THE Church of Scotland is to review its presence in the Holy Land amid moves to help heal a bloody schism in the Middle East officially named after one of its most famous members.

The action is raised on the centenary of the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which was made by former Prime Minister and Kirk member Arthur Balfour and which viewed with favour a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine "without prejudicing the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities", accelerating a process that had been under way since the 19th century.

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Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, who was born in Whittingehame House in East Lothian, was a member of the Church of Scotland as well as the Church of England, and served as both Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary when the British Empire was beginning to wane.

The legacy of the declaration is now to be scrutinised at the General Assembly, the annual gathering of senior Church figures, in Edinburgh.

A World Mission report to go before the 730 commissioners on Monday said the arrival of the centenary “raises specific questions for the Church of Scotland, given Lord Balfour’s membership of our denomination, the significance of Biblical Israel within Christianity, the ongoing Israeli Occupation and the Church of Scotland’s presence within the land”.

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The Church as had a presence in the Holy Land since the 1830s and currently has two churches, the St Andrew’s Scots Memorial Church, Jerusalem, and St Andrew’s Church, Tiberias, as well as the St Andrew’s Scots Guesthouse in Jerusalem, Tabeetha School in Jaffa, and the Scots Hotel in Tiberias, below.The Herald:

The World Mission says "this varied presence enables the Church to work directly with Israelis and Palestinians, to support local charities working for peace and dialogue, and in small ways supports the Palestinian economy through the sourcing of goods and services".

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Iain Cunningham, World Mission convener, wrote in the report: "The Church of Scotland recognises that with its presence in the Israel/Palestine comes responsibility.

"It must engage in, and encourage dialogue and actions that can promote justice and peace for all.

"It must denounce what it sees as the clear obstacles to a peaceful and lasting solution to the Israel/Palestine conflict.

"Through its presence it aims to engage in dialogue with those from across the socio-political and religious divide throughout Israel/Palestine who are working towards a just peace."

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The report said the Church's move to encourage greater peace will involve lobbying UK and Scottish governments, supporting projects on the ground working for reconciliation, listening and supporting voices of Israelis and Palestinians alike who are calling for the end of the Occupation.

The report stated: "We must support the small community of Palestinian Christians within Israel and the Occupied Territories, most of whom are living out the Christian witness of non-violence

in a context of political impasse and in some cases, suffering terrible privations and lacking access to natural resources such as water and their ancestral agricultural lands."

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"We must challenge antisemitism and anti-muslim prejudice in any form, whilst standing with our Christian brothers and sisters across the Middle East who are being persecuted for their faith.

"And we must stand in solidarity with the small community of Palestinian Christians who have had to endure years of political oppression, antagonism and political exclusion."