By Dexter Van Zile Anglican Priest Naim Ateek recently toured Washington state in support of his most recent book, A Palestinian Christian Cry for Reconciliation (Orbis, 2008), in which he falsely accuses Israel of perpetrating a “slow and creeping genocide” against Palestinians – who have one of the fastest growing populations in the world. Apparently,…
By Yoav Sorek As we mentioned in previous chapters, UNRWA is an expensive and inefficient agency, with a budget of $541.8 million in 2008 that rose to $649.9 million in 2009. This budget increases as UNRWA registers more refugees each year, due to its policy of counting descendants of refugees of the 1948 War of…
By Yoav Sorek While the right is busy battling the temporary building freeze, it seems that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is using all his force to move towards a major strategic decision that is similar to Sharon’s disengagement. There are many signs pointing to this move: Attempts to add Kadima to the coalition, sharing secrets…
By Yoav Sorek In previous weeks, we presented the history of UNRWA and its failures as an organization meant to deal with the Palestinian refugee problem. Last week, we presented some information on UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, as a contrast to UNRWA and a possible partner for future refugee rehabilitation. The Israel Initiative proposes that…
by Yoav Sorek The Associated Press recently published an article exposing the various ways residents attempt to escape from the Gaza Strip. Desperate Gazans fake fatal diseases in order to get permission to enter Israel and receive medical care, or pay hundreds of dollars to smugglers and counterfeiters in order to cross the border to…
By Yoav Sorek In previous weeks we have presented the history of UNRWA and its failures as an organization that is mean to dela with the Palestinian refugge problem. This week, we present some information on UNHCR, the U.N. ‘s other refugee agency, as a contrast to UNRWA and a possible partner for future refugee…
By PAT HUTCHENS, A rework of Imitation of Messiah by Thomas A. Kempis— Do not put too much stock in what people say, or even in what you yourself think. Instead, with a sense of caution and with much patience, test everything as to whether it is of God. Our own human nature is prone…
by Michael Freund Something astonishing, even alarming, is taking place in the battle over the future of Jerusalem. Even as Palestinian rioters run amok on the Temple Mount, egged on by the radicals of the Islamic Movement, much of the anger and dismay in the Israeli and international press is being directed, ironically enough, at…
By PAT HUTCHENS, A rework of Imitation of Messiah by Thomas A. Kempis— Blessed is the one who reads and does what God says in the Holy Scriptures. Our own judgments and feelings often deceive us and we discern only part of the truth when we do hear it. What good does it do to…