Former PM’s heartbeat and blood pressure ‘good,’ hospital director says, but 85-year-old still in ‘immediate danger’
January 5, 2014, 11:57 am
2
Former
prime minister Ariel
Sharon’s condition has been stable for the last 12 hours, and his
heartbeat and blood pressure are “good,” Sheba Medical Center director
Zeev Rotstein said Sunday morning.“We
knew he had a good heart, and now we know he has a strong heart,”
Rotstein said, but added that Sharon’s life was still in “immediate
danger” and there was no cause for optimism.Sharon is “a true lion” who
“continues to fight for his life,” the hospital director added.His
family remained at his bedside, the
hospital said, and former soldiers who fought alongside him were among
the well-wishers who visited him during the day.
Last Wednesday, hospital personnel put out a laconic statement saying the comatose former leader’s condition had taken a turn for the worse.His family was at his bedside on Thursday
afternoon, and his condition has since been defined as critical, with
indications that he has at most a few days to live. Rotstein said Sunday
that his family members were still at his side and the doctors were
“treating him with all their might.”In his
previous statement to the press on Friday, Rotstein said the former PM
was in critical condition and deteriorating, and continues suffering
from continuous organ failure that may lead to critical damage to many
bodily systems.Doctors said Sharon, 85, who has been in a
vegetative state since 2006, was suffering from renal failure that could
lead to multiple organ system failure and death. Sharon has been
hospitalized at Sheba for seven years.The hospital director said last
week that
while Sharon’s condition had “seen ups and downs” in the past
two-and-a-half months, his life was now in danger.“The danger [to
Sharon's life] exists, [but]
as we know, Arik [Sharon] is a powerful man and has survived difficult
situations during his time in our hospital,” he continued. ”I’m no
prophet, but the feeling among the doctors treating him and the family
by his side… is that he has taken a turn for the worse.”Rotstein added
that Sharon wasn’t receiving
dialysis treatment for his kidney collapse, as it was not recommended
for a patient with multiple organ failure. He said the ex-prime minister
had received antibiotic treatment in recent weeks for infections that
caused his condition to deteriorate.“He is receiving all the treatments
that a patient in his condition should receive,” he said.In September,
doctors reinstalled a feeding
tube in Sharon’s digestive system. The procedure was completed without
incident, and the former prime minister was returned to the hospital’s
Department of Respiratory Care and Rehabilitation, where he has been in
treatment in recent years.Sharon is one of Israel’s most iconic and
controversial figures. As one of Israel’s most famous generals, Sharon
was known for bold tactics and an occasional refusal to obey orders. As a
politician he became known as “The Bulldozer,” a man contemptuous of
his critics while also capable of getting things done.As
defense minister, he led Israel’s 1982
invasion of Lebanon, and was forced to resign the post after a
commission of inquiry found him responsible for failing to prevent the
massacre by Christian Phalangists of Palestinian refugees in Beirut’s
Sabra and Shatila camps.A prominent hard-line voice over the decades, he
was elected prime minister in 2001.In mid-2005, he directed a
unilateral
withdrawal of Israeli troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip, ending a
38-year military control of the territory. It was a shocking turnaround
for a man who had been a leading player in building Jewish settlements
in captured territories.He bolted the Likud party soon after and
established the centrist Kadima party, where he was joined by Ehud
Olmert and Tzipi Livni. He appeared on his way to an easy reelection
when he suffered a severe stroke in January 2006. His deputy, Olmert,
took over and was elected prime minister a few months later.Sharon had a
first, small stroke in December
2005 and was put on blood thinners before experiencing a severe brain
hemorrhage on January 4, 2006. After spending months in the Jerusalem
hospital where he was initially treated, Sharon was transferred to the
long-term care facility at Tel Hashomer Hospital. He was taken home
briefly at one point, but was returned to the hospital, where he has
been since.AP contributed to this report.
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RABBI KADURI NEWS
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/89850#.UsW-1fswneE
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/97471#.UsXAbfswneE
http://rabbikaduri.blogspot.ca/
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.
