Uniting Church stands with the global church in call for justice and peace in Palestine and Israel

A Call to End Apartheid, Occupation and Impunity: Uniting Church Adopts WCC Statement on Palestine

A statement from Rev Charissa Suli, President of the Uniting Church in Australia

As President of the Uniting Church in Australia, I am deeply grieved by the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Alongside our global ecumenical partners, I believe this is a moment when the Church must speak with clarity, act with courage, and pray with compassion.

At its July 2025 meeting, the Assembly Standing Committee adopted the recent statement of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee on Palestine and Israel as the official position of the Uniting Church Assembly.

This powerful and prophetic statement, A Call to End Apartheid, Occupation and Impunity in Palestine and Israel, was released at the WCC Central Committee meeting in Johannesburg in June 2025. It reflects two years of consultation with churches in the Middle East including with Palestinian Christian communities. It offers a clear moral witness at a time of unbearable suffering.

With deep lament and righteous anger, the statement names the devastation in Gaza, the escalating violence in the West Bank and Jerusalem, and calls the global Church to action grounded in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and international law.

It affirms the dignity of both Palestinians and Israelis and draws an essential distinction between our Jewish siblings and the policies of the Israeli Government. It unequivocally rejects all forms of racism, including antisemitism, anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia.

As the Uniting Church in Australia, we echo its urgent calls:

• For an end to the occupation of Palestine, and the lifting of the unlawful blockade on Gaza;
• For accountability, including sanctions, where international law is violated.
• For the protection and affirmation of Palestinian rights and freedoms;
• For justice through the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice;
• For recognition of the grave breaches of international humanitarian law, including potential war crimes and crimes against humanity;
• For a renewed international commitment to a just and lasting peace;
• For solidarity with the Christian church in Palestine.

In adopting the WCC statement, we reaffirm our deep solidarity with the people of Palestine, and all who long for a just peace in the Holy Land. We stand ready to listen to the cries of the oppressed, to centre the voices of our ecumenical and interfaith partners, and to act with moral courage and compassion as followers of Jesus.

As I wrote in my Easter 2025 statement on Palestine, “we follow the crucified and risen Christ, who stands with the oppressed, weeps with the broken, and rises with wounds still visible.” It is the love of God revealed in Christ that compels us – love that refuses to look away from suffering and insists on justice as the path to peace.

The Assembly Standing Committee has authorised the General Secretary to develop resources to help our Church engage deeply with the WCC statement. These will be made available in the coming weeks to guide us in prayer, reflection and faithful action.

I invite every community in our Church to hold this crisis in prayer - prayers of lament, of hope, and of bold compassion. Let us be a Church that weaves the love of Christ into the world’s wounds, that walks humbly with the suffering, and that joins with others in the work of true justice and lasting peace.

With faith, hope and love,

Rev Charissa Suli

President, Uniting Church in Australia

Reading and past statements

• Read the President's Easter Statement on Palestine and accompanying FAQ
• Download the President's Liturgy of Lament for Gaza
• Jews and Judaism: a statement by the UCA (2009)
• Statement on Palestine (2015)
• Statement on Palestine and Israel (2008)
• Minute by the World Council of Churches Executive Committee - 15 May 2025
• President's Call to Prayer: Week of Prayer for Peace in the Middle East - 24 September 2024
• President's Statement for the Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel - 16 September 2024
• ASC resolution on the Holy Land - 17 April 2024
• More than 100 religious leaders call for immediate ceasefire - 29 March 2024
• Uniting Church holds fresh concerns for Gaza and Rafah - 14 February 2024
• Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimages - 31 January 2024
• Uniting Church echoes WCC call for immediate ceasefire - 15 November 2023
• NCCA Statement on Hamas-Israel conflict on behalf of member churches - 24 October 2023
• Read the call for peace and call to prayer from ex-President Rev Sharon Hollis - 11 October 2023
• Read news and statements from the World Council of Churches
• Read news and statements from the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem
• A prayer for peace shared by the NCCA, 10 October 2023
• Donate to the Act for Peace appeal in support of health clinics run by the Near East Council of Churches in Gaza