🌍 Ceasefire, Conscience, and the Call to Active Peace- End The Arms Trade
An Update to Our Pray and Post Campaign
A fragile pause, a persistent call
After nearly a year of unrelenting violence, the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has brought a rare and uneasy silence. Families in Gaza have emerged from ruins to search for food and loved ones; hostages and prisoners are slowly being released. The guns may have quieted, but the suffering has not.
The world is watching to see whether this ceasefire will hold — and whether it will lead to genuine justice or simply pause another cycle of war. The crisis has revealed once again that peace without accountability is no peace at all.
For the SPEAK community, this moment calls us to pray, post, and persist — grounding our action in the conviction that God’s vision for peace includes justice, truth, and protection for the vulnerable. At the time of writing a fragile ceasefire is in place (15-10-2025), but not without global concerns for justice please see wwww.speak.org.uk for updates
From DSEI to Gaza: confronting complicity
Just weeks before this ceasefire, the world’s largest arms fair — DSEI (Defence and Security Equipment International) — took place in London’s ExCeL Centre. Among the 1,600 exhibitors were 51 Israeli arms companies, marketing weapons described as “battle-tested” in Gaza.
The UK’s link to this is not abstract. British companies produce around 15% of each F-35 fighter jet used in Israel’s bombardments. These jets have levelled homes, hospitals, and schools — acts that the International Court of Justice has ruled may constitute genocide.
At the same time, the UK has failed to impose a full arms embargo. Some export licences have been paused, but many loopholes remain. The result: the UK continues to profit from suffering, while its government claims to support peace.
The prophets would call this hypocrisy by name.
“They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.” – Jeremiah 6:14
The ceasefire does not absolve the UK of responsibility. It is precisely in this quiet moment that conscience must speak.
Why this ceasefire still demands action
Humanitarian organisations — including Oxfam, Amnesty International, Christian Aid, and the Norwegian Refugee Council — have welcomed the pause but warn that it is dangerously fragile.
- Oxfam reports that aid has not scaled up: access remains blocked and infrastructure destroyed.
- The NRC warns that Gaza’s humanitarian plan will fail without full, independent access.
- Amnesty says civilians still face an impossible choice: starve or risk being shot.
- Christian Aid and Tearfund continue to call for prayer and pressure to ensure long-term peace and reconstruction.
Even as Israeli troops withdraw from some areas, their continued presence along “yellow line” zones has already led to civilian deaths. Withdrawal does not equal safety.
So while some celebrate a truce, we must not confuse quiet skies with real peace.
Peace that ignores justice is only an intermission between bombardments.
Introducing our updated “Pray and Post” resource
SPEAK has just released our Autumn Pray and Post resource pack to help churches and young people take action — combining prayer, reflection, and social justice witness. The message is the same today, but the urgency has grown.
This updated version helps you respond faithfully in this new phase of the conflict — celebrating hope where lives are spared, while persisting in justice until arms sales end and genuine safety is secured for all.
1. Pray · Meditate · Reflect
Take time to lift up prayers for peace and for those working for justice on every side.
- Pray for civilians in Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon who remain at risk even under ceasefire.
- Reflect on the courage of humanitarian workers and the Global Flotilla who risked their lives delivering aid.
- Pray for the UK government to end all arms exports to Israel.
- Meditate on Micah 6:8 — “To act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.”
- Reflect on Jesus’ words: “Blessed are the peacemakers.”
2. Post · Speak Up
Now is the time to write again to your MP or to the Secretary of State for Business & Trade.
The situation has changed — and your voice still matters.
Ask your MP to:
- Support a full and immediate arms embargo on Israel.
- Close loopholes in the F-35 supply chain and stop suppling parts.
- Prevent Israeli arms companies from exhibiting at future UK arms fairs like DSEI.
- Champion a foreign policy consistent with human rights and international law.
📬 You can use our updated Letter Template (See Below) or write in your own words. Even a few sentences make a difference.
Why letters matter
When MPs receive coordinated, heartfelt letters from faith communities, they take notice. In the past, SPEAK campaigns have influenced parliamentary debates, helped raise scrutiny over arms export licences, and supported calls for investigations into war crimes.
A letter is not just an act of lobbying — it’s an act of discipleship.
It is a way of saying: “We will not stand by while our government profits from death.”
The Bible’s call is clear:
“What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” – Micah 6:8
This is not about politics; it’s about conscience.
When governments ignore human suffering, the Church must be the moral memory of the people.
3. From prayer to protest
If you are able, consider joining peaceful, creative actions challenging the arms trade.
Groups such as Stop the Arms Fair, CAAT, and War on Want are campaigning to ensure no weapons used in war crimes are ever marketed in the UK.
SPEAK has always believed that prayer and protest belong together — not as opposites, but as twin expressions of faith. We pray with our hearts and we post with our hands.
