Statement on a Just Peace in Palestine and Israel

Context 

On 23 November 2023, in response to the 7th Oct 2023 attacks in Israel triggering yet another war on Palestine, members of the Leichhardt Uniting Church community gathered for the first of a five-part study on Palestine. This study was guided by the Kairos Palestine Document, a call to faith, action, justice and an end to occupation in Palestine issued by a group of Palestinian Christians in 2009. The first version of this statement was made shortly after by this group in December 2023. 

Two years on, much has changed but wars are ongoing. This statement is being revised in May 2026 to include the current and worsened state of Palestine (including Gaza and West Bank), and the expansion of land grab and killing in Lebanon. The wars still rage on despite so-called ceasefires, and a need for justice and truth is even more pertinent now than before. This is a deliberate act of colonisation that is both historically rooted and ever present. It is colonisation with multiple powers at play, ready to swoop in on land, resources, culture and identity. Israel is fueled by USA money and USA interests stand to gain from this war and genocide of an ancient people and culture.

This is a genocide. 

More than 680,000 people have been killed since Oct 2023, according to a study co-authored by Dr Richard Hill, of Griffith University. Many from an ongoing famine, many from point blank killing, many from drone attacks. The others who live, live in fear and trauma, with greater restrictions now on movement, food, access to healthcare, basic shelter, their practice of faith and culture, or they live in prisons where any Palestinian can be taken to be tortured and/or killed. 

Since the first version of this statement we have also witnessed an appalling massacre in our own city. On 14 December 2025, fuelled by anti-semitic hate, 15 people were killed during a peaceful religious celebration. This has been unimaginably painful for our Jewish siblings, and we affirm the outcry of lament and support from across civil society for this community.

Whilst we continue to raise our voice for a just peace overseas, we also reiterate the importance of condemning anti-semitic, Islamophobic, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian racism in our own country, and of committing to anti-racist action. We reject the politicisation of these events to further dehumanise Palestinian communities and silence criticism of Israel. We call on all levels of government to take meaningful action on racism and hate.

LUC Statement on a Just Peace in Palestine and Israel

““Inspired by the mystery of God’s love for all, the mystery of God’s divine presence in the history of all peoples and, in a particular way, in the history of our country, we proclaim our word based on our Christian faith and our sense of Palestinian belonging – a word of faith, hope and love.” ”
— Kairos Palestine Document

Leichhardt Uniting Church (LUC) is committed to agitating and advocating for justice, and sovereignty of the Palestinian people and culture,  and is actively working towards peace and justice in Palestine. We commit to understanding more about historical and ongoing violence in Palestine, and how this land, people and place is interwoven in the stories that ground our faith. 

We hold ourselves to account to learn from and advocate for our Palestinian brothers and sisters, and call upon  the wider Church to listen and respond. 

  •  We renew our efforts to disentangle from destructive colonial theologies and “just war” theories within our own faith, narratives and lived reality. 

  • We reject Zionist interpretations of scripture or accounts of culture and history that legitimise the ethnic cleansing of Palestine and the vilification and dehumanisation of Palestinians and their cultures.

  • We distinguish between Zionist and Jewish non-Zionist voices, they are not the same. We discern and are weary of the Zionist lobby here in so-called Australia and its effect and power on communities, government, institutions and policy. 

  • We also acknowledge the role of the church in perpetuating and profiting from Zionist agendas and the ways in which this has rendered genuine expressions of Jewish identity as subservient to the whim of global powers.

  • We affirm the right to Palestinian self-determination and acknowledge the Palestinian struggle as an anti-colonial struggle. 

  • We recognise the role of the Christian church in colonisation across the world, its own colonial narratives about the Holy Lands, and acknowledge that we must do more to build relationships with and support the aspirations of First Nations people both in Australia and in Palestine.

