Blogger: Mideast Youth - Thinking Ahead
Article: Liberal Bahraini Author Expresses Amazing Views
Originaly Posted On: 2007-03-31 14:40:32

Finally, the voice of reason is heard! Watch this video and learn what needs to be known to other Arabs, our leaders in particular.

Excellent advice for Arab youth - get engaged, read, be tolerant of other views, and learn! Unless you want to be lumped with the 70 million (!) illiterate adults in the Arab world.

Activism, Arabs, Awareness, Bahrain, Blog, Democracy, Freedom of speech, Good news, Media, Videos

Blogger: Mideast Youth - Thinking Ahead
Article: Hiking in the Negev
Originaly Posted On: 2007-03-28 13:58:47

I seem to be hiking monthly these days. Spring is here, which means there’s a few weeks of erratic, schizo weather before it turns scorchingly hot and I won’t want to hike anywhere.

Jerusalem Mosaic hiking club were doing this rather easy hike, along gentle hills near Kibbutz Be’eri (a kibbutz founded in 1946), which is 3 miles from Gaza. The British built roads here pre-State-of-Israel and stored their ammunition here, as well as having a sulphur factory. The scenery was quite different from one moment to the next.

So let’s get to the photos:

There were several German Shepherd dogs guarding the premises at the Kibbutz. Why? I asked the guide. His explanation was that the Kibbutz was just 3 miles from Gaza and this was to prevent infiltrators. BUT - then I hear Israel’s biggest printing press is behind the barbed wire. And this is where the bills from the electric company, the phone company and other major sources of annoyances come from. No wonder they need security dogs.

Wild horses couldn’t drag me away….lovely to see this in the middle of nowhere, eh?

Hiking along the sand dunes…

The old British sulphur factor

I’m happy to report that we hiked much faster than this snail on the grass.

- seems to be a ruin of an Arab village or home here - although I can’t seem to find any info on any here - but the cactus plant borders are a sure sign of what was once Arab-owned fields near this kibbutz.

- the homes of Gaza in the distance. This rural area of Gaza seems quite pastoral, unlike the inner cities where chaos seems to reign.

Blog, Events, General, Interfaith, Israel, Life, Palestine

Blogger: Point of no return
Article: Israel’s silence on Jewish refugees is deafening
Originaly Posted On: 2007-03-28 12:09:02

Blogger: Jewschool
Article: Jewish Teens Wanted for Online Interfaith Dialogue
Originaly Posted On: 2007-03-25 22:25:33

Children of Abraham’s Global Discovery Program (GDP) is an intensive four-month online seminar that is designed to act as an educational gateway to bring together Muslim and Jewish youth from eleven cities across the world, including Damascus, Dubai, Jakarta, London, Montreal, Marrakech, Moscow, Paris, Riyadh, Tehran, and New York.

Participants investigate a wide variety of topics and go through a journey of mutual discovery. They examine their current, as well as prospective relations, engage in thought-provoking discussions about their common Abrahamic roots, their social and cultural similarities and differences, the globalization of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and its effects on global Jewish-Muslim relations.

The main goals of the program are:

• To incubate young Muslim and Jewish leaders in a virtual community that enables them to explore the frontiers of the Muslim-Jewish relationship.
• To bring young Muslims and Jews together to examine the bases of the past, present and future relationship between Islam and Judaism.
• To provide Muslims and Jews who do not have the opportunity to interact with each other a forum to do so and thereby gain some of the perspective that living in a pluralistic society brings.
• To model effective methods of interfaith dialogue so that participants can bring Children of Abraham’s message to their own communities.
• To transmit the knowledge and confidence to take on leading roles in Muslim-Jewish dialogue.
• To encourage Muslim and Jewish youth to build empathetic relationships that will be the basis of a broader rapprochement between the two communities.

Children of Abraham is currently seeking more Jewish participants, aged 16-18. If you, or anyone you know, may be interested, apply online today!

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Blogger: Mideast Youth - Thinking Ahead
Article: From Bethlehem to Jerusalem
Originaly Posted On: 2007-03-24 13:44:02

There was an interfaith gathering this past Thursday evening at the charming Austrian Hospice on the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem. We had planned to meet with the people of the Hope Flowers School in El Khader/Bethlehem to discuss the very pleasant (to me anyways) and expansive subject of food in our traditions. This was supposed to be an overnight thing with the retreat ending on Friday noon. But I had already booked myself for a hike in the Negev the following day so Thursday night was the only night I could join.

