Wednesday 8 May 2013

Scottish Church denies Israel’s right to exist

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A 5,000-word report on “the Promised Land“, prepared by the Church of Scotland ahead of its General Assembly claims that Jews have no religious or moral right to establish the so-called “Jewish State” in Holy Land due to their mistreatment of Native Muslim and Christian Palestinians.
The report concludes that Christians should not support exclusive Jewish claims to the land of Palestine or use the Bible to “settle contemporary conflicts over land”.

The pro-Israel Jewish groups have condemned the Church report for denying Israel’s right to exist. The Jewish Board of Deputies vice-president Jonathan Arkush said: “I am at a loss for words that the Church of Scotland should have delivered such a slap in the face to the Jewish community“.

In May 2012, Church’s General Assembly in Edinburgh, adopted a resolution urging the Church to lobby Zionist-occupied British government to “end inhumane blockade of Gaza and related Jewish violence against native Muslims and Christians“. The resolution also suggested that the Church may stop its support for the so-called “two-state” solution to the Jewish occupation of the Holy Land. The convenor of the assembly, Rev. Ian Galloway, said: “There could never be a truly balanced view between Israel and Palestine“.

In May 2011, the General Assembly stopped passing a resolution calling for boycott of Israeli goods from illegal Jewish settlements due to threats from the Zionist regime. The Church of Scotland with 450,000 followers – has assets and staff in Israel-Palestine, and the Kirk’s Church and Society Council convenor, the Rev. Ian Galloway, said that it was “impossible to assess the risk” posed to them by Tel Aviv if the call for a ban of goods from the occupied territories was passed.

In October 2010, Synod of Bishops conference on Middle East at the Vatican had declared that the Bible never promised Holy Land to Jews.

Earlier this year, Rev. Isaac Poobalan’s decision to allow Muslims to pray inside the Aberdeen church’s main hall and chapel every Friday due to lack of space, had offended many Zionist Christians and Jews.

Scottish Church supports an independent Scotland and demands that its furure constitution should enshrine it as a national church.

For a long period during her early history the Church of Scotland acted independently of Vatican, and combated Roman encroachments. Like the ancient British Church, the Scottish Church refused to conform to the use of the Western Church in regard to their time of keeping Easter, and the way in which the priests wore the tonsure. The Scottish Church, without any reference to the Popes, sent out Missionaries; as for instance, on the decay of Christianity in the Kingdom of Northumberland, Aidan, as we have already said, was consecrated a Bishop and sent there, followed by Finan, Colman, and Tuda in succession, yet neither Bede nor Baronius in their histories find any fault with them. The Consecration of Bishops took place at home without any reference to Roman authority, the cunningly-devised plan of granting the papal pall from Rome was not known in Scotland until 1468, Bishop Graham of St. Andrews being the first Scottish Bishop to receive it, from the hand of the Pope. Read a complete history of the Scottish Church here.
 
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian  
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