LINKS FOR MIDEAST NEWS
MEMRI.ORG: Essential source for translations and first hand access to the issues, well organized by countries and issues.
THE TIMES (London) Middle East page. A wide range of articles on breaking events.
SIMON WEISENTHAL CENTER: Internationally recognized voice against anti-Semitism, news and analysis.
AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE: A moderate and respected Jewish voice, including a reliable history of the conflict.
ARAB NEWS: Egyptian-based news with an Arab flavor, prompt and thorough.
HAARETZ: Israeli daily with good daily coverage and editorial slant towards the peace movement.
JERUSALEM POST: Center-right daily paper with comprehensive news coverage. Free registration is required.
PCUSA: Official website of the denomination; good archives, poor search engine.
PRESBYTERIAN LAYMAN: Conservative, with news and open debate forum.
PRESBYTERIAN DIVESTMENT FROM ISRAEL: Another Presbyterian site against divestment.
THE WITHERSPOON SOCIETY: A liberal Presbyterian voice that has done a good job of publishing diverse viewpoints.
And visit FREEDOM HOUSE for detailed country-by-country analysis on the state of freedom versus repression. It contains balanced and fair criticism of both Israel and its adversaries. Its principled evaluations are a refreshing contrast to the arbitrary actions of the PCUSA and its allies.
27 August 2006
Since this summer’s war in Lebanon, the Western media have trumpeted a Hizbollah victory over Israel. But the terrorist organization’s leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, has just made a surprising admission:
"We did not think that the capture [of Israeli troops] would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude. You ask me if I had known on July 11 ... that the operation would lead to such a war, would I do it? I say no, absolutely not," he said.
This statement is a virtual admission of defeat and a sharp contrast with his claims of victory and his threats of additional bloodshed. There is only one reason that he would make such a comment. He is under pressure from the Lebanese people, including his own Shiite sect, for the devastation caused by his unprovoked attack on Israel. In contrast to his status in the European press, he is currently celebrating his birthday in hiding.
No one has won the recent round of fighting, but Hizbollah may yet prove to be the biggest loser and forfeit its toehold along the Israeli border.
PRESBYTERIANS SHOULD NEVER FORGET THAT NASRALLAH AND HIS HIZBOLLAH CRIMINALS ARE THE SAME GROUP THAT OUR MISGUIDED DENOMINATIONAL LEADERS HAVE CHOSEN TO MEET WITH ON AT LEAST TWO OCCASIONS (See article below)
PRESBYTERIANS WRESTLE AGAIN WITH DIVESTMENT
16 June 2006: Meeting in Birmingham, this year's General Assembly is hearing from both sides in the dispute over its proclamations against Israel. A prominent speaker was James Woolsey, retired CIA director, who strongly denounced the 2004 divestment resolution, saying that he didn't know what the church thought it was doing two years ago when it chose to back the Palestinian Liberation Organization." He pointed out that, "Today by maintaining that position, the church is choosing Hamas," a terrorist organization. "Hamas is now the elected governing body. It is theocratic, totalitarian, anti-semitic and genocidal. It teaches 5-year-old children to be suicidal bombers. There is nothing remotely close to moderate about it."
Commissioners also heard from Salam Al-Marayati, director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council who defended dealing with the Hamas terorists:"We would dialogue with the devil if it is in our best interest." He was not enlightening as to how a dialogue with either Hamas or the devil could actually be in anyone's best interest.
13JUNE 2006: Speaking on the 17th anniversary of the death of the founder of the Iranian Revolution, Ayatollah Hussein Khomeini called the current regime "a dictatorship of clerics who control every aspect of life." He said that the revolution had devoured its children and strayed from its course, and called for its overthrow.
3 December 2005:
Despite ongoing embarassment from meeting in 2004 with the Hizbollah terrorist organization and from a recent repetition of that folly, Dr. Jay Rock has announced that PCUSA groups will remain free to meet with such groups. Rock said “there will not be policies for or against meeting with any group, but we do have policies against the use of terrorism in any form.”
Apparently it's fine for our church to dine with terrorist groups as long as we don't actually lend a hand with the bombs. The statement was strongly and cogently protested by the Weisenthal Center.
