Christianity

Religion Failure

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The Middle East is the cradle of monotheistic religion. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam were all born there. All three of these religions, at their best, speak about reconciliation and living with your neighbor in peace. And yet last month Israel and Gaza were at war again in what has become a repetitious pattern of military confrontation.
What has gone so terribly wrong? Why have these three religions failed so miserably in inspiring their adherents to act in terms of their highest values of peace and reconciliation?

Healing Israel/Palestine

Congressman Berman's Last Gasp At Punishing Palestinians

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At first glance, the only thing surprising about the Congressional letter demanding that the Palestinians be punished for taking their case to the United Nations is that AIPAC’s role in producing it is stated openly.The cover letter to House members asking for their signatures (from a staffer working for House Foreign Affairs Committee chair, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen) reads as follows:
I wanted to draw your attention to a bipartisan letter(supported by AIPAC)to President Obama from Chairman Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Member [Howard] Berman, Chairman-designate [Ed] Royce, and Ranking Member-designate [Elliot] Engel. The letter calls on the President to impose strong, specified consequences on the Palestinian leadership and the United Nations for the UN General Assembly move to upgrade the status of the mission of “Palestine” (the PLO) to “Non-Member Observer” state.

Healing Israel/Palestine

Silencing the New York Rabbis Who Supported Palestine U.N. Vote

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I am not going to recapitulate the sad story of what happened at Congregation Bnai Jeshurun in Manhattan this week except to say that progressive Jews (and others) thought a new day had dawned when its rabbis hailed the General Assembly vote on Palestine. But then, within two days, the rabbis at Bnai Jeshurun were forced to clarify following a firestorm of abuse, ginned up by the usual suspects.

Healing Israel/Palestine

It’s Hard to Build Bridges when Bombs are Falling

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I recently joined the planning team of Building Bridges Vancouver. I feel great compassion for all the people who are suffering in this ongoing struggle, Palestinians and Israelis, be they Muslim, Christian or Jewish, and I wish to support an end to the Occupation, granting all people a safe home with human and civil rights guaranteed. My views, sadly, are not welcome within parts of my own family or in the mainstream Jewish community. Until the night before the rally, my fears of confrontation and of being seen as a traitor to the Jewish community had overwhelmed my ability to act. But when I looked myself in the mirror and gave serious thought to the source of my fears, I suddenly realized that my own personal anxiety was not useful at all in such a critical matter. This is about human survival, the survival of humanity. I have to go.

Healing Israel/Palestine

For First Time, Britain and France May Recall Ambassadors to Israel in Protest of Settlement Expansions

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Britain and France are coordinating unprecedented diplomatic protests of Israel’s planned settlement expansion in the wake of the Palestinians’ U.N. statehood bid.
In retaliation for Palestine attaining non-member state observer status at the U.N. on Thursday, Israel announced that it would retaliate by building 3,000 new units in a West Bank area, E-1, long considered a red line by Europe and the U.S.

Healing Israel/Palestine

Israel, Macbeth, and the March Toward Catastrophe

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Disguised with branches from the nearby wood, the hostile army approaches Macbeth’s castle, fulfilling another vision of the witches: Birnam Wood is closing in for the destruction of Macbeth. A vision was also involved at the start of the first Zionist immigration wave: Eretz Israel.

Healing Israel/Palestine

Zionists Endorse Palestinian Move at UN

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Today, Partners for Progressive Israel, an official American-Zionist organization formerly known as Meretz USA, has issued the following statement:
November 27, 2012
Partners for Progressive Israel strongly endorses the application of Palestine to be accorded Non-Member Observer State status at the United Nations and calls on Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to do so as well.