Faith in a time of silence
Ceasefires often reveal as much as they conceal. The current pause in bombing has exposed both the power and limits of diplomacy. It has shown that pressure works — that global voices, from faith leaders to youth activists, can help stop the killing.
But it also exposes the deeper challenge: how to transform systems that see war as business.
As long as weapons are sold for profit, peace will remain fragile.
The Gospel invites us to another way:
“They shall beat their swords into ploughshares.” – Isaiah 2:4
That vision is not naïve — it’s revolutionary.
And every prayer, every letter, every act of resistance brings it closer.
Join us: Pray and Post
We invite you — individuals, churches, and student groups — to join this campaign once more.
📜 Read the updated resource: Pray and Post: Arms to Israel & DSEI Arms Fair (October 2025)
📮 Write to your MP: Use the template or add your own message.
🙏 Share your prayer: Post it online using #PrayAndPost #SpeakForPeace
📢 Speak out: Share our blog and resource in your community.
Peace without justice is fragile.
Faith without action is hollow.
But together, through prayer and prophetic courage, we can speak truth to power.
Take Action for Peace
1. Send a letter to UK Prime Minister and to your MP via email or through printing out this postcard and sending it. www.writetothem.com or
Email:
keir.starmer.mp@parliament.uk
Or print and send or copy and paste then add your own words
SEND TO
Prime Minister,
10 Downing St,
London SW1A 2AA
Dear [MP’s Name],
I write with deep concern about the UK’s continued role in supplying arms to Israel while its military actions in Gaza and the West Bank have been deemed by the International Court of Justice to risk genocide. The escalating humanitarian crisis demands urgent action and moral leadership. Whilst we are grateful for the announcement of a ceasefire at the time of writing (October 15th 2025) we need to ask for continued support for the hope of peace seen recently to be sustained
As your constituent, I urge you to:
- Support an immediate and permanent ceasefire — ensuring full humanitarian access, the release of all hostages, and an end to collective punishment of civilians.
- Suspend all UK arms export licences to Israel — including indirect F-35 components supplied via the US, until there is full compliance with international humanitarian law.
- End UK military cooperation with Israel — halting training, intelligence sharing, and arms fair hosting that legitimises ongoing violence.
- Redirect resources from weapons to peace — investing in humanitarian aid, reconstruction, and climate justice instead of arms sales that fuel suffering.
Continuing these exports risks making the UK complicit in war crimes and undermines our international credibility as a nation committed to justice and peace.
Please act now with integrity and courage by calling for an immediate ceasefire and a comprehensive review of the UK’s arms trade policies.
Yours sincerely,
Download & Share
👉
#PrayAndPost #Ceasefire #EndTheArmsTrade #FaithInAction #SpeakNetwork
- References (Harvard Style)
- Al Jazeera. (2025) Gaza ceasefire tested as Israeli forces kill five Palestinians. Available at:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/14/gaza-ceasefire-tested-as-israeli-forces-kill-five-palestinians
(Accessed: 14 October 2025). - Amnesty International. (2025a) Gaza: Starvation or Gunfire – This is Not a Humanitarian Response. Available at:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/07/gaza-starvation-or-gunfire-this-is-not-a-humanitarian-response
(Accessed: 14 October 2025). - CAAT (Campaign Against Arms Trade). (2025) Over 230 global organisations demand governments producing F-35 jets stop arming Israel. Available at:
https://caat.org.uk/news/over-230-global-organisations-demand-governments-producing-f-35-jets-stop-arming-israel
(Accessed: 14 October 2025). - Christian Aid. (2025) Middle East Crisis Appeal. Available at:
https://www.christianaid.org.uk
(Accessed: 14 October 2025). - Democracy Now. (2025) Israel releases remaining Gaza flotilla participants it abducted on high seas. Available at:
https://www.democracynow.org/2025/10/13/headlines/israel_releases_remaining_gaza_flotilla_participants_it_abducted_on_high_seas
(Accessed: 14 October 2025). - International Court of Justice (ICJ). (2024) Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (South Africa v. Israel). Available at:
https://www.icj-cij.org
(Accessed: 14 October 2025). - Oxfam GB. (2025) Reaction to the announcement of a ceasefire in Gaza. Available at:
https://www.oxfam.org.uk/media/press-releases/reaction-to-the-announcement-of-a-ceasefire-in-gaza
(Accessed: 14 October 2025). - Reuters. (2025a) Gaza aid plan will fail without full access for humanitarian groups, says Norwegian Refugee Council. Available at:
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-aid-plan-will-fail-without-full-access-humanitarian-groups-says-norwegian-2025-10-09
(Accessed: 14 October 2025). - Tearfund. (2025) Pray for peace and protection in the Middle East. Available at:
https://www.tearfund.org
(Accessed: 14 October 2025). - War on Want. (2025) Campaign to End UK Complicity in Israeli Apartheid. Available at:
https://waronwant.org
(Accessed: 14 October 2025).