Church of Scotland Approves Revised Report on Occupation of Palestine

By Richard Edmondson

At its annual General Assembly, which concluded today, the Church of Scotland “overwhelmingly accepted” a revised version of its report, “The Inheritance of Abraham?” that so aroused Jewish ire earlier this month.

As I noted previously, the revised version was considerably watered down from the original, yet still retained the report’s key conclusions: that the Bible does not confer upon any people a guaranteed, divine right to any land, and that the current situation between Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is characterized by an inequality in power.

Despite the church going to all the trouble to rewrite its report, including the outright deletion of some sections, Jews quite predictably are unsatisfied with the results.

“Whatever the revisions, ‘The Inheritance of Abraham’ still contains not an ounce of sympathy for Israel,” complains Liam Hoare, in an article published by the Jewish Daily Forward. The piece, headlined “Church of Scotland Strikes Out on Israel,” was posted today on The Forward’s website, though apparently before the author had gotten the news of the revised version’s passage—he doesn’t mention the General Assembly’s final vote. But he does call the report “borderline anti-Semitic,” and says that even the revised version failed to “repeal all claims that smacked of Christian supremacism?”

Christian supremacism? Apparently Hoare is upset that the revised report dared, even still, to offer quotes from the New Testament. The Church of Scotland, he avers, “does not appear to see the contradiction in turning to the New Testament and asserting its truthfulness in order to advance its case.”

Hoare’s comments are a perfect example of why I am opposed to Christians wasting their time engaging in any further “interfaith dialog” with Jews—because invariably you will run up against people like this. It is almost inevitable. Keep in mind that the Jewish Daily Forward is considered one of the more “liberal” Jewish publications around.

The “Inheritance of Abraham?” was authored and presented to the General Assembly by the church’s Church and Society Council. Here is a report, appearing at the Church of Scotland website, on its presentation and final approval:

Church debated revised Inheritance of Abraham report

23 May 2013

Presenting the report Rev Sally Foster-Fulton, Convener of the Church and Society Council said: “This is primarily a report highlighting the continued occupation by the state of Israel and the injustices faced by the Palestinian people as a consequence. It is not a report criticising the Jewish people. Opposing the unjust policies of the state of Israel cannot be equated to anti-Semitism. “

“The Church has kept on thinking about ways we can contribute to a just and peaceful solution. The report we bring to this year’s Assembly has already caused no small amount of controversy. The Church and Society Council has learned a great deal from dialogue with Jewish community which followed the initial release of the report.

“We would like to thank members of the Jewish community who sat down with us and were gracious in their concern. We present a revised version today with a preface that sets the report more in context. While acknowledging that some of the original language, on reflection, was misguided, I want to affirm that the report remains robust. It offers new insights - ones that have come through the experience of those suffering the continuing injustices of occupation. I look forward to the debate and, I hope, to continuing discussion after today exploring the issues and ideas brought forward in the report.”

The revised report was overwhelmingly accepted by the General Assembly. Mrs Foster-Fulton said: “The on-going conflict in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory has been an issue close to the heart of the Church of Scotland

In addition to the above, we get the following from The Scotsman:

THE General Assembly has ignored calls by Scottish Jews to rethink a controversial report on the Israel-Palestine situation.

The Church and Society Council’s Inheritance of Abraham? A report on the Promised Land document prompted a storm of controversy around the world when it was first published.

Although primarily about the treatment of Palestinian people by the Israeli government, it was interpreted by Jewish groups as questioning the assumption that the Bible supported the existence of Israel as the Promised Land for Jews.

The report was criticised by the Israeli government as playing into “extremist political positions” and that it had damaged inter-faith relations.

In the wake of the row, the Kirk entered talks with Jewish groups and revised the report, changing some of the language and adding a preface giving context to the document.

Despite these amendments, the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities (SCoJeC) said that the report’s “unacceptable underlying message remains unaltered,” and hoped that “rather than adopting the report, the General Assembly will refer it back in order to permit a serious and sustained dialogue that will bring our communities together rather than driving us apart”.

During the debate on the report yesterday, the Rev David Randall echoed the SCoJeC’s call and brought a motion for the council to continue its work on the paper to find out “what is troubling the Jewish community” and report back in 2014.

Although she agreed that talks with Jewish communities should continue, the council convener, the Rev Sally Foster-Fulton, rejected the motion, stating that council had been in “good dialogue” with them and had addressed their concerns. But she said that it was “a report for the General Assembly to discuss and debate” and that the central message “was robust”.

A standing vote was taken and Mr Randall’s motion was overwhelmingly rejected, and the report was accepted by the Assembly.

Speaking outside the hall, Mrs Foster-Fulton said: “This is primarily a report highlighting the continued occupation by the state of Israel and the injustices faced by the Palestinian people as a consequence. It is not a report criticising the Jewish people. Opposing the unjust policies of the state of Israel cannot be equated to antisemitism.”

You’ll note the complaints, mentioned in the above report, voiced by the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities. Like Hoare, the SCoJeC apparently didn’t feel that the “Christian supremacist” Church of Scotland had bent over backwards far enough to appease its Jewish critics. But it wasn’t only them. When the church released the original version of its report in early May, it had to face pressure mounted from at least three other Jewish organizations—the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Movement for Reform Judaism, and Rabbis for Human Rights.

As I said, the Scottish church gave ground in some areas, but stood firm in others—and overall it deserves to be commended for its final vote on the matter. Other churches could do far worse than follow their example.

 
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