Once again, it seems that the negotiations, which resumed August 21 in Cairo, are likely to fail.

During the Democratic convention, U.S. President Joe Biden stated August 20 that Hamas was "backtracking" on the negotiations for a potential agreement between Israel and the Palestinian movement.

Thousands of deaths changing the dynamics

Hamas rejected the American statement, labeling it as a "green light" for Israel to continue the war.

The Palestinian movement argued that the latest proposals differ significantly from the original plan proposed by the American president, which they claim has now "conceded to new Israeli demands."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is demanding a permanent Israeli military presence along the Philadelphi Corridor, a 14-kilometer border between Gaza and Egypt, as well as the Netzarim Corridor, an Israeli-controlled axis that bisects the Gaza Strip.

However, just two days after the discussions began in Doha August 17, the United States, Qatar, and Egypt had assured that an agreement was "close" to being signed.

But the number of victims in the Gaza Strip—over 40,200 dead, according to the Islamic movement—has changed the situation.

"Hamas cannot sign a discounted agreement.

"It knows full well that, from the perspective of the Palestinian population, particularly in the Gaza Strip, there will be a sense of having suffered for ten months, lost thousands of people, only to settle for an agreement that doesn't even meet the primary demands of its population," said Thomas Vescovi, an independent researcher and specialist on Israel and Palestine.

On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces a similar dilemma with the victims of October 7 and the hostages.

"The final decision comes from the Gaza Strip"

The centralisation of Hamas's power in Gaza over the past few months, which intensified after the July 31 assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the main interlocutor and official leader of the Palestinian movement, further diminished the hope for an agreement.

The late Haniyeh was replaced by Yahya Sinwar, Hamas's leader in Gaza, who is entrenched in tunnels and is considered the mastermind behind the October 7 attacks.

"For now, the final decision comes from the Gaza Strip, and therefore inevitably from Yahya Sinwar and other leaders present there," Vescovi explained.

"We can see that, after ten months of war, Hamas is still able to rebuild its forces in Gaza, recruit, and arm itself, so from that point, I don't see any other political force capable of competing with this leadership, at least in Gaza."

During negotiation sessions, the Israeli delegation interacted with a Hamas representative team, which, in reality, holds very little power. Khalil Al-Hayya, the unofficial foreign affairs minister based in Qatar, generally represents the team.

According to Vescovi, "As long as there is no ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, we cannot imagine a reduction in tensions."

• First published in La Croix International
• Kilian Bigogne is a journalist at La Croix

The claim is made by Barry Coates, chief executive of Mindful Money.

Coates told Stuff's Esther Taunton that most people do not want to invest in weapons, but KiwiSaver providers do not tell them where their money is directed.

He said that more than $60 million is invested in companies that supply weapons or parts used by the Israeli military.

Research by Mindful Money shows that around $9.3 million of KiwiSaver funds is invested in Boeing, the largest supplier of weapons to Israel.

Boeing supplies missile guidance systems as well as bombs and aircraft to Israel.

Coates says that $9.6 million is invested in Rolls-Royce Holdings which makes engines for Israeli tanks, and $8.1 million in Honeywell which makes components for missiles and drones.

"Where your money is invested has consequences ‒ for people, for workers, for the environment, for climate change."

Coates says that Mindful Money's annual surveys show Kiwi investors want to avoid weapons, human rights violations, animal cruelty, fossil fuels, and social harm from tobacco, alcohol and gambling.

"More KiwiSaver and investment fund managers are saying they are ethical, sustainable or using ESG [environmental, social, and governance] policies" says Coates.

"But the objective test is where they invest our money.

"Investing in weapons companies that profiteer from unjust wars is deeply offensive to most Kiwis."

Coates says that with the availability of more ethical investment options in the last five years, Mindful Money's research shows a huge change in investing choices.

Source

• Stuff

"Ethical export policy is a myth," states the WPF.

Of the 32 wars of this century that the WPF analyzed all of them but one received weapons from the leading arms exporting nations - U.S., Russia, France, U.K., China, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Ukraine, and Spain - even when serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses were clearly on display.

U.S. weapons to the Israeli government's ongoing bombing of civilians in Gaza is current tragic example.

