Leeds Minster likely displayed the names of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists as part of a tapestry commemorating those killed during the war in Gaza, the Jewish Representative Council (JRC) of Leeds has alleged.
The tapestry, titled “Stitch The Names Together," contains more than 50,000 names of Gazans who died during the war which began with the October 7 massacre. It was created by Irish activist Mary Evers with assistance from volunteers affiliated with pro-Palestinian groups.
The JRC raised concerns with Leeds Minster, which is overseen by the Church of England, after identifying at least 12 names which it said were likely those of PIJ terrorists.
The names and ages listed on the tapestry matched PIJ death records, the JC reported. Among those identified were Karam Tayseer Mahmoud al-Jourani, described as a field platoon commander in the PIJ Eastern Battalion in Rafah, and Muhammad Noman Fadl Hajji, an artillery operative in the PIJ Gaza Brigade.
The Jewish Chronicle reported that following scrutiny of the display, the church ensured that panels containing the 12 names were removed.
However, the JRC warned that additional terrorists could be among the tens of thousands of people commemorated, since it had examined only around 4,000 of the names. It called on the church to compare the complete list with PIJ death records.
According to the JC, Leeds Minster was also expected to discuss the due diligence conducted before the tapestry was displayed.
The JRC additionally objected to the memorial's focus exclusively on Palestinians while not commemorating Israelis killed since October 7.
In a letter to the church quoted by the JC, the organization noted that more than 800 Israeli civilians were murdered on October 7 and argued that innocent lives should not be treated as having different degrees of sanctity.
The JRC said it understood why bereaved families in Gaza and Israel would focus on their own relatives and communities, but questioned why a church thousands of miles from the conflict would adopt such an approach.
It further said that displaying a memorial which distinguished between civilian victims while being unable to guarantee the exclusion of terrorists had caused “anxious and angry" reactions within the Jewish community.
The organization questioned what steps both the exhibition's organizers and the church had taken to verify the material being displayed in a house of worship.
Evers told the Yorkshire Evening Post that each stitch represented a human life and described viewing the memorial as a confronting experience.
She said Leeds had been deliberately chosen because of what she described as the city's understanding of resilience and solidarity, adding that she wanted visitors to regard those commemorated as individual people rather than statistics.
Reverend Canon Paul Maybury of Leeds Minster told the Yorkshire Evening Post that the church had historically served as a place where residents could gather for collective mourning and reflection. He described hosting the memorial as part of the Minster's commitment to peace and interfaith solidarity.
When contacted by the JC regarding the allegations, Maybury did not directly respond to them, according to the newspaper. Instead, he provided remarks from his speech at the tapestry's unveiling.
In those remarks, Maybury said the Minster already permanently commemorated hundreds of people and that hosting a travelling exhibition remembering adults and children killed in Gaza since October 2023 was appropriate.
He described the display as a peaceful act of remembrance in a chapel used daily for prayer and reflection.
Maybury also acknowledged that Israeli civilians had been killed since October 2023 and invited visitors to reflect and pray while walking among the panels commemorating those killed in Gaza.
The JC said it had also contacted Evers for comment.