ISAIAH 31:5
5 As birds flying,(PLANES) so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem;(WITH PLANES) defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.(NUKE OR BOMB ISRAELS ENEMIES)
JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.(WW3 STARTS BECAUSE JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED AND ISRAELIS UPROOTED FROM THEIR GOD GIVIN LAND)
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)
PSALMS 137:5-6
5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
6 If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
ZECHARIAH 14:1-4 King James Bible
1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished;(RAPED) and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
LUKE 1:31-32
32 He (JESUS) shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:(IN JERUSALEM)
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob (ISRAEL) for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.(THATS RULING FOREVER FROM JERUSALEM JESUS DOES)
ISAIAH 9:6-7
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:(JESUS 1ST COMING) and the government shall be upon his shoulder:(JESUS 2ND COMING AS RULING KING FROM JERUSALEM FOREVER AT THE END OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION) and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his (JESUS) government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David,( IN JERUSALEM) and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
JERUSALEM DIVIDED
GENESIS 25:20-26
20 And Isaac was forty years old (A BIBLE GENERATION NUMBER=1967 + 40=2007+) when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21 And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22 And the children (2 NATIONS IN HER-ISRAEL-ARABS) struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels;(ISRAEL AND THE ARABS) and the one people shall be stronger than the other people;(ISRAEL STRONGER THAN ARABS) and the elder shall serve the younger.(LITERALLY ISRAEL THE YOUNGER RULES (ISSAC)(JACOB-LATER NAME CHANGED TO ISRAEL) OVER THE OLDER ARABS (ISHMAEL)(ESAU)
24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.(THE OLDER AN ARAB)
26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob:(THE YOUNGER-ISRAELI) and Isaac was threescore (60) years old when she bare them.(1967 + 60=2027)(COULD BE THE LAST GENERATION WHEN JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED AMOUNG THE 2 TWINS)(THE 2 TWINS WANT JERUSALEM-THE DIVISION OF JERUSALEM TODAY)(AND WHOS IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM TODAY-THE YOUNGER ISSAC-JACOB-ISRAEL)(AND WHO WANTS JERUSALEM DIVIDED-THE OLDER,ESAU-ISHMAEL (THE ARABS)
Fatah official: We demand clarity on Jerusalem
Azzam Al-Ahmad says proposals regarding ‘greater Jerusalem’ and refugees leave the US secretary ‘in a vicious circle’
January 5, 2014, 1:37 pm
11-The Times of Israel
US
Secretary of State John Kerry
has proposed designating “greater Jerusalem” as the capital of both
Israel and the Palestinian state, a Fatah official reported on Sunday,
claiming that Kerry is stuck in “a vicious circle” and will likely
achieve no progress in his current visit to the region.Azzam
Al-Ahmad, a member of Fatah’s Central Committee and its representative
to talks with Hamas, told the Jordanian daily Al-Ghad that Kerry was
“elusive” when speaking of the exclusion of East Jerusalem from the rest
of the West Bank.“An ambiguous term such as ‘greater Jerusalem’
in [Kerry's] proposal could reach the Dead Sea, and could [equally] not
include [the Palestinian village of] Abu Dis,” Al-Ahmad told the
Jordanian daily. ”This [ambiguity] destroys all American efforts to
reach a peace agreement.”Palestinian sources have reported “extremely
difficult” talks with Kerry over the weekend. According to a report by
Agence France Presse, Kerry has exerted immense pressure on PA President
Mahmoud Abbas to accept Israel as a Jewish state as part of a framework
agreement, a demand Abbas continues to adamantly oppose.The Palestinian
source quoted Kerry as saying
that the demand to recognize Israel as a Jewish state is not only an
Israeli demand, but one shared by the American administration as
well.But Al-Ahmad said that Kerry’s ambiguity on
Jerusalem and the settlements leave little chance for the Palestinian
side to accept his offers.“Kerry is stuck in a vicious circle. If he
continues to propose what he has [so far], he will achieve nothing,”
Al-Ahmad said.
Kerry, for his part, acknowledged the
difficulties experienced by both sides, but insisted that progress has
been achieved.“Mistrust obviously exists at a very high level. So we
have to work through that and around that and over that,” he said.
The secretary of state was traveling to Jordan and Saudi Arabia on
Sunday before returning to Israel Sunday evening to continue talks.With
regards to the Jordan Valley, Al-Ahmad
said the Palestinians rejected any Israeli presence under a final status
agreement, but agreed to international forces patrolling the border,
including, for example, a joint Jordanian-American contingent. He added
that former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert had already agreed to
forgo the Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley during talks
with Abbas. (Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on an ongoing IDF
presence to secure the eastern border.)Palestinian officials continued
to voice their
opposition to provisional or framework agreements as an alternative to
the original nine-month timetable agreed upon with the US, which ends in
April.On Saturday, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb
Erekat said that Kerry was not engaged in working on a “transitional
agreement” but rather was discussing “all core issues.”Al-Ahmad
articulated the Palestinian position differently.“The framework
agreement is being used to
blackmail the Palestinians and reshuffle the cards, or lengthen the
negotiation period beyond nine months,” he said.IS IT A ACCIDENT THAT AMERICA IS FREEZING COLD AND STORMS.WHEN AMERICA IS REALLY PRESSURING ISRAEL TO GIVE UP GODS LAND ISRAEL AND GODS HOLY CITY JERUSALEM.WHEN WILL THESE POLITICIANS EVER LEARN-YOU TOUCH ISRAEL OR JERUSALEM-YOU TOUCH GOD HIMSELF.AND YOU WANNA DIVIDE JERUSALEM.YOUR COUNTRY WILL BE DIVIDED WITH QUAKES.AND YOU WANNA FORCE ISRAELIS OFF THEIR GOD GIVIN LAND.YOU GET TORNADOES-TSUNAMIS-HURRICANES THAT FORCE YOUR COUNTRIES CITIZENS OFF THEIR LAND.AND IF YOU STILL INSIST ON DIVIDING JERUSALEM.THEN GOD WILL SEND RUSSIA AGAINST YOU TO NUKE YOUR WORSHIP CITY OF NEW YORK.THEN MAYBE THE POLITICIANS IN AMERICA WILL TAKE THE HINT.YOU TOUCH ISRAEL OR JERUSALEM.YOU GET TOUCHED BY GOD BY JUDGEMENTS.AMERICA ITS TIME TO GET OUTTA THE PEACE PROCESS.AND LET ISRAEL BUILD WERE IT WANTS.PRAY ON THE MOUNT 24 HOURS A DAY-7 DAYS A WEEK.AND LET ISRAEL REBUILD THEIR 3RD TEMPLE.SO THEY CAN HAVE SACRIFICES IMPLIMENTED TO WORSHIP THEIR ONE GOD KING JESUS THEIR JEWISH MESSIAH.
