News and Views 25th September 2025 

Palestinian statehood

• Major disconnect between the public and Starmer over Palestinian state. The British government’s recognition of a Palestinian state was responded to by Hamas as “a victory for Palestinian rights and the justice of our cause”. British Jewish organisations have condemned Keir Starmer’s announcement that the UK is formally recognising a Palestinian state, and a survey by JL Partners suggests almost 90 per cent of the British population also does not back it. A co-founder of JL Partners said the poll revealed a “disconnect” between the public and Sir Keir. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a group of bishops “with a close interest in the Holy Land” have warmly welcomed it. Benjamin Netanyahu called the UK’s recognition “an absurd prize for terrorism”.
• Fallout from UK’s recognition of 'Palestine'. The Telegraph opined that Starmer’s decision to recognise Palestine as a state “despite its non-existence is a reckless exercise in virtue signalling designed to appease Labour Left-wingers and curry favour with leaders like Emmanuel Macron.” Perhaps surprisingly, a number of other major news outlets make similar comment, including The Times of London, The Daily Mail, Talk TV, The Australian and The National Post (Canada). It has been predicted that recognising a state of Palestine could lead to the new country asking for more than £2 trillion in reparations in compensation for land 'taken from the Palestinian people' when Britain relinquished control of the region after the Second World War. Meanwhile, as a response to the UK’s decision to recognise Palestine, The Palestinian Authority has announced it will end its “pay to slay” programme which compensated the families of terrorists. Read also here.
• Interim Gaza government led by Tony Blair? Former UK PM Tony Blair has been involved in discussions about leading a post-war transitional authority in Gaza. The initiative, the joint work of the Tony Blair Institute and Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and presidential adviser, would see the creation of the Gaza International Transition Authority (Gita) once Hamas has been removed. This new body, assisted by Arab and other Muslim forces, would rule the territory for a number of years, building up its capacity to govern itself. Crucially, Blair would chair Gita’s seven-member board, effectively serving as Gaza’s prime minister. The deal would require, among other things:                       • The release of 47 remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. 
     • Israel will release from its jails a few thousand Palestinian terrorists, many of whom are murderers with life-sentences.
     • A permanent ceasefire.
     • Gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza Strip.
• Palestine an artificial construct. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that "A Palestinian state will not be established … I will condemn those leaders who, instead of condemning the murderers, rapists, and burners of our children, want to give them a state in the heart of Israel. This will not happen," he added. Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a co-founder of Hamas and later a Shin Bet spy for Israel, is equally clear that a Palestine state will never exist. He believes that Palestine is an “artificial construct”, that Palestinians should drop their identity if they are ever to thrive, and that “Palestinianism” is a cultish curse that threatens not just Israel, but the wider world, especially the West. Read also here.

Unite the Kingdom March

• Church leaders object to ‘co-opting’ of Christian symbols at March. A group of church leaders from a broad spectrum of denominations and traditions issued a joint statement (published in The Times) stating their disapproval of Christians who “co-opted” Christian symbols like the cross at the Unite the Kingdom march on Saturday 13^th September. Signatories include numerous Church of England bishops, the Principal Clerk to the Church of Scotland, Evangelical Alliance CEO Gavin Calver, the head of CARE (Christian Action Research and Education), Ross Hendry, Salvation Army Commissioners Jenine and Paul Main, Baptist Union of Great Britain General Secretary, Lynn Green, and many others. The group  acknowledge that many people at the rally were there because of a “deep sense of frustration at feeling unheard and forgotten in the democratic process” but said the solution to the feelings of frustration lie in the Church and society as a whole rising “to do more to address the issues of poverty, inequality and exclusion”. They called the march a “misuse of Christianity.”
• Response from ‘The Patriot Pastors’. In response, a number of church leaders who took part in the Unite the Kingdom rally – including Chris Wickland, Brett Murphy and Rikki Doolan -  released “a rebuke letter to the apostate false shepherds who slandered us in the national press and claimed we hijacked the cross of Christ at the event.” The response continues; “The only betrayal of the Cross on that day (came from) bishops and clergy who have abandoned their flocks, the nation and the truth of the Gospel.” They go on; “We will not be cowed by your cowardice, nor by the misrepresentation of the media. If you will not stand in the gap, if you will not hear the cries of your people, then be assured – we will … The Cross of Christ was lifted high on that day. It will be lifted high again. And no amount of sneering from bishops and journalists will stop it.” (Watch also here).
• Betrayal of their flock. Another staunch rebuke to the anti ‘Unite the Kingdom’ letter came from the Rev David Robertson, who concludes by stating “You say you are doing this unapologetically in the name of Jesus Christ. But which Christ? The Christ of the Scriptures or the Christ made in the image of progressive liberalism?” A further rebuke came from Bishop Ceirion H Dewar, a Bishop in the Missionary Diocese of Providence within the Confessing Anglican Church. He called the bishops and leaders’ letter “a betrayal of vocation, a collapse of courage, and a surrender to the spirit of the age.” Read also this article in this week's Prophecy Today).

