Police were attacked, cars burned, buildings smashed, fires lit, and calls for revolution and to globalise the intifada.

As you might expect, it was the usual suspects: Pro-Palestinian groups, supporters of terrorist organisations such as Hamas and Hezbollah, Marxist radicals, anti-capitalists, anti-NATO activists, and other revolutionaries and anarchists.

Perhaps because of who these protesters were, there was little to no coverage in mainstream media.

Whether such violence by these groups has become normalised so that politicians and media ignore them is hard to know.

What is obvious is a degree of complicity to not put the spotlight on these groups.

While a grab bag of dissidents, they all share a similar aim - the destruction of the West, it's Judeo-Christian values, and the rights and freedoms we have come to cherish.

Add to this a strong dose of antisemitism and you have quite the cocktail.

These are not simply my impressions - these are represented by the words of the protestors themselves, explicitly calling for the destruction of Canada, of the United States, and the Jews and Israel.

Now you would think it would be good for media to shed some light on these people - some who appear to have fled their home countries but thought, for good measure, to bring the violence with them.

But again, no.

There seems to be an increasing inability for politicians and media to focus on who these people are, the beliefs behind them, or what they aim to achieve.

Not only a Canadian problem

In New Zealand, we have the same groups here, and while we have not yet seen this level of violence, the same mindsets prevail.

It is also supported by woke commentators such as Max Harris who wrote recently in The Post of Hezbollah (an indisputable terrorist group) as a legitimate parliamentary party and social service provider in Lebanon.

This has come as quite a surprise to various Lebanese and Iranian friends of mine, as well as to anyone with even the most rudimentary knowledge of foreign affairs.

As these friends and others have pointed out, The Post has not accepted any rebuttal to such an egregious and biased opinion piece.

Not only do we have to contend with such unbalanced opinion pieces, but also to have events that do not support the narrative (such as violent riots in Montreal) being ignored.

More positively, the response from Canada's Conservative Party leader, Pierre Poilievre, has been 100% spot on.

He also rightly targets Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who, while Montreal burned, danced away at a Taylor Swift concert and again finds it near impossible to call out the ‘who' involved. Pierre writes:

You [Justin Trudeau] act surprised. We are reaping what you sowed.

This is what happens when a Prime Minister spends 9 years pushing toxic woke identity politics, dividing and subdividing people by race, gender, vaccine status, religion, region, age, wealth, etc.

On top of driving people apart, you systematically break what used to bring us together, saying Canada is a "post-national state" with "no core identity."

You erased our veterans and military, the Famous Five and even Terry Fox from our passport to replace them with meaningless squirrels, snowflakes and a drawing of yourself swimming as a boy.

You opened the borders to terrorists and lawbreakers and called anyone who questioned it racist.

You send out your MPs to say one thing in a mosque and the opposite in a synagogue, one thing in a mandir and the opposite in a gurdwara.

You have made Canada a playground for foreign interference. You allowed Iran's IRGC terrorists to legally operate here for four years after they murdered 55 of our citizens in a major unprovoked attack.

You passed laws that release rampant offenders from prison within hours of their 80th arrest. And what is the result? Assassinations on Canadian soil, firebombings of synagogues, extremist violence against mandirs and gurdwaras, over 100 churches burned or vandalized (with barely any condemnation from you), all for a total 251% more hate crime.

And, while you were dancing, Montreal was burning. We won't let you divide us anymore. Call an election now. We will fire you and reclaim our citizenship, our values, our lives, our freedom and, most of all, our country.

• Simon O'Connor works for Family First and writes a regular blog on Substack.
• Republished with permission.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin's Aug. 12 conversation with President Masoud Pezeshkian was well-timed.

Iran is widely believed to be preparing to attack Israel following the July 31 assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

The Holy See press office said that the Vatican Secretary of State congratulated Pezeshkian on assuming office, after his victory in a July election triggered by his predecessor Ebrahim Raisi's death in a helicopter crash.

Parolin "expressed the Holy See's serious concern regarding current events in the Middle East, reiterating the need to avoid by any means the spread of the very grave ongoing conflict, instead favoring dialogue, negotiation, and peace," the press office said.

