LONDON – A Scottish clergyman said today that a church mural showing a crucified Jesus flanked by both Roman soldiers and modern-day Israeli troops was not anti-Semitic, but designed to make his congregation think about current conflicts.
The image at St. John's Episcopal Church in Edinburgh sparked a wave of e-mail protests from Israel and the United States after The Jerusalem Post Internet edition ran a story on its presence.
The Rev. John Armes said the painting, which was unveiled last week as part of the church's Easter celebrations and removed today, "unashamedly addresses the role of the Israeli government" in the Middle East conflict.
"I want to emphasize that the purpose of our murals is to encourage people to think seriously about a contemporary national or international issue," Armes said in an e-mail response to objectors.
The 2.7-meter square painting showed Jesus lying dead in his mother's arms with the Roman soldiers on one side and Israeli troops on the other.
Armes said many people in Britain were horrified by the military actions of the Israeli government, but added that he regretted that some had interpreted the mural as anti-Semitic.
"Our mural is a challenge not to the Jewish people but to the Israeli state," he said.
"My opinions come from a straight comparison of the numbers of victims on each 'side' and the number of people rendered homeless and refugee.
"They come also from the fact that Israel has refused to abide by the United Nations resolution to end the occupation of Palestinian land."
Armes said he deplored attacks against Jews on the basis of their race and that arson attacksÝagainst Jews in France had sickened him.
One e-mail from the United States said the mural was "sick" to equate Jesus with the Palestinians, adding: "I would not want to be in your shoes on that great Judgment Day."
Another e-mail from Haifa said: "One would expect a religious organization to decry the loss of life and the violence, and not be given over to such a one-sided view of the events.
"Given its own sordid history of anti-Semitism, the church should be doubly careful," it said.
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