Vatican Calls for End of Israeli Occupation of All Arab Lands

Thousands of families of all faiths lived in the Holy land prior to the establishment of Israel in the late 1940's.

Cardinal John Patrick Foley is the Grand Master of Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Awareness of Israel's ongoing aggressions against the native population of Palestine has led to a demand from the Vatican in Rome, that Israel accept U.N. resolutions and end its unlawful occupation of Arab lands.

The bishops are telling the Jewish state that it shouldn't use the Bible to justify "injustices"- viewed as genocide by a widening population, against the Palestinian people.

As we have explained many times in the past, Israel uses the religious philosophy called "Zionism" to justify their continual expansion of land over the past 63 years. The movement is based on the Biblical statement that "Jews inherit to the promised land".

The obvious problem is that thousands of families of all faiths lived in the Holy land prior to the establishment of Israel in the late 1940's.

To this day, mostly Arab families are literally tossed into the street and held back while their homes are bulldozed and the land prepared for new Israeli "settlements" which are colonies on Arab land.

Cardinal John Patrick Foley, Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, stated Friday:

As messengers of Christ's peace, I am convinced that all of us must pray and work for peace in the Middle East - especially for a just and lasting peace between Palestine and Israel and among their neighbors.

I am convinced that the continued tension between the Israelis and the Palestinians has contributed greatly to the turmoil in all of the Middle East and also to the growth of Islamic fundamentalism.

While many, including the Holy See, have suggested a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, the more time passes, the more difficult such a solution becomes, as the building of Israeli settlements and Israeli-controlled infrastructure in East Jerusalem and in other parts of the West Bank make increasingly difficult the development of a viable and integral Palestinian state.

The Cardinal says Catholic schools play a large role in this part of the world, and they are not limited to Catholic membership. The efforts in this area and others are considerably well funded too.

Many have made pilgrimages to the Holy Land where they have visited not only the places made sacred by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ but also the parishes, schools and hospitals which serve those we call the "living stones" - the Christian descendants of the original followers of Jesus Christ in that land we call ''holy''.

Since the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, the Order of the Holy Sepulchre has sent more than $50 million to assist especia1ly the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem but also other Christian communities and institutions to survive and indeed excel in service to the entire community in the Holy Land.

According to Cardinal Foley, this level of generosity is important, but secondary to the development of an ever deeper spiritual life.

Years ago, I noted that the so-called five pillars of Islam really had their origins in Judaeo-Christian sources.

Jews, Christians and Moslems all believe in one God; we all practice frequent and, I hope, fervent prayer; we all, in different ways, practice fasting; we believe in and practice almsgiving; and we all seek to take part in pilgrimage - also to Jerusalem, a city sacred to Jews, Christians and Moslems.

May these common beliefs and practices be acknowledged and followed in the hope of greater mutual understanding and of reconciliation, peace and indeed love in that land which all of us, Jew, Christian and Moslem, are moved to call "holy".

Monsignor Pierre Burcher, Bishop of Reykjavïk - Iceland, recognizes the fragile political systems of the Middle east. His comments lead back to the never changing answer to the crisis; Israel must end its occupation of Palestine and therefore draw to a close the sixty plus years of deadly conflict.

The Bishops of the Northern Episcopal Conference (NEC), together with their Middle Eastern brothers and sisters, are aware that in addition to the difficult political situation and the confrontation with extremist Muslims, a difficult problem is also the emigration of Christians. This problem can only be resolved with the definitive solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The urgent moment of reconciliation and peace has arrived! The Christians of the Middle East, rather than flee the region, are especially necessary in this vital process of justice and peace. In fact, they have inherited the Christian mandate of forgiveness. Therefore it is not a question of their welcome in foreign lands but more their presence in the Middle East to safeguard a historical culture that is vital for the entire world. Peace is the urgent vocation of the Holy Land! Justice for the three monotheistic religions is that Jerusalem is open to all!

Bishop Burcher says Catholic Churches have been used by Catholic Christians as well as non-Catholics for their Divine Liturgy. He believes this too is a sign of practiced ecumenism that allows all faiths to coexist.

The notion of halting the occupation of Palestine should not be a political issue. People in the world are granted certain rights under the General Assembly of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These rules which are published online for all to see, do not allow the aggressive deadly policies Israel has exhibited increasingly in recent years.

Israel maintains separate laws for Jews and non-Jews, and even within the ranks of Judaism itself there is a great divide. Perhaps Israel will accept this suggestion, it remains to be seen. A quick perusal of Internet articles from Israel, groups like YNet and Jerusalem Post, have carried an article from the AP which was sent to Salem-News.com this morning, alerting us of this significant development.