Kerry heads for home empty-handed but undeterred
US secretary of state bags key support from Jordan and Saudi Arabia after four days of regional meetings
January 6, 2014, 2:06 pm
US Secretary of State John Kerry
left the Middle East on Monday without the framework agreement that he
has been promoting as an interim solution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, but buoyed by the knowledge that he obtained Saudi backing for
his peace push.Earlier
in the day Kerry met with Tony Blair, who serves as special envoy for
the Quartet of Regional Peacemakers comprising the United Nations,
European Union, United States, and Russia, AFP reported. The top US
diplomat also convened with the leader of the Israeli opposition, Labor
MK Isaac Herzog.Herzog said he assured Kerry that the majority
of the Knesset, including the opposition, supports reaching a
diplomatic solution but that ensuring security and the rejection of the
Palestinian right of return are central issues.“I stressed that we see
the utmost importance
in the security arrangements that will ensure Israel’s ability to
protect her citizens and the prevention of the right of return of
Palestinian refugees to Israeli territory,” Herzog said.Kerry spent
Sunday jetting around the Middle
East and attempting to shore up support for a US framework plan for
Israeli-Palestinian peace, calling the endeavor a challenge that could
still fall apart.Kerry, meeting in Saudi Arabia with King Abdullah, said
Riyadh would back American efforts to reach a deal between the sides.“I
am grateful that the Arab League as a whole
and Saudi Arabia individually will be significantly involved in helping
build support for this effort,” Kerry said at the Riyadh airport prior
to his departure. “Today his majesty was not just encouraging, but
supported our efforts in the hopes that we can be successful in the days
ahead.”Kerry said after his meeting with the Saudi
leader that Abdullah’s 2002 initiative “has been part of the framework
that we’ve been piecing together — both in inspiration and
substance.”The Saudi leader developed an initiative in
2002 in which the Arab world offered comprehensive peace with Israel in
exchange for a full pullout from all territories it captured in the 1967
Mideast war.The initiative, revolutionary when it was introduced, has
been endorsed by the Arab League and, technically, remains in
effect.“Saudi Arabia’s initiative holds out the
prospect that if the parties could arrive at a peaceful resolution, you
could instantaneously have peace between the 22 Arab nations and 35
Muslim nations, all of whom have said they will recognize Israel if
peace is achieved,” Kerry said.“Imagine how that changes the dynamics of
travel, of business, of education, of opportunity in this region, of
stability. Imagine what peace could mean for trade and tourism, what it
could mean for developing technology and talent, for job opportunities
for the younger generation, for generations in all of these countries,”
Kerry said.Earlier on Sunday, Kerry flew to Amman,
Jordan, and held more than an hour of talks with King Abdullah II and
Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh. In addition to discussing the
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Kerry reportedly raised other regional
issues, including the civil war in Syria, increasing unrest in Iraq, and
the Iranian nuclear program.In a press conference held in Jerusalem on
Sunday morning, Kerry called his trip “a productive couple of days with
very, very intensive talks.” He also said that both Palestinian
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
had made “important… and courageous decisions, difficult decisions,” but
declined comment on the content of those decisions.
Speaking in Jerusalem on Sunday, Kerry likened
the bid, to reach a historic deal between Israel and the Palestinians,
to an enigma.“In the end, all of these core issues fit
together like a mosaic, like a puzzle and you can’t separate out one
piece or another,” he said, adding that “the last pieces may decide to
fall into place, or may fall on the floor, and leave the puzzle
unfinished.”Kerry met several times over the long weekend
with Netanyahu and Abbas, seeking to finalize a framework deal covering
all the core elements of a potential peace treaty, and is set to return
later in the month to continue the effort. He is reportedly urging
Netanyahu to continue talks on the basis of the pre-1967 lines with
adjustments, and urging Abbas to recognize Israel as a “Jewish state.”Beyond these points, too, the two sides are
said to be at odds over most aspects of a permanent accord, notably
including security arrangements, border demarcations, the fate of
Jerusalem and Palestinian refugee demands. There have also been disputes
over who will be released in a final phase of prisoner releases by
Israel of terror convicts. And it is unclear whether the Palestinians
are prepared to extend the current talks beyond their scheduled expiry
date in late April.As of yet, no confirmed concrete details of the framework agreement proposed by the US have come to light. Kerry gains Arab backing for framework peace plan
US secretary of state returning to Jerusalem with key support in pocket after meetings in Amman and Riyadh
January 5, 2014, 8:22 pm
13-The times of Israel
US Secretary of State John Kerry
spent Sunday jetting around the Middle East and attempting to shore up
support for a US framework plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace, calling
the endeavor a challenge that could still fall apart.Kerry, meeting in
Saudi Arabia with King Abdullah, said Riyadh would back American efforts
to reach a deal between the sides.“I am grateful that the Arab League
as a whole
and Saudi Arabia individually will be significantly involved in helping
build support for this effort,” Kerry said at the Riyadh airport prior
to his departure. “Today his majesty was not just encouraging, but
supported our efforts in the hopes that we can be successful in the days
ahead.”Kerry said after his meeting with the Saudi
leader that Abdullah’s 2002 initiative “has been part of the framework
that we’ve been piecing together — both in inspiration and
substance.”The Saudi leader developed an initiative in
2002 in which the Arab world offered comprehensive peace with Israel in
exchange for a full pullout from all territories it captured in the 1967
Mideast war.The initiative, revolutionary when it was introduced, has
been endorsed by the Arab League and, technically, remains in
effect.“Saudi Arabia’s initiative holds out the
prospect that if the parties could arrive at a peaceful resolution, you
could instantaneously have peace between the 22 Arab nations and 35
Muslim nations, all of whom have said they will recognize Israel if
peace is achieved,” Kerry said.