Is it surprising that Pezeshkian took Parolin's call as Iran reportedly gears up for a strike on Israel? How far do Holy See-Iran relations go back?

And why does the Vatican invest in relations with a country that the U.S. cut ties with in 1980 and categorizes as a state sponsor of terrorism?

The Pillar takes a look.

Was the call surprising?

When world leaders are on the warpath, they are typically reluctant to take phone calls from the Vatican.

While they may appreciate Holy See diplomacy in abstract terms, they are usually unwilling to listen directly to the Vatican's appeals for restraint and negotiation.

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, for example, President Vladimir Putin eluded Pope Francis' attempts at a direct conversation.

Why was Pezeshkian willing to pick up the phone to Parolin? Was it because he's new to the top office? Or was he expecting a quick congratulatory call with little substance?

These hypotheses are unlikely, given that Pezeshkian has been in politics for more than a quarter-century. More likely is that Iran's new president thought the call would be beneficial.

How so? An account of the conversation on the Iranian president's website offers clues.

The readout says:

"Emphasising the principled positions of the Islamic Republic of Iran in avoiding war and promoting world peace and security, the president considered and clarified that the actions of the Zionist regime in killing women and children, as well as the criminal act of this regime in the assassination of the guest of our country, are against all humanitarian and legal principles."

"According to all international standards and regulations, the right to defend and respond to the aggressor is reserved for the aggressed country."

Pezeshkian seems to have seen the phone call as a chance to present Iran as a country committed to international law, yet constrained to defend itself against external aggression.

The statement also appeared to suggest that Iran and the Holy See's positions on Gaza were compatible, if not exactly the same.

Cardinal Parolin, it said, noted that the Vatican wished to see "an immediate end to the killing of civilians in Gaza and the immediate establishment of a ceasefire."

The Iranian president, for his part, "considered the genocide and the killing of oppressed women and children in Gaza, the cowardly assassinations in the countries of the region, and the attack on hospitals and schools where refugees are housed, as part of the criminal actions of the Zionist regime."

Pezeshkian was no doubt aware that news of his conversation with Parolin would likely reach a global audience.

So the president probably concluded that it was in his overall interest to engage directly with the Vatican, seizing the opportunity to portray Iran as an unjustly injured party and any retaliatory action as self-defense.

• First published by RNS
• Luke Coppen is The Pillar's Senior Correspondent.

Father Gabriel Romanelli took advantage of Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa's visit to the area last week to return to Gaza from Israel.

"I am in the parish and will stay here."

One day turns into over 33 weeks

Romanelli left the Gaza Strip on 6 October last year for an overnight trip.

That overnight stay stretched on and on as Hamas - the Islamist group that rules Gaza - attacked Israel on 7 October.

Meanwhile the Church of the Holy Family has housed around 600 displaced Christians.

There are still 500 Christians sheltering in the parish compound, as well as the Sisters of Mother teresa.

The Sisters are also helping the neighbouring Muslims.

Serenity and suffering

Romanelli found an unexpected quality among the refugees in the church compound.

"The situation is paradoxical - there is serenity among many of our parishioners" he said.

"Despite the truly enormous suffering, they remain serene and place themselves in the hands of the Lord.

"Of course, they are very concerned about what will happen. Some are sick, some are injured, many have left and some are thinking of leaving but many, many, many are thinking of staying."

No to war, no to weaponry

English Catholic international aid agency CAFOD is working for peace.

It says its supporters have contacted 95 percent of members of parliament "to support efforts to restoring peace in Gaza by not granting any more licences to export arms and other military equipment to Israel."

Aisha Dodwell, Head of Campaigns at CAFOD, said the effort supporters made in this way "is a testament to the distress that Catholic constituents feel about this issue.

"Stopping arms sales is crucial to preventing a total catastrophe in Rafah and ending the suffering in Gaza.

"This must happen alongside continued calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages and the unimpeded provision of aid to all those who need it" she says.

"Our supporters are sending a clear message to the Government that the UK must reconsider its position on arms sales to Israel especially in light of serious allegations of human rights abuses.

