Church World Service

Activities

• Founded in 1946 in the aftermath of World War II as “a cooperative relief, refugee, and development ministry currently comprised of 37 member communions.”

Political Advocacy

• Lobbies churches, policymakers and the general public and in the U.S. “to give voice to the issues that affect hunger people and promote sustainable solutions.”
• In the United States, the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) is “supported by churches in partnership with CWS [Church World Service].”
  • EAPPI sends volunteers to the West Bank to “witness life under occupation.” Upon completion of the program, the volunteers return to their home countries and churches where many engage in anti-Israel advocacy, including advocating for BDS campaigns in churches, comparing Israel to apartheid South Africa and Nazi Germany, and other delegitimization strategies.
• In September 2024, Church World Service published an article claiming, “For decades, Palestinians have lived under occupation, facing violence, human rights abuses, systematic violations of international humanitarian law, and denial of their right to self-determination. Now, in the aftermath of the horrendous October 7th Hamas attack against Israel, Gazans have been subjected to one of the most lethal conflicts in the 21st century.” The article called for people to contact their representatives to “Support the suspension of military arms transfers to Israel” and “Begin to address the root causes of violence and displacement by ending the occupation.”
• In July 2024, Church World Service was a signatory on a statement calling to “end complicity in the ongoing violence and atrocities committed in Gaza…and halting all weapons and ammunition transfers to Israel to ensure they are being used according to international law.”
• In February 2024, as a member of ACT Alliance, published a statement calling “on the international community and all international relevant bodies to intervene immediately and to begin the necessary investigations to ensure that those responsible for any violation of international humanitarian law are held accountable. We also call on the international community and bodies to address the root causes of the Israeli and Palestinian conflict.”
• In February 2024, Church World Service was a signatory on a letter to President Biden urging “ your administration and Congress to support the demilitarization of the conflict rather than supplying additional military aid or arms to Israel.”
• In October 2023, in the aftermath of the brutal Hamas attack on October 7, Church World Service was a signatory on a letter to Members of Congress claiming, “As these horrific events unfold, we are reminded once again that only by addressing core systemic issues, including decades of institutionalized oppression and collective punishment of Palestinians through brutal military occupation and a 16-year Gaza blockade, will Israelis and Palestinians live in peace.”
• In July 2023, as a member of ACT Palestine Forum, published a statement “express[ing] our deep concern and condemnation regarding the recent escalation of violence at Jenin Refugee Camp and its surroundings…Such actions contribute to an alarming trend of violence in the occupied West Bank, undermining efforts for peace and stability in the region.”
  • According to the Meir Amit Center, on July 3, 2023, the Israeli security forces initiated a broad counterterrorism activity in Jenin. The forces located and destroyed laboratories for the manufacture of weapons, IEDs, weapons, and operations rooms. The IDF spokesman reported that nine of the ten Palestinians killed were involved in terrorist activities.
• In October 2021, Church World Service was a signatory on a letter to US Secretary of State Blinken condemning the decision by the Israeli Ministry to designate six Palestinian NGOs as terrorist organizations. According to the letter, “The targeted organizations are among the most respected Palestinian human rights organizations, organizations that many of us rely on for information and with which we have long established relationships.”
• In 2018, 2019, and 2021, Church World Service endorsed US Congresswoman McCollum’s proposed legislation “to prevent United States tax dollars from supporting the Israeli military’s ongoing detention and mistreatment of Palestinian children.” The entirety of the proposed bill is premised on factually inaccurate claims from anti-Israel advocacy NGOs, including direct quotes from DCIP’s “No Way to Treat a Child” 2016 report and website.
• In May 2018, Church World Service was a signatory on a statement condemning Israel’s “lethal…military response” to the violence on the Gaza border. The statement furthered that its “own government’s seemingly unqualified and unquestioning support for Israel is a significant enabling factor for Israel’s continuing and repeated violations of international conventions and laws.” The statement ignored the violent nature of the protests, which included Molotov cocktails, arson, and attempts to breach the border fence with Israel.
• In September 2016, Reverend John L. McCullough, President and CEO of Church World Service, was a signatory on a letter to U.S. presidential candidates stating that “Ongoing settlement expansion that has led to 570,000 Israelis living in East Jerusalem and the West Bank is eroding the viability of the two-state solution. The blockade of Gaza has led to immense human suffering. This status quo is clearly contrary to global security interests, including those of the U.S., and a source of violent extremism throughout the region.”
• In April 2016, McCullough signed an “Atlanta Summit of Churches in the USA and the Holy Land” document titled “Pursuing Peace and Strengthening Presence,” that “Encourage[d] reference to the Kairos Palestine message as an established initiative.” Kairos Palestine calls for BDS against Israel; denies the Jewish historical connection to Israel in theological terms; and rationalizes, justifies, and trivializes terrorism, calling it “legal resistance.”
• During the 2014 Gaza war, Church World Service condemned “Hamas militants’ practice of firing rockets into Israel, and Israel’s bombardment of homes, hospitals and other civilian centers in Gaza,” drawing an immoral symmetry between Israeli self-defense and illegal attacks by terror organizations and failing to acknowledge Hamas’ responsibility through its systematic exploitation of civilians, homes, hospitals and population centers. The statement also ignored the illegal flow of weapons to Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza.
• Signed a 2014 letter to US Secretary of State John Kerry and the administrator of USAID, urging the US government to: “Increase the U.S. financial commitment to the reconstruction of Gaza, and ensure that these funds are disbursed immediately to relevant U.N. agencies and non-governmental organizations operational in Gaza”; “Urge Israel to fully lift the blockade on Gaza”; and “Urge Egypt to allow full freedom of movement through the Rafah crossing.” The letter ignores Israel’s legitimate security concerns regarding restrictions on Gaza.
• During the 2012 Gaza war, Church World Service submitted an appeal to raise $100,000, claiming that the “Israeli military offensive” continues to be “categorized by poverty, unemployment, forced displacement, lack of access to basic goods and services, impeded freedom of movement, aid dependency, food insecurity, confiscation and inadequate access to healthcare, education, jobs and markets.” This biased and distorted picture of the conflict furthers a Palestinian narrative of victimization. The appeal supported ACT Alliance members including Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), Christian Aid (UK), the Middle East Council of Churches/Department of Service to Palestine Refugees (MECC/DSPR), International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC), and DanChurchAid (DCA). According to the appeal, “DCA is heading ACT member efforts for advocacy work to promote a global discourse on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
• President and CEO Rev. John McCullough signed a January 2013 letter to President Obama, calling on the “[a]dministration to play a catalytic role in the resolution of this conflict.” He also signed a 2005 letter to President Bush alleging that “the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has become a threat to the people of the United States.”
• Middle East Regional Coordinator Steve Weaver wrote a 2009 article, “We are captive and slowly suffocating,” alleging that “the 22-day assault that ended early this year [which] was only the most recent, although especially brutal, chapter in a longer context of occupation and blockade” of Gaza.
• In November 2006, Church World Service led a delegation of African-American religious leaders to Israel and the Palestinian Authority, where they met with local religious and government leaders. According to one participant, Church World Service Board Member Dr. Belletech Deressa of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, “This crisis is different to me than any other one. I always thought that yes, there is a difference between the Palestinians and the Jews; yes, there is animosity. But now I realize that it is worse than racism and worse than apartheid. I don’t really have a word for it” (emphasis added).