Board of Deputies: government must not reward Hamas
The Board of Deputies of British Jews says it is seeking clarification that the UK government will not recognise a Palestine state while Hamas fails to meet UK demands, including accepting a ceasefire and releasing the hostages. In a statement issued last night, it said it had long supported a negotiated two state solution, but its “primary concern regarding the government’s announcement is to avoid empowering or rewarding Hamas, or giving it incentives to continue evading a ceasefire”. The statement followed a special meeting called to discuss the response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The statement said the community overwhelmingly rejects comments from some Israeli ministers over enforced displacement of Gazans and violence of West Bank settlers, which are “in complete contradiction of our values”. The Board will continue to call for “massive and sustained flow of aid into Gaza, the release of all remaining hostages, the removal of Hamas, and the need to work towards lasting peace and security for Israelis, Palestinians and the wide Middle East”. Its solidarity remains with Israeli people, most of whom, it says, want the war to end soon. And it adds that the war is taking its toll on the community “through the proliferation of hatred and prejudice and discrimination directed against Jews in this country”.
Strict Orthodox Rabbi: Israel must feed Gaza
Rabbi Herschel Gluck, Charedi rabbi in Stamford Hill, north London, and peace negotiator across Europe, has issued a call to action to end the suffering in Gaza and feed the people. In a Facebook post, he said: He said: “There is deep, deathly, human suffering in Gaza. What are We doing to stop the suffering and to ensure that sufficient food is available to feed the men, women and children?!” He said there is “terrible suffering of people for whom Israel has not only a moral but also a legal responsibility… All the convoluted apologetics, and hate speech, will not stop the terrible hunger being suffered by the men, women and children in Gaza… Sadly I know full well that the government of Israel does not care even for the hostages. They are using them as political pawns and as “cannon fodder”. But we Must care and find a way forward to ensure the end of the suffering, and to ensure that food is delivered to All those that are crying out to be actually fed!”
Millennial New York Jews protest over ‘moral failings’ in Gaza
Millennial New York Jews have formed “The Halalich Left”, examining Jewish texts and teaching in a form of rabbinic inquiry into what they describe as the moral crisis in Judaism today: the war in Gaza. The Religion News Service reports that 140 people gathered in a synagogue and 1000 more online. There were scholars, teachers, rabbis and activists who took part in theological arguments from the Torah, the Talmud and Jewish thinkers, reading out commentaries and their own research on what Jewish texts say about war, nationalism, Jewish settlements and protest. Sofia Freudenstein, a recently ordained 27-year-old rabbi, said: “We are asking with the halacha’s (Jewish law’s) voice how to protest the profound moral failings of our communities. These pieces examine not only how halacha maps onto our current reality, but how it demands that we change it.” RNS explains that the protest is striking, as modern Orthodox Jews, as a group, “tend to be strongly supportive of Israel and staunch Zionists”. Article here
‘Rock star’s welcome’ for Pope Leo from Catholic influencers
Half a million young people from 146 countries are taking over the Vatican for five days this week for the Jubilee of Youth, which included a “rock star’s welcome” for Pope Leo at the festival for Catholic social media influencers. Mobile phones were held high as they live streamed the moment they met him and he then posed for selfies. He took the opportunity to get his key message across on the threat to humanity posed by AI, warning them not to neglect human relationships in pursuit of clicks. He told them: “It is not simply a matter of generating content, but of creating an encounter between hearts”. He then surprised young people in St Peter’s Square, by looping round in his Popemobile and then telling them: “We want peace in the world”. The Jubilee events culminate in a vigil and mass on a large field on the outskirts of Rome this weekend, and here, according to NCR, commentators are said to be looking for him to deliver an energetic message of hope.
