The legislative body of the Church of England is set to discuss a report calling for solidarity with Palestinian Christians at a time when communities face "settler colonialism, illegal occupation, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and genocide".
The General Synod, who is scheduled to meet in its upcoming session from 10-14 July in New York, will be considering a motion to engage with a document issued by Kairos Palestine , a Palestinian Christian ecumenical movement.
The report, titled 'A Moment of Truth: Faith in a Time of Genocide' and published on 14 November, 2025, is a theological and political appeal from Palestinian Christians to the wider Church, calling on Christians to stand in solidarity with their Palestinian counterparts as well as applying pressure on governments and global civil society to "isolate, boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel".
Describing Israel as a "colonial, settler and exclusionary entity", the report highlights how Palestinian Christians are living in "a time of genocide, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement unfolding before the eyes of the world", calling on churches across the world "to distinguish between dialogue with Jews and dialogue with Zionism".
The motion is also partly intended to shed light on the experience of Palestinian Christians in Gaza amid Israel’s genocidal war.
It follows the original 2009 Kairos Palestine statement, which was a faith-based call for justice and nonviolent resistance "from the heart of Palestinian Christian suffering".
The discussion has been welcomed by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) in a statement on Friday, warning, however, against "efforts by pro-Israel figures to suppress debate within the Church".
The alarm comes as pro-Israel figure Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, who reportedly has a son serving in the Israeli army, has urged the Church to reject the document, warning that it risks "undermining" the relationship between Christians and Jews.
At the same time, the Board of Deputies of British Jews , the largest and oldest body representing Jews in the UK, also published a briefing arguing that the Kairos II document is antisemitic and would "perpetuate conflict".
Palestinian Christian communities in the occupied Palestinian Territories have come under threat by Israeli authorities.
Israeli attacks have killed dozens of Palestinian Christians in Gaza, with multiple strikes targeting churches and church compounds including the compound of the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza City, which was struck on 19 October, 2023, as it was sheltering hundreds of people.
Across the West Bank and Jerusalem, Palestinian Christians face tightening movement restrictions, repeated settler attacks and heavy-handed policing at holy sites, with permits to reach Jerusalem’s churches for major feasts severely curtailed and Easter celebrations conducted under what residents describe as a suffocating security clampdown.