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.
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.
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