Rivers of mostly innocent civilian blood doesn't deter the ongoing shipments of instruments of death.

Where there's a huge profit to be made, and power to be gained, any serious consideration of morality is virtually nonexistent among the arms exporting countries.

And to a lesser degree it is important to note that some less affluent nations are also involved in the deadly arms business.

Corporations that are profiting the most from the immoral business of weapons production and sales are the U.S. companies Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, BAE Systems (U.K.), Norinco (China), AVIC (China).

If weapons production, and subsequent weapons sales were to end, wars and armed conflicts would virtually come to a halt. Wars can't be waged without weapons.

And think of all the good that could be done, both domestically and globally, if we ever come to our senses and transfer the vast amounts of money spent on weapons of war to building instruments of peace.

Imagine seeing all of that money being used to ensure that every single person on the planet would receive basic human services like adequate food, decent housing, clean water and sanitation, health care, education, life-enhancing jobs with a living wage.

And with these huge funds we could totally and quickly move from dirty fossil fuels to clean energy for our health, the health of our common earth home, and the health of future generations yet to born.

But very sadly, this wonderful scenario is not on the radar screens of the vast majority of rich and powerful individuals, corporations and nations.

At the Second Vatican Council the world's Catholic bishops, in union with S. Pope Paul VI declared:

"While extravagant sums are being spent for the furnishing of ever new weapons, an adequate remedy cannot be provided for the multiple miseries afflicting the whole modern world.

"Disagreements between nations are not really and radically healed; on the contrary, they spread infection to other parts of the earth.

"New approaches based on reformed attitudes must be taken to remove this trap and to emancipate the world from its crushing anxiety through the restoration of genuine peace.

"Therefore, we say it again: the arms race is an utterly treacherous trap for humanity, and one which ensnares the poor to an intolerable degree."

As dioceses, parishes and individuals we need to tirelessly urge national leaders to finally move away from war preparation and warmaking to nonviolent peacemaking.

It is bread, and not bombs, that humanity is hungry for.

Catholics, other Christians, and all people of faith in the God of peace who are in anyway connected with the arms industry should seriously pray and think about leaving the business of making weapons.

It is truly the morally right thing to do.

Better to have far less money and more peace of soul. With an open heart and mind please prayerfully consider this powerful Pope Francis video.

https://youtu.be/hUtxTvdSF_4?si=P7NIEDuGxq71iKUM

In the actual words of one of the Catholic Church's greatest champions of nonviolence and peace, St Francis of Assisi, let us greet everyone with "Pace e Bene" (Peace and all good)!

• Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated Catholic social justice and peace columnist. He is available to speak at parish and diocesan venues. To invite Tony, contact him at tmag6@comcast.net.

From pre-schoolers to pensioners, about 75 people joined for portions of a 36km walk on Saturday 9 March.

The distance symbolically mirrors the walk from Gaza City to Rafah, the route Palestinians have been forced to walk as a result of Israel's military assaults and forced evacuations.

"It was a real liberation to be out in public with a Christian movement and friends calling for peace, justice and liberation in Palestine" Christchurch organiser Cole Yeoman told CathNews.

The march included a poignant visit to the Al Noor Mosque.

"Being hosted by the mosque was a real privilege and we were all incredibly moved to stand in the prayer room" said Yeoman.

Describing the Al Noor Mosque visit as "very impactful" Yeoman said a key part of the journey was recognising the same hate and violence in Gaza has been dealt to Muslim people in Christchurch.

After leaving the Mosque the group walked to the Cathedral carrying the banner.

The Palestinian Christian-led global walk for peace is taking place in four New Zealand cities during Lent - Christchurch, Auckland, Whanganui and Wellington.

These New Zealand cities are among 59 others in eight countries hosting the Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage.

The walkers are calling for an enduring and sustained ceasefire, access to humanitarian assistance, release of all hostages on both sides and an end of occupation so a just peace can begin.

The walk aims to show solidarity with the people suffering in Gaza and raise funds for humanitarian relief and support for refugees.

Besides calling for a lasting ceasefire in Gaza, the walkers are asking the New Zealand government to allow family members of Gazans living in New Zealand to have humanitarian visas.

