Palestinian Christians in Australia (PCiA) welcomes the passage of Motion 24.1 at the Anglican Church
of Australia’s General Synod, which was carried with overwhelming support from Synod members.
The motion, moved by Mr Howard Benson, and seconded by Canon Dr Dianne Rayson draws on
Anglican Board of Mission report on the impact of the conflict in the Middle East, particularly on the
Diocese of Jerusalem and the Al Ahli Arab Hospital and its field clinic at Al Ahli Kahn Younis in Gaza.
In passing the motion, General Synod:
- Noted critical shortages of medicine and medical supplies, and critical shortages of food and clean
water, with an estimated ten thousand children living with life-changing injuries. - Encouraged the members of General Synod to pray for the work of the ministry of the Diocese of
Jerusalem and the Middle East and the ministry of the Diocese of Jerusalem and the Anglican Board
of Mission Australia in that diocese.
“This motion is a meaningful step by the Anglican Church of Australia to stand with Palestinian
Christians in this moment of profound suffering,” said John Na’em Snobar, Director of Advocacy for
Palestinian Christians in Australia.
“As the grandson of Bishop Faik Ibrahim Haddad, the first Palestinian Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem, I
know how much it means for our church family to have its voice heard and its suffering acknowledged
by the wider Communion. We thank General Synod for its overwhelming support and call on all
Australians of faith to keep praying for, and acting in solidarity with, our brothers and sisters in Gaza
and the West Bank.”
PCiA thanks Mr Howard Benson, and Canon Dr Dianne Rayson, and all members of General Synod who
supported this motion in solidarity with Palestinian Christians and the wider community in Gaza and
the West Bank.
This decision follows the Church of England’s own General Synod, meeting in York in July 2026, where
members voted to hear the voices and witness of Palestinian Christians. Taken together, these votes
reflect a growing recognition across the Anglican Communion of the urgent need to respond to the
suffering of Palestinian Christians and the wider population in Gaza and the West Bank.