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Richard Sewell

@sgcjerusalem.bsky.social
869 followers 300 following 332 posts

Dean of St George’s College, Jerusalem in the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem. Kindling light in the darkness. Interests in politics, history, sports, music and the arts.

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Reposted by Richard Sewell
churchtimes.bsky.social @churchtimes.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
"The planes flying overhead are not on practice runs, but are flying on or returning from a bombing mission, with the intention of killing people." @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social writes from Jerusalem, where planes carrying bombs fly overhead #MiddleEast #MiddleEastConflict #Iran
churchtimes.co.uk
Peril in the Middle East
IT BEGINS with a sound on your phone. The message reads: “Due to the detection of missile launches, alerts may be activated in your area.” Then you know that you must prepare. End whatever it is you are doing, and ensure that you are near a shelte...
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
VICTORY! UEFA, the international football governing body has forced Israel to backtrack and halt the plan to destroy Aida refugee camp’s football pitch.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
An illegal act for which the culprits should face the consequences under law. But they won’t because the international community has given up bothering to challenge such acts.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
That’s so good to hear. And we’re still making those tiles. But none in 2025 as no one came on pilgrimage with us.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
First light turns Jerusalem the Golden, pink.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
Excellent article by my friend, Xavier Abu Eid who is a member of St Peter’s Anglican Church in Birzeit in Occupied Palestine.
churchtimes.co.uk
UK recognition of Palestine is only a first step
The C of E must show that it truly cares about Palestinian Christians, says Xavier Abu Eid
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
I’ve heard of it but haven’t seen a copy yet. I’ll have to see if the Educational Bookshop have a copy yet. Thanks for the tip.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
Prayer and action for the International Day of Peace - Sunday 21 September. Needed for so many parts of our world and for us in Palestine and Israel it is especially urgent as we are in the brink of an even darker nightmare. Please support and share. www.christianaid.org.uk/get-involved...
christianaid.org.uk
Inspire your church to act for a just peace - Christian Aid
Inspire your church to act for a just peace.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 07/09/2025
The news regarding Layan’s court case is (surprisingly) that it has been postponed, yet again, until November. Still, the family take this as good news for now. Thanks to all for prayers and support in so many ways.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 07/09/2025
Today our friend Layan Nasir appears in an Israeli military court facing charges which have hung over her for 4 years. Despite 8 months in administrative detention last year for a different issue which was never revealed, Layan faces further unjust imprisonment. We cry out to God for justice.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
Having spent 7 months in an Israeli jail last year under administrative detention, Layan Nasir is facing trial again. Her much-postponed trial will conclude on Sept 7. All pressure to avoid a custodial sentence is needed now. Letters to Israeli ambassadors and elected representatives please.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 26/07/2025
Your rector needs to educate himself. Take no notice.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
Two killings confirmed and at least six others injured including Fr Romanelli. An eyewitness reported that “there are many displaced people there who found shelter in the church complex and thought it was a safe place." This is, of course, a totally unacceptable, disgusting attack on civilians.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
We are receiving early reports of an Israeli missile attack on the compound of Holy Innocents Church in Gaza City. Information suggests at least two women have been killed. More information to follow when available.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
The denials defy belief: There’s no famine in Gaza. There’s no problem with GHF’s aid distribution process. IDF soldiers do not target aid seekers. Evidence tells us otherwise and denials don’t change that. Only independent investigation will reveal the full truth. Let’s have it.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 29/06/2025
Today is St Peter’s day in the Church year. Several churches in the Holy Land are dedicated to St Peter. One of the best is St Peter Primacy on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Its simple beauty captures the heart of the gospel story. Jesus Christ calls us to follow and seek his kingdom of justice.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 28/06/2025
Beabadoobee at Glastonbury smashed it. So proud!
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 28/06/2025
Kneecap, Palestine Action, flags, slogans, next they’ll be banning olives, watermelons and keffiyehs (or are they banned already?).
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Haaretz reports today IDF officers and soldiers admit that they were ordered to fire at unarmed crowds near food distribution sites in Gaza, even when no threat was present. Here the crimes are told in plain speak for the benefit of those who continue in total denial of horrific truth.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Netanyahu has cancelled the GHF ‘food aid project’ in Gaza because of alleged Hamas hijacking of aid. So now, no food at all is being distributed at the height of a humanitarian disaster. Israel is not capable of running a competent aid effort so the alternative must be installed NOW!
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Agreed. I desperately want a ceasefire and for it to hold. It’s just that Trump’s words and ways are so deceitful and deluded.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Don’t believe anything Trump says. Especially don’t believe anything he claims regarding the Middle East. He literally knows nothing. As he (unilaterally) declares a ceasefire, right now missiles are raining down on Iran and across Israel. Peace work takes time and care. Trump gives neither.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
Trump dropped a bomb on the negotiating room and now he says ‘it’s time to talk’. The ‘Great Deal Maker’ has not secured a single deal in this term but he still hails his own extraordinary abilities. He and the US are destabilising forces in this volatile region. Sirens still sounding in Jerusalem.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 21/06/2025
Francis Martin writes beautifully about being in Jerusalem even when your trip has been cancelled because of the missiles.
churchtimes.co.uk
Notebook
Francis Martin on a pilgrimage, of sorts, to Jerusalem
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 21/06/2025
Reports on Iran, Israel, Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 19/06/2025