Why walk?

Anglican Bishop of Wellington Justin Duckworth says he'll be walking in Whanganui and Wellington.

"I'm taking part in the walk to witness to the suffering of those involved in this conflict.

"As I walk, I will be praying for those killed on both sides.

"Jesus lived a life of non-violence and died a sacrificial death. As His follower, I'm supporting peaceful efforts that give aid and seek an end to the suffering of others."

"It was encouraging to see so many people connecting the dots between Christianity and Palestine" shared a Christchurch marcher, underlining the broad support for peace and justice.

Join the walk

Common Grace Aotearoa and Aotearoa Christians for Peace in Palestine are organising the Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage in New Zealand.

Auckland

• Saturday 16th March
• Starting in Grafton and going around the central isthmus

Whanganui

• Saturday 16th March
• From Castlecliff to Upokongaro and back

Wellington

• Thursday 28th March
• From Taita to Island Bay

Source

• Scoop
• Supplied
• Joint Anglican and Catholic bishops statement on Israel Palestine conflict

People both in the antagonists and in their normal allies are pressed to make a choice.

To choose Israel is to see its war against Hamas as just in all respects.

It is to weep only for its fallen, to approve of all its actions in war, to minimise and count as collateral damage the harm done to the people of Gaza.

It is to see attempts to make peace or to point out unethical behaviour by Israel, or moral complexities in its cause as anti-Semitic, weak-minded, dishonest moral equivalence, and lacking in necessary strength of commitment.

To choose Hamas would be to adopt the same attitudes in reverse.

In both cases the appeal to allies is strengthened by identifying its cause with the best of their tradition and by asserting that its loss would fatally wound that tradition.

Advocates for Israel portray it as bright light of Western democracy in the storm clouds of totalitarian corruption or as the best of the Judaeo-Christian civilisation in a culturally bereft Islamic world.

To opponents of Israel, Hamas represents best the spirit of Islam in resisting the colonisation of Muslim lands by a corrupt and Godless West and in fighting against the existence of Israel.

Such binary views of responses to the conflict are based on the conflating of terms that are quite different.

They identify Israel with the land, with the people to whom it is home and who put their stamp on it and on its Government and its policies and actions.

Similarly they identify Gaza with the territory, with the people who live there, and with its ruling party Hamas and its policies and actions.

This identification blurs proper distinctions between land, people and ruling powers, and so between combatants and civilians. It also obscures the complexity of the conflict and lead to actions that will lead to further and more bitter conflict.

In Australia most people have a natural sympathy for Israel, and public advocacy for choosing its cause over that of Hamas is stronger.

We should then reflect on the reasons that are given to commend this stance.

The first is that criticism by Australians of actions taken by the Israeli Government is anti-Semitic. Some such criticism may be so described, but much is not.

The test is whether the criticism is driven by prejudice against Israel and its Jewish citizens or by reflection on the actions and policies of its Government.

In fact such criticism is compatible with an adamantine conviction that the State of Israel has a right to exist and to defend itself, with respect for its inhabitants, and with a full recognition of the appalling history of pogrom and extermination that they have suffered, and with abhorrence at the unjustifiable brutality of the Hamas invasion.

Such criticism, too, can be a gift, as it was to Australia when outsiders criticised it for the White Australia policy.

It can encourage citizens to question the actions of its Government for failure to live up to its proclaimed values, and lead to better policy and actions.

The charge of anti-Semitism, too, encourages wider reflection on the phrase itself. In common usage it refers only to Jewish people and to the State of Israel, and calls to mind the Holocaust.

Etymologically, however, it does not refer solely to attitudes to Jews and to Israel.

The Semites as an ethnic group include both Jews and Palestinians and by extension the Jewish and Muslim religions and customs of their people.

Seen from this broader perspective anti-Semitism therefore would strictly include prejudice against and consequent ill-treatment of the inhabitants of both Israel and Gaza.

Second, the attempt to align the State of Israel, its people and its Government and its allies with Judaeo-Christian civilisation and with Western democracy in opposition to Gaza, identified with its Government and people, is weakly founded.

In historical practice Christian societies tried to break the link that is now claimed to connect them with Jewish people.

