Author Archives: wallwritings

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About wallwritings

From 1972 through 1999, James M. Wall was editor and publisher of the Christian Century magazine, based in Chicago, lllinois. He was a Contributing Editor of the Century from 1999 until July, 2017. He has written this blog, wall writings.me, since it was launched April 27, 2008. If you would like to receive Wall Writings alerts when new postings are added to this site, send a note, saying, Please Add Me, to jameswall8@gmail.com Biography: Journalism was Jim's undergraduate college major at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. He has earned two MA degrees, one from Emory, and one from the University of Chicago, both in religion. He is an ordained United Methodist clergy person. He served for two years in the US Air Force, and three additional years in the USAF reserve. While serving on active duty with the Alaskan Command, he reached the rank of first lieutenant. He has worked as a sports writer for both the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, was editor of the United Methodist magazine, Christian Advocate for ten years, and editor and publisher of the Christian Century magazine for 27 years. James M Wall died March 22, 2021 at age 92. His family appreciates all of his readers, even those who may have disagreed with his well-informed writings.

Iran’s Rouhani: “The World Has Changed”

by James M. Wall On July 30, 2009, conservative columnist Pat Buchanan  wrote a column in the American Conservative.  He called it, “Tell Israel No”. Here is a key paragaph: “Israel has been saying for years an Iranian bomb is months away. Where … Continue reading

Posted in Middle East Politics, Obama, United Nations, US govermemt, War | 14 Comments

Peaceful Pause Delivers “Stunning” News

by James M. Wall No one ever said diplomacy was easy. Many have said it is messy. But one thing is certain: Diplomacy is better than destruction. Thanks to diplomacy, which weathered recent negative media cries of incompetence, the U.S. … Continue reading Continue reading

Posted in Media, Middle East Politics, USA, War | 6 Comments

Obama Pauses Again; Peace Wins, AIPAC Loses

by James M. Wall Monday, September 9, was planned as a day for the White House to persuade Congress to support military strikes on Syria. The highlight of the day’s “persuade Congress” plan was a White House appearance by former … Continue reading

Posted in Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Middle East Politics, Obama, War | 9 Comments

Obama Pauses; Calls for Debate in Congress

by James M. Wall In a surprise move Saturday afternoon, President Barack Obama announced  he would ask for a Congressional debate before he would order any air strikes on Syria. Speaking at a hastily-called press conference in the White House … Continue reading

Posted in Middle East Politics, Obama, United Nations, US govermemt, USA, War | 11 Comments

Is Israel Serious About Peace?

by James M. Wall Is Israel serious about peace? Recent events say the answer is no. A few weeks after a new round of U.S.-sponsored talks began between Israelis and Palestinians, Israel activated its plan to construct 1,500 apartments in … Continue reading

Posted in John Kerry, Middle East Politics, US govermemt | 3 Comments

Will Palestine Retain Its Natural Gas Fields?

by James M. Wall For the moment, all is quiet on the Israeli-Palestinian peace front. Is it “too quiet”, as they once asked in movie westerns? That depends entirely on what kind of peace is being discussed. Does danger lurk, … Continue reading

Posted in John Kerry, Middle East Politics | 8 Comments

Peace Talks Begin Despite Political Resistance

by James M. Wall The first session of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks began Wednesday evening in Jerusalem’s King David Hotel. Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat are representing their respective sides. U.S. envoy Martin Indyk, … Continue reading

Posted in John Kerry, Middle East, Middle East Politics, Netanyahu, USA | 11 Comments

“God of our weary years, God of our silent tears”— James Weldon Johnson

by James M. Wall This blog has an internal statistics page which reports a daily compilation of the number of “visits” to the current posting. The same page also reports on visits to previous postings. A few days ago I noticed … Continue reading

Posted in -Archive 2008, Middle East, Middle East Politics, Netanyahu, Obama | 7 Comments

Kerry Stumbles Into a Peace “Bully” Role

by James M. Wall Nicola Nasser, a blogger from Bir Zeit, Palestine, has delivered a stinging rebuke to John Kerry on the eve of the meetings with the U.S., Israeli and Palestinian negotiators. Nasser’s blog,  allarabi. exposed a “new tactic” in Kerry’s … Continue reading

Posted in John Kerry, Media, Middle East Politics, USA | 4 Comments

Indyk Returns as Kerry’s Chief Negotiator

by James M. Wall Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to name Martin Indyk as the U.S. Representative to the Israel-Palestinian peace negotiation. Indyk has been around this peace talk track before. He belongs to a small group of … Continue reading

Posted in John Kerry, Middle East Politics, Obama, US govermemt | 8 Comments