Church of England Synod votes to hear Kairos Palestine document despite Chief Rabbi’s objections

The General Synod of the Church of England voted on July 13 to support Palestinian Christians, despite opposition from the UK’s Chief Rabbi and other figures in the Jewish establishment. The debate had begun on July 12 with a motion from Carlisle that urged the Church to engage with the Kairos II document. According to Jewish Voice for Liberation, the Synod changed the motion’s wording from “engage with” to “hear” the Palestinian plea before voting in favor. Middle East Monitor, however, described the endorsement as engagement with the document, and reported that the Chief Rabbi had sought to block the debate. The reports do not agree on this point, and the sources cited do not provide the Chief Rabbi’s own account of that effort.

Kairos Palestine II is a statement by Palestinian Christians about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Al Jazeera reported that the General Synod debated the motion over two days. The motion concerned engagement with the Kairos Palestine and Kairos Palestine II documents from Palestinian churches. According to Al Jazeera, these documents describe the experiences of Christians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza and call for an end to the Israeli occupation. Al Jazeera noted that the first Kairos Palestine document was released in 2009.

Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis expressed concern, as reported by Christian Today, that the document oversimplifies the conflict and undermines the historical experiences of Jewish people. Mirvis described the Synod’s recommendation to engage with the document as “shameful.” Jewish Voice for Liberation reported that the Jewish establishment had criticized the Kairos II document for allegedly spreading a “toxic narrative” about Jews. These are the objections of the Chief Rabbi and of the establishment figures named in these reports, not of Jewish people as a whole.

The Synod’s decision was made at its meeting in York. According to New Arab, the motion passed by 253 votes to 47. The motion called on the Church to “hear” the voices of Palestinian Christians and their fellow Palestinians. New Arab also reported that Kairos Palestine declarations, including a 2025 document, describe Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide. New Arab said this characterization has sparked debate and controversy. Christian Today and the other reports do not state that the Synod endorsed that characterization, so the sources should be read carefully on this point.

The vote reflects a dispute within the churches over how to address the conflict, with some Synod members supporting a listening process and others opposing the motion. The reports agree that the Chief Rabbi and parts of the Jewish establishment opposed the motion, and that the Synod passed it despite that opposition. Holding these disagreements together in public debate, with care for both Palestinian Christians and Jewish communities, is a matter of peacemaking (Romans 12:18).