Thursday, April 5, 2007

The Middle East in Focus

The Middle East in Focus

This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:

“He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel. The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.” (Psalm 103:7–8)

1. Palestinians 'offended' by Merkel's pro-Israel stance - Jerusalem Post

Palestinian Authority officials have accused German Chancellor Angela Merkel of "offending the Palestinians' feelings" during her visit earlier this week to Ramallah, where she met with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

2. Top Fatah member critically injured by IDF fire - Ynet News

A senior Fatah member was critically injured early Tuesday as a Golani Brigade force fired at a group of gunmen in the West Bank city of Nablus.

3. Watch Group: Textbooks Poisoning Young Minds Against Israel - All Headline News

A Media Watchdog group said that new textbooks are teaching Palestinians children as young as 11 to hate Israel.

4. UN chief: Hamas just needs time to come around - Jerusalem Newswire

UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday urged the international community to ignore Hamas' firm rejection of Israel, and give the Palestinian Authority yet more time to meet the basic peace requirement of recognizing Israel's right to exist.

5. Some British schools drop Holocaust education for fear of Muslims - Jerusalem Newswire

A new survey has found that some British grade schools are dropping the Holocaust from their history lessons for fear of an often violent Muslim minority that denies the Jews were mass murdered by the Nazis.

6. Court nixes Passover lamb sacrifice at Temple Mount - Ha'aretz

In their efforts to sacrifice a live animal at the Temple Mount, the New Sanhedrin Council adopted an almost underground modus operandi. Rabbis Adin Steinsaltz, Israel Ariel, Yishai Baved and their associates secretly located a butcher, found a Cohen hailing from a lineage 1,000 years old and worked out a plan to quickly erect an alter on the Temple Mount. (They) also petitioned the High Court of Justice for the right to perform the ritual. Their plans were thwarted yesterday when the court rejected their request, ruling that "the rights of the petitioners to practice their faith are outweighed by other considerations such as public order and safety." Despite the ruling, the followers decided to hold a colorful procession yesterday in Jerusalem, heading to the Western Wall along with two sheep.