Sacks becomes first rabbi to address Anglican bishops’ conference: JPost 8.02.08 August 2, 2008
Posted by geoconger in British Jewry, Jerusalem Post, Judaism, Lambeth 2008.comments closed
British Chief Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Sacks extended a hand of friendship and word of forgiveness to the world’s Anglican bishops last week, calling upon Jews and Christians to be agents of hope in a violent world.
The 670 bishops greeted the first speech by a rabbi in the 140-year history of the Lambeth Conference, the decennial gathering of Anglican bishops from around the world, with two standing ovations, marking a rapprochement between the two faiths that in recent years had been hurt by calls for divestment from Israel from the Church of England.
Sacks urged the Anglican Communion to hold together, and find a way to work through its theological divisions. His words came as welcome relief to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, providing the first words of support for the embattled Anglican leader from outside the church during the course of the 22-day gathering.
Read it all in the Jerusalem Post.
Pope rewrites prayer following Jewish protest: JP 2.03.08 February 3, 2008
Posted by geoconger in Hymnody/Liturgy, Jerusalem Post, Judaism, Roman Catholic Church.comments closed
Jewish leaders have welcomed Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to reformulate the Catholic Church’s traditional Good Friday prayers.
The removal of references to the “darkness” and “blindness” of the Jews for their refusal to recognize Jesus as the messiah was a sign the pope was “deeply committed to advancing the relationship with the Jewish Community,” Rabbi David Rosen, chairman of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations, told The Jerusalem Post.
The new text will drop all reference to the “blindness” of the Jews, Milan’s Il Giornale newspaper reported on January 18. The pope has prepared a draft version of the new prayer, which will be released in time for Holy Week celebrations in March, the report said.
Read it all in The Jerusalem Post.
UK applauds resumed fuel flow to Gaza: JP 1.11.08 January 14, 2008
Posted by geoconger in British Foreign Policy, Israel, Jerusalem Post.comments closed
Britain on Friday applauded Israel’s decision to restore diesel fuel supply to the Gaza Strip to normal levels.
In a statement, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Minister for International Development Douglas Alexander said the UK welcomed “Israel’s recent decision to increase the supply of industrial diesel and continues to urge them to lift all restrictions on fuel with immediate effect.”
Read it all in The Jerusalem Post.
Regional Anglicans fear Jerusalem conference could ‘inflame tensions’: JP 1.03.08 January 4, 2008
Posted by geoconger in Episcopal Church in Jerusalem & the Middle East, GAFCON, Jerusalem Post.comments closed
Arab Anglican leaders have called for the cancellation of a June gathering of Anglicans in Jerusalem, claiming it could exacerbate Christian-Muslim tensions in the Palestinian territories.
On Wednesday, the Anglican bishop in Jerusalem, Suheil Darwani, released a statement saying the presence of hundreds of conservative Anglican bishops in the Holy Land would inject the Anglican Communion’s political disputes into the diocese of Jerusalem, and could also have “serious consequences for our ongoing ministry of reconciliation in this divided land.”
Read it all in The Jerusalem Post.
Anglicans choose Jerusalem for key June conference: JP 12.30.07 December 31, 2007
Posted by geoconger in Episcopal Church in Jerusalem & the Middle East, GAFCON, Israel, Jerusalem Post, Lambeth 2008.comments closed
The battle over homosexuality that has threatened to split the Anglican Communion could be decided at a June meeting in Jerusalem. On December 26, a conservative coalition led by the archbishop of Nigeria, Peter Akinola, announced a June 15-22 conference in the Holy Land to chart the church’s future course.
Divided into liberal and conservative factions, the 80-million member Anglican Communion is on the verge of breaking up over the consecration in 2003 of a gay priest as bishop of New Hampshire.
However, Anglicans are as divided over Israel as they over homosexuality. While the meeting will focus on the current crisis facing the church, some Anglican and Jewish supporters of the gathering hope the presence in Jerusalem this June of conservative Anglican bishops from every continent will present an opportunity to broaden Israel’s support in the developing world.
Read it all in The Jerusalem Post.
‘Sambi criticism of Knesset was his own’: JP 11.21.07 November 22, 2007
Posted by geoconger in Israel, Jerusalem Post, Judaism, Roman Catholic Church.comments closed
The Vatican has distanced itself from comments made by its former ambassador to Israel, who last week charged the Knesset with lacking the political will to make the hard political decisions necessary if it means to honor Israel’s international commitments.
Archbishop Pietro Sambi (pictured) accused Israel of dragging its heels over implementing the terms of the 1993 treaty that established diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the Jewish state. However, the Vatican quickly distanced itself from the comments, saying they were the archbishop’s personal views, not church policy.
