Norwegian church hosts exhibition saying Palestinians are ‘crucified daily’
'The ‘Church Week’ has been problematic with its one sidedness and demonisation of one party and this year’s event is sinking even lower', the head of Oslo's Jewish community said
Several church groups in Norway are organising a photo exhibition from the West Bank, to be displayed in a cathedral, whose text states that Palestinians undergo “daily crucifixions.”
The exhibition, which has prompted protest by the country’s Jewish community and a pro-Israel group, is part of Church Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel, an annual event that takes place in various locales in Norway and in the past has featured calls to boycott Israel.
“The ‘Church Week’ has been problematic with its one sidedness and demonisation of one party,” Ervin Kohn, the head of the Jewish Community in Oslo, wrote on Facebook Thursday. “This year’s event is sinking even lower,” he added.
The description of the exhibition is the “most problematic” because it evokes a centuries-old form of Christian antisemitism that blames Jews for the death of Jesus, he added.
The West Bank has divine “protection,” the exhibition text states. “Not least, this becomes clear when we look at the people. Those who live with daily ‘crucifixions’, but who still stay,” reads the organisers’ text on the exhibition, which began on Sept. 9 and will end Sunday.
The 2015 Church Week featured a prayer for the fall of Israel’s security barrier, which the priest who led the prayer called “a wall used for murder.”
MIFF, a pro-Israel group in Norway, wrote in a statement Wednesday that in the description of the exhibition, which is at the cathedral of Bergen, a city located about 150 miles west of Oslo, “The Palestinians are Jesus. The Jews are the horrible criminals who not only crucified Jesus, but who crucify him again. Daily.”
Two of the groups that organise the event, the Interchurch Council of the Church of Norway and Norwegian Church Aid, have not responded to a request by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency for comment.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
