Concordis Papers VIII: Christian Churches and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Concordis Paper VIII 3rd edition is available for download here.

Concordis International has worked—not always under that name—for over 25 years to build sustainable and just peace in areas suffering from war, by developing relationships between key individuals on all sides of violent conflict and helping them together to find constructive ways forward. Our field of experience includes South Africa, Rwanda, Sudan, Kenya and Afghanistan. With respect to the Middle East, we have so far limited ourselves to the relatively modest ambitions that available funding has allowed.

This paper is the eighth in a series which seeks to build on the strengths of the Concordis approach through spreading understanding of issues and the multilateral consensus developed in consultations, primarily connected with the conflicts in Sudan. Over the years, a host of consultations have been held on a wide range of themes, each with its own unique set of presentations, discussions, conclusions and recommendations.

This booklet results from a consultation we held in Cambridge, England, in September 2009 on The Role of British Churches in the Israeli‐Palestinian Conflict. Participating—in their personal capacities—were theologians, church leaders, academics and activists holding a spectrum of views on the issues. Our aim is both to provide wider access to the main content of presentations made at our consultations and to draw together the range of views expressed by participant in a succinct and readable form. Apart from the ‘guest article’ by Dr Munayer, the content of this paper represents a balanced selection of the presentations and discussion at the consultation, not necessarily the opinions of Concordis International. Authors are of course responsible for their own contributions, but Concordis takes overall editorial responsibility. 

In addition to the articles from the contributors listed on page 26, we have of course received much helpful advice and input from those who attended the September consultation and from many others. We are grateful to all.

Concordis Paper VIII 3rd edition is available for download here.