“Imagine how that changes the dynamics of
travel, of business, of education, of opportunity in this region, of
stability. Imagine what peace could mean for trade and tourism, what it
could mean for developing technology and talent, for job opportunities
for the younger generation, for generations in all of these countries,”
Kerry said.Earlier on Sunday, Kerry flew to Amman,
Jordan, and held more than an hour of talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah
II and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh. In addition to discussing the
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Kerry reportedly raised other regional
issues, including the civil war in Syria, increasing unrest in Iraq, and
the Iranian nuclear program.In a press conference held in Jerusalem on
Sunday morning, Kerry called his trip “a productive couple of days with
very, very intensive talks.” He also said that both Palestinian
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
had made “important… and courageous decisions, difficult decisions,” but
declined comment on the content of those decisions.Speaking before taking off from Jerusalem,
Kerry likened the bid, to reach a historic deal between Israel and the
Palestinians, to an enigma.“In the end, all of these core issues fit together like a mosaic, like a
puzzle and you can’t separate out one piece or another,” he said, adding that “the last pieces may decide to fall into place, or may fall on the floor, and leave the puzzle unfinished.”As of yet, no confirmed concrete details of the framework agreement proposed by the US have come to light.Kerry will return to Israel Sunday night and is expected to stay for a few days before returning to Washington.
puzzle and you can’t separate out one piece or another,” he said, adding that “the last pieces may decide to fall into place, or may fall on the floor, and leave the puzzle unfinished.”As of yet, no confirmed concrete details of the framework agreement proposed by the US have come to light.Kerry will return to Israel Sunday night and is expected to stay for a few days before returning to Washington.
Kerry praises ‘intensive’ talks, to return Sunday night
US secretary of state en route to Jordan and Saudia Arabia to brief regional leaders on Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations
January 5, 2014, 8:30 am
1-The Times of Israel
After three days of lengthy
meetings with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem and Ramallah, US
Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Jordan and Saudi Arabia on
Sunday to discuss his efforts to reach Israeli-Palestinian peace, as
well as other regional issues.Kerry
said he would return to Jerusalem Sunday evening, and may stay for
several days before flying back to Washington later in the week, he told
reporters in Jerusalem on Sunday morning.
“This
has been a productive couple of days with very, very intensive talks,”
he said.Addressing skepticism on both sides about the
probability for reaching a final agreement, he added, “These issues are
not easy. If it was easy it would have been resolved a long time ago.
These are complicated issues that involve…the survival of peoples. This
conflict has gone on too long, so positions have hardened. Mistrust
obviously exists at a very high level. So we have to work through that
and around that and over that.”He urged leaders to avoid the spate of
criticism each side has leveled at the other in recent weeks, with
Netanyahu accusing the Palestinian leadership of anti-Jewish incitement,
and Palestinians threatening repeatedly to walk away from the talks
over settlement construction.“Now is not the time to get trapped in the
sort of up-and-down of the day-to-day challenges,” Kerry said. “This
does not lend itself to a daily tick-tock. We don’t have the luxury of
dwelling on the obstacles that we all know could distract us from our
goal. What we need to do is lift our sights and look ahead and keep in
mind the vision of what can come and if we can move forward.“I know
there are those out there on both
sides who question whether peace is possible. I know there is a high
level of cynicism, reservations about the possibilities. But it is clear
to me that we can work to bridge the remaining gaps that do exist,” he
insisted.Kerry said both Abbas and Netanyahu “have
already made important… and courageous decisions, difficult decisions”
in the negotiations.“The path is becoming clearer,” he added, “the
puzzle is becoming more defined, and it is becoming much more apparent
to everybody what the remaining tough choices are, and what the options
are with respect to those choices. But it takes time to work through
these things.A US official told Haaretz over the weekend
that one of the main obstacles holding up the framework deal is each
side’s demand that their reservations over the framework appear as a
separate appendix in the final text, rather than as part of the main
text which details the areas of common ground in the talks.“It is
essential that if there are
reservations, they will be part of the framework, not a separate part.
Otherwise, it would damage the agreement. For example, if the framework
includes a clause stating that the negotiations will be based on the
1967 borders, we cannot agree to a reservation stating that one of the
sides opposes this,” the official said.Any agreed framework would not be
a signed
document, but would address all core issues, including the borders
between Israel and a future Palestine, security, Palestinian refugees,
and conflicting claims to Jerusalem, the official said. The official
also said if the parties agreed on a framework for negotiating a final
peace deal, it might not be made public to avoid exposing the leaders to
political pressures at home.But those pressures are already ramping
up.Jewish Home Knesset faction chair MK Ayelet
Shaked said Sunday morning that her party would not remain in the
coalition if the government adopts a framework agreement “based on the
’67 lines.”“A government that accepts the ’67 lines is a government of
national suicide,” she said.Kerry reiterated long-standing Obama
administration commitments to Israel’s security and Palestinian
independence.“The security of Israel is always paramount in
my mind, in our mind. For 29 years, I had the privilege of serving in
the United States Senate, and I’m proud to say I had a 100% voting
record with respect to those issues concerning Israel. And I don’t
intend to change that now. Israel’s security is critical and the United
States’ relationship is ironclad.”But, he added, “so is our concern for
the
people of Palestine, for the Palestinians and their future. And I can
guarantee all parties that President [Barack] Obama and I are committed
to putting forward ideas that are fair, that are balanced and that
improve the security of all of the people of this region.”He declined to
give details about what
difficult decisions the leaders had made, saying, “We are not going to
negotiate this in public. But I can tell everybody all of the core
issues are on the table.”Kerry’s talks on Sunday with Jordan’s King
Abdullah II and Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah are likely to also touch on
the civil war in Syria, rising violence in Iraq, and Iran’s nuclear
program. Kerry is reportedly to meet next week with Arab League
representatives and discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and
other regional issues.Times of Israel staff and AP contributed to this report. Migrants march on embassies in second day of protests
Asylum seekers call on US, UN, EU and other diplomatic offices to pressure Israel to soften refugee policies
day after the UN’s refugee
agency backed their claims, thousands of African asylum seekers rallied
Monday morning at a handful of foreign embassies in Israel, stepping up a
two-day-old protest against Israeli policies.
