For the 11th year, Gaza’s Christian minority celebrates Christmas under Israeli siege, unable to join family in West Bank. Travel requests are mostly denied or ignored from an occupying country that claims to promote freedom of religion and worship.
Why do many Hasidic Jews abstain from studying the Torah at Christmas? The mythology is that back in the day, Christians liked to persecute Jews during the holiday But according to an authority on the subject, the practice was originally based on a superstition that on Christmas, Jesus had to spend the day “wander[ing] in all pits of excrement or latrines throughout the world” – and studying Torah gave him respite from this torture.
Bethlehem is in the occupied Palestinian territories, not Israel, but Israel controls much of the tourism, keeping tourists from staying at Palestinian hotels, shopping in Palestinian souvenir shops, and – most importantly – hearing the Palestinian narrative.
The Israel lobby is taking newly elected Congressional representatives, CNN-ABC commentator Tara Setmayer, & California “progressive leaders” on propaganda trips to Israel. AIPAC IS using a loophole that violates the spirit of the law… and seems to be functioning as a foreign agent…
The lawsuit against Airbnb’s de-listing of Israeli settlement properties sounds pretty flimsy: religious discrimination (illegal settlements are by definition all-Jewish); failure to provide equal access (Palestinians are barred completely – and it’s their land); Airbnb is siding with Palestinians against the occupation (everything about the occupation and settlements is illegal, so, yeah).
Pro-Israel groups are mobilizing against Sen. Rand Paul for his block on legislation to give Israel $38 billion over the next 10 years. AIPAC is placing Facebook ads & CUFI is sending emails to pressure Paul, “the last obstacle” to Israel obtaining the largest military aid package in US history…
Global Ministries and UCC and Disciples leaders were co-signatories in an ecumenical statement sent today to all members of Congress and the Senate, as well as to the White House. The statement focuses on the shifts in US policy and approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The full statement is published here, in its entirety.
Ha’aretz reports that the Noahide Project, supported by Israel’s Chief Rabbinate and the Israeli government, seeks to create a world religion whose believers adore the Jewish people and the State of Israel… founded by rabbis from Israel, mainly from Chabad… the first Noahide gathering took place in Texas in 1990 and was attended by Rabbi Meir Kahane… members are told they are subservient to Jews…
Israel and the US are tied together in ways that Americans would never even dream of – and may never know about, since the Al Jazeera documentary about the Israel lobby is being buried. A never-shown Al Jazeera documentary on the pro-Israel lobby in the United States reveals possibly illegal Israeli spying on American citizens,…
An Adelson pro-Israel initiative will operate on 80 campuses, spending six figures per campus – about $8 million to $10 million this school year. Among its activities will be to “recruit influencers” and take them on trips to Israel.