"As Pope Francis has said, ‘To say ‘no' to war means saying ‘no' to weaponry'."

Source

• Crux

When we consider that our Lord Jesus, our Blessed Mother Mary, St. Joseph, the twelve apostles, and the very first disciples were practicing religious Jews.

We also need to consider that the Christian New Testament is firmly rooted in the Jewish Scriptures of the Old Testament.

Having considered, how can we not have but the highest respect for Judaism.

But having the necessary deep respect for Judaism does not therefore mean that Christians must also have respect for the unjust policies of the state of Israel toward Palestinians.

Opposing Israeli government injustice is not antisemitic. On the contrary, it calls Israel to a high moral standard in the spirit of the great Jewish prophets.

Human rights

Sadly, decades of human rights violations have occurred.

Violations like denying adequate supplies of water, blocking access to family farms and olive groves, as well as building Israeli settlements on stolen Palestinian land.

These are among the injustices Palestinians have long suffered in the Occupied Territories, especially in Gaza which is known as the world's largest outdoor prison.

The Oct. 7, 2023, brutal terrorist attacks by Hamas upon Israel, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,200 Israeli children, women and men, was not right either.

Combined with the abduction of more than 200 Israeli hostages it is unconscionable and deserving of our condemnation.

But Israel's brutal response, resulting in over 30,000 deaths of mostly innocent unarmed civilian Palestinians in Gaza is also an act of terrorism.

It is an even worse terrorism than that suffered by Israel.

More 11,500 Palestinian children have been killed from Israeli bombs and missiles.

These were mostly supplied by the U.S. and several other nations resulting in large profits for numerous arms manufacturers.

Israel's determination to kill every single member of Hamas has resulted in the collective punishment of all Gazan Palestinians.

Hospitals, schools, neighbourhoods, and churches have not been spared from Israel's wholesale non-stop bombing.

Most Palestinians in Gaza have little or no access to clean water and sanitation, food, medicine and fuel due to Israel's blockade. United Nations experts have accused Israel of "intentionally starving" Palestinians in Gaza.

Genocide

Collective punishment is both gravely immoral, and an act against international law.

The International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to ensure that all vital supplies are to immediately be made available to every needy Gazan. And that all efforts to end hostilities are to be made.

However, Israel is ignoring international law and moral law.

Having suffered so terribly from the Holocaust, one would think that committing large scale murder of innocent children, women and men would be unthinkable for Israel.

Yet, almost unbelievably, Israel is committing genocide - yes, genocide - upon the innocents.

Furthermore, Israel is not even following the Mosaic principle of reciprocal justice, that is, measure for measure which states "eye for eye, tooth for tooth" (Exodus 21:23-27).

Instead, Israel has inflicted far more death and destruction upon mostly innocent Palestinians in Gaza, than it suffered from the deadly attacks of Hamas.

And of course, for Christians we must take to heart, and put into action, the most relevant words of the Jewish Jesus, the Christ, the Lord:

"You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, offer no [violent] resistance to one who is evil.

When someone strikes you on [your] right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. …

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you".

Pray for Peace

Therefore, let us tirelessly pray for peace in Gaza, and everywhere.

And let us unite with Pope Francis in his urgent call: "Stop the bombs and missiles now!"

• Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated Catholic social justice and peace columnist.

The future for Palestinians and Israelis is being erased each passing day. Before it is too late, the United States and Congress should side with peace, not more war, in the Middle East.

Hamas' horrific attacks that killed more than 1,400 Israelis and their abduction of more than 200 civilians should be strongly condemned.

The U.S. and international community should work fervently to hold those responsible accountable while securing the release of hostages. I stand for the safety and dignity of all Israelis.

I also stand for the safety and dignity of all Palestinians.

The indiscriminate, inhumane Israeli response that has already claimed as many as 8,000 lives in Gaza, including many children, must also be clearly condemned.

The U.S. and international community should insist international law be respected with all civilians protected.

As a person of faith, I mourn the tragic loss of all lives and pray for those who have lost loved ones in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

I also mourn the response of my government, which seems unable to value the human rights and lives of Palestinians.