The
migrants, who are also taking part in a three-day strike, are angry at
the government’s incarceration rules, which have seen tens of thousands
of them held for long periods in prison facilities in the Negev, and
long delays in processing their refugee applications.“We don’t want to live here for the rest of
our lives. We want basic rights until we can return,” Dawit, an Eritrean
who is one of the leaders of the protest, told Channel 2 on Monday
morning.“I love my country, the land I grew up in. My
family is in Eritrea. But I can’t live there now,” he said, citing his
home country’s political turmoil and repression, including a policy of
forced lifelong military service. “Until I can, I only want Israel to
treat me like a human being.”The migrants, mainly from Sudan and Eritrea,
demonstrated Monday morning in front of embassies and diplomatic offices
of the United States, European Union, France, Canada, Sweden, Britain,
Germany, Italy, the African Union and the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees. The main demonstration took place in front of the American
embassy on Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon Street, where thousands of migrants had
gathered by mid-morning.According to spokespeople for the
demonstrators, they had delivered a letter to US ambassador Dan Shapiro
asking him to use his influence on the Israeli government to bring about
the cancellation of the law allowing their incarceration in the Negev.Israel’s regulations on employing or providing
aid to African migrants can be confusing. The migrants are generally
forbidden from working until they are registered as asylum seekers, but
getting that far in the process can be onerous, critics say.Tel Aviv’s Mayor Ron Huldai urged the
government to face up to the problem, and to allow the migrants to work.
He warned that the friction in his city would lead to violence if the
asylum-seekers’ complaints were not dealt with properly. The government
is “not merely ignoring them, it’s branding them criminals,” the mayor
protested in an Army Radio interview.
Israel’s government says most of the 50-60,000
migrants are not refugees but rather economic migrants, and that they
will not be allowed to stay in Israel.“A small minority of these people are really
refugees,” Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Ofir Akunis
(Likud) insisted on Monday afternoon.“Other countries, including those they’re
turning to, America and European countries, don’t recognize them as
refugees either,” he insisted in a Channel 2 interview.Some 3,000 people marched from Levinsky Park
in South Tel Aviv toward the center of city on Monday morning, before
dispersing to the embassies. Orit Marom, an activist in Assaf, the Aid
Organization for Refugees, said thousands had been expected at the
protests.The protesters called on the world “to help us
in the face of Israel’s harsh policies against us,” according to a
statement released by the protesters.“We will call on the international community
to support our struggle against Israel’s violations of basic human
rights,” the statement added.On Sunday, an estimated 30,000 migrants
participated in a march that began in Tel Aviv’s Levinsky Park and ended
with a demonstration in Rabin Square at which the crowd chanted “No
more prison, no more deportation. We are refugees, we need asylum.”“We know the situation isn’t ideal in any
country,” the protesters wrote in a statement announcing Monday’s
protests. “It’s clear to us that all nations have difficulty absorbing
masses of people, survivors of genocide and war, but with that, the
nations of the world must honor international conventions and respect
human rights.”In Israel, they added, “we don’t get a proper
examination of our asylum requests or recognition of our basic rights
that will allow us to live in dignity. Instead, the Israeli government
sees us as a threat that must be removed quickly. It arrests us in the
streets as though we are criminals, incarcerates us for indefinite
periods, leaves us on the fringes of society without access to basic
rights, and continues to incite against us repeatedly.”
Interior Minister Gideon Saar responded to the
ongoing protest on Monday, repeating the government’s position that
most of the migrants were not refugees.“They are demanding collective recognition as
refugees in order to plant roots in Israel,” he told Army Radio. The
state was checking their requests on a case-by-case basis, he added, and
its work was “showing results. We’re seeing a sharp rise in the number
of infiltrators who are leaving Israel. They understand that the
government is serious, that we are serious.”
Most of the asylum seekers, he concluded, “are labor migrants, and the state of Israel is not their home.”
But the protests were being heard
internationally this week. The UN’s refugee agency called on Sunday for
Israel to reform its policies toward African asylum seekers, saying the
involuntary detentions and rules treat them as criminals.In a statement, the UNHCR, the UN Refugee
Agency, criticized the conditions at the Holot detention center in the
Negev and appealed to policy makers to consider alternative measures to
deal with the asylum seekers.The statement said Israel’s policies were
sowing fear, and Jerusalem should stop defining the refugees as ‘asylum
seekers’ and grant them protection.In their statement Monday, the protesters
called for “the direct involvement [of UNHCR] in examining asylum
requests,” and for “the nations of the world [to] verify that the
government of Israel respects its international commitment, to tell
[Israel] that it is possible to [behave] otherwise, that it is only
right to treat refugees as human beings, that international laws
establish the standards for dealing with refugees. Don’t allow the
government of Israel to repeatedly violate our basic human rights, its
own commitment under international law, and basic standards of human
decency.”
Marissa Newman contributed to this report.
