Justin Welby’s grandfather fled from Germany; his father bootlegged alcohol, knew JFK and was engaged to Vanessa Redgrave; he worked in the oil industry before feeling a call to God after his daughter’s death in a car crash
http://www.timesofisrael.com/the-first-jewish-archbishop-of-canterbury-heads-to-israel/
ONDON – The father of the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, kept many secrets. Gavin Welby never told his son that he had an estranged older sister, or a first wife. He never told him his real birthdate, or the name under which he was born. And, it has emerged, he never told him that he was born a Jew.
“He told lots of stories but one was never really sure what was true and what wasn’t,” Archbishop Justin told The Daily Telegraph, which broke the news to him just days after he was appointed head of the Church of England in November 2012. “He drank quite heavily and, you know, he would say things sometimes when he had been drinking and you did not know what was true or not.
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“He wouldn’t talk about his family at all,” he said.
Naturally, the bombshell that the leader of 80 million Anglicans worldwide is a half-Jew has captured the imagination of Britain’s Jewish community. The Anglican Church, by contrast, has so far reacted apathetically, perhaps inured by previous examples of Jewish-Christian clerics such as Giles Fraser, until 2011 Canon Chancellor of St Paul’s Cathedral, who had a Jewish father; and Hugh Montefiore, a well-known bishop in the 1970s and ‘80s, who converted from Judaism in his teens.
But beyond the gossip element lie serious questions. Will Archbishop Justin be able to improve Jewish-Anglican relations, which have gone through a rocky patch over the last few months? And how will the revelations about his heritage affect his attitudes and worldviews?
With little track record to go on, observers are reluctant jump to any conclusions: “It’s very early days,” says Rev. David Gifford, CEO of the Council of Christians and Jews, noting that Welby was only installed in March.
Archbishop Welby, whose decade-long rise in the church is considered meteoric, has had limited experience working with Jewish groups, but activists speak positively of his relations with Jews in his former parishes and in the interfaith world.
They point to two hopeful early signs. The first is that the archbishop has chosen to visit Israel next week, which is considered very early in his tenure (he will also be visiting Egypt, the Palestinian territories and, briefly, Jordan). A visit to Yad Vashem may be particularly poignant as he recently discovered that he has relatives who perished in the Shoah. He will also engage with as-yet-unnamed “communities and leaders” and pay his respects to the patriarchs of the Jerusalem churches, in particular Jerusalem’s Anglican bishop, Suheil Duwani.
The Prince of Wales speaks with the Archbishop of Canterbury, The Most Reverend Justin Welby following his Enthronement at Canterbury Cathedral. (photo credit: AP Photo/Chris Ison, Pool)
The Prince of Wales speaks with the Archbishop of Canterbury, The Most Reverend Justin Welby following his Enthronement at Canterbury Cathedral. (photo credit: AP Photo/Chris Ison, Pool)
The other is that, completely regardless of his Jewish background, he appears to have long had an affinity for, and interest in, Jewish issues and in Israel.
According to the philo-Semitic Canon Andrew White, “Israel has no fear with him, nor does the Jewish community. He’s a friend, not an enemy.”