In stark contrast to the Pope's message, President Biden has made clear which "team" the U.S. is on by asking Congress for billions more in weapons for Israel.

This not only makes the U.S. complicit in unfolding war crimes; it also fuels anti-American sentiment, undermining national and global security.

Having lived through the 9/11 attacks, I understand the fear and outrage that terrorism inflicts on a community.

But two decades of endless war, military quagmires, trillions of dollars spent and more than 432,000 civilians killed from our global war on terror should have taught us that war is not the answer.

Instead of pouring more weapons into the conflict with one hand while supporting humanitarian aid with the other, President Biden and Congress should be fervently working to help halt the killing while addressing the root causes, so the cycle of war and violence does not repeat itself.

Some media coverage is not helping. My middle-schooler, after a discussion about cable news with classmates, believed once an attack is labeled "terrorism," there are no limits to the violence used in response. This is not the way international law works.

International humanitarian law does not allow the indiscriminate bombing of civilians.

Hospitals, churches, schools and residential neighborhoods are not legitimate military targets, especially when they are providing refuge for thousands fleeing for their lives.

Killing and abducting civilians can never be tolerated. But waging war against an entire population in response only deepens suffering, inviting more attacks.

My Quaker faith calls me to reject all forms of violence and to continually work to prevent war, break cycles of violence and rebuild relationships.

But people of all faiths — or those not religious at all — can see the horrors of this war and what may come next.

More than 70 Christian, Jewish, Muslim and other organisations, including my own, recently signed this interfaith and civil society letter calling on Congress and the president to press for an immediate ceasefire and provide some measure of peace, security and humanitarian assistance to the civilians of both Israel and Gaza.

We agree all violence against civilians by Hamas and the Israeli military is to be condemned and must stop at once. A ceasefire should be declared, respected and enforced on both sides.

Protecting civilians, securing the release of all hostages and ensuring humanitarian aid can flow freely requires a halt to the fighting.

And rather than sending billions more in weapons, the president and Congress should work to de-escalate the conflict and insist Hamas and Israel fully respect international humanitarian law.

I cannot begin to understand the trauma and suffering people are now experiencing in Gaza and Israel, but I can choose to stand on the side of peace and of ending the killing, the side where human dignity for both Israelis and Palestinians still resides together.

• Bridget Moix is general secretary of the Friends Committee on National Legislation and its associated Quaker hospitality center, Friends Place on Capitol Hill. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.
• First published in Religion News Service. Republished with permission.

Pope Francis' representative in the Holy Land, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, made the comment on Monday during a video conference.

Child hostages

About 12 children are among the 200 or so Israeli people Hamas took hostage on 7 October.

A further 1,300 people reportedly died in the Hamas attack.

Pizzabella is particularly concerned for the children.

"I am ready for an exchange, anything, if this can lead to freedom, to bring the children home," Pizzaballa said in response to journalists' questions during the video conference.

"No problem. There is total willingness on my part.

"The first thing to do is to try to win the release of the hostages, otherwise there will be no way of stopping [an escalation]. We are willing to help, even me personally."

Pizzaballa also noted that his office had not had any direct contact with militant Islamist group Hamas.

"You can't talk to Hamas. It is very difficult," he said.

In Gaza

Diplomatic efforts are ramping up to get aid into Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel is preparing a ground invasion to destroy Hamas, Reuters reports.

On Monday Gaza authorities were reported as saying Israeli strikes had killed at least 2,750 people.

A quarter of the dead were children.

In addition, Gaza authorities say about 10,000 people were wounded during the strikes. Besides these, a further 1,000 people have been listed as missing, believed buried under rubble.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa

Jerusalem's Catholic Patriarch - whose role includes overseeing Catholic activities in Israel and the Palestinian territories - says about 1,000 Christians were sheltering in Church buildings in northern Gaza.

Their homes were destroyed in Israeli strikes, he told reporters during Monday's video conference .

"They don't know where to go because moving is dangerous," Pizzaballa said.

