Islington News: Bruce Kent | Christmas Carols | Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods

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Islington Tribune - by PTER GRUNER
Published: 28 November 2008

Bruce Kent

Peace campaigner defends role in concert that put politics in carols

VETERAN Islington peace campaigner Bruce Kent was “unrepentant” this week over his involvement in a concert condemned for rewriting Christmas carols.
The former Roman Catholic priest read the lessons at the concert, organised by Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods, at St James’s Church, in Piccadilly, on Wednesday night.
More than 200 people, including Baroness Tonge, sang carols with words that had been changed to depict Israeli “war crimes”.
A protester who stood outside with an Israeli flag was invited in to hear the concert by members of the audience.
“He was actually a very friendly chap”, said Mr Kent. “There were no problems.”
The vicar of the church, the Rev Charles Hedley, said he had received a number of hostile emails over changes to the carols after news of the concert appeared in a Sunday newspaper.
A revised opening verse of While Shepherds Watched went: “While shepherds watched their flocks by night, all seated on the ground, some occupying soldiers came and bulldozed all around.”
Mr Kent read a translation of an Arab poem by Mahmoud Darwish which described the City of Jerusalem as belonging to all nations.
He added: “The carols were not critical of the Israelis but only of their occupation.”

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