Norway’s churches ring their bells for Gaza

Hundreds of churches across Norway rang their bells on Thursday afternoon in solidarity with Gaza’s civilians in response to a call by the Bishop’s Conference of the Church of Norway. More European churches are expected to join the Norwegian church’s symbolic initiative.

Norway’s Presiding Bishop Olav Fykse Tveit had called upon all the country’s congregations to join in this expression of solidarity with Gaza, whose people are facing a deteriorating humanitarian tragedy, according to the World Council of Churches website.

Bishop Olav Fykse Tveit had said in a press statement earlier this week, “We all feel a calling and a need to do something. That is why we urge churches throughout the country to join the Cathedrals and ring the church bells on Thursday 7 August at 3pm.”

Last May, the Norwegian state church called for using “all legitimate political and economic means” to pressure Israel into ending “what now appears as ethnic cleansing in Gaza.”

Harald Hegstad, moderator of the Church of Norway National Council, said that the images that the world is witnessing in Gaza have not been seen in a long time.

“This demands something from us both as fellow human beings and as a church,” Hegstad added, calling on “as many as possible” to “take part in this act of solidarity.”

READ: Boris Johnson says Taiwan has stronger claim to statehood than Palestine, ignoring UK’s colonial legacy