WASHINGTON (RNS) — In recent weeks, a group of Black Christian faith leaders met with White House officials and members of the Congressional Black Caucus, voicing concern about the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza after Israel’s ground assault into the region.On Wednesday (Nov. 8), the clergy escalated their cause, buying a full-page ad in The New York Times — with the backing of more than 900 Black Christian faith leaders — calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, a secure entry for humanitarian assistance and a U.S. commitment to a peace process.
“We are faith leaders in the African American faith tradition, in the Black church prophetic tradition, and we are people familiar with pain and suffering enacted by state actors,” said the Rev. Michael McBride, a California pastor and anti-gun violence activist who helped coordinate the letter.
In mid-October, a separate group of Black clergy that included the Rev. Otis Moss III of Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ and the Rev. Gina Stewart, senior pastor of Christ Missionary Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee, signed a letter calling for “cessation of hostilities and violence from all parties.”
Black faith leaders, McBride said, have condemned Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel that left more than 1,400 dead and 200 kidnapped, but are also outraged by Israel’s subsequent assault into the Gaza Strip that has claimed more …
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