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

The Uniting Church Assembly Standing Committee has adopted a statement of the World Council of Churches Central Committee on Palestine as the Uniting Church's official position

August 1, 2025

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.

"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."

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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

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