Hateful anti-Israel education shows PA’s true colors, minister charges
Palestinians accused of preaching anti-Semitism, including ‘elements of admiration for Hitler’; PM says true peace requires ending incitement
January 5, 2014, 4:32 pm
0-The times of Israel
Israel’s
government accused the
Palestinian Authority Sunday of educating children to seek the
destruction of Israel and look to Adolf Hitler as a role model.At
the same time Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu connected Palestinian
refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state to what he said was
continuing Palestinian incitement.“True peace cannot exist without
stopping the
incitement against Israel, and educating for peace,” Netanyahu said in a
statement. “The refusal of the Palestinians to recognize Israel as the
state of the Jewish people and declare the end of national demands –
this is the root of the conflict.”Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval
Steinitz
pointed to a number of cases of anti-Israel statements as proof that
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was not trying to make
peace.“As it talks of peace in the United Nations,
and in the international forums, it teaches for the destruction of the
State of Israel and the expulsion or destruction of the Jewish people,”
Steinitz told Israel Radio. “It is an entire system of hatred and one
that shows elements of admiration of Adolf Hitler as someone who knew
how to deal with the Jewish people.”Steinitz, whose ministry publishes
an “incitement index” meant to track Palestinian statements against
Israel, presented new findings on the subject to the cabinet Sunday.Steinitz’s
presentation focused on denials of
Israel’s right to exist; emphasis on Israel’s inevitable disappearance;
depiction of Jews as subhuman; and statements that all forms of
resistance — including terror — are legitimate.Among presented findings
were posts on Abbas’s
Presidential Guards’ Facebook page that showed maps of Israel labeled
as Palestine.Another post used as evidence, taken from the
official Fatah Facebook page and the website of its military wing from
November 2013, threatens to kidnap soldiers and fire rockets at
Israel.“We are talking about very serious things and it is about time
that we stopped burying our heads in the sand,” Steinitz said.During the
cabinet meeting, Netanyahu backed up Steinitz’s assertions.“To my
regret, this incitement is continuing,”
Netanyahu said. “Opposition to recognizing the Jewish state and our
right to be here is continuing. We are not foreigners in Jerusalem, Beit
El or Hebron. I reiterate that in my view, this is the root of both the
conflict and the incitement: the nonrecognition of this basic
fact.”Speaking at the same cabinet meeting, Justice
Minister Tzipi Livni, who also serves as Israel’s chief peace
negotiator, emphasized that the high levels of incitement must not be
used as a pretext to terminate the peace process with the Palestinian
leadership. Instead, the justice minister said, Israel must work toward
reaching an agreement in order to ensure it stays both a Jewish and a
democratic state.The incitement against Israel taking place
within Palestinian society, and especially within the Palestinian
education system, may result in extreme consequences and should serve as
an incentive for the Jewish state to advance a two-state solution in
order to separate from the Palestinian people, Livni said.
Opposition leader Isaac Herzog (Labor) told
Israel Radio on Sunday that while he doesn’t take the incitement
lightly, he rejects the notion that the hateful speech reflects the
Palestinian Authority’s point of view.Herzog called on the prime minister to make
historic decisions and noted that he wouldn’t be surprised if a final
agreement sees Palestinian government buildings located in East
Jerusalem neighborhoods.
Some Israeli leaders have long pointed to
Palestinian incitement, in education and the media, as evidence that
there is no peace partner.Last week Netanyahu, recalling Palestinian celebrations over a prisoner release
earlier in the week, told Kerry he was skeptical over Ramallah’s
commitment to peace.“I know that you are committed to peace; I
know that I am committed to peace; but, unfortunately, given the actions
and words of Palestinian leaders, there’s growing doubt in Israel that
the Palestinians are committed to peace,” Netanyahu said during a joint
press conference on Thursday.On Monday, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon
said terror attacks were rooted in Palestinian indoctrination and Abbas
was not actually seeking peace.“They are only trying to get what they
can and
then they will continue,” he said, charging that the biggest problem
preventing reconciliation is the continued education supporting
anti-Israel terrorism within Palestinian society.“It all begins with
education,” Ya’alon said.Catalonia urges EU leaders to endorse 'legal' referendum
03.01.14 @ 09:29-EUOBSERVER
By Benjamin Fox
BRUSSELS - Catalonia's President, Artur
Mas, has written to EU leaders and world powers seeking their support
for a vote on independence from Spain.The appeal comes amid strong
resistance to his plan to hold a referendum in November.Spain's
governing centre-right Partido Popular and the opposition PSOE have both
said it would breach the Spanish constitution.When Mas told media last
month that separatist parties had agreed on
the referendum questions and on its "consultative" rather than legally
binding nature, the Spanish justice minister, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon,
said: "The poll will not be held."In an interview published on Wednesday
(1 January), Spain's economy
minister, Luis de Guindos, added: "There is no national investor who
considers that there may be a secessionist process in Catalonia at this
time."But for his part, Mas believes he has both the mandate and the
legal means to secure a vote.Separatist parties dominated snap elections
in Catalonia in November,
with politicians who favour the region's “right to decide” taking some
two thirds of the 135 seats in the Catalan parliament."Contrary to some
reports, there are a number of legal and
constitutional options which allow this referendum to take place in
Catalonia," Mas said in a letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel,
which was sent in December, but made public on Thursday."I am confident I
can rely on you to encourage the peaceful,
democratic, transparent, and European process to which I and a vast
majority of the Catalan people are fully committed," he added.He also
said that Catalonia - which accounts for more than 20 percent
of Spain's GDP - is wealthy enough to be a net contributor to the EU
budget.He sent similar notes to the EU's 26 other capitals and to 45
leaders of non-EU states.The Catalan referendum, if it happens, is to
take place less than two
months after Scottish voters say whether they want to leave the UK.As
with Scotland, it is unclear whether an independent Catalonia would be
required to re-apply for EU membership.If it does, it might make
Catalans more reluctant to pursue independence.Currently, opinion polls
indicate that around 55 percent of Catalans want to leave Spain.
