The Baptist Union’s Statement on Israel and Hamas Fails the Test of Truth

The Baptist Union’s recent statement, Israel, Hamas and theological responsibility, claims to offer a careful and theologically responsible reflection. In reality, it does the opposite. It distorts history, muddles moral clarity, and continues the tired habit of blaming Israel whenever it defends itself. Worse, it carries the stench of antisemitism, holding the Jewish state to standards never applied anywhere else.

“We affirm without reservation that the atrocities committed by Hamas on 7 October are evil and without justification. The events of that day, and the terror and violence that continue to unfold in Gaza, are not to be seen in competition with each other.”

This is an appalling conflation. One side raped and burned civilians alive in their homes. The other is a democratic state responding to mass murder. The claim that these two realities are not “in competition” implies moral equivalence where there is none.

The 7 October massacre is not the Nakba

The statement places the brutal, premeditated slaughter by Hamas alongside the so-called Nakba of 1948. That comparison is both historically false and morally grotesque.

• The Nakba refers to the displacement of Arab civilians during a war launched by five Arab nations seeking to destroy Israel.
• Many of those civilians fled voluntarily or under orders from Arab leaders.
• Israel was defending its right to exist. It was not conducting ethnic cleansing.

This is not moral symmetry.

• Evidence of 7 October atrocities
• Historical context of the Arab exodus
• Debunking Nakba revisionism

Israel is not Hamas

“We reject the notion that violence perpetrated by one party somehow justifies a violent response from the other.”

This sounds righteous but it is nonsense. There is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas.

• Hamas is a terrorist group with a charter calling for the destruction of Israel and the murder of Jews.
• Israel is a liberal democracy. It protects freedom of worship, free press, and rights for Arab citizens.
• Hamas targets civilians and uses its own people as shields.
• Israel warns civilians and opens corridors to save lives.

The idea that these are simply “two sides in conflict” is moral cowardice.

• Israel’s democratic structure
• How Hamas uses civilian infrastructure
• Israel’s attempts to limit civilian deaths

The article ignores its own advice

“We call for a pause. A pause before writing or speaking. A pause before reposting or retweeting.”

Then it uncritically uses language like “Nakba,” “Palestine,” and “illegal occupation.” These are not neutral terms.

• There has never been a sovereign state of Palestine.
• The territories are disputed, not illegally occupied.
• The Jewish people have historical, legal, and indigenous ties to the land.

If the Union wants careful language, it should start with its own.

• Legal status of West Bank
• Why Palestine is not a recognised sovereign state
• Israel as a decolonisation movement

Christians are not proof-texting war

“There is a real danger in weaponising the Bible. To use it to justify acts of violence or oppression.”

This is a straw man. No one is quoting verses to justify military strikes. The support for Israel comes from historical fact, moral clarity, and democratic values—not Old Testament conquest narratives.

The Jewish people’s connection to the land predates Islam by over a thousand years. Returning to their homeland is not colonialism. It is the reversal of it.

Scripture is not neutral about evil

“We must condemn the violence and aggression on both sides.”

The Bible does not call for moral equivalence. It demands justice.

• The Psalms cry out against wickedness.
• The prophets speak plainly about those who harm the innocent.
• Psalm 94 asks: “Who will rise up for me against the wicked?”

This is not pacifism. It is moral realism. Hamas is not simply violent. It is evil.

Civilian suffering is real—and Hamas is responsible

“We weep with all those who are suffering, and who have lost loved ones on all sides.”

Yes. And we must also speak clearly: those deaths are the direct result of Hamas’s actions.

• Hamas started this war.
• Hamas embedded itself in civilian areas.
• Hamas prevents its own people from evacuating.
• CNN on Hamas using schools and homes

Israel has gone further than any military in history to reduce civilian deaths. Yet the Union chooses this moment to question Israel’s conduct.

Peace will not come while Hamas rules Gaza

“We urge all parties… to de-escalate the situation and commit to a peaceful and just resolution.”

This ignores reality. There will be no peace with a terror state.

• Hamas has rejected every offer of peace.
• It is holding over 100 hostages, including children and elderly women.
• Its leadership hides in bunkers while civilians die above them.
• Hamas rejection of two-state offers

The war ends when Hamas is gone. Anything less is appeasement.

The Baptist Union is silent on true genocides

What is most revealing is what the Union does not say.

• No statement on the Uyghur genocide in China
• Nothing about Assad’s war crimes in Syria
• No word on Yemen or Darfur

Only when the Jewish state defends itself does the Baptist Union find its moral voice. That is not justice. That is not peacemaking. That is bias.

Final word

The Church is called to tell the truth. To speak clearly. To name evil. This statement fails that calling. It offers fog where clarity is needed. It preaches neutrality where justice demands action. And it singles out Israel for condemnation while ignoring far greater crimes elsewhere.

This is not theological responsibility. This is moral failure.