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Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) has joined Church leaders in Jerusalem, together with the Church of Scotland, Methodist Church, Quakers in Britain, the World Council of Churches (WCC), Christian Aid and CAFOD, in expressing great concern at the violence in Israel and Palestine.
Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI)
Statement on the Situation in Israel and Palestine
Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) expresses its deep sorrow and concern at the escalating violence between Palestinians and Israelis. We stand in solidarity with all the victims of the conflict and call for an immediate end to violence. The violating of places of worship, the eviction of people from their homes, the firing of rockets and aerial bombardments of civilians are acts that all people of good will should deplore. Equally unacceptable are those who use Antisemitic or Islamophobic language that target communities in our society: The path to justice and peace lies not in violence and racism, or a war of words and slogans from supporters of each side but a genuine openness to finding a peaceful solution through dialogue, mutual respect and understanding.
We pray for Israelis and Palestinians at this time, especially remembering the Christian Churches of the region, already facing intolerable pressures. CTBI meanwhile continues its strong support for the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme for Palestine-Israel (EAPPI) and all those who are working for peace, justice and reconciliation. We pray for the safety and well-being of all the peoples of the region.
“Almighty and Everlasting God:
Our days are in your hands; we lift up all those in the Holy Land who are victims of violence and injustice, that you might empower your Church to bring healing to the wounded, relief to the suffering, and comfort to those who mourn; we pray also that you would soften the hearts of all those involved in the recent conflicts, that they would be led to work for justice and lasting peace in the land where your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ first came to bring hope and abundant life to all people; these things we ask in his Holy Name. Amen.”
Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
‘With all the Heads of Churches, we are “profoundly disheartened and concerned about the recent violent events in East Jerusalem, whether at the Al Aqsa Mosque or in Sheikh Jarrah, which violate the sanctity of the people of Jerusalem and of Jerusalem as the City of Peace,” and require of an urgent intervention.
‘The violence used against the worshippers undermines their safety and their rights to have access to the Holy Places and worship freely. The forced eviction of Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah is also an unacceptable violation of the most fundamental human rights, the right to a home. It is a question of justice for the inhabitants of the city to live, pray and work, each according to his/her own dignity; a dignity bestowed upon humanity by God himself’, said the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
For the full statement please see the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem website.
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland has urged Israelis and Palestinians to step back from the brink and show restraint. It says it is deeply concerned about the growing violence in Jerusalem, Gaza and across Israel/Palestine, and is calling on the UK Government to use its influence to help bring an end to the current situation.
Very Rev Dr Susan Brown, convener of the Faith Impact Forum, said “violence only breeds violence” and the events earlier this week at the Al Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem were “deeply alarming”.
For the full statement, please see the Church of Scotland website.
Methodist Church
Statement from the World Methodist Council, Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church and the Methodist Church in Britain, which are partners in the Jerusalem Methodist Liaison Office:
We stand together to support the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches of Jerusalem who have expressed their concern about continuing violence in Jerusalem and who have called on those in the international community to put an end to what they describe as ‘provocative actions’.
We have been horrified by the scenes of violence in east Jerusalem which threaten the fragility of the Holy City, and call on the Israeli Government to permanently halt the threatened evictions of Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, where clashes have also taken place.
We urge calm on all sides and ask the politicians to enable an environment where justice and healing can be experienced by all and we join with the Heads of Churches to continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We continue to stand in solidarity with our Christian sisters and brothers who live and work in the Holy Land.
Please see the Methodist Church website.
Quakers in Britain
Quakers in Britain has called for an end to violence in Jerusalem and across the Holy Land.
Paul Parker, Recording Clerk for Quakers in Britain said:
“Our Quaker testimonies to peace and equality compel us, once again, to speak out on this issue. At this time, (11 May) over 850 people (840 Palestinians and at least 21 Israeli police officers and 7 Israeli civilians) have been wounded. In Gaza, 24 Palestinians including 9 children, were killed overnight.
“The latest round of this 73-year cycle of violence has taken place amid provocative and discriminatory actions by the Israeli government. There are threats to forcibly remove more Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem in favour of Israeli settlers, which the UN has warned may constitute a war crime, and tear gas and stun grenades have been fired by Israeli soldiers into the Al Aqsa Mosque as Muslims meet in worship for the end of Ramadan. We have seen violent crackdowns on peaceful protestors, retaliatory rockets fired indiscriminately from Gaza into Israel and airstrikes from Israel kill civilians in Gaza.
