Church leaders oppose plans to move the British embassy to Jerusalem

Evangelicals are strongly against the proposed relocation of the British Embassy to Jerusalem.

Leaders of the Christian faith are pleading with Prime Minister Liz Truss to reconsider her decision to relocate the British Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

If this happens, Britain would be following in the footsteps of the United States, which moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump.

In response to a request from the Conservative Friends of Israel, the Council of the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem published a statement expressing “grave worry” about Truss’ proposals.

Council members agree that relocating the British embassy to Jerusalem would “severely weaken” the city’s unique status and “additional barrier to furthering the already moribund peace process.”

The council recommended that Britain not move its embassy but instead work to restart talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

To paraphrase, “as Churches, our ecclesiastical jurisdictions include all of the geographical areas of the Holy Land,” a territory where Christians have lived for two millennia despite several changes in rulership.

“We must maintain the religious status quo in Jerusalem for the sake of peace in the Holy City and cooperation among faiths elsewhere.

“The corpus separatum [special status] that most nations across the world have used by delaying the establishment of their embassies in Jerusalem until a definitive status solution has been achieved on the Holy City is implicit in the acknowledgment of the Status Quo.

“Relocating the British embassy to Jerusalem would be a major blow to Corpus Separatum and the political discussions it is meant to facilitate.

“In fact, the very act of reviewing the placement of the British Embassy not only implies that no such negotiations are needed: that the continuing military occupation of those territories and the unilateral annexation of East Jerusalem are both acceptable, but also that they have already resolved the ongoing disputes between the involved parties, which is not the case.

We find it hard to believe that this is the message the British government wants to convey to the rest of the globe.

This week, representatives from several Christian groups in the United Kingdom, including the Church of Scotland, Church of England, United Reformed Church, Methodist Church in Great Britain, Quakers, Christian Aid, and the Friends, all wrote to Truss to express their support for the council’s concerns.

The Prime Minister is urged to “maintain the duty of all countries to protect the historic status quo of the Holy City, in compliance with the relevant UN resolutions,” as stated in the letter.

According to the letter, after visiting Jerusalem in May 2022, a group of Christian church leaders from throughout the globe called the Holy Land Co-ordination made the following statement: “There are Jews, Christians, and Muslims all residing in Jerusalem. It must never become the exclusive property of one faith and must instead be preserved as a shared heritage for everyone. As Christians, we have the right and the responsibility to defend the city’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.”

The letter ends by saying that reevaluating where the embassy is located “would only send a negative signal that would not serve the objectives of a durable and fair peace for everybody, Palestinian and Israelis alike.”

Church of Scotland Moderator Rt Rev Dr Iain Greenshields said, “The General Assembly has consistently supported a negotiated solution to the ongoing occupation of the Palestinian territory, which includes East Jerusalem, and unilateral UK action to move its embassy would not support efforts to see a peaceful, long-term resolution to this historic injustice.”