The Church of England's governing body has voted to amend and “hear” rather than "receive" a document on Israel Palestine that has been heavily criticised by Jewish leaders. It has decided to stand in solidarity with Palestinian Christians, while opposing antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred.
In a General Synod debate spread over Sunday evening and Monday morning, the controversial Kairos Palestine declarations were amended after a wide-ranging motion brought by the Diocese of Carlisle lamenting the loss of Palestinian and Israeli lives and seeking peace and security for all the peoples of the Holy Land.
A proposed call to “receive” the declarations – statements produced by Palestinian Christians – was changed to a call to “hear” them as “heartfelt expressions” of their experiences.
Another amendment also speaks of repentance for the Church’s historic contribution both to antisemitism and to the situation now affecting the Palestinian people, reaffirming commitment to inter-faith dialogue, including Christian Jewish dialogue.
Much of the debate focused on terms in the Kairos Palestine declarations written between 2009 and 2025 which have been criticised by senior leaders including the Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis for describing a "genocidal war on Gaza".
Supporting the amended wording, Most Rev Sarah Mullally, Archbishop of Canterbury told Synod that hearing the “heartfelt expressions of the lived experience of Palestinian Christians” in the documents does not mean agreeing with everything in them.
“The urgency of the situation in the Holy Land demands that we have difficult conversations,” she said.
“We must listen to things that are hard to hear, and take the risk of engaging across divides.
“I also hear the concerns of the Chief Rabbi, the Co-Leads of Progressive Judaism, and the Board of Deputies, and I thank them for their honesty. During my recent visit to the Nova Exhibition in London, I was reminded once again that the pain and trauma of the appalling 7 October attacks have not receded: they remain a daily reality for Jewish people in Israel and around the world.
“More than ever we need critical and respectful dialogue – one that includes the voices of Palestinian Christians, as well as our Jewish and Muslim friends.
“To hear the heartfelt expressions of the lived experience of Palestinian Christians does not mean that we agree with everything in these documents – but it does mean we listen with compassion, and stand in solidarity with them amidst the many injustices they face.”
Speaking to Premier Christian News before Monday’s debate, theologian and author Rev Dr Ian Paul said of the document: “It says some pretty shocking things. It doesn't really talk simply about the experience of oppression of Palestinian Christians at the hands of the Israeli government, the Israeli forces. It actually articulates that in terms of talking about Israel as a colonial settler enterprise founded on racist principles.
“Unless you've been there, unless you've met people from all sides, you cannot speak into this situation because it is so complex and contested. I think my great anxiety in the debate is that members of the Church of England are saying, ‘Jesus is on the side of the oppressed. Palestinian Christians say they're oppressed. Therefore, we must be on their side’”.
The final motion read:
‘That this Synod respond to the call of Palestinian Christians to stand in solidarity with them and their fellow Palestinians in non-violent resistance to the ongoing occupation. We lament the loss of Israeli and Palestinian lives and the violations of human dignity and rights on both sides, as well as the displacement of population. We commit to a better understanding of the situation in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, seeking peace and security for all the peoples of those lands and pursuing that which leads to the establishment of a just and lasting peace.’