CHURCH’S ISRAEL EXHIBIT ROW
Ex-Archbishop says Methodists demonising measures against terrorism
A METHODIST church has agreed to include information on Israeli security concerns in an exhibition it is mounting after complaints of pro-Palestinian bias.
But visitors to the display have labelled the additional material “Zionist propaganda”.
The exhibition, entitled “You cannot pass — Life through a dividing wall”, was set up by Hinde Street Methodist Church to examine Israeli treatment of Palestinians. Its focal point is a life-sized replica of the separation barrier between Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
The display initially drew criticism from the Board of Deputies and the Zionist Federation, who said it looked “one-sided”.
Paul Charney, chairman of the ZF, said there was a danger of reducing the Middle East conflict “to a tale of ever villainous Israelis and perpetually victimised Palestinians”.
Lord Carey, a former Archbishop of Canterbury, said he was saddened to see a church “demonising Israel’s defensive actions against terrorism”.
In response, the church agreed to add a panel, supplied by the ZF, explaining Israel’s need for security checks.
But, as the exhibition opened on Monday, visitors condemned the attempt to provide balance.
One woman, who did not wished to be named, said she was “outraged” by the ZF’s contribution.
“It’s just propaganda,” she said. “The Israelis control the media because they have the power.”
She explained that she did not want to be identified because she was planning a visit to Gaza and did not want to be barred by the Israeli authorities.
The woman praised the rest of the exhibition — which as well as the checkpoint features “eyewitness accounts” of abuse of Palestinian human rights — for giving “an accurate impression of exactly how it is over there.
“I hope people come and see this and realise what life is like for the Palestinians.”
Another visitor, one of 20 people who viewed the display on Monday, said it was “first-class and 100 per cent accurate”.
He added: “It is widely important that one is continually aware of Israeli propaganda and of Israel’s continued contravention of human rights.”
Bernard Boroboe, from Switzerland, said it was an “excellent exhibition.
“This gives people a small idea of what things are like. But the Zionist information isn’t marked out clearly enough — people will take it as fact.”
The exhibition, put on as part of World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel, was organised by a member of the congregation who had recently visited the West Bank. Katherine Fox said she had been “monitoring human rights” in Bethlehem, adding that Londoners were “shocked” when she described “what I witnessed daily at the checkpoint between Jerusalem and Bethlehem”.
A spokesperson for the Methodist Church said it had been “deeply regrettable” that a letter sent to a local synagogue while the exhibition was still in production had not been received, as it would have allowed “earlier conversation and dialogue, which was the church’s intention”.
He confirmed that changes had been made in partnership with the Board and the ZF, explaining: “The display seeks to explore aspects of human rights and dignity. It has been put together on the basis of principled impartiality, putting concern for human rights above support of any particular group by referring to international law.
“There is no criticism or judgment of the Jewish community or faith.”
There is no criticism or judgment of the Jewish community’