Church of England votes to hear Palestinian Christians on Israeli genocide in Gaza

The Church of England has voted to hear Palestinian Christians, defying efforts by pro-Israel organisations to dismiss their testimony about Israel’s “settler colonialism” and “apartheid system”.

The General Synod, the Church’s legislative body, backed an amended motion on Monday urging congregations and institutions across England to “hear” and engage with testimonies produced by the group Kairos Palestine.

The Kairos document describes Israel as a “colonial enterprise” that has inflicted a “genocidal war on Gaza”.  

Synod members replaced the word “receive” with “hear”, making clear that the engagement did not require the Church to endorse every sentence. 

The motion also recognised the document as “heartfelt expressions of the lived experience of Palestinian Christians” and called on the Church to stand with Palestinians in non-violent resistance to Israel’s occupation.

It also rejected antisemitism, anti-Muslim hostility and other forms of religious and ethnic prejudice.

The vote marks an important break from a pattern in which western religious institutions have often discussed Palestinians while excluding Palestinian Christians from the conversation.

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