EU leaders have so far remained silent on whether they would endorse the move.But Mas did not send letters to the EU institutions, which have already taken sides.In responses to parliamentary questions by MEPs, the European Commission has said Catalonia would have to leave the EU before trying to get back in.
EU leaders have so far remained silent on whether they would endorse the move.But Mas did not send letters to the EU institutions, which have already taken sides.In responses to parliamentary questions by MEPs, the European Commission has said Catalonia would have to leave the EU before trying to get back in.
Pope Francis confirms May visit to Israel, West Bank, Jordan
Catholic leader announces itinerary, including stops in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Amman
January 5, 2014, 3:58 pm
1
Pope Francis on Sunday announced long-awaited plans to travel to Israel, the West Bank and Jordan in the spring.The
visit, scheduled for May 24-26, will be his first trip to the Holy Land
since taking office, though he has visited before, and the only foreign
trip announced so far for 2014.Addressing a Vatican crowd gathered in the
rain for his weekly Sunday blessing, Francis said he would be visiting
Bethlehem and Jerusalem. He would also travel to Amman.Francis’s trip will commemorate the 50th
anniversary of the historic meeting between Pope Paul VI and Orthodox
Christian spiritual leader Ecumenical Patriarch Atengora, in Jerusalem.
Current patriarch Bartholomew I will join Pope Francis in Jerusalem in
late May, where they will celebrate Mass together at the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre, where most Christians believe Jesus was crucified and
buried.In Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Ministry Yigal
Palmor said Israel was excited by the visit. “He’s very welcome in
Israel and will be greeted as warmly as his predecessors were,” he said.On Sunday, the Palestinian news agency Wafa
said President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the visit and said he hoped it
would “contribute to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people
who aspire for freedom, justice and independence.”Jordan’s Royal Palace said the Amman leg of
Francis’ visit — on May 24 — would mark a “significant milestone for
brotherhood and forgiveness between Muslims and Christians and
consolidates the message of peace.”Despite the geopolitical backdrop of the trip,
the Catholic Church in the Holy Land insisted that the visit was aimed
“mainly at spreading and promoting love, cooperation and peace among all
inhabitants of the region.”The trip will mark the new pope’s second visit
to the Holy Land. He arrived in Israel in 1973, just as the Yom Kippur
War broke out. As The Times of Israel revealed in April,
the young Jorge Mario Bergoglio spent six days confined by the conflict
to his Jerusalem hotel, where he studied the Letters of Saint Paul to
the Corinthians.President Shimon Peres first invited Francis
to Israel immediately after his election as pope, calling on him to
visit as a spiritual — not a political — leader. “The sooner you visit,
the better; in these days, a new opportunity is being created for peace
and your arrival could contribute significantly to increasing the trust
and belief in peace,” Peres told the pope at the time.Last October,
Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein
(Likud) met Pope Francis in the Vatican and invited him to visit Israel
and the Knesset.Francis reportedly replied emphatically to Edelstein,
“I’ll come! I’ll come!”Both of the pontiff’s immediate predecessors
visited Israel — Benedict XVI in 2009 and John Paul II in 2000.
01/ 5/2014 VATICAN INSIDER
Pope Francis will make "a pilgrimage to the Holy Land” next May
![[Translate to English:] Gerusalemme](http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/index.php?eID=tx_cms_showpic&file=fileadmin%2Fuser_upload%2Fnews%2Fgerusalemme_foto.jpg&width=800m&height=600&bodyTag=%3Cbody%20bgColor%3D%22%23ffffff%22%20style%3D%22margin%3A0%3B%22%3E&wrap=%3Ca%20href%3D%22javascript%3Aclose%28%29%3B%22%3E%20%7C%20%3C%2Fa%3E&md5=54216d21def58cc61c43db0241df48e5 "[Translate to English:] Gerusalemme")
Jerusalem
Pope Francis said the main purpose of this “pilgrimage of prayer” is to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic meeting between Pope Paul VI and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Athenagoras.
Gerard O’Connell RomePope Francis will “make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land” from 24-26 May, and visit Amman, Bethlehem and Jerusalem. He made the announcement on January 5, after greeting and praying with tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Square at midday on this rainy Sunday.“In the climate of joy, typical of this Christmas season, I wish to announce that from 24 to 26 May next, I will make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, God willing!”, he stated. The crowd applauded enthusiastically.He explained that “the main purpose” of this “pilgrimage of prayer” is “to commemorate the historic meeting between Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras, which took place on 5 January, exactly 50 years ago today.”Last March, Patriarch Bartholomew attended the Pope’s inauguration and then invited Francis to join him in celebrating that 50th anniversary of the first encounter between a Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople since 1054. Francis agreed, and now will make a three-day visit to the Holy Land, just as Paul VI did in 1964. It will be his second journey outside Italy as Pope.He said he will visit Amman, Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Then, seeking to underline the profoundly religious nature of this journey – which, significantly, he called “a pilgrimage of prayer” - Pope Francis announced that an “ecumenical encounter” would be held at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem together with representatives of all the Christian Churches of Jerusalem and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew 1. The basilica is built over the site that Christians down the centuries have recognizes as the place of the death and resurrection of Jesus, but in that revered place too one can see clearly the divisions in the Christian family. Hence, the ecumenical encounter that will be celebrated there during the Pope’s visit is an important sign of hope that such sad divisions can be overcome.Speaking from the study window of the papal apartment (which he does not use), the Jesuit Pope did not give any other details of his program for this pilgrimage, but Church sources say they expect him to pray at the site of the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist in Jordan, and to celebrate Mass in Bethlehem where Jesus was born.Pope Francis concluded his announcement by asking everyone to pray for this pilgrimage. “As of now I ask you to pray for this pilgrimage”, he said. He also asked all present to pray for him and his ministry as Successor of Peter.
