Readers, today marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall. At it’s greatest strength, the barrier separating East and West Berlin stretched 96 miles. 96 miles of concrete and barbed wire. 96 miles of trenches and kill-zones.
And that- all of that- is nothing.
Nothing in comparison to the wall Israel has built in, around, and through the West Bank territory.
Posted in America, history, morality, news, politics, race
Tagged apartheid, Barrier Wall, Berlin, Berlin Wall, bigotry, border, Check Point, Childbirth, Chuck Schumer, death, Demolish, fall of the Berlin wall, Ghetto, Hilary Clinton, israel, israeli, JDL, palestine, Palestinian women, racism, reagan, Separation Wall, Size, Tear Down This Wall, terrorism, West Bank, West Berlin
Yesterday, CWR’s own Kat posted “Do Western Christians Want Martyrs?”, a short post questioning the motivations behind the recent outpouring of Western sympathy for the plight of Iraqi and Syrian Christians, currently being massacred by the forces of the terrorist group formerly known as ISIS. That post prompted the following comment: “[it] seems a bit sick to turn this into a critique of Christians or Christianity… what is it in you that wants to make this a critique of Christian hypocrisy?”
Now I don’t think it was Kat’s intention to downplay the genocide in progress in the Levant and it certainly isn’t mine either. So why critique Christians?
Because Christians are guilty.
No, they’re not pulling the triggers or wielding the swords, but the actions of Western Christians have contributed not only to the slaughter of Iraqi and Chaldean believers, but the persecution, suffering, and misery of the church all across the world. And even as Western Christians switch their profiles to the Arabic letter “nun” for “Nazarene”, the self same people continue to be part of the problem.
Let me show you a picture:
These are the first of the first. The oft-forgotten Christians of Palestine. The descendents of the very first followers of Christ. These people are literally Nazarenes.
Where is their defense? Continue reading
Posted in America, Christianity, history, Islam, morality, news, politics, religion
Tagged 3rd World, Amazon, Amazonian, Bethlehem, Bush, Christian, Christianity, Christians, el salvador, European, fake, Foreign Policy, Gyspy, Houghton, Houghton College, hypocrisy, Iraq, IS, ISIS, Islamic State, israel, martyr, Martyrs, middle-east, Mr. By-Ends, Nazarene, news, Nike, nun, Oscar Romero, palestine, palestinian, Palestinian Christians, Pilgrim's Progress, Policy, Roma, Sabian, Slave Labor, sweat shop, sweatshop, Syria, western, Western Christians, Yezidi
UN Officials report having warned Israel “17 times” that the school was housing refugees and children.
I’m writing this after one of the deadliest days in the recent bombing of Gaza. As of right now, estimates place the Palestinian death toll for the past 24 hours as being over 100, with many lost after the IDF (“Israel Defense Force”) bombed a UN school-turned-refugee shelter. With the total death count standing at 1,336, it can be tough in such times to feel that there’s any hope- but readers, there is a way to fight back.
It’s called “Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions“.
Posted in Africa, America, Christianity, Economy, Europe, Fame Day, government, history, money, morality, news, politics, religion
Tagged Alice Walker, apartheid, BDS, Boycott, civil rights, Death Toll, Desmond Tutu, Divestment, Gaza, Haredi, human-rights, idf, israel, israeli, Presbyterian Church, Sanctions, school, south africa, Stephen Hawking, Tesco, UN, UNWRA, West Bank, zionism
This was originally going to be my topic for Monday, but I decided to put this discussion off for a few days and showcase it here. Our “Fame Days”, after all, aren’t just about celebrating achievements but include shining the spotlight on noble issues or events we believe should have more attention, and I’d be hard-pressed to think of any idea more deserving than the “One-State Solution”.
Chances are that you have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about, and that’s fine. Normally I rail against what I’d consider self-imposed ignorance when it comes to politics or foreign affairs, but this is a really, really obscure concept (heck, that’s the entire reason we’re talking about it today).
When we’re talking about either the “one-state” or (more common) “two-state” solutions, we’re referencing the debate over the future of Israel and the Palestinian territories. Pretty much every so-called “road map” to “peace in the Middle East” revolves around settling the question of the borders of Israel and what would eventually become the state of Palestine. Who gets what land, access to which resources, authority over which sites- you get the idea.
Posted in Africa, Fame Day, government, history, lgbt, morality, politics, race, relationships, religion
Tagged 1967, a cancer in the body, african migrants, anti-occupation, antisemitism, apartheid, Arab, askhenazi, bigotry, borders, cancer, conversion, democracy, descrimination, Ethiopian Jews, freedom, interracial, israel, jewish, jews, Knesset, leftist, messianic, messianic jews, middle-east, Miri Regev, mizrahi, mk, nabka, one state, one state solution, palestine, Palestinians, peace, prejudice, race mixing, racism, racist, rally, religion, right of return, road map, segregation, sephardic, tolerance, two state, two state solution, Yad L'Achim
There’s a prevailing idea that the Middle East and its history is nothing but a quagmire of conflicts and wars too ancient and complicated for all but the most scholarly. This simply isn’t true, and 9 times out of 10 it’s just a flimsy excuse for one’s ignorance on the people and politics of civilization’s cradle. The truth is, the Middle East isn’t anymore complex than any other part of the world, and by the end of this post, I’m hoping to have proven that.
This is as simple as it gets, people.
Let’s talk about a little stretch of beach called Gaza.
A fifth of the size of Los Angeles, and with a population of 1.7 million, the Gaza Strip is the world’s largest open-air prison.
That’s right, a prison. We can call it a “territory” or a “reservation” or dress it up any number of ways- at the end of the day, a gigantic holding cell is all that it is.
Posted in government, morality, news, politics
Tagged 2010, 2014, aid, arrest, bantustan, bigotry, Blockade, civil rights, democracy, election, fishermen, Gaza, Gaza Strip, Hamas, human-rights, humanitarian, ignorance, imprisoned, israel, justice, kidnapped, Mavi Marmara, murder, palestine, palestinian, prison, Rachel Corrie, racism, siege, violation
Yours truly has not had many good things to say about organized religion, yet today we celebrate just that. Or more specifically, the Presbyterians, who voted on June 20th to divest its holdings in three companies (Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions) associated with supplying Israel.
In fact, the Presbyterian Church has gone so far as to
1. Call upon all nations to prohibit the import of products made by enterprises in Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.
2. Call for the boycott of all Israeli products coming from the occupied Palestinian Territories, including AHAVA Dead Sea Laboratories Beauty Products, and all date products of Hadiklaim, The Israel Date Growers Co-Operative Ltd, often marked by the brand names: King Solomon Dates and Jordan River (not Israeli products from Israel).
3. Direct the Stated Clerk to communicate this action to all other PC (USA) councils and entities and invite and strongly encourage those groups and organizations to endorse this boycott until significant progress toward Palestinian rights and independence can be reported to the General Assembly or the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board (note: formerly General Assembly Mission Council.)
4. Direct the Stated Clerk to inform our ecumenical partners of this action, both nationally and globally, and call upon them to join in the boycott of these companies.
Posted in America, business, Christianity, Fame Day, money, morality, news, politics, religion
Tagged Apocalypse, ban, BDS, Caterpillar, Christian ZIonism, church, Disinvestment, Dispensationalism, Divest, Fame Day, Gaza, Hewlett-Packard, israel, Israeli settlements, Mission, Motorola Solutions, palestine, Palestinian Territories, Presbyterian, Presbyterian Mission Agency Board, the Presbyterian Church, vote, West Bank, zionism
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