CofE: where are you?

This is the flyer CAMPAIN will be delivering to the Church of England General Synod on 10th February 2026.

The Lambeth Witness Group [1] says:

Where are you? We can’t hear you!

Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza hit by Israeli airstrike, killing at least 17

PALESTINIANS have been subject to a genocide for 28 months.

And Israel has killed well over 550 since the so-called ceasefire was called.

But the Church of England is much too busy to talk about the issue – for the fifth General Synod running, there is nothing about Palestine on the agenda.

The British government is an active participant in the genocide:

• In the last quarter of 2024, the UK government licensed £127.6m worth of military equipment to Israel – more than the UK exported between 2020-23 (CAAT).

• RAF pilots have flown 600 reconnaissance flights over Gaza since December 2023, sharing data with Israel.

• The UK continued to train IDF soldiers on UK soil during the genocide. 

• The UK continued trade worth £1.6 bn a year with Israel despite calls for sanctions

  
  

The Church of England sits at the heart of the British establishment with 24 bishops in the House of Lords. So where is the outcry? Why aren’t they calling the government to account?

Lambeth Witness Group applauds the handful of bishops who have criticised Israeli mass killings, deliberate starvation and holding up of aid to Gaza. We single out Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell who has spoken movingly of the plight of Palestinians since his trip to the area last year.

But this is not enough.

• The whole church must name the evils of genocide, ethnic cleansing and apartheid as identified by the UN, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Israeli NGO B’Tselem and genocide scholars (including prominent Israeli scholars).

• We should cry out in in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Palestine who feel so abandoned and betrayed by their fellow Christians here.

• We should cry out for Gazan Christians and Muslims trying to survive a harsh winter with no proper shelter and nowhere near enough food, clean water or functioning hospitals.

• We should cry out for West Bank Palestinians driven from their villages, seeing their olive trees set on fire and their animals killed or stolen.

• We should stand up for the brave Israelis who for decades have pointed to the evils of occupation and particularly to those who now go to prison for refusing to join the Israeli Defence Forces in their genocide.

• We should call the so-called ceasefire what it is: A SHAM!

Come on Church of England – you can do better!

[1] for Lambeth Witness Group see here