Even before the latest outbreak of violence in Gaza, twice as many British Christians sympathised with the Palestinians as sympathised with Israel. Only one-in-eight Christians in the UK equates the modern State of Israel with the Biblical nation of Israel, while over two-thirds of British Christians believe the Holy Land belongs to both Jewish people and Palestinians. Those are some of the key findings in a detailed opinion poll of UK Christian views on the Middle East carried out for development charity Embrace the Middle East in May 2014, prior to the latest outbreak of violence in Israel/Palestine.

The results show a sharp contrast between the views of British and American Christians on the Israel/Palestine conflict.

The poll findings are being revealed now to coincide with Embrace the Middle East’s Gaza Emergency Appeal, aimed at raising £60,000 to support Palestinian Christian organisations inside Gaza.

"This is the first time British Christians have been polled on attitudes to the Israel/Palestine conflict" explains Jeremy Moodey, CEO of Embrace the Middle East.

The survey, conducted online and eliciting almost 2,500 responses from a representative sample of UK Christians, was carried out for Embrace in mid-May 2014 by Christian Research, the market research arm of Bible Society. Key results from the survey:

 Twice as many UK Christians (35.4 per cent) say they sympathise more with the Palestinians as say they sympathise with Israel (16.9 per cent). More than a third (37.9 per cent) sympathise with neither side, or both sides equally, while almost a tenth (9.7 per cent) said ‘Don’t know’.

 These results are in stark contrast to the views of US Christians, where (according to a Pew Forum poll in April 2014) between 40 per cent and 80 per cent of Christians support Israel (depending on denomination) and only between four per cent and 20 per cent sympathise with the Palestinians.

 There are also differences between British denominations: of those polled, 40.2 per cent of Anglicans, 44.6 per cent of Methodists and 56.6 per cent of Catholics said they sympathised more with the Palestinians than with Israel. Sympathy for the Palestinians was weaker among Baptists (28 per cent), but this was still greater than those Baptists who said they sympathised more with Israel (20.9 per cent).

 Only a third of those UK Christians polled (33.1 per cent) strongly agreed or tended to agree with the statement that ‘God gave the land that is now Israel to the Jewish people’, while only 12.4 per cent strongly agreed or tended to agree that the biblical nation of Israel and the modern state of Israel were the same.

 Some 70.1 per cent of UK Christians strongly agreed or tended to agree with the statement that the land belongs to both Jewish people and Palestinians. In a Pew Forum poll from 2006, 42 per cent of US Christians believe God gave the land that is now Israel to the Jewish people.

"The contrast with American Christians, many of whom see the Middle East through an 'end times' perspective, is stark," says Moodey. "Christians in the UK have generally steered clear of apocalyptic theology, are better informed on what is happening in the region, including the occupation and settlements, and feel strongly about issues of justice. As a result they sympathise instinctively with the underdog, in this case the Palestinians, while recognising Israel’s right to defend itself within secure borders."

Moodey also believes that the recent bloodshed in Gaza is likely to have further strengthened UK Christian sympathy for the Palestinian cause: "Many Christians in this country have been profoundly shocked by the horrific images coming out of Gaza. Hundreds of innocent Palestinian civilians, including women, children and the elderly, have been killed in the Israeli assault. There have also deaths on the Israeli side, but on a vastly smaller scale. Israel might have expected that its military intervention in Gaza would have damaged its reputation internationally, but it also risks losing significant support from UK Christians."

Moodey believes the key question is what British Christians will do to secure peace and justice for the Palestinian people for whom they have such instinctive sympathy: "Churches are already committed to justice issues like fair trade and international development. They worked tirelessly against South African apartheid in the 1980s. Will they also campaign for an end to the occupation of Palestine? Will they receive any direction from their church leadership? The biggest obstacle for many Christians is the fear that they will be accused of antisemitism, even though criticism of Israel’s actions is surely not in itself antisemitic."

For more information, visit: www.embraceme.org

Tags: antisemitism, Embrace the Middle East, Israel, Jeremy Moodey, Palestine. Christians

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