Charlie Kirk

• Fitting memorial to Charlie Kirk. A memorial for conservative activist Charlie Kirk was held last Sunday, at a gigantic Stadium in Glendale, Arizona – regarded as one of the largest memorials for a private citizen in US history. Local law enforcement estimated that some 200,000 people tried to attend the event. 72,000 gained admittance, with 20,000 more attending in overflow venues - millions more streaming the service online and watching it on TV. The memorial was a profoundly Christian event and an explicit attempt to share the gospel message, being described as “Likely the most viewed gospel presentation ever in the history of the country perhaps the world.” Erika Kirk, the grieving widow, delivered the most powerful Christian message of all, vocally forgiving her husband’s murderer, which costly act has been reported around the world.
• Are reports of a Christian revival across America premature? President Trump called the memorial ‘a great spiritual awakening’, and others, too, are claiming that Kirk’s death is helping spark a ‘revival’. Following his death, churches across America have reported surging attendance, with congregations overflowing just days after his death. Grammy Award-winning worship leader, Chris Tomlin, who led worship at the memorial service, says he is sure that a movement of God is happening, and the Spirit of the Lord is moving across the United States. Freddy Gray in The Spectator senses that America “could be seeing a fifth great awakening,” but one that is more nakedly political, and less explicitly Protestant. 

Free Speech

The curtailment of free speech in Britain appears to be continuing unabated, being a cause of concern, not just across the nation, but throughout the world. Very recent examples – few of which get reported on mainstream TV news – include:

• A Police officer threatening to arrest a British Christian preacher for ‘hate crime’ because his preaching caused someone “harassment, alarm and distress.”
• Police officers arrested an autistic man early this morning (Sat 27th Sept) over a social media post which read: “F*** Hamas, F*** Islam." 
• British Police capture and arrest an elderly man because some of his social media posts caused someone anxiety.
• A woman is arrested by the Police after pointing out to a group of loud Muslims that Britain is a Christian country and she does not want to hear about the Quran.

So bad is the situation that The Conservative Woman felt it necessary to offer their readers advice on What to do when the police feel your collar over a tweet.

Anti-Christian Expression

• Large rise in church vandalism in Europe. Official statistics suggest a rapid increase in church vandalism in Europe. The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe recorded over 500 anti-Christian hate crimes; by 2023 that figure had risen to 2,444, in 35 countries (vandalism accounting for 62% of the incidents). 2024 and 25 figures are yet to be published. The perpetrators are rarely caught, but locals often suspect immigrants. The ancient Church of Saint Anthony, in a district of Vienna that is said to be almost entirely Muslim, was desecrated the whole way round the building with Arabic graffiti, including the words, ‘Mohammed was here’.
• Anti-Christian desecration in France. Attacks on French churches are particularly prolific. A map (right) shows some of the churches that have been set on fire, vandalised or attacked in recent years. In the past ten days alone, at least six churches were desecrated and robbed. A large cross dating to the 1700s and located between two valleys in the French Pyrenees was recently smashed on site, presumably with a sledgehammer. outraging shepherds and hikers. Beyond its topographical function, the cross had a strong symbolic meaning and was a witness to a heritage passed down from generation to generation.