Leeds Minster closes exhibition that commemorated ‘at least 18 known Hamas fighters’

Leeds Minister now says it will work to “rebuild trust” with the Jewish community.

The closure, which follows concerns raised by the Office of the Chief Rabbi, comes after church officials initially allowed the exhibition to open, despite a warning from JRC about 12 names on the wider artwork that were believed to belong to terror fighters.

The church concluded that none of those names appeared on the panels chosen for display in the minster.

But following the exhibition opening, the names on display were researched, and further evidence about 18 names was presented to the church.

After receiving a dossier that included evidence of the name on the artwork, the individual’s registration on an armed group website and an image of the fighter, the minster decided to close the exhibition on Friday morning.

Hatem Khalaf Ibrahim Abu al-Jidyan, 42, Saraya al-Quds Military Media memorial portrait (Al-Quds Military Media)[Missing Credit]

 

As Hatem Khalaf Ibrahim Abu al-Jidyan's name appears in Leeds Minster (Stitch the Names Together)[Missing Credit]

Simon Myerson, chair of the Leeds JRC, said there had been an attempt to prevent people from photographing the work, “so the numbers we have are restricted to the photographs actually taken”.

The Reverend Canon Paul Maybury said on Friday: “Today we received further information from the Leeds Jewish Representative Council indicating that they had evidence suggesting that there are the names of at least 18 known Hamas fighters contained in the exhibition in the minster.

“Having received this information, we immediately decided to close the exhibition to the public.”

The panels at the minster contained 16,800 names drawn from a larger tapestry created by Irish activist Mary Evers with volunteers from pro-Palestine groups which commemorates more than 50,000 Palestinians who died in the Gaza War, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The tapestry does not distinguish between civilian and combatant casualties, and the JRC warned that more names of terrorists were likely included on the vast artwork.

The JC revealed last week that names on the tapestry precisely matched Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) death records, including those of field platoon commander Karam Tayseer Mahmoud al-Jourani of the PIJ Eastern Battalion in Rafah and artillery operative Muhammad Noman Fadl Hajji of the PIJ Gaza Brigade.

Evers said the panels bearing those names had not been selected for Leeds because the complete work was too large for the venue – and had nothing to do with allegations that the names belonged to PIJ terrorists.

She told The Times: “The complete body of work is too large to be accommodated in any single venue. Leeds Minster will therefore display only part of it.

“The absence of these names from the Leeds display is a consequence of those practical limitations; no deselection of individual names has taken place.”

In a statement on behalf of the minster, Maybury explained: “As the exhibition was scheduled to open, we were contacted by the Leeds Jewish Representative Council suggesting that, amongst the 16,800 names, there was likely to be 12 names of known Hamas fighters.

“We immediately checked if those 12 names were in fact on the 90 panels in Leeds Minster and were able to confirm that they were not, and so the opening of the exhibition went ahead as planned.”

He said the names came from the Gaza Health Authority’s published list, adding: “Leeds Minster categorically condemns all violence and in particular the killing of civilians and the taking of hostages, by Hamas, on October 7th 2023.”

He apologised and said the church would work to improve relations with the Jewish community

“Leeds Minster seeks to work with all faith groups within the city and acknowledges that by hosting this exhibition we have harmed our relationship with some in the Jewish community for which we apologise and now seek to rebuild trust.”

Myerson said he had reported the matter to the police and would be taking it up with the Charity Commission.

“It is unacceptable that we were told that due diligence had been done, whereas in fact, it had plainly not been done, but was left to us.

“Very fortunately, working closely with the senior leadership team at the Jewish Leadership Council, we were able to demonstrate the truth and, through the contacts the Leeds Jewish Representative Council has painstakingly built over the years, to persuade the hierarchy of the church that this was the only available course.

“I have reported this matter to the police, and I remain of the view that if they wish to investigate they should.”