Israel has urged exhausted Gazans to evacuate to the south. Hundreds of thousands have already moved to the enclave that is home to more than 2 million people.

Hamas, which runs Gaza, has told people to ignore Israel's message.

Source

• Reuters

"The release of Israeli hostages and the protection of innocent lives in Gaza are at the heart of the problem created by Hamas' attack and the response of the Israeli army," said Parolin.

"They are at the centre of all of our concerns: the pope and the entire international community. The Holy See is ready for any necessary mediation, as always," he said.

Parolin affirmed Israel's right to self-defence while stressing the importance of a "proportionate" response.

During a visit to the Israeli embassy in Rome, Parolin expressed his "deep sentiments of pain and solidarity" regarding the Hamas attack against Israel.

The death toll in Israel has surged to 1,300, with over 3,000 injuries.

Retaliatory airstrikes from Israel have resulted in 1,417 Palestinian casualties and more than 6,250 wounded in Gaza.

Prayers for victims' families

Pope Francis offered prayers for the victims' families and called for the release of all hostages. He also stressed the right to self-defence while expressing concern for the suffering faced by Palestinians in Gaza.

Francis urged restraint, saying "Terrorism and extremism do not help to reach a solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians but fuel hatred, violence, and revenge, causing suffering to both sides."

Israeli Ambassador to the Holy See, Raphael Schutz, welcomed the Pope's statement but rejected calls for de-escalation at this time, drawing a parallel between Hamas and ISIS.

Concerns for hostages

Concerns continue to grow about the fate of 150 hostages, including women, children and the elderly, held by Hamas.

Cardinal Parolin condemned the taking of hostages and expressed the Holy See's willingness to assist in negotiating their release.

However, Parolin highlighted the situation's complexity which includes security, Israeli settlements and the status of Jerusalem.

"A solution can be found in direct dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis, encouraged and supported by the international community, even though it will be more difficult now," the cardinal said.

The small Catholic community in Gaza, composed of around 150 families, "is suffering immensely," Parolin said.

"Everything is at a standstill, paralysed as if gripped by fear and anger" Parolin said, saying "Let us pray for the Israelis; let us pray for the Palestinians; let us pray for Christians, Jews and Muslims: For the peace of Jerusalem, pray."

Sources

Reuters

Crux

CathNews New Zealand

It cautions against the use of "linguistic ambiguities" and "parallelisms" that would equate the aggressors in the conflict with its victims.

This warning comes in the wake of a massive and deadly offensive launched by Hamas, which has prompted Israel to declare war.

The conflict, which began with Hamas's surprise attack on Israel, has led to appeals for peace from various quarters, including Pope Francis and church leaders in the Holy Land.

However, the Israeli embassy is particularly concerned about how this conflict is framed in the public discourse.

"In these circumstances, the use of linguistic ambiguities and terms that allude to a false symmetry should be deplored" the embassy stated.

They emphasised that Israel's response cannot be described as anything other than the right of legitimate self-defence.

"To suggest parallelisms where they don't exist isn't diplomatic pragmatism; it's just wrong," the statement continued.

Every war is a defeat

Pope Francis expressed his deep concern during his Sunday Angelus address in St Peter's Square on 8 October.

"I am following with apprehension and pain what is happening in Israel, where violence has exploded even more ferociously, causing hundreds of deaths and injuries."

Francis urged both sides to halt the attacks and understand that violence and war offer no solution but only death and suffering.

He stressed, "War is a defeat, every war is always a defeat."

He is calling on the faithful to join him in praying for peace in Israel and Palestine.

Father Gabriel Romanelli, pastor of the only Catholic church in Gaza, said ‘Never have we seen things like this time.'

"In the parish we have taken in more than 80 Christians and other Muslim neighbours of our school who have requested accommodation there," the priest said.

"There are hundreds of dead and thousands of injured among the population" he added.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem called for international intervention.

It urged religious leaders to de-escalate the situation, preserve the status quo in Holy Places and protect the fundamental rights of people in the region.

Tensions between Israel and Palestine have risen following Netanyahu's re-election and the formation of a far-right coalition.