The Vatican is serious about maintaining a Christian presence and outreach in the Middle east. Embracing the ecumenical movement to recognize and give credit to all monotheistic faiths, three days ago, for the first time ever, Vatican Radio began producing a webpage in Hebrew that features up-to-date information about the ongoing Special Synod of Bishops for the Middle East.

The work of Hana Bendcowsky - who is behind the Web page - "is to make quite sure 'that the Israeli public' be correctly and well-informed about Synod proceedings and the message of the Bishops with no margin for misunderstandings and controversy," World Jewish Congress reports.

On Friday the UN stated:

"The people of Gaza continue to suffer from the humanitarian consequences of the Israeli blockade of the area, despite the recent partial easing of the restrictions, a United Nations independent human rights expert said today.

"Israel imposed the blockade on Gaza, where some 1.5 million Palestinians live, over three years ago for what it called security reasons after Hamas ousted the Fatah movement in the Strip in 2007.

"'The situation in Gaza remains very serious from a humanitarian perspective. The blockade has been eased in some respects, but it has been maintained in other respects, and it continues to put the population there under great psychological and physical stress,' Richard Falk, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, told reporters at the UN Headquarters in New York."

It seems like the forces are working for the freedom of Palestine. Peace could exist in the world if the conflict can be resolved by ending the Israeli occupation of Arab lands.

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The Pope's visit to "Israel": Amazing Disgrace

Watch Current Issues coverage of the Pope's visit to The Middle East.

We say, the pope should not have visited "Israel" watch us bellow to find out why?

Watch it, its just a little over nine minutes

The Pope just made the biggest sin of his life time by touching the hands of the Zionist killers. Why would the Pope go out of his way to help the Zionist state beautify its ugly face? Why is it after 2000 years of bloodshed between Jews and Christians, the Pope decides to capitulate to " Jesus killers"?

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Pope Benedict XVI fails to condemn Israeli crimes

Jonathan Cook reports on how Pope Benedict XVI preferred to walk out of an interfaith meeting rather than condemn Israel’s slaughter of women and children in Gaza and on how His Holiness appeared to endorse Israel’s illegal occupation of Jerusalem.Pope Benedict XVI upset the schedule on his first day in Israel by leaving an interfaith meeting in Jerusalem early on Monday night [11 May] after a leading Muslim cleric called on him to condemn the “slaughter” of women and children in the recent assault on Gaza.

The pontiff walked out, a spokesman noted, because Sheikh Tayseer Tamimi’s speech was a “direct negation” of dialogue and damaged the Pope’s efforts at “promoting peace”.

Before he arrived in the region, the Pope declared that he was coming as a “pilgrim of peace”, with his staff accentuating that his role would be spiritual rather than political.

In truth, however, Pope Benedict’s visit was mired in politics the moment he agreed, at the invitation of Shimon Peres, the Israeli president, to step into this conflict-torn region.

The two popes who preceded him to the Holy Land appear to have better appreciated that point.

The first, Paul VI, made a hurried 12-hour stop in 1964, before the Vatican and Israel had established diplomatic relations, to conduct a Mass in Nazareth. During that time he did not utter the word “Israel” or formally meet with an Israeli official.

The second, John Paul II, came to the Holy Land in radically different circumstances: for the millennium, when hopes were still bright for the peace process. The Vatican had recognized Israel a few years earlier and the pontiff worked hard to soothe long-standing Jewish grievances against the Catholic church.

But he is also remembered by Palestinians for his bold move in joining Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, on a visit to the Deheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem, where he cited UN resolutions against Israel and graphically described the “degrading conditions” under which Palestinians lived.

A decade on, the degrading conditions of occupation have worsened considerably and hopes of peace have vanished. In the circumstances, some Palestinians question what point a papal visit has served.

“The very act of coming here is a political act that works to the benefit of Israel,” observed Mazin Qumsiyeh, a prominent peace activist who teaches at the West Bank’s only Catholic university, in Bethlehem.

“This Pope’s visit, unlike his predecessor’s, offers no novelty – apart from his decision to stand next to [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu and legitimize an extreme right-wing government.”

Israeli officials too are unpersuaded by the Pope’s claim that he can avoid being dragged into local politics. Or as one government adviser told the Haaretz newspaper: “We have become pariahs in so many places around the globe. Promoting the Pope’s visit to the state is part of changing that.”

Israel has established the largest press centre in the country’s history for this visit, while police have broken up attempts by Palestinian organizations in Jerusalem to present a rival picture to journalists.

