Anti-"Israel" carols a "wake-up call", says Jewish campaign group

Source: IRNA, 04-12-2008

A Christmas church service featuring carols re- written to highlight "Israel's" atrocities against the Palestinians was held at a church in central London last week was a "wake-up call", according to a Jewish campaign group.

Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods (JBIG) said it was at this time of the year "when much of the Western world focuses on Bethlehem, without knowing that it is surrounded by an apartheid wall." "As some Christians fear accusations of anti-Semitism, it was important for Jews to be involved in the event," said Deborah Fink of JBIG.

The event, titled "Bethlehem Now: Nine Alternative Lessons and Carols", was held last week at St James's Anglican Church, organised jointly by JBIG and Open Bethlehem, a Christian campaign group.
Lyrics of carols included 'Once in Royal David's City' sung as:

"Once in Royal David's City,
Stood a big apartheid wall,
People entering and leaving,
Had to pass a checkpoint hall,
Bethlehem was strangulated,
And her children segregated."

The Twelve Days of Christmas was also rewritten as "Twelve assassinations".
In a letter to the Times Thursday, Fink castigated the paper for omitting to mention the Jewish campaign group as one of the main organisers when claiming that the Christmas service was anti-Semitic.

"Far from being anti-Semitic, the carols are a protest against "Israel's" inhumane occupation and ethnic cleansing of the
Palestinians," she said.
"Crying out for justice in this way is a very Jewish and Christian thing to do. "Israel's" behaviour, and ignoring what is going on, is not," her letter also said.

JBIG also revealed that the rewritten carols highlighting "Israel's" atrocities against the Palestinians had been sung outdoors for the last six years.
"We felt that it was time to sing them in an apt, affordable, acoustically good and aesthetically pleasing venue and by doing so, hoped to reach a wider audience," Fink said.

"Many churches agreed to hosting the carols but St James', which is also a well-known concert venue, was the most suitable," she told the paper.

The Times claimed that the service had been criticised by some members of Britain's Jewish and Christian communities, including the offices of both the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and his predecessor Lord Carey.