THE Dean of Peterborough, the Very Revd Chris Dalliston (right), withdrew from speaking at a “March for a Free Palestine” rally in the town on Sunday, uneasy that he could be appearing to endorse the view that Israel had no right to exist.
In a press release, initially published on the Cathedral’s Facebook page on Saturday, the Dean said: “I’m sorry to should withdraw my agreement to talk on the rally on Sunday. I have the desire to make it clear that I proceed to imagine there isn’t any moral justification for the unrelenting violence and bloodshed that’s devastating the lives of so many innocent civilians, children, ladies and men in Gaza.
“I firmly imagine that there needs to be an instantaneous end to hostilities, the discharge of hostages, and that work should begin towards a diplomatic solution that allows all people, Israelis and Palestinians, Jews, Christians and Muslims to live in peace, dignity, safety. Along with many others, I think that only a two-state solution can ultimately guarantee a future during which all can hope to flourish.
“It is for that reason that I might not want to look to endorse the view that Israel has no right to exist, let alone share a platform with those that might think it possible to justify any type of violence or incite hatred.”
Thousands of individuals joined the peaceful rally in Cathedral Square. Patrick Brooks, a member of considered one of the organising groups, the Peterborough Palestine Solidarity Campaign, told the BBC that they were sorry the Dean had pulled out, and said: “The slaughter of residents of Gaza is our driving force.”
Speakers included Louise Regan, an executive member of the National Education Union (NEU), which at its annual conference in Bournemouth, in April, voted for a motion calling for solidarity with Palestine and decrying the Israeli government as racist.
The motion, which reaffirmed the union’s support for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Stop the War Coalition, drew fire from the Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, who said that it reflected the NEU’s “divisive ideology”. The NEU said that there was nothing within the motion that attacked Jewish people or the Jewish religion. It noted “the eruption of deadly violence between the Israeli state and Hamas in October 2023”, and efforts by the UK Government to “criminalise peaceful tactics of boycott, divestment and sanctions, and to stigmatise solidarity historians”.
Peterborough’s first Muslim Poet Laureate, Malika Speaks, was one other speaker, together with Hafiz Ubaid, from the Faizan E Madina mosque, and Rabbi Elhanan Beck, from the Neturei Karta group of Haredi Jews. The latter declared in a YouTube video, earlier this yr, that Israel was “essentially the most dangerous place for Jews to live. . . Zionism is essentially built up on mistrusting God. Judaism is built up on trusting in God. The state of Israel is a a insurrection against God. It won’t succeed. They will come to an end.”
The Dean concluded his Facebook message: “The prophet Micah writes: What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to like kindness and to walk humbly along with your God? These have to be the guiding principles for any future settlement. The cathedral community will proceed to hope for peace with justice for all.”