In societies where Christians were the majority, Jews were periodically persecuted and always had reason to fear discrimination.

In Christian faith, certainly, God's enduring relationship with the Jewish people through Jesus the Jew is central and irreplaceable. That is why the pervasive anti-Jewish prejudice found historically among Christians is so shaming.

If we are to talk coherently about a Judaeo-Christian civilisation, however, we must situate it more broadly within all the actual connections, religious and other, that have formed our contemporary world.

These include Judaism and Christianity, but also other Abrahamic religions, notably Islam with its profound influence on the formation of modern Europe.

As with the charge of anti-Semitism, reflection on the invocation of Judaeo-Christian civilization in the current war leads away from a simple taking of sides to the recognition of complexity.

The association of Israel, its citizens and its Government with the Western tradition of democracy in opposition to the totalitarianism of Gaza, its citizens and Hamas is equally oversimplified.

It is true that, even though Hamas also came to power in Gaza through a democratic election, the democratic institutions of Israel under the rule of law are far stronger than in many states in which Islam is the established religion.

Democracy, however, means more than free elections and winning votes. It demands a respect for the rule of law and an equal respect for all citizens.

Ultimately Western democracy rests on the secular version of the Christian belief that the life of each human being is equally precious, and that this should be reflected in public life and institutions.

Both the rule of law and the equal value of each human being have come under increasing pressure recently in Israel and Gaza, as indeed they have in many of Israel's allies as well as in its enemies.

This is shown in the widespread disapproval by citizens both of Israel and Gaza of their ruling powers.

Third, the imputation that those who criticise the actions of Israel in war and call for peace and protection for the people of Gaza are guilty of moral equivalence between Hamas and Israel is also misplaced.

One can argue that the Hamas incursion and indiscriminate killing in Israel was morally unjustifiable and that the people of Israel have the right to defend itself, while at the same time criticising also the response of the Government of israel as disproportionate, without being guilty of moral equivalence.

This position can be better described as moral universality.

The basis of morality is the equal value and right to life of each human being, Jewish or Muslim, Israeli or Palestinian.

That impartial universality and the consequent obligation to respect equally the life of each human being shape the criteria for judging the actions in war of both sides.

The viciousness of the actions of an enemy military force does not justify a disproportionate killing of its non-combatants.

To praise one Government for actions that would be reprehensible if taken by another Government, and to demand that others adopt this position, is moral partisanship and bullying.

In this war we should resist the attempt to build total and uncritical support for the States of Israel and the territory of Gaza, still less of their ruling powers.

We should focus our attention on the lives of the persons of precious and equal value who compose these states. That alone focuses on the complexities of the relationships on which any enduring peace, justice and equality must be built.

To fail to do so ignores the resentment and hostility which feed discrimination and inequality, which in turn breed violence and revolt.

In the Cretan myth, dragons' teeth sown in the ground rose up as fully armed soldiers.

The response to the present war will come back to haunt or to bless the peoples of both Palestine and Israel in the future.

The proper role of non-combatant nations is to encourage the saving, not the taking of lives. Continue reading

• Andrew Hamilton is consulting editor of Eureka Street, and writer at Jesuit Social Services.

In a joint statement, Bishops from New Zealand's two biggest Christian Churches - Catholic and Anglican - are begging the warring factions in the Holy Land to stop.

Stop the war with the accompanying acts of violence it executes, the bishops' joint statement says.

Let it go. Release hostages. Stop fighting.

Everyone's saying stop the war!

The bishops' words join the international community's pleas for peace.

It's a sentiment Pope Francis applauds.

"Brothers, stop! Stop!" he said to thousands waiting to hear his Angelus message in St Peter's square on Sunday.

"War is always a defeat. Hamas must free Israeli hostages and all sides must allow humanitarian aid to reach the people of Gaza."

Later in the day, Francis phoned US President Joe Biden to discuss various conflicts and the need to identify paths toward peace, the Holy See Press Office says.

Then during his Angelus message on Wednesday, and for the 6th time, Francis called for a stop to the Isreal-Hamas war.