Sure enough, 10 minutes before I was due to leave work, my boss calls me from the US chattering away, but lucky for me, and by the good Grace of God, the phone connection went dead about 2 minutes into the phone call. I tried calling her back on her cellphone, the good soldier that I am, which was disconnected. For those that don’t believe, let me tell you, there really is a God. I was thus able to leave at 4:00 to get me to Jaffa Gate by 4:30, where I met a fellow Jewish interfaith participant. We walked through the busy market on David Street, then through the Christian quarter admiring things we hadn’t noticed before even though we’ve been there millions of times, which led the shopkeepers to believe we were tourists.

The meeting was supposed to begin at 4:00 pm and it was already 4:45 pm. We were uncomfortably late and went up to the salon at the 2nd floor to join our meeting, as it’s usually held there and walked in on about 100 teens. Ooops. Wrong meeting. They were obviously European/Austrian because you could hear a pin drop in there - not so a case when you put even 10 Israeli teens together.

Finally a small contingent from Bethlehem came in after 5:00 pm. They had trouble at the checkpoints - the usual story. However 7 more people were supposed to arrive and although the office of our interfaith group got permits for them to come to Jerusalem through the Bet El army (North of Jerusalem) which is the main place to obtain permits for Palestinians to come through, these guys had to come through the Gush Etzion checkpoint which is South of Jerusalem which gets the orders from the Bet El office. The group had waited from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm patiently and no permit had come through for them from Bet El. Even though phone calls were made back and forth, they were turned away after waiting four hours for a permit that had been gotten for them. We all felt terrible about this. Here are people coming through for a dialogue with Israelis and they get turned away. We were told by the Palestinians it all depends on who is at the checkpoint that day. They may not have even checked if permits were given at all and just played around with them and made them wait for 4 hours. Turns out the ones who did make it through were one big family who all had long-term permits already and didn’t have to get new ones. Their contingent was a husband/wife/mother-in-law/3 children who were the lucky ones to be allowed in. But even though they had permits, they were valid for 12 hours during the day and past 7:00 pm at night they could not wander around Jerusalem. They were put up at the hostel for free.

After going around the table introducing ourselves and listening to the checkpoint ordeal, it was time to eat at the Hospice cafeteria. The woman from Bethlehem had 3 small kids, was pregnant and her 1 year old was screaming. The kid was putting his fist in his mouth. A universal sign of teething. His mother thought he had an ear infection and I knew he was teething. In any case, the stern-faced Austrians and guests at the cafeteria were not pleased with the kid screaming and looked terribly uncomfortable. What a difference between us and them and I don’t mean Jews and Arabs. When a child screams in agony, you’ll have us Middle-Easterners meddling in trying to see what’s wrong and what can be done to help. Not that I want to do my share of European bashing - but the Europeans (staff and guests) didn’t really seem to want to mix in and were noticeably annoyed at screaming ruining their meal. We (the Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs) shrugged our shoulders, offered to hold her kid and then let him scream until he fell asleep. I had seen and felt another commonality with my Palestinian sister and a much deeper difference with the European ones.

My friend on the other hand, was flipped out and uncomfortable over a statue of Jesus facing her and asked me to switch places with her.

“Oh stop that” I teased her. “He’s Jewish!!”

We grouped together afterwards and heard about stuff we already knew - Moslems and Jews don’t eat pork, we can eat giraffes and deer (but who would), they can eat strange game meat too as long as it’s not a predator animal like a lion or tiger. We can’t eat shellfish, they can. We can’t eat milk and meat together. They can. But it didn’t matter if I already knew this stuff. It was good to be together and strengthen our bonds.

General

This is a very unique show where an American tries to explore the real Islam and how Muslims really are. It’s of particular interest to anyone who buys into the post-9/11 stereotype of Muslims.

Blogger: Baha’i Faith in Egypt
Article: A Clear Example of Respect and Appreciation
Originaly Posted On: 2007-03-22 11:02:00

The following is a post from Barnabas quotidianus blog regarding greetings of the British government to the UK Baha’i community. This message clearly illustrates the respect and appreciation for the contributions of the Baha’i community to the welfare of Britain and the entire planet.

It is hoped that the Egyptian and Iranian governments would also, in time, express their appreciation and respect for this world embracing Faith that contributes greatly to the advancement of human society.

Barnabas quotidianus » Baha’is of UK receive greetings from Tony Blair

Our National Spiritual Assembly has just received greetings messages for Naw-Ruz from our Prime Minister, the Rt Hon. Tony Blair MP:

Naw-Ruz greetings from the Prime Minister (Rt Hon Tony Blair MP).

