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Of course, where else would ‘good’ Pastor Winkett of St.James’ church Piccadilly go to have an article published?
Somewhat of a rhetorical question I know. The good old Guardian is the only place given its blatant anti-Israel stance. I doubt any other publication would be quite as biased.
Read here.
“Bethlehem Unwrapped is about ‘beautiful resistance’, not taking sides”
Our church’s festival and the replica of Israel’s barrier uses art and poetry to tell the story of all those suffering in the Holy Land.
She says:
” St James’s Church council knew it was a serious decision to host Justin Butcher’s art installation illustrating contemporary life in Bethlehem, as part of the Bethlehem Unwrapped festival, but we took it carefully, understanding that it would provoke a wide variety of reactions.
The festival, about the town of Bethlehem at Christmas, is in response to a specific request from the united churches of the Holy Land for support by letting others know their story. We are supporting a peaceful Palestinian principle known as “beautiful resistance”; expressed in theatres, music projects and festivals that exist to counter military dominance with a commitment to non-violent artistic expression.”
How noble of her! – with sarcasm. I wonder if she truly understands why the ‘separation barrier’ is there.?
I wonder if she is aware of the number of lives it has saved.?
To choose to highlight a small section of a barrier designed to keep murderers out.
The barrier’s total length is approximately 700 kilometres (430 mi) long, 96% is chain mail fencing. Some 4% is concrete. Security for Israel citizens necessitates the concrete sections to prevent sniper fire. That makes only 28 kilometres of concrete in all, yet the good Pastor chose to highlight that and not the fact lives are saved daily due to its existence.
The wall section protects all Israelis, be they Jewish, Christian or Muslim.
Does she know that?
Does she care?
As a ‘woman of G-d’ she should.
She goes on to say:
“When we have been challenged about “taking sides” and “politicising the church” – which is a fair discussion to have – we are clear that we are not “pro” one side or another but we are instead campaigning for equal human rights for all people regardless of ethnicity or background.”
She sure has a funny way of looking at things if she think she is not “taking sides” or “politicising the church” That is exactly what she is doing.
On their web site the St. James church says:
“This wall is symbolic of walls all over the world that divide and confine peoples, restricting free movement and dominating the imagination of those who live behind them. “
Maybe the Church should realise that this is what it does to Israeli citizens. How terrible to have to build a barrier around your country for protection so you can live in peace and feel secure.
The good Pastor needs to be educated in what the separation does.
The 123 Israeli Children Killed by Palestinian Terrorists
In October 2000, Palestinian Arabs in Israel started a new war of terror against the Israeli nation. Terror attacks against Israeli civilians occurred in every possible place in Israel.
In coffee shops, buses, in the streets, everywhere.
Among the thousands of Israelis murdered, there were hundreds of children, many clearly deliberately targeting them.
Is this what Pastor Winkett wants a repeat performance of?
As a final note the Church website says:
We join with people of all faiths in praying for the day when the Wall will come down.
Hallelujah brother!! So do we all.
What a shame such a beautiful old Church, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, can have such an ugly heart.
On another note. Tomorrow Saturday January 3rd. Sussex Friends of Israel and others will be at St. James’ Church handing out leaflets and more.
Anyone in London who wants to help please check this out on their Facebook page.
They are also asking for people to print and take this flyer with them to hand out.
I would love to hear from anyone who attends.
jewsdownunder@gmail.com
I’m (almost) speechless. Winkett’s categorises terrorists’ butchering of innocent men, women and children as a “peaceful Palestinian principle known as “beautiful resistance”. The is nothing peaceful about the Palestinian resistance, as the many examples Shirlee has given are testament to.
This woman has serious mental problems if she honestly believes there is something beautiful and noble about genocide. Would she categorise Hitler’s extermination of Jews as “beautiful resistence”? It is to the eternal shame of the church authorities that they allow someone with this mindset to remain in the Church of England.
Shirlee, I’m constantly horrified that people can view pictures of dead Jewish babies and children, and yet be so unmoved that they continue to support the Palestinian propaganda agenda. It was like this in the Nazi era, when Jews were so successful dehumanised that ordinary people did not see Jews as people, and so dead Jews were to them the same as dead cockroaches – a pest to be eliminated.
To think that history is repeating itself within human memory is hard to comprehend.
When you read her article in the Guardian, she sounds as if she hasn’t a care in the world and sounds very naive to me.
This makes sense, posted on my FB wall.
http://hurryupharry.org/2014/01/03/st-james-church-praises-beautiful-resistance-2/
This is interesting from the Henry Jackson Society. I don’t have a URL as it was in a forwarded newsletter.
IN FOCUS
By Douglas Murray
On Thursday morning this week I went down to St James’s church in Piccadilly. This is the church which over the Christmas and New Year period has hosted a festival called ‘Bethlehem Unwrapped.’ The festival’s most prominent feature is the erection of a replica of Israel’s security fence. This runs along the front of the church and is meant to highlight the ‘cut-off’ nature of the birthplace of Jesus. To say that the festival’s presentation of this situation is ‘one-sided’ would make it sound more nuanced than it actually is.
In talking with volunteers and organisers at the ‘wall’ I had some advantage. Not least that two summers ago Alan Mendoza and I had the opportunity to spend time with Christian Palestinians in the West Bank. We heard their stories and listened to their complaints. Certainly many of the first complaints we heard were about Israeli policies. But what was most striking was what happened when we pressed down further on this. Why, really – between us – is Christianity dying out in the town of its birth?
Sure the addition of a barrier through which people have to pass hinders the most complete free-flow of peoples between the West Bank and Jerusalem. But this is not the reason why Christians are disappearing from Bethlehem. And when we pressed on this the answer was always the same. The Christians are not leaving Bethlehem because of the Israelis – they are leaving in vast numbers because of the intimidation they are under at the hands of the increasingly sectarian Islamists who run the West Bank. If Palestinian Christians do not shout about this too loudly it is because they cannot – because they don’t always know who they are talking to and because they rightly fear for their lives.
Speaking to their free-speaking and allegedly ‘free-thinking’ co-religionists in Piccadilly I asked why there seemed to be no mention of this fact in their festival display? One answer was that it seemed that none of them knew about it. ‘We want visitors to draw their own conclusions’ one said repeatedly. With as much politeness as possible I pointed out that they were doing no such thing. They were telling people what to think. And that they were doing so from a position which was not just ignorant, and not just un-Christian but actively and probably anti-Christian.
I wonder if Winkett has ever heard the expression: “First the Saturday People, then the Sunday People”? Would she find it so beautiful, if (G-d forbid), after they’ve exterminated the Jews, theycome for the Sunday people – herself and her family. Will she embrace this ‘peaceful resistance’ or will she finally realise what a deluded idiot she’s been just as they’re slicing her head off?
Pastor Winkett seems to have a short memory, in May of 2002 a group of Palestinian terrorists took over the most holy place to the Christians in Bethlehem, the Church of the Nativity. They occupied it for some weeks, so nobody could enter. They desecrated this holy place, they only agreed to leave after IDF made arrangements to disarm them and deport them to EU countries. The Church of the Nativity was in a terrible state and booby-trapped, to prevent visitors.
And she still refers to Bethlehem as “wrapped” when anybody can now go freely to pray in it, and pilgrims are protected on their visit, by Israelis.
It looks like these church goers in London would like to hide behind a pastor who is racist and takes political view at the extreme.
This was posted on my FB wall this morning and it makes sense. You can see why the Pastor thinks the way she does if you’ve read her entire article
http://hurryupharry.org/2014/01/03/st-james-church-praises-beautiful-resistance-2/