On the 12th and  13th of July, the General Synod of the Church of England extensively debated a motion involving the Kairos II document. We are grateful to all those who spoke up for raising awareness of the impact this motion has had and the deep concern it raises amongst the Jewish community in the UK, alongside extremely problematic language and assumptions.

Kairos II gives voice to the grave distress of many Palestinian Christians and it is important that we listen to these voices. However, it is important that it is understood that Kairos II is not a consultative document and does not represent the views of all Christians in the Holy Land.

We appreciate the many amendments proposed to improve the nuance of the motion, highlighting the complexity of these issues, including the significant change that Synod 'hear' rather than 'receive' Kairos II. However, it is unlikely that this will mitigate damage to trust amongst many within the Jewish community around this motion.

As was raised in the debate, language matters and although the motion clearly condemns antisemitism and Islamophobia the increase in hostility and attacks experienced by the British Jewish community does not exist in a vacuum. We remind Christian clergy that standing alongside Palestinians and Palestinian Christians must not be at the expense of UK community cohesion, nor the safety of local faith communities here in the UK.

CCJ remains committed to fostering dialogue, deepening relationships and building trust between Christians and Jews. Our thanks again to all those who spoke out of concern for the Jewish community and in favour of nuance, listening to multiple perspectives and building stronger links between our faith communities.