On Holy Saturday, we held a multi-faith vigil for Palestine in the Lower Gardens in Bournemouth. We walked in solemn procession to the pier, dug a grave in the sand and buried dolls representing the 15,000+ babies killed by Israel in Gaza. I spoke briefly about the Palestinian Christian community and their resilient faith contrasted by the silent complicity and cowardice of Western church leaders unwilling to hear and respond to their cry for justice.
“Gaza today has become the moral compass of the world”,[1] insisted the Reverend Dr. Munther Isaac in his now famous 2023 Christmas sermon, entitled, “Christ in the Rubble.”[2] It is sobering to realise that for the first time in history, genocide is being recorded live on social media by the victims themselves. No one can now say they did not know.
I am sure we would all agree that Al Qaida is no more representative of Islam than Zionism is of Judaism, or the Crusades are of Christianity. But the reality is, as we see in the close relationship between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, Christian Zionists are the dominant supporters of Israel’s genocidal agenda in Palestine.
Following the tragedy of 9/11 and the destruction of the World Trade Centre in New York, multi-bestselling author and Christian journalist Anne Coulter, wrote,
“We don’t need long investigations of the forensic evidence to determine with scientific accuracy the person or persons who ordered this specific attack. We don’t need an “international coalition.” We don’t need a study on “terrorism.” … We know who the homicidal maniacs are. They are the ones cheering and dancing right now. We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity. We weren’t punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That’s war. And this is war.”[1]
More recently, at the July 19th, 2006, inaugural event for Christians United for Israel, in Washington DC, after recorded greetings from the then President, George W. Bush, and in the presence of four US Senators as well as the Israeli ambassador to the US, Pastor John Hagee, stated :
“The sleeping giant of Christian Zionism has awakened. If a line has to be drawn, draw the line around Christians and Jews. We are united. We are indivisible. And together we can reshape history… Iran is a clear and present danger to the United States of America and Israel… therefore it is time for America to embrace the words of Senator Joseph Lieberman and consider a military preemptive strike against Iran to prevent a nuclear holocaust in Israel and a nuclear attack in America.”[2]
Thankfully, most Christians in the US as well as Europe repudiate Christian Zionism as a gross distortion of Christianity and grave insult to the teachings of Jesus the Christ.
This article was originally published in May 2024. Between October 2023 and February 2024, the Church of England Archbishops and Bishops issued five statements on the genocide in Gaza (carefully avoiding using the term). Since February 2024, they have been completely silent despite mounting and indisputable evidence of genocide and war crimes, reported by the United Nations, to the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice, by human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and indeed even by Christian leaders in Palestine. It has indeed been a year of shameful silent complicity, not just by the Church of England but virtually every Western mainstream denomination.
“Gaza today has become the moral compass of the world”, insisted the Reverend Dr. Munther Isaac in his 2023 Christmas sermon, entitled, “Christ in the Rubble.” After his sermon went viral, his words were subsequently quoted by UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed.
A short video introduction to the article – viewed 18k times in the first week.
Lamentably, many Christian leaders in the USA and Europe have stood by, silent and complicit, unwilling to criticise Israel for what is increasingly recognised as a genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people.
This article will analyse the Church of England official statements about Gaza since 7th October 2023, together with criticisms, and provide an assessment of the Church’s moral integrity in its stance on Gaza.
Photos taken at the National March for Palestine held in London on 30th November 2024. In supporting this demonstration against genocide on Gaza, it should not be inferred that publication of these photos necessarily implies endorsement of all of the statements appearing on all the placards.
it was a delight to attend an amazing brunch at Palestine House in High Holborn in Central London, opposite Holborn tube station recently. I shared a table with friends from Croydon PSC.
Offered every Sunday 11:00-13:00, the cafe and restaurant also serves Lebanese and Palestinian food every day. Palestine House is available as a venue for events as well as a place to chill.
The best of the photos taken at the Gaza Rally in London on Saturday 3rd August. It was heartening to see so many young activists.
Chris Nineham of Stop the War said this evening that 100,000 attended the protest in London today. It was the 17th demonstration since October last year and as large as the first. This is no longer a protest against Israeli genocide in Gaza, it is a protest against Israel’s agenda to lead the West into a war against Iran and Lebanon. We are now in uncharted waters.
As chair of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions(ICAHD-UK), I am pleased to represent them on the ECCP committee.
The ECCP is a network of 43 European organisations, NGOs, trade unions and solidarity groups from 18 European countries, dedicated to the struggle of the Palestinian people for freedom, justice and equality.