  • We acknowledge the Holy Lands are the foundational and sacred lands for many faiths and that Christianity has played a role in colonising people, Including colonising Jesus to remove him from the Palestinian lands he is from. This compels us to be accountable, and do more in decolonising these narratives and stories from The Bible, and learning more from our sisters and brothers from the Holy Lands, especially Palestine.

  • We affirm the rights of all people to live in peace, justice, autonomy and dignity. We recommit ourselves to anti-racism including action on anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab racism, Antisemitism and Islamophobia. We acknowledge the role of the Christian Church in the persecution of Jewish and Muslim people historically and today. We commit to deepening our understanding of the role of the Church in this violence and taking action to address it.

  • We acknowledge that God became human in the form of a poor, Palestinian, Jewish man in Palestine, was displaced as a refugee, lived under occupation, spoke truth to power, was incarcerated and killed by the state. Such a life calls us to commit, as followers of Jesus, to resist and dismantle the forces of empire, occupation, and to rise up in the spirit of love, justice, peace, learning and commit ourselves to liberation. 

  • We acknowledge that we come here equipped with motivation and heavy hearts for all that has played out in Palestine and the wider Holy Lands, but that we have a lot of decolonising and learning ahead to come to this work, advocacy, and pursuit of justice and peace in a whole and humble way. 

What we can do:

LUC acknowledges the ongoing work needed to uphold and promote Palestinian self-determination and identity. We commit to acts of solidarity with Palestinian people and efforts to support  justice and peace. 

Leichhardt Uniting Church commits to:

  • Listen and respond to Palestinian and Jewish voices within our own city calling for a just and sustainable peace, including inviting perspectives into our church teachings and inviting affected leaders to talk to us at church

  • Name and acknowledge the long history of strength shown by Palestinian people against colonial powers, and remind ourselves that the recent violence  did not begin with The Hamas action in 2023 but has its roots in the Balfour Declaration of 1917.  

  • Support local actions and demonstrations of solidarity as a church, including solidarity rallies and petitions organised by other networks, and ensure safety of people in their involvement. 

  • Examine how certain Christian theologies, representations and practices directly or indirectly support the expansion of Israel through forced removal of Palestinian people and commit to rejecting/subverting these

  • Hold ourselves to account as a church, as an institution, for the pain we too have caused historically in these spaces and continue to do so in our lack of action and our silence

  • Encourage and provide protection for those seeking safety from violence whilst also advocating for the Right of Return

  • Call on other Uniting Church councils, leaders and political leaders to read and share the Kairos Palestine document and consider adopting our commitments

  • Allowing Palestinian Justice groups to use the space of the church to raise awareness, build community, solidarity and actions. 

  • Running short, study groups to discuss Palestine and decolonisation

  • Supporting fundraising, donation drives and events led by the Palestinian community

  • Raising awareness, being active in our knowledge seeking and constant advocacy within and outside of the LUC community of what has happened historically to Palestinian people and culture, and what is ongoing-ly happening.

We encourage our members (and others) to

  • Attend local actions and demonstrations of solidarity, including solidarity rallies and petitions organised by other networks

  • Support Palestinian businesses, for example purchasing Palestinian grown olive oil and dates and/or supporting the Mutual Aid markets that happen monthly.

  • Support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement

  • Identify and act on ways to challenge the Australian Government’s support of the Zionist agenda in the expanding occupation of Palestine, including halting the exportation of weapons or foreign military projects to operate out of Pine Gap, but also the shutting down of freedom of speech and the right to protest

  • Learn more, and actively engage in what is happening in Palestine however overwhelming the news cycle can be

  • Build relationships with Palestinian individuals, communities and groups

  • Support events, fundraisers and donation drives. 

Sources of more information

We can learn more from below and many more sources

Written by members of Leichhardt Uniting Church

Endorsed by Leichhardt Uniting Church Council 12th December 2023

Version 2: May 2026

Appendix/notes

Additional documents we should consider in our advocacy and action on this issue: