Thoughts on faith, culture, and public life.
What came to be known as the First Intifada unfolding in Gaza Strip, 1987. Historians of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict identify two highly significant moments in the long drawn-out conflict by the names given to them by Palestinians: the First and Second Intifada. An overview In Arabic, the word "Intifada "(ุงูุชูุงุถุฉ) literally means "shaking off" or "uprising." …
Continue reading "The history and politics of the First Intifada"
No. 45 of 47. First published 29 Dec 2007. The Lutheran World Federation has appealed to Israeli and Palestinian leaders to โurgently pursueโ the successful conclusion of a peace treaty between their nations, as agreed at the recent Middle East peace conference in Annapolis in the US. At a full day of meetings in Annapolis …
Continue reading "Lutheran World Federation urges peace in Palestine"
No. 38 of 47. First published 24 Dec 2007. Leaving the Mount of Olives, we travelled north through occupied Palestinian territory to Ramallah, the administrative capital of Palestine. Ramallah is a bustling, if dirty, city, with plenty of evidence of construction and other economic activity. We visited the impressive memorial to Nobel Peace Prize winner Yasser Arafat, and …
Continue reading "Meeting with the Palestinian National Authority"
No. 25 of 47. First published 9 Dec 2007. In my last post, I introduced the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme (EAPPI) that operates from the offices of the Jerusalem Inter-Church Center (JIC). The JIC is a recent initiative of the Jerusalem Churches in association with the Middle East Council of Churches and the World Council of …
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