Violence doesn't work

"Hospitals and civilian infrastructure are protected under International Humanitarian Law," Anglican Archbishop Phillip Richardson says in the joint statement.

"Such niceties of law did not protect the wounded in Al Ahli Anglican Hospital and the people who were seeking sanctuary and protection. There are no winners in war: so often, it is innocent people who are maimed and killed."

The conflict between Israel and Palestine is a wound that has continued to fester... diplomatic efforts ... have failed because of the unwillingness to honour international agreements.

"Violence will never be a solution."

Blessed be the peacemakers

Bishop Steve Lowe, President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference, spoke of peace.

"As Bishops, we endorse ... those groups and institutions in Israel and Palestine who work for peace, justice and reconciliation.

"Such work recognises our common humanity. This is the path that we advocate for peace in the Holy Land."

Government and diplomatic authorities must advocate for an immediate ceasefire and the opening and ongoing safeguarding of humanitarian corridors, the bishops' joint statement says.

"In this very emotional time, we cannot let anger lead us into antisemitism or Islamophobia.

"Let us remember that there are innocent victims on both sides of the conflict. To our fellow interfaith religious leaders, we ask: ‘Let us unite in prayer and action for a lasting peace.

"To the people of Aotearoa New Zealand, we urge you to pray for peace and to support aid appeals for those impacted by this humanitarian crisis."

The statement then quotes parts of Psalm 130 which begs: "Out of the depths I cry to you O Lord; hear my voice. O let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleading."

In conclusion the bishops say: "May we too be attentive to those who call out to us from the depths of despair and destruction.

"May we commit ourselves to being instruments of peace."

• NZ Catholic Bishops Conference
• La Croix
• Vatican News
• America Magazine

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

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

Thousands of people were following the funeral in East Jerusalem last Friday when police charged, attacking mourners with various weapons.

Those carrying Al Jazeera television reporter Shereen Abu Aqleh's coffin almost dropped it during the attack, the BBC reported.

The police claimed afterwards they acted after being pelted with stones, the BBC added.

Eyewitnesses to Abu Aqleh's death say she was killed by the Israel Defence Forces while covering the army's storming of Jenin camp on 11 March.

Israel denies this, attributing Abu Akleh's death to Palestinian gunmen, saying she was caught in the crossfire.

Justice sought

"We ask for a thorough and urgent investigation of all the circumstances of her killing and for bringing those responsible to justice," the Latin Patriarchate says.

"This blatant tragedy brings back to human conscience the need to find a just solution to the Palestinian conflict.

"We pray for the rest of Shereen's soul, she was an example of duty and a strong voice for her people, and we ask God to grant her brother and relatives the consolation of faith. We pray that the Palestinian people find their way to freedom and peace."

A related statement further condemning Israeli police action, because of its effect on a local hospital, was co-signed by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem on "behalf of the faithful of the Christian Churches in the Holy Land."

The statement condemns the police's violent intrusion into the funeral "as it was going [carrying Abu Aqleh's coffin] from Saint Joseph Hospital to the Greek-Melkite Cathedral Church.

"The police stormed into a Christian health institute, disrespecting the Church, disrespecting the health institute, disrespecting the memory of the deceased and forcing the pallbearers almost to drop the coffin."

They also condemned Israeli police's disproportionate use of force, attacking mourners, striking them with batons, using smoke grenades, shooting rubber bullets and frightening the hospital's patients.

Such behaviour is a severe violation of international norms and regulations, including the fundamental human right of freedom of religion, which must be observed also in a public space, the statement continues.
.
A "blatant murder" and a "heinous crime"

Al Jazeera Media Network in a statement called Abu Aqleh's killing a "blatant murder" and a "heinous crime".

The network accused Israeli forces of targeting the veteran journalist with live fire and assassinating her in "cold blood".

Others are lining up to point their fingers at Israel.

A spokesman for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was "deeply disturbed" by the events and the behaviour of police.

A White House spokeswoman says the images of police hitting mourners were disturbing.

The US Ambassador to Israel is calling for a "a thorough investigation into the circumstances of Abu Aqleh's death".

A State Department spokesperson says "those responsible must be held accountable".

source

• La Croix
• Image: The Times of Israel

Asher Biton, chairman of Israel's Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council, said he told the station last Thursday that it has seven days to halt broadcasting.

