A former Archbishop of Canterbury has warned the Church of England against a Palestinian-Christian group’s document which accuses Israel of “genocide”.
The rare intervention by Lord Carey comes ahead of a motion this afternoon by the Church’s ruling the body the Synod encouraging engagement with the text published by Kairos Palestine.
Last week, Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis spoke of his concern that the document may be harmful to the cause of peace.
Now Carey has echoed the Chief Rabbi’s warning and also raised the possibility of King Charles being embroiled in a damaging political controversy.
The document, entitled A Moment of Truth: Faith in a Time of Genocide and also known as Kairos II declares: “The genocidal war on Gaza is the continuation of the Zionist project to seize all of Palestine, emptied of its Palestinian people.”
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis warned that the content of the document “is deeply concerning”.
He said: “While it is important to recognise the suffering of Palestinian Christians, this document does so in a way which can only harm the cause of peace.”
He added: “It presents a one-sided account of a complex conflict, downplays the historical experiences and legitimate concerns of Jewish people, and offers little more than political activism dressed up as theology.”
The Chief Rabbi’s statement came after the Methodist Church formally accepted the Kairos document last month.
Now Lord Carey, who was Archbishop from 1991 to 2002, has echoed the Chief Rabbi’s warning.
Carey said: “As Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and Patron of the Council of Christians and Jews, the King could, through no fault of his own, find that the Church he represents is now committed to promoting a document that ‘risks undermining decades of careful relationship-building’ in the words of Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis.”
The former Archbishop’s statement comes after a number of other Jewish leaders in addition to the Chief Rabbi have spoken out on Kairos.
A spokesman for the Board of Deputies of British Jews said: “Any Church that wants a credible role in tackling prejudice here or advocating for peace in the Middle East should reject Kairos II.”
Rabbi Charley Baginsky, co-lead of the Movement for Progressive Judaism (MPJ) and a president of the CCJ, said: "The voices of Palestinian Christians should be heard with compassion and respect,” but warning that while Kairos Palestine was an expression of that lived experience, “it should not become the only lens through which churches understand this conflict”.
She added: “Parts of the document use language about Zionism and Jewish self-determination that many Jews experience not simply as criticism of Israeli governments, but as questioning a core part of contemporary Jewish identity.”
A spokesman for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This document is appalling, and it is shocking that the synod is even entertaining it. What a tragedy that instead of doing its part to combat the worst levels of anti-Semitism in living memory, the Church of England – hardly for the first time – is weighing whether to stoke the fire further.”
A spokesman for the Church of England said: “A motion relating to Palestinian Christians is being brought to the General Synod following a vote at the Carlisle Diocesan Synod (first in 2021 and revised in 2025).
“We would not comment on the merits of motions due to be debated, however wider context is set out in the secretary general’s paper to synod which, in particular, encourages members to read the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of anti-Semitism and the Government’s new guidance on anti-Muslim hostility ahead of the debate.”
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