Church Leaders Renew Ceasefire Call

Wednesday December 6 2023

Current and former Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland are among faith leaders to sign a letter to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, calling for an end to violence in the Holy Land.

The Rt Rev Sally Foster-Fulton and the Very Rev Andrew McLellan are among 69 church leaders and charity heads from around the world who write of their ‘horror and sadness’ at the events in Palestine and Israel since October 7, and say ‘enough is enough’.

The letter acknowledges the ‘profound and existential grief’ caused by the attacks by Hamas on October 7, and condemns ‘the vitriolic hatred’ faced by Jews, Muslims and others around the world because of the conflict.

It continues: “We cannot remain silent as generations of families in Gaza are wiped out in an instant. World leaders cannot sit by while Palestinian civilians in Gaza experience such catastrophic destruction and trauma. The relentless and unrestrained bombing campaign with horrific indiscriminate effects and the ground invasion by Israel must end.”

The faith leaders also say they ‘are deeply grieved by the complicity of the United States and several other Western countries… through efforts to actively oppose a ceasefire’.

In addition to Mrs Foster-Fulton and Mr McLellan, the letter is signed by representatives of other UK denominations, including the Church of England, Methodist Church, United Reformed Church and Quakers, churches from Ireland, America and South Africa, and aid agencies including Christian Aid, Embrace the Middle East and the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development.

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