Prominent Black Church leaders are calling for an end to US aid to Israel

Leaders of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the nation's oldest and most prominent black Christian denominations, this week called on the United States to end its financial aid to Israelsaying the months-long military campaign in Gaza amounted to “mass genocide.”

The statement was issued by the Church's Council of Bishops, its executive branch, and signed by four senior bishops, including the council's chairman, Bishop Stafford JN Wicker.

Black churches and other faith groups have been pushing for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas for months in advertisements, open letters and social media campaigns. Black faith leaders across all denominations have amplified their calls as the death toll rises. More than 28,000 people have been killed in Gaza, many of them women and children, according to health officials there.

But the AME Council statement goes further than a ceasefire demand, urging that the United States immediately end its financial support to Israel. It came as Israeli forces pushed into southern Gaza and prepared for a ground assault on Rafah, where more than a million displaced Palestinians are trapped.

The latest war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7, after a Hamas attack on Israel killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials. The conflict has been a point of tension between President Biden, who supported Israel during the war, and African Americans, many of whom have taken up the Palestinian cause.

Several Black clerics said the war could weaken the already fraught relationship between Mr. Biden and Black voters, Democrats' most loyal voting bloc. The Black Church is seen as crucial in helping build support for Mr. Biden.

The AME Church, which claims nearly three million members worldwide, occupies a special place in that effort. Last month, Mr. Biden became the first sitting president to speak at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., the oldest AME church in the South, and the site of a racist massacre in 2015. Biden's appearance was intended to to strengthen African American support for his campaign, although his speech was interrupted by demonstrators calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

In its statement, the AME Council said the Israeli army had cornered Palestinians in Rafah and “denied them access to food, water, shelter and health care.”

It continues: “After this torture, they plan to kill them. The United States of America will likely have paid for the weapons they use. This should not happen.”

Senior Bishop Adam J. Richardson Jr., one of four bishops who signed the statement, said it represented the voices of bishops who are the chief officers of the AME Church. It came out of many conversations between leaders and members of congregations, he said. Support for Israel's right to defend itself after the Hamas-led attack in October eventually became increasingly conflicted as the war dragged on because the “deaths were not proportionate,” he said.

“What we are saying is enough is enough – we felt we had to go a step further because the money issue needs to be addressed,” said Bishop Richardson, who presides over more than 200 congregations in Texas. “Israel has the right to defend itself, but why are we paying? Why are we paying for the destruction of people?”

Still, Bishop Richardson said it had been a difficult decision because the church considers itself a Jewish ally. He wanted to make clear that the statement was not aimed at Israel, but rather at the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We hope Biden will address the money, but we're not saying we don't support him or Israel — this is about financing a war,” he said, adding that the denomination would continue to organize and support voter registration.

A $95 billion foreign aid package, including $14 billion that Biden requested for Israel, passed the Senate this week. Israel already receives more than $3 billion per year from the United States for weapons and defense.

The Biden campaign and the White House did not comment on the AME Church's statement. A White House spokeswoman referred to recent meetings that White House officials, Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris held with Black faith leaders in key primary and early battleground states. A spokeswoman for Mr. Biden's campaign pointed to the president's increased criticism of Israel's tactics in Gaza. Last Thursday he called them 'over the top'.

Yet black faith leaders say their congregations have become increasingly upset by the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

Rabbi Peter S. Berg, a senior rabbi at the Temple in Atlanta, has said that the growing push for a ceasefire led by some black faith leaders has at times proven insensitive to the plight of Jews with relatives and friends in Israel.

“While we all want peace and for this war to end, I was disappointed to see some faith leaders calling for a ceasefire without focusing on bringing the hostages home and holding Hamas accountable for the atrocities that they committed,” Rabbi Berg said. in a January interview, adding: “Now is the time to double down on our strong relationships and be open and honest with each other.”

The Rev. Michael McBride, lead pastor of The Way Church in Berkeley, California, and co-founder of the Black Church PAC, which helps progressive faith leaders organize, said he saw the AME statement as part of ongoing faith-based efforts. leaders to call for an end to the war.

“It is very clear to us that the approach of Netanyahu and the Israeli Defense Forces is not to worry about the loss of life among the civilian population, but to inflict collective punishment at all costs on all Gazans, and some would even say that Palestinians living all over the Gaza Strip, West Bank,” said Mr. McBride, whose organization has called for a ceasefire.

In previous cycles, Mr. McBride said he and other faith leaders would spend months working with community organizers to plan strategies for November's vote — efforts, he said, that would be “fully ramped up now.” Instead, much of their time is now spent organizing protests and marches against violence in the Middle East.