Six documents on Israeli-Palestinian issues

No. 28 of 47. First published 20 Dec 2007. Today we take a quick break from blogging our Australian delegation's activities in Israel and Palestine to note six important recent documents analysing various aspects of the conflict. There's a key paragraph and a link to the source, which I'm sure you will find stimulating reading. …

Dr Bernard Sabella’s 2006 Sydney address

No. 26 of 47. First published 16 Dec 2007. Dr Bernard Sabella is an interesting and energetic person. He is a Roman Catholic, a member of Fatah, an elected representative of the Palestinian Legislative Council, and professor of Sociology at Bethlehem University. It was my pleasure to sit next to him at the Jerusalem Heads of …

Hebron and the Al Ibrahimi Mosque

No. 20 of 47. First published 7 Dec 2007. On Thursday 6 December 2007 we took a bus south from Jerusalem, past Bethlehem to Hebron. One of the many interesting features of life in Israel is that there are different buses for Israelis and Palestinians. Sounds like South Africa under apartheid? Well, no, because there is no …

Meeting with Israeli human rights activists

No. 19 of 47. First published 7 Dec 2007. On the evening of 5 December 2007, our delegation from Australia visited the Swedish Christian Studies Center, located about 200 metres from our hotel, where we listened to three presentations on human rights in Israel and Palestine. What made these talks compelling was that each speaker …

Statement by Australian Church leaders on Israel

Archbishop Phillip Aspinall addresses the Heads of Jerusalem Churches at a dinner in Jerusalem, 6 Dec 2007. Photo credit: Rod Benson In December 2007, a delegation of nine Australian Church leaders visited Jerusalem and the Holy Land. I was one of the nine. Seventeen years on, so little has changed. So many have died, and …