The Holy Land Thread

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Map of shared-control at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

[Hovannes]

Been there!

[Jocose]

Where's the gazebo?

[Del]

I am a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre

One of our duty/vows to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

I have yet to make the pilgrimage.

[Hovannes]

I am a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre

One of our duty/vows to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

I have yet to make the pilgrimage.

Now that's impressive!

[Del]

I am a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre

One of our duty/vows to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

I have yet to make the pilgrimage.

Now that's impressive!

The Order is impressive.

I can't claim to have done much to deserve the honor of being invited into membership.

[Hovannes]

I am a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre

One of our duty/vows to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

I have yet to make the pilgrimage.

Now that's impressive!

The Order is impressive.

I can't claim to have done much to deserve the honor of being invited into membership.

Del, if the check cleared, that's impressive

[Hugo Drax]

Now that's impressive!

The Order is impressive.

I can't claim to have done much to deserve the honor of being invited into membership.

Del, if the check cleared, that's impressive

That's exactly right. Writing a check can be a noble action!

[Wosbald]

+JMJ+

Rabbi calls on Christians, Jews to put ‘unsavory’ new Israeli coalition on notice

Israeli lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir, center, surrounded by right wing activists with Israeli flags, speaks to the media as they gather for a march in Jerusalem, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. Major Jewish American organizations, traditionally a bedrock of support for Israel, have expressed alarm over the presumptive government’s far-right character. (Credit: AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)

ROME — Over the weekend, the New York Times joined a growing chorus of voices raising concern over the new Israeli coalition being formed by incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying the rightwing government poses a threat to democracy and, ultimately, Israel’s identity as a Jewish state.

In the editorial, published Saturday, the Times argued that Netanyahu’s coalition, set to be Israel’s most far-right government in history, poses “a significant threat to the future of Israel — its direction, its security, and even the idea of a Jewish homeland.”

The incoming government “could make it militarily and politically impossible for a two-state solution to ever emerge” in the longstanding Israel–Palestine conflict, and proposed changes to the status quo of holy sites such as the Holy Mount risk “provoking a new round of Arab–Israeli violence,” it said.

Last week, a top Israeli Christian leader, Dr. Juergen Buehler, president of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, voiced concern over certain coalition members who have said “some not nice things about Christians in the past,” and he voiced hope that Netanyahu would “use his full influence” to ensure the new government establishes partnerships, rather than builds walls.

Specific concern has been raised over notably far-right Israeli politician Itamar Ben Gvir, who is set to receive significant power in the Netanyahu government and who has in the past led violent protests against Christians and defended a man convicted of setting fire to a Catholic church near the Sea of Galilee.

[…]

Speaking to Crux, Rabbi David Rosen, former Chief Rabbi of Ireland and current International Director of Interreligious Affairs for the American Jewish Committee, said “the situation is one of great concern” for Christians and Jews alike.

In addition to the concerns over extreme positions against Christianity, there are also fears “with regards to LGBTQ elements, all different areas of what you might call human rights and liberal causes,” Rosen said, saying these issues “are perceived as being under threat by Netanyahu’s coalition partners who he has to give enormous power to because basically they’ve saved his bacon, if I can mix my religious language.”

Rosen also urged Christians to join the Jewish community in speaking out against the actions of former United States president Donald Trump, who recently hosted white nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes at his private home in Mar-a-Lago along with rapper Kayne West, who in the past has made antisemitic remarks.

Speaking out against these actions and the individuals who conduct them is “very important,” Rosen said, saying, “for those who care about the relationship with the Jewish people, the issue of antisemitism is the litmus test, and it proves to what degree one is sensitive to Jewish sensitivities or not.”

“Trump’s actions are clearly actions of crass insensitivity and therefore those who care about the relationship with the Jewish people will take the kind of stand that Dr. Buehler did,” he said, noting that Buehler, in addition to raising concern over Netanyahu’s coalition, also condemned Trump’s meeting with Fuentes and West.

“I think making that criticism, especially coming from an Evangelical Christian who both sees Trump and Netanyahu as having been advantageous in terms of the pursuit of their own agendas, nevertheless, to be able to say, this kind of behavior is not acceptable and we condemn it, it is very important indeed to win the trust of the Jewish people,” Rosen said.

While he doesn’t believe there is need for “great concern” with Netanyahu’s coalition partners, Rosen said there are still reasons to worry, and that Christians who care about pluralism and democratic cohesion “should express their concerns.”

Concern must be expressed, he said, over “anything that in any way offends the dignity of any human person, regardless of their race, color, creed, or gender.”

“The more concern is expressed, the more cautious the Israeli government will be, just as I think Jews should express this to all different governments in the world today, where more and more populist, illiberal elements are being brought into power, both in Europe and maybe again in the United States,” he said, alluding to Trump’s presidential candidacy for 2024 US presidential elections.

Even if Trump does not win, “there’s certainly a resurgence of those elements and those elements tend to come also with a resurgence of antisemitism, and if we want to combat antisemitism then we’ve got to make sure that we show when where we are a majority, we respect minorities as much as we want us to be respected when and where we are a minority,” Rosen said.

He voiced hope that Christians “can be allies with the vast majority of the Jewish world in spreading this concern and hopefully providing a counter-balance to certain tendencies that Netanyahu’s coalition partners might want to pursue.”

[…]

[Del]

+JMJ+

Rabbi calls on Christians, Jews to put ‘unsavory’ new Israeli coalition on notice

This is not an article about the Holy Land.

It is just another leftist screed against democracy and patriotism in America and in Israel.

The Israelis have offered many concessions and even partnered with Arab nations (Saudi Arabia, in particular), offering the Palestinians self-rule and $80 billion in infrastructure investment. The Palestinians refused to come to the table, because THEY DON'T WANT A TWO-STATE SOLUTION. They want Israel dead and wiped off the map.

This was the whole basis of the Abraham Accords, coordinating lasting peace in the Middle East among Israel and their Arab neighbors. They need to cooperate in dealing with Iran (who finance terrorists) and rebel Palestinians (who fire on peaceful Israeli citizens).

Christians in Palestine are caught in the crossfire. They will not be safe until the militant factions in Palestine are pacified.

So now we need to figure out whether CRUX is utterly unreliable like the rest of the partisan media, or just some of the writers they publish. Are they funded by George Soros or something?