Trump contemplates a US bombing spree and others talk of ‘chopping off the head of the snake’. This is escalation talk which will be reciprocated. It’s leading to plans to evacuate internationals. So unsettling and troubling. We feel we belong here but there comes a time…Probably not yet though.
talk.is
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
It is worth noting that current restrictions on people gathering means that the Western Wall is also largely closed. It is a situation which needs to be monitored very closely because extreme circumstances allows for an untrustworthy government to attempt to push a dangerous agenda.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
Deeply worrying development as Israel closes access to Al Aqsa Mosque compound citing war with Iran as reason. This article explains the potential seismic implications of unprecedented move.
middleeasteye.net
Israel closes Al-Aqsa Mosque to worshippers until further notice
Israel closes holy site in occupied East Jerusalem to worshippers for the first time since Covid-19 pandemic
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
I’m still doing #FastForGaza.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
I’m doing #FastForGaza again today. Attention is on Israel v Iran but meanwhile, people are still being starved and bombed in Gaza. Almost 400 people have been killed while trying to access emergency food. Lift the siege. Fast-Pray-Advocate!
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
While the G7 are bravely affirming Israel’s ‘right to self defence’ they ignore the ongoing deliberate starvation of 2 million people in Gaza. Day by day dozens of aid seekers are being shot. It is the most inhumane feeding programme ever devised. The world turns a blind eye but time will come.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
Christian clergy generally prefer taking funerals to taking weddings. This mystifies most people.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
Trump was a baby in his first term of office:tantrums, crying when he didn’t get his way and totally focused on his own need. Second term he’s an adolescent: passionate one minute, disinterested the next and full of promises he can’t deliver. Please can we have a grown up: fit, stable and capable?
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
We should call the present Israel-Iran war ‘Trump’s War’. Escalation is a direct result of his decision to cancel the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) in 2018. Responsible Statecraft journal called this ‘one of Trump’s biggest failures’. But know the man who created war has no interest in ending it.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
Obviously.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
Yes, hoping and praying for that. Sanity and humanity are a rare commodity in this region (and elsewhere too) right now.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
But also Israel has entirely sealed the West Bank for Palestinians. All checkpoints closed. And don’t forget Gaza - still starving and being decimated. The final fibre optic connection has just been destroyed and there’s no means of electronic communication for Gaza. Total comms blackout.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
Here in East Jerusalem and throughout the land we’re on a high alert war footing. No public gatherings, work or school till further notice. We are told that Iran has fired off 100 drones which are on their way from Iran (these will be shot down).
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
On a mini break in Jordan but I’m still doing #FastForGaza. Starvation and bombing continues in Gaza relentlessly. Pathetic amounts of food are delivered and desperate families are dehumanised when collecting meagre supplies risking their lives. Actively resist this atrocity or condone it.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
Long overdue but very necessary. Settler violence and clearance of Palestinians in the West Bank are part of the same strategy as the Gaza decimation. US Ambassador’s support for these two dangerous men demonstrates again that the US supports Israel’s expansionist agenda. The US is the problem.
theguardian.com
'Their own words condemn them': UK places sanctions on two Israeli ministers – video
UK has announced sanctions against Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for inciting violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
It was good to have Bishop Rachel visiting us in Jerusalem again building on last year’s visit. She clearly saw a rapidly deteriorating situation in the West Bank.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
More details are emerging. Every day,new atrocities and new tragedies.Alleged reasons for such outrages are trotted out with no evidence and the international community all too often, naively accepts these. Words will not stop these breaches of international law, only firm and decisive action. When?
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Oh Lord, no! Our Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza City has been hit, yet again. An IDF drone targeted and killed three journalists with multiple other injuries. This has got to stop!
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
I agree. People in the west have become paralysed by the fear of being called anti semitic with no confidence to resist a wrongful accusation. And Israel is playing on that fear. Also using ‘blood libel’ in relation to every accusation of killing Palestinians to crush criticisms.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Miriana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross told the BBC yesterday: ‘What's happening in Gaza exceeds all boundaries of legal, moral, and humanitarian norms….Gaza has become worse than hell on Earth.’ The world is still watching and only tutting its disapproval.
icrc.org
A statement on Gaza and Israel from the president of the ICRC
Five months into the escalation of hostilities, which began with the horrific events in Israel on 7 October, the situation in the Gaza Strip degenerates by the hour. There is nowhere safe for people t...
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
We are keeping going with #FastForGaza because the response to massive starvation in Gaza is pathetic and so much more needs to be done. Fast, agitate, advocate, educate and pray. No time to lose.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
Ridiculous, outrageous and much more than that. When will anything change? #FastForGaza
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
Sunset over Jerusalem last night seems to animate our hopes.
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
WAKE UP WORLD!
theguardian.com
Israel confirms plans to create 22 new settlements in occupied West Bank
Defence minister says move ‘prevents establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel’
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Richard Sewell @sgcjerusalem.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
It might be of interest to people who call Pro Palestine demos ‘hate marches’ that on ‘Flag Day’ in Jerusalem there were widespread chants of ‘Death to Arabs’, ‘May your village burn’ and ‘There are no schools in Gaza, no children are left’. No police action was taken. In some cases they joined in!
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