THE Church of Scotland has rejected plans to punish Israel with economic sanctions but condemned growing settlements in the occupied territories of Palestinian.
Senior figures at the General Assembly in Edinburgh yesterday supported taking a stance of principle against the state but stopped short of a boycott, divestment and sanctions.
The Church moved to address its role in the Holy Land as a milestone was reached in a conflict directly associated with one of the Kirk's most famous members.
Update: Children among 22 killed in barbaric terrorist bombing at Ariana Grande show in Manchester
The report coincided with centenary year of the Balfour Declaration – the brainchild of former Prime Minister and Kirk elder Arthur Balfour which favoured creating a home for the Jewish people in Palestine "without prejudicing the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities".
However, a motion by the Rev Tom Gordon, Marie Curie Hospice chaplain, below, calling for the Kirk to "urge the adoption of economic measures to pressure the state of Israel to comply with international law" was rejected.
Instead the Assembly agreed to his call to "condemn all infringements of international law, including the expansion of the illegal settlements" and scrutinised the legacy of the declaration.
Update: Children among 22 killed in barbaric terrorist bombing at Ariana Grande show in Manchester
Former Moderator the Very Rev Andrew MacLellan, who was also Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland from 2002 to 2009, had a motion passed to: "Urge the Scottish and UK governments that any public commemorations are undertaken sensitively, recognising the costs involved for Palestinian people".
He told the assembly: "There is no doubt that the scale of the misery of people in the Palestinian community is out of all proportion to the scale of the misery of people in Israel community.
"For all Jewish people the Balfour Declaration has brought good news, for Palestinian people there are no benefits from the Balfour Declaration.
"I used to inspect prisons and therefore I can say with some professional competence that not only is Gaza the biggest prison in the world it is also the worst prison in the world."
Update: Children among 22 killed in barbaric terrorist bombing at Ariana Grande show in Manchester
Rev Iain Cunningham, convener of the World Mission Council, below, said: "I have sat in a Palestinian refugee camp with the family of a teenage boy, shot dead by Israeli soldiers, and I have sat with the Jewish parents of an Israeli soldier who lost his life in the conflict. Their grief was the same."
He added, however, that "this report was not produced by a group sitting in a room in Edinburgh reflecting on past history and abstractly theorising about the political situation 2,500 miles away".
"It began with a visit to Israel/Palestine and a series of conversations there, principally our partners - both Palestinians and Israelis - and we continue to have good conversations with the Jewish community here in Scotland.
"It’s their voices that are heard throughout this report.
Update: Children among 22 killed in barbaric terrorist bombing at Ariana Grande show in Manchester
"And, perhaps surprisingly for some, our partners do not all share the same view as to what might make for peace and justice, especially with regard to economic leverage.
"It is significant also that none of ecumenical church partners in the region have chosen to endorse the so-called BDS option (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) and is also true of our major international church partners, such as Presbyterian Church of the USA.
"This is a major reason why at this stage our two councils have not yet come to a definitive position on that issue."
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