Read it all in the Jerusalem Post.
Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski
Archbishop’s visit aims to repair ties after divestment vote: JP 10.29.07 p 6. October 31, 2007
Posted by geoconger in Archbishop of Canterbury, Israel, Jerusalem Post, Judaism.comments closed
Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams arrives in Jerusalem on Tuesday for two days of meetings with the Chief Rabbinate in a bid to improve relations damaged by the Church of England’s 2006 decision to back divestment from Israel.
An outspoken critic of the war in Iraq, Williams denounced American neoconservatives last month for advocating preemptive action against Iranian and Syrian nuclear stockpiles. A military strike, he said, would be a “criminal, ignorant and potentially murderous folly.”
“I can’t understand what planet such persons are living on, when you see the conditions that are already there,” Williams told the BBC upon his return to London following a September 27 meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The spiritual head of the 77 million-member Anglican Communion has also been a vocal critic of Israeli policies in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and at the meeting of the Church of England’s parliament last year endorsed a call for divestment from “companies profiting from the illegal occupation” of the territories.
Fallout from the 2006 divestment vote, which led former archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey to say he was “ashamed to be an Anglican,” prompted a formal dialogue between the Chief Rabbinate and Williams to heal the rift.
On September 5, 2006, Williams and Chief Rabbis Shlomo Amar and Yona Metzger endorsed a joint declaration in London creating a dialogue commission between Anglicans and Jews to “advance interfaith relations” and foster “trust and cooperation.”
A spokesman for the archbishop told The Jerusalem Post Williams hoped this week’s meeting would build upon that first encounter and “deepen their friendship.”
Rabbi David Rosen, chairman of the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations, said the trip to Jerusalem was “an important demonstration of the archbishop’s dedication to dialogue and deepening the relationship with the Jewish people, and his commitment to Israel’s well-being and desire to live in peace and security.”
There were signs of “real seriousness” on the part of the Anglicans, which boded well for future relations, he said.
Williams’s staff has also denied the veracity of accounts printed by the official Syrian news agency, SANA, of his September 27 trip to Damascus to meet Assad and Syrian religious leaders. SANA reported that in talks with Williams, the grand mufti of Syria “pointed out the Israeli suppressive practices in the occupied Palestinian territories, which violated all religious laws and international norms.”
Williams’s office denied this, saying his talks with the grand mufti “concerned issues internal to Syria and focused on the secular character of the Syrian constitution.”
(This article is not on line, but appears in the print edition only)
UK Palestinians put heat on Brown over JNF patronage: JP 10.14.07 October 15, 2007
Posted by geoconger in British Foreign Policy, British Jewry, Israel, Jerusalem Post.comments closed
Palestinian activists in Britain are pressuring Prime Minister Gordon Brown to step down as patron of the Jewish National Fund UK, claiming the JNF’s refusal to sell land in Israel to Arabs is a discriminatory practice that taints the prime minister.
“Scottish public opinion, if made aware of the true nature of the JNF, would join us in condemning your association with such an organization,” the Scottish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign said in an October 13 letter to the prime minister.
Read it all in the Jerusalem Post.
Peres to meet with Pope, Italian PM next month: JP 8.25.07 August 25, 2007
Posted by geoconger in Diplomatic & Foreign Affairs, Israel, Jerusalem Post, Judaism, Roman Catholic Church.comments closed
Peace in the Middle East and the resolution of property and tax disputes with the Roman Catholic Church will top the agenda of President Shimon Peres’s September 6 meeting with Pope Benedict XVI.
On Friday, Vatican Radio announced the two will meet next month at Castel Gandalfo, the Pope’s summer palace outside Rome.
Peres will travel to Italy on September 5 and will also meet with his counterpart, President Giorgio Napolitano and Prime Minister Romano Prodi.
Read it all in the Jerusalem Post.
Pope Benedict XVI acknowledges the crowd during his weekly general audience, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Wednesday.
Photo: AP
UK blocks Israel arms deals for fear of rights violations: JPost 8.14.07 August 13, 2007
Posted by geoconger in Arms Control/Defense/Peace Issues, British Foreign Policy, Diplomatic & Foreign Affairs, Israel, Jerusalem Post.comments closed
The British government has blocked almost one third of British military exports to Israel this year, citing possible threats to regional stability and fears the equipment might facilitate human rights violations.
According to official figures, the value of UK military sales arms to Israel declined by one third last year, and has fallen by a drastic 75 percent since 2005.
“There is evidence that the British government’s export control policy to Israel may have been tightened up,” said Parliament’s new 2007 Strategic Export Controls report, issued by the Quadrapartite Commission, which comprises representatives from four ministries.
The change in policy, said the report, reflects a convergence of government attitudes with its own official guidelines.
