“Staying quiet in this moment would be a stain upon our souls and would deepen our complicity,” says Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church.
Gathered for their biennial General Assembly in Louisville, Kentucky, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the U.S. and Canada overwhelmingly adopted a resolution affirming “many of the laws, policies and practices of the State of Israel meet the definition of apartheid as defined in international law.”
Ten months ago, the World Council of Churches agreed to study the question of Israeli apartheid “and for its governing bodies to respond appropriately.” There is no sign that process has started.
Kairos Palestine, the most extensive Palestinian Christian ecumenical movement, hosted 180 participants in the West Bank town of Beit Sahour for its 13th annual international conference.
Today we are witness to what can only be described as the unstoppable momentum of church opposition to Israel’s program of discrimination, dispossession, and ethnic cleansing. Together with the BDS call, the Kairos call from Palestinian churches has awakened the global church to the urgency of the Palestinian plight and to the theological imperative to act.
According to the WCC’s governing body, the “occupation continues to contradict the equal human dignity and human rights of Palestinians while the response of the international community continues to reflect egregious double standards.”
Leaders of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) issued a Pastoral Letter this week opposing Christian Zionism and saying “Israeli policies and practices that discriminate against Palestinians—Christians and Muslims alike—are consistent with the international definition of the crime of apartheid.”
The largest official Protestant association of churches released in late October “Focus: Palestine,” a digital textbook that places the Israeli occupation of Palestine in historical, political, and theological contexts.
Christians have a role in the struggle for justice and human rights in Palestine and Israel. This includes combating the destructive effects of the Zionist project of settler-colonialism.
Churches in the Middle East and organizations representing Christians have condemned the violence in Gaza that killed more than 240 over the past two weeks, and Israeli aggressions in Jerusalem. Here is a rundown of the latest statements from leading ecclesiastical organizations.