Will the Church of Scotland Cave in to Zionist Bullies?

As has been said so many times, there can be no peace under occupation.

Courtesy: copscotland.co.uk

(LONDON) - “The political and humanitarian situation in the Holy Land continues to be a source of pain and concern for us all," says the introduction to the Church of Scotland's report The inheritance of Abraham? A report on the ‘promised land’. http://www.sizers.org/inheritanceofabraham.pdf

It is the Church’s latest reflection on the “questions that need to be faced”.

The report was intended for discussion at the Church’s General Assembly this week and it questions the assumption many Christians and Jews that the Bible supports an essentially Jewish state of Israel. Current Israeli policies towards the Palestinians, it suggests, have "sharpened this questioning". The report goes on to examine the issues in a measured and non-inflammatory way.

The conclusion arrived at is that Christians should not support claims, by Jews or anyone else, to an exclusive or divine right to particular territory. "It is a misuse of the Bible to use it as a topographic guide to settle contemporary conflicts over land. In the Bible, God’s promises extend in hope to all land and people... These promises call for a commitment in every place to justice in a spirit of reconciliation."

The Church also sets out the principles to which it is committed in regard to the Holy Land. But some of these appear weak. For example, while rightly stating that Israeli settlements on Palestinian turf are illegal under international law, it simply calls for a halt. Justice requires a giving-back.

Nor is calling for the resumption of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority a solution when such lopsided talks are clearly immoral. Everyone who cares about human rights in the region is aware that Israel is no partner for peace and earlier negotiations were conducted in bad faith. Pigs will fly before Israel willingly ends its occupation, so the Palestinians should not be expected to bargain for freedom and for land that was already theirs while the other side has a gun to their heads.

As has been said so many times, there can be no peace under occupation.

Inconvenient truths

Endless argument from entrenched positions about scripture and myth will achieve nothing. Justice can only be delivered through implementation of international law and the raft of UN resolutions waiting to be actioned.

These days return to one’s homeland is regarded as an inalienable right, but it is time-limited and must be exercised as soon as the reason for expulsion (for example, foreign occupation) ceases. The Jews were expelled by the Roman occupation in 70AD and again in 135, although some remained. An opportunity for the Jews to return would have occurred when the Roman Empire collapsed. They didn't take it. Furthermore there is little evidence that Jews drafted into modern Israel have blood links with the original Israelites.

It is therefore unacceptable for Jews to now lay exclusive claim to the land 17 centuries later, at gun-point, when the Palestinian Arabs, including their Christian communities, have been there all the time. The right of Palestinians who were expelled by Jewish terror has not expired because the Israeli occupation continues. Also, the UN endorsed their right to return.

The Church of Scotland’s report, otherwise, seems a fair and truthful summation of the situation and the false claims. It doesn’t of course suit those like the Zionists, who find the truth 'inconvenient' and see it as a threat to their wobbly position. Ephraim Borowski, director of the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities, is reported to have said: "The document is an outrage to everything that interfaith dialogue stands for. It is biased, weak on sources, and contradictory, and closes the door on meaningful dialogue."

The Israeli ambassador to the UK, Daniel Taub, said: "This report not only plays into extremist political positions, but negates and belittles the deeply held Jewish attachment to the land of Israel in a way which is truly hurtful. If a document of this nature is adopted by the Church of Scotland it would mark a significant step backwards for the forces of tolerance and peace in our region."

The Scottish Council of Jewish Communities called on the Church to withdraw the document from the forthcoming General Assembly, saying: "It reads like an Inquisition-era polemic against Jews and Judaism. It is biased, weak on sources, and contradictory. The arrogance of telling the Jewish people how to interpret Jewish texts and Jewish theology is breathtaking."

Same old, same old refusal to face the truth

The reaction of Jewish leaders follows an all too familiar pattern: accusations of inaccuracy and bias without explaining why, backed by puerile threats of awful consequences if there's no retraction.

In January, just across the border in England, the Zionist lobby put the squeeze on the Bishop of Newcastle, Martin Wharton. The Representative Council of North-East Jewry complained that he voted for a motion at the General Synod which supported the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), despite warnings of the Zionists' “grave concerns... that it would encourage anti-Semitism”. His action, they said, made “any further contact with the Jewish community in the North-East impossible”.

© Stuart Littlewood 2013

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Stuart Littlewood’s book Radio Free Palestine can now be read on the internet by visiting www.radiofreepalestine.org.uk