The Church of England’s General Synod voted last week to formally hear a report titled “Kairos Palestine II: A Moment of Truth: Faith in a Time of Genocide,” which was co-written by Father Fadi Diab, a Palestinian Anglican priest from Ramallah. The document, published the previous year by Palestinian Christian leaders from multiple denominations, calls for a global Christian response to the war in Gaza and Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, using language including genocide, apartheid, and settler colonialism to describe Israeli actions.
The motion originally proposed that the synod “receive” the report but was amended during debate so members agreed to “hear” it instead. Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally acknowledged concerns from Jewish organizations while explaining that hearing Palestinian Christian experiences did not constitute endorsement of every element in the report. She stated the church would listen with compassion and stand in solidarity with Palestinians facing injustices, while the vote passed overwhelmingly across all three houses of the synod—bishops, clergy, and laity.
Jewish leaders, including the Board of Deputies of British Jews and UK Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, urged rejection of the report before the vote. They argued the document went beyond criticizing Israeli government military campaigns and instead questioned Zionism and Jewish historical connections to the land, with concerns that the language contained antisemitic tropes and could harm Christian-Jewish relations. Rabbi Charley Baginsky of Progressive Judaism acknowledged the need to hear Palestinian Christian voices but stated the report was not an appropriate vehicle due to what she characterized as entrenchment of problematic language.
Interfaith representatives offered nuanced responses to the outcome. Georgina Bye of the Council of Christians and Jews welcomed the amendment from “receive” to “hear” and expressed appreciation for calls during debate to address the issue more holistically, while noting concerns about lack of nuance in certain terms. Richard Sewell, a canon in Jerusalem who serves as a link between the Church of England and Anglican communities in Palestine, described the report as a plea for help from suffering communities in the region and affirmed the church’s duty to hear their voices directly.
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