1977 Middle East Policy

Last updated on December 31st, 2024

The 27th General Council of the United Church of Canada in 1977 made a resolution regarding the Middle East:

Excerpt:

[]…Notwithstanding many international efforts toward securing peace with justice in the Middle East and creating a better understanding of the issues, there has been no significant progress toward a just settlement of the problems in the Middle East since the General Council last met in 1974.[]

BE IT RESOLVED that this General Council:

  1. Request the Secretary of State for External Affairs to urge the reconvening of the Middle East Peace Conference in Geneva and to insist that the Palestinian people be represented at such a Conference. We further recommend that the Palestinian people be represented by the Palestinian Liberation Organization;
  2. Continue to press the appropriate church and inter-church committees in our own Church and on an Inter-Church basis, seek for a wider understanding of the issues involved in the Middle East in order to contribute to a just and peaceful settlement;
  3. Encourage the members of The United Church of Canada and the Churches’ Committee on World Development, Service and Relief to continue and possibly increase its contributions for work among victims of the Middle East conflict; (most of this support is channelled through the World Council of Churches to the Middle East Council of Churches);
  4. Support the Division of World Outreach and its Committee on Interfaith Dialogue in promoting dialogue with people of other faiths, and especially among Christians, Muslims and Jews.