The attempts at careful stage management began from the moment the Pope’s plane touched down in Tel Aviv on Monday. At the reception, Pope Benedict stood between Mr Netanyahu and Mr Peres to listen not only to the Israeli national anthem, but also to Jerusalem of Gold, a song popularized by soldiers during the capture of East Jerusalem in the 1967 war.

The lyrics – offensive to Palestinians – describe an empty and neglected city before the arrival of Jews.

Similarly, Jerusalem’s mayor, Nir Barkat, made a point of welcoming him to the “capital of Israel and the Jewish people”, a description of Jerusalem not recognized in international law.

After the Pope failed to object, the Israeli media happily concluded that the country’s occupation of Jerusalem had papal blessing.

In addition, Palestinians, including the 100,000 with ties to Rome, have been angered by the Pope’s official meeting with the parents of the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, a humanitarian gesture made political for them by the fact that he has not extended the same courtesy to the parents of any of the thousands of Palestinians in Israeli captivity.

Many Palestinians appreciate that the Pope – with his unfortunate, if apparently involuntary, connections to Nazi Germany – has been especially careful not to offend Israeli sensitivities, even if his speech at Yad Vashem failed to live up to the country’s high expectations.

But some also conclude that he has done too little to let the world know of their own plight.

Under pressure from Israel he has refused to visit Gaza, even at the beseeching of the tiny and besieged community of Catholics there.

Yesterday, to minimize Israel’s embarrassment, Vatican officials tried as best they could to keep him out of view of the oppressive wall that encircles Bethlehem. But he did speak to the press outside a UN school at a refugee camp within metres of the wall.

And today [14 May], as he headed to Nazareth to celebrate mass, he will not meet Mazin Ghanaim, mayor of the Galilee town of Sakhnin, after Israel labelled Mr Ghanaim a “supporter of terror” for criticizing its offensive in Gaza.

In private at least, some Palestinian Christian leaders admit that there are pressures on the Pope other than his own personal history that may make him wary of antagonizing Israel.

Most importantly, the Vatican desperately needs exemption from Israeli taxes levied on the Church’s extensive land holdings. Unpaid property taxes are reported to amount to 70 million US dollars.

The Holy See also wants a reprieve from Israeli policies that deny visas to many church officials and block clerics’ movement in the occupied territories.

As the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, recently complained: “At the roadblocks, even priestly garb doesn’t help.”

And finally, the Vatican has been seeking Israel’s agreement for more than a decade to return to its control major sites of pilgrimage, including Mount Tabor and the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.

But Israel has not been able to control the message completely. On his one-day trip to Bethlehem and the Aida refugee camp yesterday, the Pope did acknowledge Palestinian suffering and the destruction of Gaza, even if he blamed it vaguely on “the turmoil that has afflicted this land for decades”.

He lamented the difficulties Palestinians face in reaching their holy places in Jerusalem, though he appeared to justify the restrictions on Israel’s “serious security concerns”.

And he criticized the building of a wall around Bethlehem, while attributing its construction to the “stalemate” in relations between Israelis and Palestinians

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Ahmadinejad target of Rome plot says his aide

tehran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the target of an assassination plot at the UN food summit in Rome earlier this month as well as during a trip to Iraq in March, an aide said yesterday.

Ahmadinejad last week revealed the purported Iraq murder plot - an announcement greeted with astonishment in some sections of the local press - but this is the first time a conspiracy has been linked to his Italy trip.

"The actions of the president over the three previous years have endangered the illegitimate interests of many people in Iran and outside," said Ali Zabihi, according to the Fars news agency.

"That is why some people have thought of eliminating or assassinating the president," added Zabihi, who was described as Ahmadinejad's adviser for human resources. "But the plots to assassinate the president in Iraq and at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) conference failed, thanks to God," he said.

Ahmadinejad said on Thursday that enemies had planned to kidnap and kill him in Iraq but the plot was foiled after the Iranian delegation changed their travel plans.

According to Zabihi, the plots were in line with the order given by (US President George W) Bush to kill Iranian leaders." He did not give further details.

He even compared the plots to the deadly attacks committed by the outlawed armed opposition against some of Iran's top officials in the early years after the 1979 Islamic revolution.

"Like at the start of the revolution, some people inside and outside the country have been trying to create a poisoned atmosphere to prepare an action against him."

Iran and the United States have had no diplomatic relations for almost the past three decades and remain arch-enemies who are at loggerheads in a standoff over what the United states calls Tehran's nuclear drive.

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