The channel appeals to Jews with Christian content," stated Biton, as reported by the Associated Press, claiming that the station's "original request" was to be a "station targeting the Christian population."

The GOD TV station for Israel, known as Shelanu, has denied that it is in violation of its terms. Ron Cantor, God TV regional director in Israel, told the Messianic Jewish news site Kehila News the allegations against the station are "simply not true." Read more

The Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, both oppose Israel's plans for Israeli armed forces to unilaterally annex parts of the West Bank.

The proposed annexations, which will begin next month, were promised by the Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu during his election campaign.

Nichols' and Welby's letters followed a statement leaders of Holy Land churches made on 7 May, warning that the proposed action would "bring about the loss of any remaining hope for the success of the peace process."

Thirteen Christian leaders, including the heads of the local Greek Orthodox, Catholic and Coptic churches signed the 7 May statement.

The UK church leaders say they "support the fundamental right of Israel's citizens to live in peace and safety." At the same time, they think this will only be possible through a negotiated peace.

Both Israelis and Palestinians must live without violence or the threat of violence, the Welby and Nichols stress.

Humanitarian organisations and the international community have also criticised the proposed annexations.

A particularly controversial aspect of the plans has been Netanyahu's promise that Palestinian living in annexed areas would not be eligible for Israeli citizenship or residence rights.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. However, commentators say an official take-over of the region could inflame tensions across the Middle East.

Palestinian leaders are concerned, saying the moves would void existing security arrangements and treaties between the two nations. Neighbouring countries like Jordan have suggested annexations could spark a much wider conflict.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation in Israel and Palestine, as it is undermining economic and social stability in both nations.

Source

• The Tablet
• Image: Anglican Communion News

"The Holy See is following the situation closely and expresses concern about any future actions that could further compromise dialogue," said the statement released May 20.

The Vatican press office said the statement came after Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, the Vatican foreign minister, was contacted by telephone by Saeb Erekat, chief negotiator and secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Erekat, it said, wanted "to inform the Holy See about recent developments in the Palestinian territories and of the possibility of Israeli applying its sovereignty unilaterally to part of those territories, further jeopardizing the peace process." Read more

"The communique follows this week's controversial announcement that the U.S. government is reversing its decades-old position that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are "inconsistent with international law."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday that he instead preferred to refer to such settlements as "ill-advised," as former President Ronald Reagan once did.

The Vatican statement referred to "recent decisions that risk undermining further the Israeli-Palestinian peace process."

"The Holy See reiterates its position of a two-state solution for two peoples, as the only way to reach a complete solution to this age-old conflict." Continue reading

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki pulled out of the summit scheduled for Monday and Tuesday after Netanyahu and other members of the Israeli cabinet accused Poland of cooperating with the Nazis.

In addition, Israel's acting Foreign Minister, Yisrael Katz, said: "Poles imbibe anti-Semitism with their mother's milk.

"I am the son of Holocaust survivors. The memory of the Holocaust is not something to compromise about. It is obvious. We will not forget, and we will not forgive."

Katz then pledged to ensure that no one would change the historical truth of what happened.

"Poles collaborated with the Nazis, definitely.

"As (former Israeli Prime Minister) Yitzhak Shamir said — his father was murdered by Poles — he said that from his point of view they sucked anti-Semitism with their mothers' milk. You can't sugarcoat this history."

A statement in response from the Polish Prime Minister's office says "In recent days there have been several false accusations against the Polish state and the Polish nation."

The prime minister's office says the accusations "were partially denied, and there was an apology issued for some of them.

"But these led to further false accusations against the actions of Poles during the Second World War which neither the Polish state nor the Polish nation accepts."

Poland's Prime Minister said Katz's remarks were "racist and unacceptable".

In response to Poland's outrage, Netanyahu's office said he was initially misquoted as saying "The Poles" which would suggest the whole Polish nation was wrong.

However, the Polish government says it is not satisfied with the explanation proffered by the Israeli ambassador that Netanyahu was misquoted.