The patriarchate emphasised the urgent need for a lasting solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and called on world leaders to work towards peace.

Sources

CruxNow

Catholic News Agency

Vatican News

CathNews New Zealand

Fifty-four members of the Connection City Church Assemblies of God were on a Holy Land tour when Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched a surprise attack, killing hundreds and wounding thousands.

"I'm not going to feel safe until I touch New Zealand soil," tour member Pesi Sikalu told the Herald. Read more

Br Peter Bray FSC, Vice Chancellor of Bethlehem University, says the Hamas attack is a "watershed moment that could have a long-term impact on life here in the Holy Land".

While he disapproves of violence as a response, he can understand why Palestinians have reacted the way they did at the weekend.

He cites the Israeli military's and the settlers' ongoing and increasing violent attacks on Palestinians over recent months and provocative moves by settlers around Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem during the Jewish feast.

"With the extreme rightwing government in Israel and the stated priority of the expansion of settlements in the West Bank the pressure on Palestinians has been enormous," he says.

More Palestinians have been killed by the military and settlers this year than any year since 2006, says Bray.

Forgotten people

Bray says there's been "growing frustration among Palestinians that the international community has forgotten about them and let Israel do whatever it wants".

He mentions Israel's steady expansion of settlements, which are forcing Palestinians off their land or out of their houses.

The continued pressure on Palestinians with home demolition has left them very aware that they are being driven off their land, Bray notes.

He also says many settlers make it "very obvious" that they want to take the whole land and do not want Palestinians around.

"The Palestinian Authority has not been able in any way to contain what Israel has been doing, so the Palestinian frustration has boiled over through Hamas, who claim to be defending what remains of the Palestinian land and its people," Bray explains.

He says the Israeli military is now embarrassed because Hamas fighters were able to take over several military bases and settlements near Gaza and capture soldiers and civilians as hostages.

Now there are real fears the Israeli military will strike back with significant violence in retaliation, he says.

"They began to do that today and who knows where that might lead. I think this is a watershed moment that could have long-term impact on life here in the Holy Land."

Based on the available information, Bray says another university executive council meeting will decide what to do for the rest of this week.

"We are unsure what is going to unfold today and tomorrow," he says.

After an emergency council meeting, the university decided to teach online.

"It is impossible to get in or out of Bethlehem at present, so our students from Jerusalem- about 40 per cent of our student population - are not able to get here.

"However the campus will be open and staff members from Bethlehem will be expected to be in their offices tomorrow."

While all his students and staff are alright so far, Bray is asking for prayers.

Source

• New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference

"My thoughts turn to the events taking place these days in the Holy Land," Francis said, referring to the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

"I thank God for the decision to halt the armed conflicts and acts of violence, and I pray for the pursuit of paths of dialogue and peace."

He asked Catholics to pray for dialogue, forgiveness and peaceful coexistence in the Holy Land.

"May every community pray to the Holy Spirit ‘that Israelis and Palestinians may find the path of dialogue and forgiveness, be patient builders of peace and justice, and be open, step by step, to a common hope, to coexistence among brothers and sisters,'" he said, quoting remarks he made on 16th May.

The pope also noted that on Saturday, Catholic bishops of the Holy Land together with the faithful celebrate the Vigil of Pentecost in Saint Stephen's Church in Jerusalem and implore the gift of peace.

"I take this occasion to ask all the pastors and faithful of the Catholic Church to unite themselves spiritually with this prayer," he said, asking for every Catholic community to pray so that "Israelis and Palestinians may find the path of dialogue and forgiveness, be patient builders of peace and justice, and be open, step by step, to a common hope, to coexistence among brothers and sisters."

Francis made the comments while addressing the ambassadors from Singapore, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Algeria, Sri Lanka, Barbados, Sweden, Finland, and Nepal, who were presenting letters of accreditation.

During his address, Francis highlighted the role of diplomats in forging a global consensus, and he said the Holy See "supports every effort to build a world in which the human person is at the centre, finance is at the service of an integral development, and the earth, our common home, is protected and cared for."

