Bethlehem Now - Alternative lessons & songs of Protest for Palestine

7.30pm, Tuesday 8th December 2009.

The Actors’ Church, St. Paul’s, Covent Garden

London, WC2E 9ED

FAITHS UNITE AT ACTORS’ CHURCH TO MARK PALESTINE’S PLIGHT

On December 8, Jews, Christians and Muslims will join forces to highlight the tragedy of modern day Palestine with an evening of poetry, prose, song and theatre at a popular central London church

Organised by Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods(J-BIG), Bethlehem Now: Alternative lessons and songs of protest for Palestine, will take place at The Actors’ Church, St. Paul’s, Covent Garden, with the support of organisations including the interfaith Amos Trust, the Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU), International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network and the charity War on Want.

It is inspired by what one of the Palestinian contributors, Omar Barghouti, calls “our humanity, our dreams, our hopes and our will to resist and to be free.”

Bishop Riah Abu El-Assal, former Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem, has also sent a message of support.

For the past 42 years Israel has occupied Palestinian territory in the West Bank and Gaza in defiance of international law. So new lyrics, many to be premiered on December 8, have been written for familiar carols. Thus “The Holly and the Ivy” becomes “The Olive and the Army”, with the refrain:

O the rampaging of settlers

And the rolling of the tanks;

The grinding of the bulldozers

As olives fall in ranks.

Organiser Deborah Fink, a Jewish human rights campaigner, noted that the event will take place very close to the anniversary of Israel’s military assault on Gaza. Between December 27, 2008 and January 22, 2009 almost 1,400 Palestinians were killed and thousands more maimed.

The evening will feature a scene from the play 'Go to Gaza, Drink the Sea', by Justin Butcher and Ahmed Masoud.

Staged in February in the aftermath of the slaughter in Gaza it was described at the time by Guardian theatre critic Michael Billington as “a deeply felt, humane and vividly expressive reaction to the current crisis.” (https://www.guardian.c... (https://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/feb/21/go-gaza-drink-sea-technis))

“Our songs and readings will reflect the seldom heard Palestinian experience since Israel was founded in 1948,” said Fink, a professional soprano who will lead the singing.

Readers will include Palestinian writer Ghada Karmi, veteran peace campaigner Bruce Kent, Baroness Jenny Tonge and Lauren Booth (sister of Cherie Blair).

Funds raised will support the work of the Free Gaza Movement (https://www.freegaza.o... (https://www.freegaza.org/)), the Bethlehem-based Palestinian Conflict Resolution Centre (Wi’am - https://www.alaslah.or... (https://www.alaslah.org/)) and Interpal (https://www.interpal.i... (https://www.interpal.info/our-work))