Source

• Vatican News
• BBC
• Image: Haaretz

Besides being the place of Christ's baptism, the site is widely held to be the location where the Israelites crossed the river Jordan following the 40 years in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. It is also believed to be the place where the prophet Elijah was taken bodily up into Heaven. Read more

The Vatican says the good relations between the Holy See and Palestine were noted during the meeting, "as were the positive role of Christians and the activity of the Church in Palestinian society, enshrined in the Global Agreement of 2015."

Francis and Abbas also discussed reconciliation among the Palestinian people, as well as efforts to reactivate the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians, and to reach a two-state solution.

They hope for a renewed commitment on the part of the international community to meet the legitimate aspirations of both peoples.

The Vatican says particular attention was reserved for the status of Jerusalem.

Francis and Abbas underlined the importance of recognising and preserving Jerusalem's identity and the universal value of the Holy City for the three Abrahamic religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

The 20-minute meeting concluded with a discussion about other conflicts afflicting the Middle East. The urgency of promoting paths of peace and dialogue, with the contribution of the religious communities, to combat every form of extremism and fundamentalism was flagged in this respect.

Source

• Crux Now
• Vatican News
• Image: BBC.com

The Vatican says they spoke about the importance of mutual trust in negotiations "so as to reach an accord respecting the legitimate aspirations of both peoples,". Read more

The act holds Israel to be the historic homeland of the Jews and demotes Arabic from its former status as an official language.

Senior Catholic clerics in Jerusalem are among those who want Israel to repeal the act.

A joint statement made in Jordan by bishops and archbishops of Jerusalem's Roman Catholic, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic and Greek Melkite churches, plus the Maronite archbishop of Cyprus and the Greek Melkite archbishop of Petra says:

"We must draw the attention of the authorities to a simple fact.

"Our faithful, the Christians, our fellow citizens, Muslim, Druze and Baha'i, all of us who are Arabs, are no less citizens of this country than our Jewish brothers and sisters.

"Christians, Muslims, Druze, Baha'i and Jews demand to be treated as equal citizens.

"We, as the religious leaders of the Catholic Churches, call on the authorities to rescind this basic law and assure one and all that the state of Israel seeks to promote and protect the welfare and the safety of all its citizens."

Israeli Arabs are also concerned about the act because it omits any reference to equality or to the country's democratic nature. They say it will legalise discrimination.

There were widespread Arab protests after the act passed into law in July.

Some Jewish politicians, including President Reuven Rivlin, say the act should be amended.

Rivlin says the act "in its current version is bad for the state of Israel and bad for the Jews."

Source

• Asia Tmes
• i24 News
• Images: NPR

He and a team of biblical scholars in Israel,who work together as an organisation called Israel365, have published a new Hebrew-English Bible.

"We tried very hard to illustrate the modern state of Israel and connect them to the miracles of the Bible," Weisz says.

The new Hebrew-English Bible will be published in honor of Israel's 70th anniversary.

The Israel Bible "is the world's first Bible centered around the Land of Israel, the People of Israel and the unique relationship between them," Weisz and his team say.

Israel365 teaches Christians about the biblical significance of the land of Israel and the Jewish people's connection to the land.

Their teaching is based on the text of the 24 books that constitute the Tanakh, which is the Hebrew name for the Bible. Christians call this the Old Testament.

The aim of the new Bible is "to convince a divided Jewish people, Christian Zionists and what sometimes seems like an anti-Israel world, that Israel belongs to the Jewish people," according to Israel365.

"It's a very massive volume," Weisz says.

"We tried very hard to illustrate the modern state of Israel and connect them [sic] to the miracles of the Bible.

"There's a path that the Bible makes clear and prophetic plan in the Bible that says in the end of days that there will be a return of the people of Israel to the land of Israel and when that happens there will be restoration, and we're seeing that right now.

"What was a barren wasteland 70 years ago is now a vibrant beautiful cultural dreamland."

Weisz hopes The Israel Bible will help heal divisions between Jews and Christians, because of differences in beliefs between the Old Testament and New Testament.

"My hope is that our Bible will become a source of unity and that Christians can connect the Jewish roots of their faith," he says.

Source

• Religion News Service
• CBN News
• Image:Breaking Israel News
  

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