Hugh Nelson becomes the next Bishop of Worcester
Hugh Nelson, currently Bishop of St Germans in the diocese of Truro, has been appointed as the next Bishop of Worcester. He is also Bishop to the Armed Forces and will continue with this job in his new role. He said it would be a key part of his role to be bold, in traditional and new ways, “with the unity that Jesus prayed for.” Before ordination, he spent 13 years leading the community of L’Arche London, which serves people with learning disabilities. Ordained in 2008, he served his curacy and as a parish priest in east Kent villages. He inherits an ambitious programme – the Diocese of Worcester has plans to double the number of young Christians and to create 100 new worshipping communities. He is married to Lizzie, who is UK Director of Search for Common Ground, and they have four children in their teens and 20s. Diocese of Worcester announcement here
Excommunicated nuns challenge eviction from convent
The Times reports that the former Poor Clare sisters have appeared in a Spanish court to fight an attempt by the Catholic Church to evict them from the convent of Belorado. They were excommunicated a year ago for refusing to recognise the decrees of Vatican II, nor the validity of any Pope after Pius XII, who died in 1958. The nuns swear allegiance to Pablo de Rojas Sánchez-Franco, who was himself excommunicated for sharing their views on the Pope’s invalidity. They were accused of schism and the Archbishop of Burgosexcommunicated them and ordered them to leave the convent, but they are still there. They offered to buy the convent and run it themselves, but the church refused. They have been occupying the convent since.
Jewish executive among victims of NY mass shooting
The Jewish Chronicle reports that one of the four people killed in the mass shooting in New York City was Wesley LePatner, 43, a prominent Jewish figure and mother of two. She had an executive role at Blackstone, the global investment firm, and was shot dead while trying to hide behind a pillar. Married with two children, she is reported to have been a well-known figure in Manhattan’s Jewish community, involved with the Altneu synagogue and a board member of UJA (United Jewish Appeal)-Federation of New York and The Heschel Jewish School. Blackstone said she was “brilliant, passionate, warm, generous, and deeply respected within our firm and beyond”. The others killed were a police officer, security guard and office associate. The gunman died from a self-inflicted gunshot.
Edinburgh university urged to keep IHRA definition of antisemitism
The University of Edinburgh has been urged to protect the IHRA definition of antisemitism, after it announced it was reviewing its support for it. The Guardian reports that the university began reviewing its investments in Israel and its stance on the definition before a review into transatlantic slavery and empire called on the university to divest from companies allegedly complicit in Israel’s military action in Gaza and the West Bank, and to unadopt the IHRA definition. Louis Danker, the president of the Union of Jewish Students, and a recent university of Edinburgh graduate said the university must ensure that the IHRA definition is protected, and that antisemitism is treated with the same severity as all forms of discrimination. The definition is: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities”, and comes with 11 illustrative examples which critics say risk conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism, potentially preventing free speech and academic debate, especially around topics like Zionism, occupation, or Palestinian rights. Guardian story here
Reflections of a vicar on an unceremonious ‘episcopal gaffe’
Ravi Holy, the vicar of Wye in Kent, and a standup comedian, has offered his take on the “unceremonious” intervention of the Bishop of Fulham at a concert in his church, when he stopped the music in mid flow calling it a “terrible racket”. He says: “It really was unceremonious in that he was barefoot and in his dressing gown. Perhaps the audience would have taken him more seriously if he’d been wearing his cope and mitre rather than heckling him as they did.” Through confessions of his own Victor Meldrew grumpiness, and advice on how to deal with brides on their wedding day or yoga in the church hall, he reflects that “part of the deal of being an official representative of God is that you have to be nicer than nice all the time”, and that would exclude an “excruciating episcopal gaffe”. Guardian comment here
Ahmadiyya Muslims draw 46,000 to Jalsa Salana festival in Hampshire
Article now published on our website about the Ahmadiyya Muslim community’s annual festival, the Jalsa Salana UK in fields near Alton, Hampshire, this weekend. An estimated 46,000 people were there, including 10,000 volunteers, visiting dignitaries and members from 110 countries all over the world. The festival is designed to build community relations and strengthen knowledge and practice of the faith, and it took place on a massive site with large marquees, tents with 13 exhibitions, space for communal eating, areas for camping in tents and large parking sites.