Sources

• Crux
• Catholic Universe

Mohammad El Halabi (photographed above) was arrested by Israel on June 15 while crossing the border into Gaza, World Vision said in a statement. He was charged by Israeli authorities on Thursday.

He had run the organization's Gaza operations since 2010.

According to Israel's Shin Bet security service, El Halabi diverted around $7.2 million of World Vision money to Hamas each year. That is the equivalent of 60 percent of the charity's total annual funding for Gaza.

Some 40 percent of the funds aimed at civilian projects — some $1.5 million a year — were "given in cash" to Hamas combat units, according to a statement issued by the Shin Bet.

Some of the money raised to support injured children in the enclave had been diverted to Hamas families by "fraudulently listing their children as wounded," according to the agency.

"Money designated for psychological support, education and health in Gaza ... was used to pay the families of Hamas terrorists," it added.

A lawyer appointed by World Vision to represent El Halabi told NBC News that his client denied the charges against him.

"He told me he never, ever transferred any money to Hamas and he has never been a Hamas member," Muhamad Mahmud said.

Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai called the case a "grave incident."

He called on World Vision — which has operated in Gaza, Israel and the West Bank since 1975 — to "assume responsibility and set your house in order."

Australia and Germany have suspended funding to the World Vision Evangelical Christian humanitarian aid group in response to Israeli allegations that its Gaza office had siphoned $7.2 million a year to Hamas.

Source

• The Jerusalem Post
• NBC News
• Image: Israelseen.com

Newspapers this summer have been full of little else.

Television viewers see heaps of rubble and plumes of smoke in their sleep.

A representative article from a recent issue of The New Yorker described the summer's events by dedicating one sentence each to the horrors in Nigeria and Ukraine, four sentences to the crazed génocidaires of ISIS, and the rest of the article—30 sentences—to Israel and Gaza.

When the hysteria abates, I believe the events in Gaza will not be remembered by the world as particularly important.

People were killed, most of them Palestinians, including many unarmed innocents.

I wish I could say the tragedy of their deaths, or the deaths of Israel's soldiers, will change something, that they mark a turning point.

But they don't.

This round was not the first in the Arab wars with Israel and will not be the last.

The Israeli campaign was little different in its execution from any other waged by a Western army against a similar enemy in recent years, except for the more immediate nature of the threat to a country's own population, and the greater exertions, however futile, to avoid civilian deaths.

The lasting importance of this summer's war, I believe, doesn't lie in the war itself.

It lies instead in the way the war has been described and responded to abroad, and the way this has laid bare the resurgence of an old, twisted pattern of thought and its migration from the margins to the mainstream of Western discourse—namely, a hostile obsession with Jews.

The key to understanding this resurgence is not to be found among jihadi webmasters, basement conspiracy theorists, or radical activists.

It is instead to be found first among the educated and respectable people who populate the international news industry; decent people, many of them, and some of them my former colleagues. Continue reading

Source

• Mattie Friedman in Tablet

Matti Friedman's work as a reporter has taken him to Lebanon, Morocco, Egypt, Moscow, and Washington, DC, and to conflicts in Israel and the Caucasus.

In a joint statement, Catholic Bishop Patrick Dunn and Anglican Bishop Ross Bay said such an act by Israel would be "a pre-requisite for dialogue to establish a lasting and just settlement in the Holy Land".

"We believe the continued violence in Gaza violates the human dignity of Palestinians and Israelis alike, and condemn all parties who are capitalising on this tragedy in pursuit of their own selfish political ends," the bishops said, speaking on behalf of their communities.

The death and injury toll in the ongoing conflict was lamented by the bishops, who said they are appalled that children were being killed at a rate of one an hour as long as the conflict continues.

"Violence and war are never a proper solution to disagreements, and the Israeli bombing and missiles and the Hamas rockets targeted at civilian populations is a grave moral evil," they said.

The two Auckland bishops echoed concerns expressed by Pope Francis, Archbishop Justin Welby and the United Nations Secretary General about the Gaza conflict.

But the bishops were quick to "reject all forms of anti-Semitism and anti-Arab racism and support the many initiatives that encourage Israelis and Palestinians to get to know and understand each other and so grow towards peace".

