As the Israel-Hamas war enters its fourth month, a coalition of black faith leaders is pressing the Biden administration to push for a ceasefire — a campaign fueled in part by their parishioners, who are increasingly distressed by the suffering. of the Palestinians and are critical of the president’s response to it.
More than 1,000 Black pastors representing hundreds of thousands of churchgoers across the country have issued the petition. In sit-down meetings with White House officials and through open letters and advertisements, the ministers morally supported President Biden and his administration to pressure Israel to end its aggressive operations in Gaza, which have killed thousands of civilians. They also demand the release of hostages held by Hamas and an end to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.
The persuasion effort also carries a political caveat, detailed in interviews with a dozen black faith leaders and their allies. Many of their parishioners, these pastors said, are so disillusioned with the president’s stance on the war that their support for his re-election could be in jeopardy.
“Black faith leaders are extremely disappointed in the Biden administration on this issue,” said the Rev. Timothy McDonald, senior pastor of First Iconium Baptist Church in Atlanta, which has more than 1,500 members. He was one of the first pastors of more than 200 black clergy in Georgia, a key state, to sign an open letter calling for a ceasefire. “We’re scared,” said Mr Macdonald. “And we’ve talked about it — it’s going to be very difficult to get our people to go back to the polls and vote for Biden.”
Any cracks in the normally solid foundations of black support for Mr. Biden and for Democrats nationally could be hugely important in November.
The intense feeling about the war in Gaza is among the myriad unexpected ways the war has roiled US politics. And it comes as Mr. Biden already faces signs of waning enthusiasm among black voters, who for generations have been the Democrats’ most loyal voting base.
The coalition of black clergy pushing Mr. Biden for a cease-fire is diverse, from conservative Southern Baptists to more progressive nondenominational churches in the Midwest and Northeast.
“This is not a fringe issue,” said the Rev. Michael McBride, founder of Black Church PAC and lead pastor of Way Church in Berkeley, California. “There are many of us who believe this administration has lost its way on this issue.”
Seeing images of devastation in Gaza, many black voters whose churches have been involved in the cease-fire movement have expressed growing frustration with Democrats, who they believe have done little to stop the war.
Their pastors said their colleagues’ strong reactions to the war were impressive.
“Black clergy have seen war, militarism, poverty and racism intertwined,” said Barbara Williams-Skinner, co-convener of the National African American Clergy Network, whose members lead some 15 million Black congregants. He helped coordinate recent meetings between the White House and religious leaders. “But the Israel-Gaza war, unlike Iran and Afghanistan, has sparked the kind of deep anguish among Black people that I haven’t seen since the civil rights movement.”
When Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 Israelis and taking about 240 people hostage, groups of Black pastors joined their counterparts in interfaith prayer for Israel, whose land they revere as holy.
But since then, the shepherds’ Palestinian allies in the United States, Gaza and the West Bank have called for their help on behalf of civilians suffering from Israel’s counteroffensive. And pastors have gotten earshot from their own colleagues, especially younger congregants, about Mr. Biden’s conflict and unwavering support for Israel.
This sentiment more broadly reflects a strong sense of solidarity between Black Americans and Palestinians that has shaped opinion since the war began.
“We see them as part of us,” said Rev. Cynthia Hale, the founder and senior pastor of Ray of Hope Christian Church in Decatur, Ga. “They are oppressed people. We are oppressed people.”
The effort by Black pastors has forced the Biden administration to pay attention as the president prepares for an expected extremely close election against former President Donald J. Trump.
It began in late October, when a delegation of black faith leaders from across the country descended on Washington, where they called for an end to the fighting in meetings with the White House and members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Hundreds of pastors signed open letters to Democratic leaders and paid for full-page ads in national newspapers, including the New York Times, to push for a humanitarian ceasefire and demand the release of all hostages held in Gaza.
Since its inception, the Black church has been considered a power center of Black political organization. In addition to providing spiritual guidance and challenging political leaders on moral grounds, Black religious leaders have mobilized their members to exercise their hard-won suffrage, often with great success.
Mr. Biden, especially, has recognized the importance of the Black church. One of his first campaign speeches for 2024 took place at Mother Emanuel AME in Charleston, SC, on January 8, making him the first sitting president to speak from the church’s famed pulpit. When protesters interrupted his speech with calls for a ceasefire, their shouts drowned out cries of “Four more years!”
Mr. Biden’s campaign did not comment on file for this article.
Some leaders say Mr. Biden still has time to change the course of the conflict abroad and, in turn, regain the love that has been lost between his administration and black voters.
“As long as black people feel that the president is genuine, I think he will continue to have our support,” said Bishop Reginald T. Jackson, who presides over more than 500 African Methodist Episcopal Churches in Georgia. He also signed the letter calling for a ceasefire and the return of the hostages. “I think he proves his authenticity with the friction you can tell there is between him and Netanyahu in relation to what’s going on in the Middle East,” he said, referring to Israel’s prime minister.
But six black faith leaders who spoke to The New York Times said they or their colleagues had considered rescinding invitations to Democratic politicians who hoped to speak during their Sunday services or deny public support for re-election. of Mr. Biden until his administration commits to a ceasefire.
“What they’re seeing from the administration in Gaza is a stark contradiction to what we thought the president and the administration were,” said the Rev. Frederick D. Haynes, senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas and the president. and CEO of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the civil rights organization founded by the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson. His church has more than 12,000 members. “So when you hear a president say the term, ‘redeem the soul of America,’ well, that’s a stain, a scar on the soul of America. There’s something about it that becomes hypocritical.”
Black faith leaders, however, are aware of the dangers of Mr. Biden’s push for a cease-fire with Mr. Trump looming as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Even pastors critical of Mr. Biden’s war on Gaza agreed that a Trump re-election would be the worst-case scenario for their predominantly black and working-class congregations.
They also suggested that Mr. Trump, who has said he would bar Gaza refugees from entering the United States, would likely show less sympathy than Mr. Biden for the plight of Gaza’s civilians.
But the difference between outrage and enthusiastic support could be significant. Asked whether the war in the Middle East could threaten Mr. Biden’s chances in November, the Rev. Jamal Bryant, senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Ga., said: “I think Biden threatens his success”.
Democrats, Mr. Bryant observed, seemed to be “almost on cruise control and feel that: Oh, black people are going to come around. They will be forgiving and go with us.” But, he added, as the war continues, “I really think the ante will really be raised.”
Calls for a ceasefire have strained some relations between Black pastors and Jewish leaders.
Rabbi Peter S. Berg, Temple Atlanta’s senior rabbi, described in an email his “excellent relationship” with black pastors and recalled a service at nearby Ebenezer Baptist Church during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. in which Christians and Jews prayed together for peace and the safe return of the hostages.
He added, however, that he felt the demand for a ceasefire, from some pastors he had long considered friends, did not fully take into account the feelings of Jews with ties to Israel.
“While we all want peace and an end to this war, I was disappointed to see that some religious leaders are calling for a ceasefire without focusing on bringing the hostages home and holding Hamas accountable for the atrocities they have committed,” the Rabbi said. Berg. , adding, “It’s time to double down on our strong relationships and be open and honest with each other.”
The black pastors said they sought to reassure Jewish leaders who questioned the cease-fire push, stressing that their demand was not rooted in anti-Semitism and that they were also asking for the release of Israeli hostages and for Israel to be safe from attack.
“Our call for a ceasefire should not be taken as a call to kill or terrorize Jewish individuals and families,” said Mr McBride, who attended the meetings in Washington. “We are against all such evil expressions of dehumanization and terror, wherever they appear.”
