At last, the Church of England listens to Palestinian Christians

The Synod of the Church of England overwhelmingly approved a resolution expressing solidarity with Palestinian Christians. Its most significant provisions call upon the church to “hear” the Kairos Document, the most important Palestinian theological text, developed by renowned Palestinian theologians from various Christian traditions.

At the same time, it took note of demands to divest from the Israeli occupation by calling on, “Church investors to implement and demonstrate a leading approach to responsible investment relating to the occupied Palestinian territory” and “to review their investment policies in the light of the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion (…) on the illegality of the occupation of Palestinian territory.”

This carefully drafted document neither endorsed the Kairos Document nor made a decision on divesting from the Israeli occupation. In light of the available evidence of Israeli war crimes and systematic violations of UN resolutions, this is a rather weak statement. Nevertheless, even listening to Palestinian Christians was considered by some to have crossed a red line.

Opponents immediately began a campaign smearing the decision as an attack on Christian-Jewish interfaith dialogue and on British Jews. Their message is simple: if the Church of England wants to become involved in what is happening in Palestine, it should not do so through dialogue with Palestinian Christians, but rather through the eyes of Jewish supporters of Israel living in Britain.

Indeed, this pushback is coming from individuals and groups that have worked to promote impunity for well-documented Israeli crimes and violations. These voices have also been lobbying against the British government's intention to ban Israeli settlement products.

Nevertheless, it is important to highlight that this is not the perspective of all British Jews, and many Jewish voices came out in support of the Church’s decision. British Jewish organizations, such as Yachad, managed to gather more than 1,000 British Jews to call upon their government to support a ban on Israeli settlement products. In reality, this is a much stronger position on settlement products than the one voted by the Church of England.

A history of British complicity

Clearly, this is not an issue of Christian-Jewish interfaith dialogue, but rather of how that dialogue has been used to promote impunity for Israeli crimes. This is particularly evident in the case of the Church of England, which for decades contributed to the theological justifications for dispossessing the Palestinian people of their land.

Christian Zionism in the United Kingdom lay at the heart of slogans such as "a land without a people for a people without a land," used to promote the Zionist enterprise in Palestine. The close connection between Christian Zionism and the Zionist movement made it possible for the UK to embrace the idea of turning Palestine into a Jewish homeland. This, reflected in the Balfour Declaration, was referred to by Palestinian theologian and Kairos Document co-author Mitri Raheb as: “The ‘biblical promise’ now became the imperial promise of Palestine to the European Jews.”

For the Palestinian people in general, and Palestinian Christians in particular, this ideological support from parts of the Anglican Church for the Zionist project, together with its intertwining with the British Mandate for Palestine, had dramatic consequences on the ground. These ranged from the brutality of the Christian Zionist officer Orde Wingate during the 1936 revolt to the explicit support provided by Archbishop of Canterbury Cosmo Lang to the Zionist project in 1937, which provoked a strong response from the Palestinian Anglican community.

The event took place at the same time as the Royal Peel Commission had revived the idea of displacing parts of the indigenous population within Zionist thinking.

Almost 90 years later, the Church of England finally voted to hear from Palestinian Christians, something it had refused to do at a time when it could have influenced Britain against violating the Palestinian people's right to self-determination. Better late than never, some may claim.

However, this is precisely what those opposing the motion adopted by the Anglican Synod are trying to prevent. Having the Church of England listen to the decolonial approach of Palestinian theologians risks dismantling some of the strongest sources of support for the Israeli culture of impunity that has long existed in Western countries. Allowing Palestinians to challenge the theological misconceptions used to justify their dispossession through the Bible represents a turning point in the struggle for Palestinian freedom.

The significance of the motion adopted by the Church of England's Synod lies primarily in marking a new beginning: departing from a colonial past and embracing the cause of the liberation of an oppressed indigenous people. It has nothing to do with British Jews.

Those claiming otherwise—namely the Chief Rabbi of Britain, the Board of Deputies, Christian Zionist figures, and Israeli representatives—all have one thing in common: they have consistently supported Israel’s colonial crimes. This is what motivates their reaction and worries over the “changes” to Christian-Jewish relations no longer serving as a tool to shield Israel from accountability.

This is precisely the main lesson that many should reflect upon. In the name of "interfaith dialogue," supporters of Israel have called upon the Church of England not to listen to Palestinian Christians and not to take concrete measures regarding an illegal settler-colonial occupation, an apartheid regime, and a genocide. By refusing to succumb to such pressure, the Synod of the Church of England has marked a new beginning. Meanwhile, other churches should review where their partners in interfaith dialogue stand when it comes to basic principles, such as the weaponization of religion to normalise war crimes.

Xavier Abu Eid is a Political Scientist who holds a PhD in Religion, Theology and Peace Studies from Trinity College Dublin, and is a former adviser to the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

Follow Xavier on X: @xabueid

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