The report comes amid a period of uncertainty in Anglo-Israeli relations.
Read it all in The Jerusalem Post
UK experts wary of preemptive Iran hit: JP 5.25.07 May 25, 2007
Posted by geoconger in British Foreign Policy, Iran, Israel, Jerusalem Post.comments closed
A preemptive military strike would accelerate and not stop the production of a nuclear weapon by Teheran, Iran experts have told the British government.
Teheran is “between five and 10 years” away from producing a nuclear weapon, Dr. Frank Barnaby of the Oxford Research Group told the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee during hearings Wednesday on the foreign policy implications of Iran’s nuclear program.
Read the rest of the article in the Jerusalem Post
Study–Hizbullah Won Propaganda War: JP 4.30.08 April 30, 2007
Posted by geoconger in Free Speech, Israel, Jerusalem Post, Lebanon.comments closed
Hizbullah won the Second Lebanon War by achieving a propaganda victory over Israel, a Harvard University study has concluded. Aided and abetted by a compliant and credulous press, Hizbullah achieved victory by convincing the world that Israel was the aggressor and that Israel’s retaliatory offensive was a “disproportionate” response to the kidnapping and killing of its soldiers.
Israel’s defeat came not at the hands of Hizbullah, however, but through the internal contradictions of being the region’s sole functioning democracy in the Internet age.
Read it all at the Jerusalem Post.
UK Reporters Union to Boycott Israel: JP 4.14.07 April 14, 2007
Posted by geoconger in Israel, Jerusalem Post.comments closed
Britain’s National Union of Journalists denounced Israel on Friday for its “military adventures” in Gaza and Lebanon, called on the government to impose sanctions and urged a boycott of Israeli goods.
By a vote of 66 to 54, the annual delegate’s meeting of Britain’s largest trade union for journalists called for “a boycott of Israeli goods similar to those boycotts in the struggles against apartheid South Africa led by trade unions, and [for] the [Trades Union Congress] to demand sanctions be imposed on Israel by the British government.”
Read it all in the Jerusalem Post.
Europe—Majority Supports Strike on Iran: JP 4.08.07 April 8, 2007
Posted by geoconger in British Foreign Policy, Iran, Jerusalem Post.comments closed
Over half of Europeans would support a preemptive military strike to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, a poll released last week by a London think-tank reports.
A survey commissioned by the pro-business think tank, Open Europe, found that a majority of those surveyed in 18 EU member states including France and Britain, backed military action as an option in dealing with the threat of Iranian nuclear proliferation, while majorities in 9 nations including Germany and Spain were opposed.
Read it all in the Jerusalem Post.
Israel urged to end nuclear ambiguity: JP 3.12.07 March 12, 2007
Posted by geoconger in British Foreign Policy, Iran, Israel, Jerusalem Post.comments closed
Israel should pursue a strategy of “open nuclear deterrence” towards Iran if international attempts to curtail Teheran’s nuclear ambitions fail, a London think tank argues in a report to be released Monday.
Openly declaring its nuclear weapons stockpile and laying out the conditions of their use in the event of an Iranian attack is an option worth considering, a report published by the Royal Institute for International Affairs (Chatham House) stated, “if it is conceded that diplomatic efforts are doomed to fail, yet the price of war is too high.”
Read it all in the Jerusalem Post.
UK Jews – “We’re not tools of the Israeli gov’t”: JP 2.06.07 February 6, 2007
Posted by geoconger in British Jewry, Israel, Jerusalem Post.comments closed
The Board of Deputies of British Jews has disputed claims levelled by the “Independent Jewish Voices” coalition that it is a tool of the Israeli government.
“The overwhelming view” of British Jewry is “one of support for Israel; not necessarily every action of its government, but its right to exist, the right all of its citizens of whatever faith to live in peace and security and, as a corollary of that, the right of Israel to defend itself,” the statement given to the Jerusalem Post by Board chief executive Jon Benjamin said.
Read it all in the Jerusalem Post.
UK Jews push for ‘different voices’: JP 2.05.07 February 5, 2007
Posted by geoconger in British Jewry, Israel, Jerusalem Post.comments closed
A coalition of prominent British Jews has attacked the country’s Jewish establishment, claiming it puts loyalty to Israel before the human rights of Palestinians.
An open letter entitled “A Time to Speak Out: Independent Jewish Voices” was published in Monday’s issue of the Times and in the Internet edition of the Guardian newspaper. It marks a growing division within the Jewish community over the nature of its ties to Israel.
Read it all in the Jerusalem Post.
