For the first time in its recent history, the Rabbinical Assembly—an international association of Conservative rabbis—has passed a resolution condemning the persecution of Christians.
Joining the chorus of voices condemning religious persecution in the Middle East, the group of rabbis has condemned the gruesome acts of the Islamic State and other terrorist organizations for their atrocities against Christian men, women, and children in their annual collection of resolutions.
“The Jewish people has suffered terribly in the 20th century Holocaust where 6,000,000 of our people, men, women, children, were murdered; and there were thousands of “Righteous Gentiles” who courageously risked their lives and the lives of their families to help Jews,” the resolution stated. “The Jewish people remember the silence of the world to our persecution—we insist ‘never again’ for all peoples.”
Further, members of the Assembly pledged to contact political leaders and members of the media to protest atrocities against Christians and “do whatever possible to help.” They also plan to preach on the issue of persecution. The full resolution is available here.
“Many Christians in the Middle East don’t think that people in the west care about them,” said Philos Project Deputy Director Luke Moon. “Resolutions and statements from Jewish leaders and Christian denominations speak loudly of the support for our brothers and sisters and speaks with a unified voice against what the Islamic State is doing.”
The United Methodist Church also passed a resolution to condemn the Islamic State’s terror attacks at their annual Conference earlier this month.
“The United Methodist Church condemns terrorist acts of the Islamic state in Iraq and the Levant… that violate The United Methodist Church’s principles,” the resolution reads. “The violent acts of ISIL are evil and The United Methodist Church calls for all nations to oppose, dismantle, and disarm ISIL.”
The UMC declared its support for the “continued effort to bring relief to the captive people of that region,” and expressed its hope for peace to be restored to the region.
“It’s wonderful that just days apart, both Jews and Methodists moved to stand with our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters,” Moon said.
This article originally appeared on Philos Project, May 27, 2016, and reposted with permission.