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A Statement on The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

The United Christian Wesleyan Methodist Church Diocese of South Florida takes seriously the authority of Scripture and the Christian call for peacemaking. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5: 9). We therefore acknowledge that on October 7, the attack on mostly Jewish civilians was a horrific act of evil that resulted in the brutal murder of 1300 people and the abduction of over 200 more as hostages. We vehemently condemn the violence perpetrated against the Jewish people by Hamas and support Israel’s right to defend itself against this atrocity.

At the same time, we also acknowledge our responsibility to be the voice for peace and justice. We do not support the disproportionate killing of Palestinian civilians whose death tolls have reached more than 11,200 and where UNICEF says more than 700,000 children in Gaza have been “forced to leave everything behind.” 

We contend that this is not the way towards peace and justice. Though it does not absolve Hamas of the brutality of the October 7 attack, we must also recognize that Palestinians have lived under political oppression and economic deprivation for years. In the current war, Gaza’s density and closed borders leave nowhere to hide or run from Israel’s massive military might, and its devastating and relentless destruction. Israel has blockaded Gaza for 16 years and occupied the West Bank – where illegal Israeli settlements keep expanding – for 56 years. Palestinians have slim economic prospects and few legal rights. Their homes are bulldozed, their movements restricted, and their hope for a Palestinian state is constantly denied. 

We rely, as we reflect on this conflict, on the words of Jesus who said, “Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:52). 

We rely, too, on the wisdom of the griots of the African American religious tradition. Theologian Howard Thurman learned from his grandmother that “No one ever wins a fight.” 

And the prophetic words and witness of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. remind us that, “Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate … Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

Our prayer as a Diocese is that God will intervene into this tragic situation and bless the stories of both Jews and Palestinians who equally love the land and who both deserve to live there in peace. Thus, the United Christian Wesleyan Methodist Diocese of South Florida is calling on all people of faith and goodwill to pray for peace. We urge you to pray for peace for those who have had a history of misunderstanding and hostility. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, God’s holy city. Pray for peace with justice between Israel and Palestine. Pray that the ancient land of the Bible which has been drenched in the blood of warfare for centuries will soon see the day when warring ethnic and religious groups will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks, when nation shall not lift up sword against nation and neither will they study war no more. (Micah 4: 3-4). 

Bishop Michael Brennen,

United Christian Wesleyan Methodist Church Diocese of South Florida 

Bishop Michael Brennen, United Christian Wesleyan Methodist Church Diocese of South Florida