PRESS RELEASE: Christ Under the Rubble

PALESTINIAN PASTOR REVD MUNTHER ISAAC CALLS UK CHURCH TO ACTION FOR GAZA

05 February 2024.

On Sunday 18th February Revd Dr Munther Isaac is set to deliver a powerful and unflinching sermon at Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church in London, calling the UK Church to act in haste regarding the situation in Gaza and to stand in support and communion with the Church in Palestine.

Following on from his Advent sermon from the Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, Revd Isaac will outline the catastrophic events of the last few months in Gaza, which has resulted in the death of over 27,000 Palestinians, three quarters of them estimated to be women and children.

In his sermon on the 24th of December, Revd Isaac was clear that the West has a responsibility to uphold international law and call for an immediate ceasefire, and that reinforcing Israel’s potential genocide against the Palestinian people was embracing sin and darkness. His final words, which were also quoted in the South African closing arguments at the International Court of Justice hearing regarding Israel’s actions in Gaza, were unequivocally clear.

"Your charity, your words of shock AFTER the genocide, won’t make a difference. Words of regret will not suffice for you. We will not accept your apology after the genocide. What has been done, has been done. I want you to look at the mirror… and ask: where was I when Gaza was going through a genocide."

Revd Isaac’s visit comes on the back of several significant challenges to the UK regarding its stance on Gaza, including the ICJ decision to impose provisional measures and the UK’s decision to pause future funding to UNWRA. He will spend several days in the UK, and alongside the event at Bloomsbury will deliver an address in parliament to MPs, a lecture at Oxford University, and accompany the Palestinian Ambassador, Dr Hosam Zomlot, to other events. Regarding the importance of his visit, and what he hoped to achieve, Revd Isaac said;

“I am traveling to the UK to call the church to be the church, and to act in costly solidarity towards an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire. This is a moral obligation. This is not the time for neutrality or soft diplomacy.

I am grateful for the increasing support within the UK for a ceasefire. I hope we can utilise this support to pressure policy makers to bring an end to this war, and to reach a long-lasting solution to the Palestinian tragedy.”

Minister at Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, Simon Woodman, is a long-term supporter of the Palestinian people, and an advocate for equal rights for all those living in Israel and Palestine. On the opportunity to host Revd Isaac he said:

“We need to hear the pressing call for peace from Palestinian voices such as Dr Munther's, because Jesus continues to be crucified in our world: it happens wherever healing and love are displaced by violence and hatred. We need to hear Jesus speaking to us, 'No more of this!' he says, because 'all who take the sword will perish by the sword'. So we call for a ceasefire now. It is time for a different path to be taken, one which leads to the hope of life, rather than the spiralling violence of death.”

Notes to editors:

·        Munter Isaac’s sermon will take place at Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, 235 Shaftesbury Avenue, WC2H 8EP from 2-4pm on Sunday 18th February.

·        Members of the press are invited to attend the event at Bloomsbury Baptist. Please book your place here (https://embracethemiddleeast.beaconforms.com/form/58759ea7 )and indicate which press agency you are from.

• If you are interested in organizing an interview with Revd Munther Isaac during his time in the UK, please contact Matt.Adcock@embraceme.org 07711872753

• Revd Munther’s Advent sermon at the Lutheran Church in Bethlehem can be accessed here: Munther Isaac Sermon in the Liturgy of Lament: Christ in the Rubble - YouTube

• Statements from humanitarian aid agencies, human rights groups and peace organisations calling for UK government to uphold the decision of the ICJ decision in public and policy and to reinstate funding to UNWRA can be found here: UNWRA ICJ Outcome

• This event is being organized by Embrace the Middle East and Sabeel-Kairos UK. For further information or press enquiries please contact;

  • Matt Adcock, Head of Communications, Embrace the Middle East. Matt.Adcock@embraceme.org 07711872753

  • Charlotte Marshall, Director, Sabeel-Kairos UK. Director@sabeel-kairos.org.uk 07505352148.