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| Israel-Palestine |
| Palestinians laud US Christian stand |
| 2004-10-03 |
| Palestinian religious leaders have welcomed efforts by two US-based Christian groups to exert economic pressure on Israel in response to its repressive policies against the Palestinians. This week, the US-based Episcopal Church said it would contemplate action against companies involved in the occupation of Palestine, especially in the construction of the separation wall Israel is building in the West Bank. The wall, declared illegal by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, is viewed by the bulk of the international community as a land grab and an attempt to kill any prospect of a viable Palestinian state in the West Bank. Earlier, another American church, the Presbyterian Church, embarked on a campaign to against companies involved in the building of Jewish-only settlements in the occupied territories. "We salute these two churches for taking these courageous steps to help the oppressed Palestinian people," said archimandrite Ata Allah Hanna, spokesman of the Orthodox Church in Jerusalem. "We do hope and pray that other churches and groups will act similarly in fulfilment of Jesus Christ's ideals of siding with the victims of oppression." He told Aljazeera.net the churches' decisions were not made hastily or haphazardly. "They dispatched their representatives to Palestine who saw the enormity of Israeli repression and persecution. It is imperative to point out that no real Christian can accept, condone or ignore the colossal crimes Israel is committing in this holy land." Some Jewish leaders have denounced the Presbyterian and Episcopal churches' attitudes towards its barrier. "There is a certain moral blindness here that is very hard for me to understand," Rabbi Erec Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, was quoted as saying on Friday. "There is no parallel pressure on the Palestinians. That is unfair," said Yoffie, who has been convincing the leaders of the Presbyterian Church to revoke its campaign. Responding to the claims of a Jewish leader that the campaign was motivated by anti-semitism, Ikrima Sabri, the mufti of Palestine, said: "These rabbis are with Israel, right or wrong. They want the world to turn a blind eye to the slow-motion holocaust Israel is carrying out against five million defenceless and helpless human beings whose fault is their enduring yearning for freedom from Jewish tyranny." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #19 Anybody have anything to add to the Sudan situation. Churchs are not going to do anything over there other than get their members killed. Actually, there were missionaries in southern Sudan as far back as the late 60s, along with a few 'specialists'. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2004-10-03 10:26:55 PM |
| #18 Not much said in the MSM other than a lot of hand wringing and the gnashing of teeth about about how bad things are. What are our interests there Frank G? |
| Posted by: John 2004-10-03 8:17:24 PM |
| #17 a few? I found out about Darfur here long before the MSM covered it....give me a break... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-10-03 8:05:20 PM |
| #16 Jonathan Winters said that an Episcopalean was a Catholic that flunked his Latin. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-10-03 7:59:38 PM |
| #15 I always thought the Episcopols made certain there was enough booze at the party. lol! That was the way it used to be - but no more. Now they busy themselves in PC nuttiness. I'm really sad to see the Presbyterians go the same route - and surprised. I've stopped putting my money in both of their offering plates. |
| Posted by: 2b 2004-10-03 7:41:53 PM |
| #14 There have been a few posts about Sudan at Rantburg. I don't know too much about Sudan other than the trouble has been going on a long time. Seems like another witches brew of politics. There is an article posted at http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/spla.htm that presents some of the history of Sudan. Don't know how factual the site is--looks O.K. Sudan is probably worth a post by itself by some industrious person. I know Powell went there and people are beginning to speak of genocide. Anybody have anything to add to the Sudan situation. Churchs are not going to do anything over there other than get their members killed. |
| Posted by: John 2004-10-03 7:33:58 PM |
| #13 The conclusion would be that the jihadists don't much care about the left (or the right) in the U.S. other than to do away with as many of us as they can as soon as they can. Which is why we need to return the favor in kind with all possible haste. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-10-03 7:07:48 PM |
| #12 If the positions of the said chuches was strictly based on christian priciples they would also be screaming at the top of their heads at the situation in Sudan. This is just another in the long line of examples of the in roads that the left has made in the acedemic and religous institutions in the West. Institutions were they have no obligation to their members or the taxpayers for the acdemic intitutions to account for their actions. |
| Posted by: Cheaderhead 2004-10-03 6:58:43 PM |
| #11 Good response Zenster. The conclusion would be that the jihadists don't much care about the left (or the right) in the U.S. other than to do away with as many of us as they can as soon as they can. Good argument for re-electing "W." The Horowitz article did make some good points about the threat of the left's fuzzy headed position to the security of the U.S. |
| Posted by: John 2004-10-03 6:44:37 PM |
