became abbot in 1999, and made the Temple a global brand, opening schools outside China and establishing a martial arts troupe which travelled the world. BBC report here
Guardian podcast considers how the Dalai Lama’s successor will be appointed
The Dalai Lama has just celebrated his 90th birthday and the Guardian has published a podcast with Tibet activist, Lhadon Tethong, and its south Asia correspondent, Hannah Ellis-Petersen, who consider the process to elect his successor. He has made clear that the Gaden Phodrang Trust, which he founded, will choose his successor and “no-one else has any authority to interfere in this matter”. He was selected aged two, by monks who used signs and symbols in the process. But times have changed. China invaded Tibet in the 1950s and the Dalai Lama moved in exile to northern India, and now China wants to select the successor. The podcast considers how this dispute may develop and the possibility that there may be two Dalai Lamas in his place. The podcast is here
Church politics and why people fall out with each other – or don’t turn up
Catherine Pepinster writes in The Telegraph about vicious church politics, with fallings out over music, money, church bells and pews. The article derives from a poem written by Fr Pat Brennan, a Roman Catholic priest, as he left his church in Coventry after nine and a half years, in which he suggested that what makes people not come to church are the people in it. Those who are “righteous, the clique, the worthy who offer a disdainful look and complain when others sit in their seat and gossip”. Her article is here
The vicar who uncovered a severed head in his vestry wall
A programme on BBC Radio 4 tells the story of an unsuspecting vicar in Sudbury, the Rev Andrew Doarks, who found the severed head of the fourteenth century Archbishop of Canterbury, Simon of Sudbury, behind a perspex screen and a wooden flap in the wall of his vestry. He tells presenter Robin Markwell how it had to be hidden from the playgroup that met in the same room, and of the fascination from visitors to the church to see remains of the skull, and even remnants of cloth still attached. Simon of Sudbury was decapitated during the Peasant’s Revolt in 1381 and protesters played football with it at the Tower of London, a story referred to by Justin Welby in his final speech in the Lords. In the programme, the Rev Andrew Doarks visited Canterbury Cathedral, where the rest of Simon’s body is laid to rest, with a cannon ball in place of the head. He reflects that managing severed heads wasn’t part of his training at theological college. The programme is here
Congrats to the Lionesses
@CottrellStephen: The @Lionesses have done it! Congratulations to the team for a wonderful #WEURO2025 triumph in Basel, and all credit to Spain also…
@bishopSarahM Well done @Lionesses great game…
@ChurchesEngland Congratulations to the @Lionesses…
As a Christian, I am inspired by the Lionesses’ faith, hope and determination’, George Pitcher ..
@YasminQureshiMP This @Lionesses team continues to inspire young girls across the country with their talent and determination. We are all so proud
Church Times round up here
