Press photographer Peter Marshall has a set of photos of
a large and noisy protest on the third anniversary of the Israeli attack on Gaza called for an end of the ongoing violence against Palestinians and the siege on Gaza. UK. 27th December 2011.
The protest took place opposite the Israeli embassy in London, and a few of the photos (here, here, and here) show a small nearby counter-protest. The distinctive figure of Jonathan Hoffman of the Zionist Federation can be seen at the front, but the Christian Zionist group Mordecai Voice appears to have been prominently involved – although not named, the same distinctive Israeli and British flags with religious messages stenciled on were used at a rally the group organised in July. According to Marshall:
The smaller group of protesters waving Israeli flags on the opposite side of the road from the main protest stated that Hamas is committed to the destruction of the state of Israel and the killing of the Jews. They also accused the Palestine Solidarity Committed of refusing to support the peace process over Israel.
The Christian Zionist banners, however, focused primarily on the supernatural significance of the conflict: one banner reads “G-d A-Mighty Gave the LAND of ISRAEL to the JEWS”, another announces that “Israel Your G-D is Coming”, and a third describes Israel as the Apple of God’s eye (a particular Mordecai Voice slogan).
One of the photos also catches a glimpse of someone at the back of the counter-protest wearing a Jewish Task Force jacket – the JTF is so extreme that earlier this year the English Defence League baulked at the idea of an alliance, for reasons I discussed here. Of course, the presence of a JTF activist at a public event does not in itself mean that other participants either agree with the JTF or even know anything about it.
Mordecai Voice is a project of Pastor Tim Gutmann, who is with the Derbyshire-based Junction 28 Church; this is an Assemblies of God congregation. According to the Mordecai Voice website, the group is planning a “UK Night to honour Israel”, citing Pastor John Hagee by name as the “American equivalent”. Hagee’s religious views are apocalyptic and include “New World Order” conspiracy theories.
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