| #10 Are the jihadists communists or facists? John, communism's godless central government will never fly with Islam. The jihadis seek theocratic totalitarianism. Here's another informative link with respect to The Arab/Muslim Nazi Connection. However, as a matter of record, there was a well-documented, thriving relationship between the Arab/Muslim world and Nazi Germany, with perhaps the most significant figure linking Hitler to the Middle East being none other Sabri's very own predecessor, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin el-Husseini. ... Hitler's Mein Kampf currently ranks sixth on the best-seller list among Palestinian Arabs. Luis Al-Haj, translator of the Arabic edition, writes glowingly in the preface about how Hitler's "ideology" and his "theories of nationalism, dictatorship and race… are advancing especially within our Arabic States." When Palestinian police first greeted Arafat in the self-rule areas, they offered the infamous Nazi salute - the right arm raised straight and upward. The PLO and notably Arafat himself do not make a secret of their source of inspiration. The Grand Mufti el-Husseini is venerated as a hero by the PLO. It should be noted, that the PLO's top figure in east Jerusalem today, Faisal Husseini, is the grandson to the Führer's Mufti. Arafat also considers the Grand Mufti a respected educator and leader, and in 1985 declared it an honor to follow in his footsteps. Little wonder. In 1951, a close relative of the Mufti named Rahman Abdul Rauf el-Qudwa el-Husseini matriculated to the University of Cairo. The student decided to conceal his true identity and enlisted as "Yasser Arafat." |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-10-03 6:03:40 PM |
| #9 O.K. the Episcopalians and Presbyterians are leftists. David Horowitz, former new leftie turned hawk is interviewed regarding his book: Unholy Alliance Part II (don't know what happened in Part I). There is an interesting discussion on www.frontpagemag.com on 10/1/04 linking the left with radical Islam in a round about way. I was a kid during WWII. Growing up I recall there was a fairly strong link between Muslins and Adolph Hitler. Adolph's Arabic name was supposedly Abu Ali. There is an article in www.frontpagemag.com dating back to 12/6/02 entitled: Islam's Nazi Connections. Which is it? Are the jihadists communists or facists? |
| Posted by: John 2004-10-03 5:05:40 PM |
| #8 I am surprised Bryan, Fox owns Sky TV. Then again, I am assuming that Sky TV and Sky News are the same thing. |
| Posted by: Poison Reverse 2004-10-03 3:53:00 PM |
| #7 On Sky TV they keep on referring to what's happening in Gaza as 'tit-for-tat violence'. This is so typical of the dumbing-down of the media everywhere. |
| Posted by: Bryan 2004-10-03 3:47:06 PM |
| #6 For everyone who is pissed, be pissed no more: Matthew Ch. 7 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, "We do hope and pray that other churches and groups will act similarly in fulfilment of Jesus Christ's ideals of siding with the victims of oppression." The Epi-Presb-Luth churches think they know the Bible, these Satan influenced chruches wouldn't know the Bible if Jesus personally took the Bible and slapped them across the face with it. |
| Posted by: Poison Reverse 2004-10-03 3:28:01 PM |
| #5 I never thought I'd appreciate the snake handling services we have in the South. |
| Posted by: John 2004-10-03 2:24:40 PM |
| #4 The Episcopal and Presbyterian churches need to face having all of their financial holdings boycotted. Whatever companies have accepted large-scale investment from these churches should be faced with consumer boycotts of their products or services. This sort of politically correct bullsh!t being directed against those who are dedicated to fighting terrorism needs to carry a price tag. Commercial enterprises that willingly accept the financing or support of those who would deter the fight against terrorism need to feel the pinch. "We do hope and pray that other churches and groups will act similarly in fulfilment of Jesus Christ's ideals of siding with the victims of oppression." What is this horseshit? The Palestinians are not "victims of oppression," unless you closely examine their own leadership. The Israelis are rightfully defending their population against murderous psychotics. Israel's fence represents one of the most benign possible solutions to continued Palestinian terror attacks. Were the positions reversed, no Arab country would even hesitate to have gone in and slaughtered the entire offending population. You can also bet that the world media would not even squeak about such an offensive as opposed to the uproar against Israel's nigh-well meticulous targeting of terrorist leadership. Instead, we are treated to constant whingeing and moaning about the relatively restrained approach that Israel has used throughout their campaign against Palestinian terror. The only surprise in all of this is that Israel has not simply begun to raze all of the refugee camps and let the Palestinians fend for themselves out in the desert. The Palestinians deserve nothing less. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-10-03 2:21:57 PM |
| #3 The position of the Episcopalian and Presbyterian leadership just demonstrates how far the clergy has moved from the people. Over the years the leadership has become effete, feminized. They believe themselves better than their congregants and feel they must lead them to a new age of enlightenment that includes acceptance of homosexuality, female priests, etc. and a rejection of the old beliefs. Whether by conscious design or by the natural decay of institutions, the old line protestant churches are becoming increasingly irrelevant. |
| Posted by: Random thoughts 2004-10-03 2:04:15 PM |
| #2 Good lord, Never thought I'd see the day that Presbyterian's & Episcopalians would stoop to this sort of BS, PC, nonsense! Almost makes me ashamed to be a Christian. :/ |
| Posted by: Sloper Sniper4633 2004-10-03 1:19:02 PM |
| #1 The Epicopaleans and Presbyterians are getting militant. What will happen next. I always thought the Episcopols made certain there was enough booze at the party. Israel needs to still their concerns. The separation wall will become an antiquity. It is a religious symbol. It is a remembrance of the Holocaust. Besides it will prevent terrorist bombers from coming into Israel and bombing innocent folks. Get real. |
| Posted by: John 2004-10-03 11:42:04 AM |