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.

Israel’s “revolting” Marriage Law Faces A Court Challenge

by James M. Wall Veteran Israeli journalist Uri Avnery is constantly outraged at the conduct of the nation he loves.   In a column in the Palestine Chronicle, Avnery writes about a case now before the Israeli Supreme Court in which a group of … Continue reading

Posted in Middle East Politics | 5 Comments

Ron Holloway Finds “Political Movies” at the 2009 Berlin Festival

By James M. Wall Ron Holloway was one of my earliest mentors in relating film to religion.  We met during the 1960s, the peak era for art movies when European imports were arriving in the US from directors like Ingmar … Continue reading

Posted in -Movies and politics, -Movies and Religion, Movies | 1 Comment

Jimmy Carter’s New Book Is Must Reading for Freeman’s Successor

by James M. Wall                   While keeping up with L’Affaire Freeman, which has been consuming this blog of late, I have been rereading Jimmy Carter’s We Can Have Peace in the Holy … Continue reading

Posted in Media, Middle East | Leave a comment

David Broder: Obama Suffers an Embarrassing Defeat

by James M. Wall There are few journalists working today I admire as much as I admire David Broder. We go way back. As far back as the George McGovern campaign of 1972. This is a man I trust and … Continue reading

Posted in Media | 2 Comments

The Times Wakes Up While Schumer Says He Helped the White House Do the Right Thing

by James M. Wall The New York Times finally woke up to the Charles Freeman affair and  wrote about Freeman’s withdrawal in its news pages this morning.  The Times called AIPAC for a statement and allowed a spokesman to deny involvement while treating the … Continue reading

Posted in Media, Middle East, Religious Faith | 5 Comments

Good: Cohen Calls Hamas a “political phenomenon” in the Palestinian National Fabric; Bad: Freeman Withdraws

By James M. Wall Back in the Israel Lobby’s halcyon days, could you imagine a New York Times leading columnist writing the following paragraphs? And keeping his job? Like Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah has long been treated by the United … Continue reading

Posted in Middle East Politics | 2 Comments

Yes Virginia, There is an Israel Lobby and It is Still Fighting Charles Freeman

by James M. Wall Yes, Virginia, there is an Israel Lobby, and it is still fighting to block Charles Freeman’s recent appointment. We thought the matter was settled when the word came down that Charles Freeman would be named chairman … Continue reading

Posted in Middle East Politics, Politics and Elections | 13 Comments

The Palestinian Democracy That Might Have Been After the 2006 Election

By James M. Wall The map above shows the final results of the 2006 Palestinian legislative district elections. It was distributed by the Central Elections Commission of Palestine and published on the BBC website. One half of the legislators in the 2006 election … Continue reading

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Carter, Walt and Mearsheimer, This One’s for You; Freeman Named National Intelligence Council Chairman

by James M. Wall It is official: Ambassador Charles Freeman has been appointed chairman of the National Intelligence Council. The announcement came Thursday afternoon from the Director of National Intelligence, Dennis C. Blair.  From the Office of the Director of National … Continue reading

Posted in Media, Middle East Politics | 3 Comments

Update on Lobby Attacks Against Freeman’s Appointment To NIC

by James M. Wall The Washington Post’s Al Kamen has a follow up story on the State Department assignment given to Dennis Ross, discussed in my earlier posting,  However, the smear tactics now being used by the Israel Lobby against Ambassador Charles … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments