2. United Church - I hope that this is the last item on the Church and the anti-Israel proposals until the next General Council next year.
Here are a variety of posts about this - The United Church's uncertain future - Holy Post, Robert Fulford: When criticizing Israel becomes ritual - Full Comment, Jonathan Kay: Give Bernie Farber credit for forcing a dying United Church to back down on its toxic bigotry - Full Comment, and Prominent Canadian Jewish organization lashes out at United Church of Canada - The Globe and Mail, and here is an excerpt from the press release issued by the Church about the issue.
"With a sense of urgency, the Council recommended that United Church Conferences, presbyteries, congregations, and community ministries immediately enter into consultation, dialogue, study, and prayer, and then undertake appropriate action toward ending the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory. It also asked these bodies to enter into conversation as to how to move the two peoples toward reconciliation, including, but not limited to, economic boycott."
Sorry, I find this to be arrogant and misguided. The proposed actions of "...consultation, dialogue, study and prayer.." are to be taken with the goal of undertaking "appropriate action toward ending the illegal occupation..." Doesn't sound like a very open-minded process - the goal has apparently already been determined. As well, having "boycott" and "reconciliation" in the same sentence is, in my humble opinion, ludicrous.
The notion of prayer sounds very condescending - like when someone else tells you that they are going to pray for you - the implication being that you are deficient in some manner and need them, who are in some sense morally superior, to pray for you.
This has been explained to me on the basis that the theology in the United Church places great emphasis on the writings of the Prophets - especially the Book of Amos which, after containing admonitions of the nations that surrounded ancient Israel, then tells the Israelites that G-d is going to judge Israel for its sins, and it will be a foreign nation that will enact his judgment. Apparently, the modern United Church believes that among its purposes is to act as the moral guide for the State of Israel.
It seems to me that we Jews, who after all, constitute the 85% majority of the population of Israel, cannot win. Either people hate us because we say that we arrogantly assert that we are the Chosen People (which other do as well, by the way) or we are lectured that we do not live up the that mantle.
There are serious issues to be resolved between Israel and the Palestinians. The help pf outsiders will likely be necessary. However, this type of one-sided input is not going to help, but only make things worse. At the start of this most recent version of the controversial, I took the view that it was probably unfair to label the United Church as an entity as being anti-Semitic. But now, having done a lot of investigation, noting in particular the manner in which the Church is dealing with only this issue and not issues in Iran, China, Russia, Sudan, Venezuela and so on, and having regard to the decision reached at the General Council, I am very concerned that the direction of the Church smacks of being ant-Semitic.
3. Here's Something For The United Church To Get Worked Up About - The fate of the Baha'i in Iran - see also Iran to try 7 Baha'is accused of spying for Israel | International | Jerusalem Post. By the way, the principal holy site of the Baha'i religion is located in Haifa - I have been fortunate enough to visit there - it is a spectacular spot.
5. Denmark & the Holocaust - The story of Denmark and the Holocaust is well-known. The movie reviewed in this article represents a different angle - No Danish Patsies – Forward.com.
6. The Last of Yemen's Jews - Yemen's last Jews set to flee for US, Israel | Jewish News | Jerusalem Post
7. Trouble in Gaza - and no one has blamed it on Israel (yet?) - Al Qaida-linked group: Gaza is an Islamic emirate | Middle East | Jerusalem Post and VOA News - 24 Palestinians Killed as Rival Islamic Groups Clash in Gaza - how come Hamas is allowed to conduct a "fierce assault" on dissidents in a mosque without the lefties and peace-niks going berserk?
9. Election Fraud -Fatah's Gaza leaders quit, citing massive vote fraud | Middle East | Jerusalem Post - shouldn't "Jimmah" be all over this?
10. Italian Stallions - Italian journalists stand up for ousted Israelis | International | Jerusalem Post
13. More Campus - FrontPage Magazine - Fighting the Campus War Against Israel and the Jews: Amir Abdel Malik-Ali
14. Peace Process - FrontPage Magazine - All Process, No Peace and FrontPage Magazine - The 14 Lies Blocking Peace in the Middle East.
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