UK Church Leaders Gather for Peace in Middle East

|TOP|Church leaders from the UK gathered at the chapel in Westminster Central Hall last week to listen to the hopes and fears of Jerusalem church leaders, promising to pray and act on their behalf.

Led by the Rt Rev Michael Langrish, Bishop of Exeter, the conference was organised by the Middle East Forum of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) as part of a week of international action for peace in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

“This is not a one off, but part of a strategy of awareness in our churches," said the Bishop of Exeter. He added: "I trust that those gathered here will not give up.”

Church leaders in Jerusalem issued a statement that was sent around the world and churches as far and wide as London and Jerusalem gathered to consider their response.

|AD|"We ask all Christians to consider the prophetic role of the Church and the power and importance of public witness so that the sufferings, injustices and insecurity of the Occupation which affects Israelis and Palestinians – be they Christians, Muslims or Jews – become an urgent priority for all national governments”, read the statement.

The Christian population has drastically reduced in the Middle East, from 26.4 per cent in 1914 to 9.2 percent today in the whole of the Near East, according to Justus Reid Weiner, author of Human Rights of Christians in Palestinian Society.

Due to these figures, the attention of the international community is increasingly turning on the intensifying religious persecution in the Middle East.

In London Dr Bishara Awad, Principal of Bethlehem Bible College was joined by the Rt Rev Kamal Hanna Bathish, Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Rt Rev Riah Abu el Assal, Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem for the conference.

Dr Awad spoke of the moral obligation of churches in the UK towards their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem, commenting that the British have had an involvement in the region since the 18th century.

”Today we need Biblical theologians that will pioneer a new movement," he said. "We need true prophets of God who are not afraid of man."

The Rt Rev Kamal Hanna Bathish described the Holy Land as the fifth gospel and those living in it like the sixth, while the Anglican Bishop said that critics of Israeli government policies should not be intimidated by cries of anti-Semitism.

In response, CTBI issued a statement stating as the 40th anniversary of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip approaches, the pain and injustice of the situation has persisted for far too long.

They also recognised that "the price of Occupation is unbearably high for those living in Israel as well. The country is dominated by insecurity, fear and poverty at the same time social inequalities spiral out of control."