March 2007

It gives me great pleasure, once again, to send my best wishes to the Baha’i community in the UK as you celebrate Naw Ruz. The United Kingdom deeply values the presence of the Baha’i community and the unique contribution you make.

The words of your founder, that “the earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens”, have perhaps an even greater resonance in 2007 than ever before. The universal challenges of climate change, and its potentially disastrous impact on millions of people across the globe, remind us forcefully that we are all fellow citizens of the world, all sharing in its destiny. As we confront these challenges I have no doubt that you, and your fellow Baha’is in other countries, have much to contribute to the debate and the pursuit of possible solutions, drawing on the tradition of working for social justice of which Baha’is can rightly be so proud.

With my best wishes to you all for the forthcoming year.

[Signed] Tony Blair

The Rt Hon. David Cameron MP, the Leader of the Opposition, has also sent a message:

March 2007

Happy Naw-Ruz

I am delighted to send all members of the Baha’i community my best wishes for a Happy New Year.

The principles which the Baha’i community hold dear - in particular unity and also the promotion of social justice, a belief in the importance of family life, and a concern for the environment - are of central importance to our society today.

The fact that so much work has been carried out to put these values into practice, through development projects around the world does great credit to your faith.

I know also that you will have in your thoughts at this time those communities elsewhere who face persecution because of their faith. Freedom to worship and to hold religious belief is a fundamental right which we must always cherish.

May I once again send my good wishes to you and your families at this time.

[Signed] David Cameron

They’re very good messages and they will be read out at our official Naw-Ruz reception in the House of Commons this evening.

Blogger: Jewschool
Article: Help defend Kristof - a brave voice on Israel
Originaly Posted On: 2007-03-21 17:39:58

(note: an interesting point from a friend who passed it on- RK)

One of the most courageous and talented journalists in America today is Nicholas Kristof. He has traveled from the brothels of Cambodia (to rescue child-prostitutes) to the refugee camps of Darfur (to report on genocide) often at great personal risk. On March 18, 2007 he took what may be seen as his greatest professional risk. Namely, he took on the Israel Lobby in his column Talking About Israel.

Read it with a deep sigh of relief, because Kristof is a powerful ally to Palestinians and Israelis seeking peace. This is in part a result of his deep and widely respected humanism. But it’s also because over the past few years, his concern for Darfurian victims of genocide in the Sudan was championed by an impressive array of American Jewish leaders. Select quotes include these gems:

“There is no serious political debate among either Democrats or Republicans…” regarding Israel.

“American politicians have learned to muzzle themselves.”

“American politicians just don’t get it.”

“Hard-line Israeli policies have profoundly harmed that country’s long-term security….”

“… [S]ecurity for Israel will emerge only from a peace agreement.…”

“…[L]et’s be better friends—and stop biting our tongues.”

Never mind that these views are practically the consensus among journalists, diplomats, scholars and most American Jews; what matters is that our political elites behave as though they were the captive of a small yet powerful special interest group. An interest group that shrewdly manipulates reasonable concerns regarding terrorism, Israel’s survival and anti-Semitism to silence, smear and defame any opposition.

Democratic Party activists are gearing up for a wonderfully open primary race. While no one expects über-war supporter and AIPAC cheerleader Hillary Clinton to evolve - nor would anyone believe it - there is still room for pressuring other worthy candidates, such as John Edwards and Barak Obama. Some of us have been thinking about such a campaign for some time, but now it’s official. Thank you, Nicholas Kristoff, for kicking it off. Let’s hold our leaders - esp. the Democratic nominees for the Presidency - accountable on the Israel debate.

Join us in saying thank you to Nicholas Kristoff and demanding a real conversation on US policy towards Israel.

Blogger: islamicate
Article: Navroz Mubarak 2007
Originaly Posted On: 2007-03-21 12:25:46

Yes, it is a hybrid date format. But the holiday is now hybrid. Little bit of Zoroastrianism, little bit of Iranian nationalism, little bit of Islam, little bit of 21st century style globalization. Here is a good, short history of contemporary Navroz. Just a clarification, the Ismailis don’t recognize Navroz…

Blogger: islamicate
Article: Navroz Mubarak 2007
Originaly Posted On: 2007-03-21 12:25:46

Yes, it is a hybrid date format. But the holiday is now hybrid. Little bit of Zoroastrianism, little bit of Iranian nationalism, little bit of Islam, little bit of 21st century style globalization. Here is a good, short history of contemporary Navroz. Just a clarification, the Ismailis don’t recognize Navroz…