They also called on the New Zealand Government to "make full use of all diplomatic channels to work hard towards an immediate end to the violence and for a just resolution of the injustices faced by the Palestinian people as well as the difficulties faced by Israelis who are living in fear as a result of the conflict".

New Zealand's Government was also asked to assist refugees and encourage humanitarian support for war victims.

The bishops praised the work of peace campaigners, but acknowledged the challenges faced by both Israel and Palestine.

The Auckland bishops' statement was issued just after a 72 hour ceasefire in Gaza began.

The ceasefire was the eighth bid to stop the month-long war.

Sources

• Auckland Catholic Diocese
• The Guardian
• Reuters
• Image: 3 News

Israeli sociologist Eva Illouz tells SPIEGEL that her country is gripped by fear and is becoming increasingly suspicious of democracy.

SPIEGEL: There was widespread support in Israel for the operation in the Gaza Strip, despite the huge numbers of civilian casualties and the deaths of hundreds of children. Why is that?

Illouz: Where you see human beings, Israelis see enemies.

In front of enemies, you close ranks, you unite in fear for your life, and you do not ponder about the fragility of the other.

Israel has a split, schizophrenic self-awareness: It cultivates its strength and yet cannot stop seeing itself as weak and threatened.

Moreover, both the fact that Hamas holds a radical Islamist and anti-Semitic ideology and the fact that there is rabid anti-Arab racism in Israel explain why Israelis see Gaza as a bastion of potential or real terrorists.

It is difficult to have compassion for a population seen as as threatening the heart of your society.

SPIEGEL: Is that also a function of the fact that Israeli society has become increasingly militaristic?

Illouz: Israel is a colonial military power, a militarized society and a democracy all folded into one.

The army, for example, controls the Palestinians through a wide network of colonial tools, such as checkpoints, military courts (governed by a legal system different from the Israeli system), the arbitrary granting of work permits, house demolitions and economic sanctions.

It is a militarized civil society because almost every family has a father, son or brother in the army and because the military plays an enormous role in the ordinary mentality of ordinary Israelis and is crucial in both political decisions and in the public sphere.

In fact, I would say that "security" is the paramount concept guiding Israeli society and politics.

But it is also a democracy, which grants rights to gays and makes it possible for a citizen to sue the state. Continue reading

Sources

• Spiegel Online
• Image: Al Arabiya News

The Hamas government has issued a ban on coeducational schools, which means that the five Christian schools on the strip, two Catholic and three Protestant, may have to close. Officials insist the decision was not directed at Christians, but they happen to run the only coeducational institutions in the territory.

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, plans to meet Gaza's prime minister to appeal the move. Among other things, presumably he'll point out that these Christian schools serve a largely Muslim population.

For purposes of this column, the way I learned about the situation is almost as revealing as the order itself. As it happens, I received an email from the Israeli embassy to the Holy See, passing along a brief article from the Catholic Herald in the U.K.

Israeli officials clearly felt the story merited attention, and for fairly obvious reasons: It makes Hamas look bad.

It was a small reminder of a larger point: It's often difficult to tell the full story of anti-Christian persecution around the world and a main reason why is the distorting effect of politics, which tends to bring only part of the picture into view. Nowhere is that more clear than the Holy Land.

Many Arab Christians, in tandem with their liberal sympathizers in the West, emphasize the negative impact of Israeli security policies while downplaying Islamic radicalism. On the other side, Israelis and their conservative allies insist that Israel's Christian population is actually growing while pouncing on every perceived Palestinian outrage.

The truth is that Christians face hardships on both sides of the divide, and often for similar reasons. Continue reading

Sources

• John L. Allen Jr in National Catholic Reporter
• Image: The Counter Jihad Report

John L. Allen Jr is a senior columnist for National Catholic Reporter

This means the five Christian schools on the strip, two Catholic and three Protestant, may have to close — even though they serve a largely Muslim population.

National Catholic Reporter correspondent John Allen points out that the distorting effect of politics makes it difficult to tell the full story of anti-Christian persecution, especially in the Holy Land.

Continue reading