Afghani FM — Rogue Pakistani agents boosting Taliban: JP 2.04.07 February 4, 2007
Posted by geoconger in Afghanistan, British Foreign Policy, Jerusalem Post.comments closed
Rogue elements of Pakistan’s military intelligence service, the ISI, have reequipped the Taliban and are seeking to destabilize Afghanistan, the country’s foreign minister claimed Friday.
While on a two-day visit to London, Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta told the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) that “within Pakistan’s military intelligence establishment there is a very powerful circle who are seeking a protracted Afghanistan, not an independent Afghanistan.”
Read it all in the Jerusalem Post.
UK Conservative Leader talks tough on Iran: JP 2.01.07 February 2, 2007
Posted by geoconger in British Foreign Policy, Iran, Jerusalem Post.comments closed
The West should not rule out the use of military force against Iran, William Hague, the British Conservative party’s shadow foreign secretary, said this week.
In an address to the Royal Institute for International Affairs (Chatham House) outlining the foreign policy the Conservatives would follow if they oust Labor, he called for “peaceful pressure” and tough financial sanctions against the regime of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to help end Teheran’s nuclear ambitions.
Read it all in the Jerusalem Post.
Catholic-Jewish summit in Cape Town leads to pledge to fight fanaticism: JP 11.14.06 November 14, 2006
Posted by geoconger in Interfaith, Jerusalem Post, Judaism, Roman Catholic Church.comments closed
A four-day summit in Cape Town between the Vatican and world Jewish leaders including a delegation from the chief rabbinate of Israel has led to the endorsement of a statement condemning Holocaust denial and pledging cooperation in the fight against anti-Semitism and religious fanaticism.
“We again recall the words of Pope John Paul II that anti-Semitism is a sin against God and humanity,” the 19th International Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee stated at the conclusion of its Nov 4-7 meeting.
Read it all in The Jerusalem Post.
‘Fighting terror is like fighting crime, not another army’: JP 9.28.06 September 28, 2006
Posted by geoconger in Al Qaeda, British Foreign Policy, Jerusalem Post.comments closed
“Fighting terror is rather like fighting crime, not like fighting another army,” Vice-Premier Shimon Peres told a London think tank on Wednesday in a speech urging a strategic re-thinking of Israel’s military and economic priorities.
“Neither force nor diplomacy can resolve the long-standing tensions in the region as peace would come through sustained economic growth,” Peres told the Royal Institute for International Affairs (Chatham House).
Read it all in the Jerusalem Post.
UK Top Rabbi takes on Angican Church: JP 2.19.06 February 19, 2006
Posted by geoconger in Archbishop of Canterbury, British Jewry, Church of England, Interfaith, Israel, Jerusalem Post.comments closed
British Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks’s charge that the Church of England’s stance on Israel had grossly damaged Jewish-Christian relations has drawn a muted response from church leaders.
In an article printed in the Jewish Chronicle of London on Thursday, Sacks denounced the vote by the General Synod, the Church of England’s legislature, to disinvest from companies whose products are used by the Israeli government in the territories.
Read it all in the Jerusalem Post.
Archbishop apologizes for divestment: JP 2.11.06 February 11, 2006
Posted by geoconger in Archbishop of Canterbury, Church of England, Israel, Jerusalem Post.comments closed
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has written to British Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks to apologize for the Church of England’s vote last week to divest from companies whose products are used by the Israeli government in the territories. This despite the fact that Williams himself backed the anti-Israel vote.
The vote on Monday by the General Synod, the church’s parliament, to “disinvest from companies profiting from the illegal occupation,” prompted widespread opprobrium and severely tested Jewish-Christian relations in the UK.
Read it all in the Jerusalem Post.
Church of England’s Divestment vote ‘advisory only’: JP 2.09.06 February 9, 2006
Posted by geoconger in Church of England, Israel, Jerusalem Post.comments closed
The Church of England’s money managers will ignore the call by its legislative assembly, the General Synod, to disinvest from companies whose products are used by Israel in the territories.
In a statement given to The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday, the Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG) – a consulting firm that advises the church on ethical investment strategies for its 2 billion portfolio – said the resolution calling for the sale of the church’s 2.2 million holding in Caterpillar was “an advisory one only.”
Read it all in the Jerusalem Post.
Lord Carey Ashamed to be an Anglican: JP 2.08.06 February 8, 2006
Posted by geoconger in Archbishop of Canterbury, Church of England, Israel, Jerusalem Post.comments closed
The former archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday he was “ashamed to be an Anglican” following Monday’s vote by the Church of England to disinvest from companies whose products are used by the Israeli government in the territories.
The February 6 divestment vote, which was backed by current Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, was “a most regrettable and one-sided statement,” Lord Carey said, and one that “ignores the trauma of ordinary Jewish people” in Israel subjected to terrorist attacks.
Read it all in The Jerusalem Post.
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