WHILE visiting the West Bank earlier this year and hearing harrowing stories of Israeli occupation, Revd Mark Slaney said there wasn’t a conversation he had with Palestinian Christians where he didn’t weep.
So affected was the Methodist Church minister by Israel’s “insidious undermining of people”, he returned along with others in the Christian community motivated to do something to make a difference.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, the cumulative number of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks has reached 73,041, with 173,402 others wounded since October 2023.
Analysis by Oxfam earlier this month found Israeli settlers and state forces have killed more Palestinian children in the West Bank in the past three years than in the 17 before that.
But Slaney – who is chair of the Methodist Church Scotland District – admits the church as a whole may have been avoiding discussing the subject, such is the challenge of bringing Christians across denominations together to speak as one.
“I think it’s been a hard conversation for us to have as Christians because there are different views politically, theologically, scripture, all of these things,” he said.
“So maybe we’ve been avoiding it, and I can only speak for the tradition I represent, but we have to hear that voice [of Palestinian Christians] now.
“The time to pretend we can’t talk about what we think about it has passed, and what we must hear is the lived experience voice of Palestinian Christians, whatever you think about it and whatever our position is on whose land it is and what the legal requirements are.
“The reality is it's less time for our voice and more time for the voice of Palestinians.”
Slaney has now joined the Time to Act campaign launched by the Just Peace Coalition of churches and charities this month to pressure the UK Government to take stronger action and help end the illegal occupation of Palestine.
Organisations involved include Christian Aid, the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, the Methodist Church, Justice and Peace Scotland, and Christians for Palestine.
They are urging the UK Government to suspend all arms sales to Israel until it complies with international law and the UK–Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement until it “ends its illegal occupation and respects human rights”.
A poll of Labour Party members earlier this month showed an overwhelming majority back a ban on UK arms exports to Israel and trade with illegal settlements in the West Bank, and found 60% are dissatisfied with the UK Government’s response to Israel’s atrocities in the occupied Palestinian territory.
The coalition also wants to see sanctions imposed on Israeli ministers and political leaders who are inciting or are responsible for severe human rights violations against Palestinians, and is urging the UK to co-operate with the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court to ensure “accountability for all parties” – which the coalition insists includes prosecuting UK citizens who have committed war crimes abroad.
Slaney said: “We have been listening better to the voice of Palestinian Christians.
“They’re saying to us, if there’s not significant change in Israel and Palestine, there will be no Christian communities left in the Holy Land, and therefore we’ve woken up a bit to the reality on the ground – not just to Christians but to Muslims and people of no faith – and we’ve heard that voice with real strength.
“For us here in the UK, we recognise that our voice and our ability to campaign and act is stronger when we speak together. It’s not always easy to get Christians to speak together, but on this there are enough of us who recognise that when we speak together, that’s a stronger voice.
“I know Palestinian Christians have felt abandoned by the church in the West and they’ve felt failed by international law. There have been strong voices in the UK Parliament … but it’s not enough.
“When I was in Israel and Palestine in February, one of the first things I heard from people was them saying ‘we are tired of telling our stories and nothing changing’. So clearly more needs to happen.”
It is the first time churches have collaborated on this scale for a just peace in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Val Brown, head of Scotland for Christian Aid, said it comes on the back of Palestinian Christians sending “countless” letters about food shortages, increased settler violence and displacement.
She said the UK currently risks being complicit in this if it does not do more.
“As a third-state actor, the UK Government has a duty to seek the enforcement of international law and hold those violating it accountable,” she said.
“Without further action, the UK risks remaining complicit in ongoing violations and the further erosion of the possibility of a just and lasting peace.
"We want to build pressure on the UK Government to hold Israel accountable for breaches of international law and bring an end to impunity.
"Lasting peace will only be achieved if it is based on justice and universal accountability.”
She added: “With the recent political attempts on peace talks but no sign of a sustainable resolution, there has been a call from Palestinian Christians for the global church to respond with more than prayer, but with courage, compassion and action.”
Throughout the campaign, leaders hope there will be more conversations in churches about Palestine and more people discovering what they can do to bring about change.
Slaney and Brown said they hope some congregations will be motivated to write to their MP to call for action and partake in boycotting products profiting from the occupation.
“Anyone joining the campaign can pledge to listen, learn, live and act in ways that support justice, human dignity and freedom for all who call the Holy Land home,” said Brown.
“You can also make ethical choices about products and companies that are sustaining and profiting from the occupation, including not buying any products produced in illegal Israeli settlements.
“We also call on churches to ensure their investments do not cause harm and suffering to the Palestinian people.
“You can urge the UK Government to uphold international law and take actions to end Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine, and you can use prayer, worship and study materials to deepen your understanding and respond through faith.”
She added: “We have seen more and more organisations joining the coalition and significant numbers of churches and individuals writing to their MPs to increase the pressure on the UK Government.
“I think that shows a shared sense of urgency and a belief we are stronger when we all work together.”
