Church Leaders in America Must Speak Out against Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing

Text of leaflet dropped on Gaza: “The world map will not change if all the people of Gaza cease to exist. No one will feel for you, and no one will ask about you. You have been left alone to face your inevitable fate. Iran cannot even protect itself, let alone protect you, and you have seen with your own eyes what has happened. Neither America nor Europe care about Gaza in any way. Even your Arab countries, which are now our allies, provide us with money and weapons while sending you only shrouds.”

Despite repeated pleas from Palestinian Christians for church leaders to stand boldly and publicly with the Palestinian people and in opposition to Israel’s genocidal war, the leaders of most U.S. Christian denominations have failed to do so. Of course, Christian Zionists, like Pastor John Hagee, stood solidly behind Israel during its 15-month killing spree. But some mainline Christian leaders also made more subtle statements that indicated bias in favor of the Israeli narrative.

At best, the majority of the church establishment in the U.S. did not go much farther than expressing sympathy for the Palestinian victims on humanitarian grounds and calling for a ceasefire. Few had the courage to condemn Israel’s terror against the Palestinian using terms like “genocide” and “ethnic cleaning” and call on the Biden Administration to stop the weapons shipments enabling the slaughter.

Notable exceptions, for which Palestinian Christians are eternally grateful, have included the prophetic statement by the African Methodist Episcopal Church leadership which “called on the United States government to cut funding for Israel,” which it accused of committing "mass genocide" in Gaza. [See AME Church accuses Israel of 'mass genocide' in Gaza | Church & Ministries.] Similarly, the United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ condemned Israel’s genocidal war and called on the U.S. government to stop arms shipments to it. [See A pastoral letter for peace and justice from leaders of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) - Global Ministries and A Prophetic Call for Justice and Peace in Palestine - United Church of Christ.]

In contrast, some mainline protestant leaders actually showed bias against the Palestinians while the genocidal onslaught against them was raging. The case of the Episcopal Church is particularly illustrative. While there was a groundswell of outrage among Episcopalians against Israeli atrocities, as evidenced by many excellent proposed resolutions put before the Episcopal General Convention of 2024, the House of Bishops defeated a proposed resolution to express “solidarity with Palestinians as indigenous people.” More recently, Diocese of Washington Bishop Mariann Budde, received accolades for her great courage in calling for compassion for refugees during the Trump inauguration at the National Cathedral. Yet Bishop Budde basically accepted the Israeli narrative regarding the events of October 7th, reserving the harshest language to condemn “Hamas terrorists.”

In her statements on Gaza, Bishop Budde acknowledged that “hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Palestinians are on the brink of starvation [and that] entire families have been destroyed. She said that, “like many Christian leaders, I have remained largely silent on the war between Israel and Hamas.” But she really did not persist in her alleged silence, quickly adding that the Palestinian perpetrators who “brutally attacked [Israel] on October 7… must be held accountable for the atrocities they committed.” Nowhere did Bishop Budde mention who was responsible for the “hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Palestinians [who] are on the brink of starvation,” nor that those who are responsible ought to be held accountable for their genocidal crimes.

How much more proof do church leaders need that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians, when overwhelming evidence has been gathered and reported by the most respected international organizations, including the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, especially when the evidence is fully backed by the public pronouncements of top Israeli leaders. There is also the alleged excuse that church leaders do not wish to offend Jews. This excuse rings hollow given that over 350 rabbis have acted with integrity and courage in a NYT full page ad denouncing the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians [See ‘No to ethnic cleansing’: over 350 rabbis sign US ad assailing Trump’s Gaza plan | Trump administration | The Guardian.]

Perhaps the blatantly racist and crue language of the leaflets dropped en masse over Gaza can provide further proof-- as if more is needed-- of Israel’s genocidal disregard for the lives of Palestinians.

Church leaders can no longer be silent. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people, but the silence over that by the good people.”