“All of these actions are grave violations of international law and must end immediately.
“As Quakers we place equal value on every human life and believe the structural violence of occupation damages all people of the region. We have said before that the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis will only be resolved when Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is ended, and the inherent equality, dignity and worth of all is realised. We still believe this to be so. We urge our faith and political leaders to speak out with us. For as long as we remain silent, and choose to step back from uncomfortable words and actions, we are all complicit in the ongoing violence.”
Please see the Quakers in Britain website for details.
World Council of Churches (WCC)
The World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev Prof Dr Ioan Sauca has expressed mounting concern and profound grief at the rising toll of people killed and injured in the escalating violence in Israel and Palestine.
“We appeal urgently to all parties to step back from the brink of even more deadly and destructive conflict,” Sauca said. “We lament every one of the precious lives already lost, Palestinians and Israelis, in Gaza, in Ashkelon, near Lod, and elsewhere.”
For the full statement, please see the WCC website.
In an earlier statement the WCC called for an end to violence and urged respect of status quo of holy sites in Jerusalem.
It condemned the violence at the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex during the night of 7 May 2021, in which more than 200 people are reported to have been wounded. Reacting to the news, WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca called on Israel to respect the status quo of holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City in the interest of peace and stability and also called for all to refrain from further violence, and from provocative and destabilizing actions.
Christian Aid
The ground war will take Gaza into the ‘depths of hell’, Christian Aid has warned.
As conflict in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory continues to escalate, Christian Aid’s head of Middle East William Bell said:
“The international community cannot afford to continue failing in their responsibility to use every possible measure to stop the violence immediately. But they must not stop there. As the violence across Israel and the West Bank demonstrates, it is the status quo that led us to this point. It is the inequality, discrimination, incitement and abuse of power that has led some to a false sense of security and others to despair.
“Palestinians and Israelis have never been treated as equals by the international community and until they are, there will be conflict, often violent. And it is innocent civilians who always pay the price for that political failure.”
Please see the Christian Aid website for the full statement.
In an earlier statement, Christian Aid called for end to the cycle of violence that is quickly spiralling out of control in Jerusalem and Gaza. William Bell, said:
“The images of violence in Jerusalem and elsewhere in the region are shocking and tragic. This is a situation that has the potential to spiral out of control very quickly, not least due to the lack of coherent political leadership across Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory. We call upon all to pull back from the brink of horrific life-threatening violence. We condemn any violence from any side that targets civilians indiscriminately.
“But what makes this a truly shocking situation is that it was entirely predictable. Since 2014 when violence in Gaza claimed so many lives, Christian Aid has warned the international community that the solution to the violence would not be found in Gaza. After decades supporting some of the poorest and most marginalised Palestinian communities throughout the Middle East, we are clear that Palestinian dispossession and displacement coupled with a lack of political will to challenge the impunity of Israel as an occupying power, guarantees an ever-deteriorating situation. Add a lack of effective Palestinian political leadership with its democratic deficit and it becomes almost impossible to imagine how the cause of a just peace will be served.
“The world may be distracted by a pandemic and violent conflict elsewhere, but that has not made this situation disappear. In fact, it has become more toxic, as the scenes in Jerusalem testify to.”
CAFOD
CAFOD has joined the calls of faith leaders from around the world, including Pope Francis, who have called for an immediate cessation of all violence.
On 12 May 2021, CAFOD released a statement that read:
“The violence in the West Bank and Gaza including East Jerusalem is deeply disturbing and must be brought to a halt before it spirals out of control and more lives are lost. Continued escalation only harms the most vulnerable people.
“There is an urgent need for responsible leadership ready to work for justice and peace for Palestinians and Israelis creating an alternative to this cycle of violence that divides and kills.
“CAFOD opposes the eviction of Palestinian families from their homes which is a violation of international law. We call for an immediate cessation of all violence.
“CAFOD believes that the only way out of the cycle of violence and for Israelis and Palestinians to be truly secure, is to revive hope for a just Israeli-Palestinian peace process, aimed at creating the conditions for a stable peace based on justice, where all must be treated equally.”
See the CAFOD website for more details.
