Archive for the ‘Religion and politics’ Category
by James M. Wall (UPDATE BELOW) A Boston Marathon Interfaith memorial service, “Healing Our City”, was held at Boston’s Cathedral of the Holy Cross Thursday, April 18. It was a service that concluded with remarks delivered by President Barack Obama. The National Journal’s Matthew Cooper called Obama’s remarks “an emotional rallying point for the city”. It was also, Cooper […]
Filed under: Religion and politics, The Human Condition | 4 Comments
by James M. Wall This nation’s foreign policy is, for this weekend at least, in the pious hands of John Hagee, a Christian fundamentalist preacher from Texas. To be sure, Hagee is not the only policy-shaker whose minions are roaming the hallowed halls of the nation’s capitol. But he is certainly the most conspicuous and […]
Filed under: Middle East Politics, Politics and Elections, Religion and politics | 20 Comments
by James M. Wall Israel’s 19th general election, Tuesday, January 22, is almost certain to be won by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party. There is no serious Liberal election opposition to Likud. What is serious, however, is the very real possibility that after this election, the Israeli government could turn even harder to the […]
Filed under: Middle East Politics, Netanyahu, Politics and Elections, Religion and politics | 10 Comments
by James M. Wall You have to know American Jewish leaders are really riled up when they call on the New York Times to flack for them against 15 leaders of Christian churches who had the audacity to send a letter to the US Congress, which said, with proper Christian indignation: As Christian leaders in the United […]
Filed under: Middle East Politics, Religion and politics | 26 Comments
by James M. Wall When the gavel fell on the Episcopalian convention, July 10, three major U.S. Protestant denominations had formally ended their 2012 discussions on how much religious support they were willing to give Palestinians under occupation. The most charitable answer for all three gatherings is, not much. Judging by the degree of hostility stirred up […]
Filed under: Episcopal Church, Middle East, Middle East Politics, Politics in Religion, Presbyterian Church USA, Religion and politics, Religious Faith, United Methodist Church | 20 Comments
by James M. Wall Drawing from a report by Save the Children, Electronic Intifada’s Managing Editor Maureen Clare Murphy, describes what she correctly terms, Israel’s managed “humanitarian crisis in Gaza”. A humanitarian crisis that is managed? Wait a minute; “managing” means controlling what happens. Yes it does. Which is how it comes about that Israel […]
Filed under: Middle East Politics, Politics and Elections, Religion and politics, The Human Condition | 7 Comments
Tags: american tax payers, chronic malnutrition, electronic intifada, Middle East, politics
by James M. Wall Neve Gordon, a 47-year-old Israeli-born professor and author, greeted this year’s 64th anniversary of the Nakba with an essay for CounterPunch that included this revealing confession: I first heard about the Nakba in the late 1980s, while I was an undergraduate student of philosophy at Hebrew University. This, I believe, is […]
Filed under: Media, Middle East Politics, Religion and politics | 12 Comments
by James M. Wall The United Methodist Church has delayed a vote on a resolution on divestment from three US companies which “aid and abet”* Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. The vote was initially set for Tuesday, but has been delayed until later this week. There is speculation among General Conference delegates […]
Filed under: Middle East Politics, Obama, Politics and Elections, Presbyterian Church USA, Religion and politics, United Methodist Church | 9 Comments
Tags: ambassador ryan crocker, Middle East, politics
by James M. Wall The mainstream media does not know it, and far too many high steeple church folk do not want to know it. But in Tampa, Florida, this week, the General Conference of the United Methodist Church will make a decision. They will spend the week writing and rewriting. Some, like Alissa Bertsch […]
Filed under: Middle East Politics, Politics in Religion, Presbyterian Church USA, Religion and politics, United Methodist Church | 8 Comments
Church Leader Tells Palestinians and Israelis “eat together and listen to each other’s stories”
by James M. Wall (New Comments Posted Below) An appalling shallowness has descended over Mainline Protestantism. Episcopalians, United Methodists and Presbyterians are actually debating how they should deal with the Israeli Occupation Martin Luther King, sitting in that Birmingham city jail, would most certainly inform these prelates that there is no debating evil. A brutal […]
Filed under: Episcopal Church, Middle East, Middle East Politics, Presbyterian Church, Religion and politics, Religious Faith, United Methodist Church | 38 Comments
