Archbishop - We Filmed His Most Tone-Deaf Remarks Yet. They Were On Gaza

The Full, Exclusive & Bizarre Video Of The Former Archbishop Justin Welby Discussing Palestine Is Here.

We confronted Archbishop Justin Welby in September 2024 over foreign affairs. While we appreciated his willingness to engage, his responses were, by turns, defensive, evasive, and insensitive.

Welby has been the main BBC headline today because he indicated he would forgive a preacher and serial abuser. This was the same preacher that, according to a review, Welby "could and should" have helped bring to justice.

When we asked Welby about Gaza, he refused to call the situation genocide, arguing that the World Court had yet to rule. Instead, he deflected and referred to problems with African countries: “Where were you then?” In a sarcastic albeit friendly tone, he added: “Must be because they were black! Poor silly chaps!”

When we protested that he was being unfair, he doubled down: “Then why weren’t you there, bothering me then?”

We all recall that the Archbishop was specifically referencing the Rwandan genocide, though the recording comes in slightly late to capture this with total clarity.

At one point in the encounter, a parishioner entered St Michael's Church shouting, “Israel! Israel! Israel! Israel!” in hostile celebration. Welby claimed he didn’t know if the man was part of the church. We pointed out that he had literally just walked inside the church, but Welby evaded again: “A lot of people come into church who aren’t one of mine.”

When asked about his views on Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS), Welby claimed he wanted to ask Palestinians in the West Bank their opinion first—where he was about to visit—before deciding. Given that BDS has been a major international movement for nearly two decades and the Palestinian position is very predictable given their predicament, his reluctance to take a position was striking.

Welby tried to recall the name of a Palestinian girl captured in Israel. We reminded him that literally thousands of innocent Palestinians are imprisoned without trial by Israel, making his selective concern puzzling.

The Archbishop insisted he was working toward a ceasefire, as he was about to meet senior Rabbis. I commented ironically to local press: “The Archbishop has a daring leadership strategy to stop atrocities by Israel and the West. To misquote President Roosevelt: ‘speak softly and carry no stick’.”

When challenged further, he joked, "I do know what I do. I'm not drunk!"

Our main interlocator was John Dunn. He commented to me:

“I came away from my conversation with Justin Welby thinking that he could easily eat me and others with a fork and spoon. The only time he broke his cool was when I asked him about apologising to Jeremy Corbyn for his erroneous comments and he became animated and said emphatically: ‘Certainly not!’ Welby is not fit to clean Jeremy's shoes let alone anything else.”

In light of Welby’s resignation and latest remarks on abuse in the Church of England, his past evasions deserve renewed scrutiny—especially since his comments on Gaza went unchallenged by the media at the time.

YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@DrMatthewAlford?sub_confirmation=1