01/ 3/2014 VATICAN INSIDER
Israel/Vatican: 20 years of diplomatic relations
2014 will see another milestone in Vatican-Israel relations
Diplomacy and interreligious dialogue continue striding onwards despite occasional hurdles
By Lisa Palmieri-BilligDecember 30th marked the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Fundamental Agreement which initiated diplomatic relations between Israel and the Holy See. A sentence in the Preamble reflects the extraordinary nature of the two decades of diplomacy between the City-State representing over a billion Catholics in the world and the State representing nearly 6 million Jews: “Aware of the unique nature of the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people, and of the historic process of reconciliation and growth in mutual understanding and friendship between Catholics and Jews….
The precepts of “Nostra Aetate”, the 1965 Vatican II document that ushered in a new era of dialogue and respect, ending nearly two millennia of erroneous interpretations of the New Testament that repeatedly led to contempt and tragic persecutions of Jews, penetrates not only the Catholic-Jewish dialogue but has also created a special atmosphere between diplomats of the two States.2014 will see another milestone in Vatican-Israel relations: the visit of Pope Francis to the Holy Land planned for May. Israel’s Ambassador to the Holy See Zion Evrony states confidently that “Pope Francis is a friend of the Jewish People, and I am sure that his visit in Israel will further strengthen the relations between Israel and the Holy See.”
“Today’s relations between the State of Israel and the Holy See are based on mutual respect and dialogue” he says, “and although disagreements and challenges remain, we have made significant progress over the past three decades. This will be an important year for a number of reasons: the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations, the expected visit of Pope Francis in Israel and the possibility of concluding and signing the Economic, Financial Agreement.”Optimism prevails on the official, diplomatic level, and the flow of cultural/educational exchange helps create new generations free of prejudice. Yet, occasionally, ancient wounds, misinterpretations and stereotypes still re-emerge.A recent example is the upset created by the journalist-priest, Filippo Di Giacomo in an article published by ”Il Venerdi” of “La Repubblica December 27. He accuses Israel’s political class of “near-sighted vision and petty calculations”, inferring however, that the Israeli people are much more open to good relations with Christians than their political leaders. He also accuses “a group of Italian Jews” for placing a text (now modified) critical of Pius XII beneath his photo at Yad Vashem, finding that this hardly reflects the true “Israeli” viewpoint.Moreover, “Israeli Foreign Ministry officials” he says, made “coarse and false accusations against Benedict XVIth a few days after his election”. But this time, when Pope Bergoglio comes, things will be different, Di Giacomo holds, because these officials will be restrained by the large community of Israelis of Argentinian origin who support him…Immediate reactions came from the online daily of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities ( UCEI) ”Pagine Ebraiche”, with an animated ongoing discussion spurred by comments from the Chief Rabbi of Rome, Riccardo Di Segni, and a former Israeli ambassador to the EU, Sergio Minerbi.Referring to Pius XII, Rabbi Di Segni said “Italian Jews know how to distinguish between the clergy that helped them, and the actions of Pius XII. The official silence of the Pope while Jews were being deported by the Nazi-Fascists is still an open wound for Italian Jewry.”Ambassador Minerbi said that the “poisonous” comments of Di Giacomo “should surprise no one….they are based on a basic incomprehension between the two States, since in fact the Vatican has never approved the existence of Israel”.He points out discrepancies in the relationship that carry over even into the speeches of Pope Francis. Minerbi recalls a Meditation on the Acts of the Apostles (13, 44-52) delivered by Francis at the Domus Sanctae Marthae Chapel on Saturday, April 27. Quoting the homily from memory, the former ambassador says Francis called for Catholics to become “an open community and not a closed community like that of the Jews who, when the soldiers came and said, ‘We have seen him with our eyes, he has arisen’, they replied, take this money and get out of here. Because they wanted to solve all problems with money. This clearly anti-Semitic sermon (even if it is taken from the Gospels) did not call forth any Jewish reaction out of respect for the Pontiff” he concludes.It is dutiful to note however, that in his introduction to this sermon (published by the Osservatorio Romano on April 28), Pope Bergoglio specified that he (and the Acts) defined the community as “ ‘the closed-minded Jews’, because not all Jews were such”. In other words, there was no intention to generalize to include all Jews of that time.Regarding this discussion, Marco Morselli, President of the Rome Jewish-Christian Friendship Association, issued a declaration to “Vatican Insider” as well as to “Pagine Ebraiche.”“It must be said first of all”, he commented, “that this Pope, who is particularly loved and respected by Jews all over the world and especially by those of his native Argentina -- who co-authored with Rabbi Abraham Skorka a dialogue-turned-book on the key issues of our time -- can certainly not be accused of anti-Semitism or anti-Judaism. Commenting on the passage from the Acts of the Apostles the Pope was clearly referring to the present time and to open and closed communities in Christianity.” “However, unfortunately” Prof. Morselli continued, “every time one reads passages that emphasize the contrast between ‘the Jews’ and the early Christians (who, also being Jews, are considered as ‘the good Jews’), one faces the danger of reinforcing a negative image of the entire Jewish people of yesterday and today.”Morselli then refers to an editorial by Eugenio Scalfari also published by “La Repubblica” on December 29. “Reasoning in terms of the purest Marcionism, he contrasts the Jewish or ‘Mosaic’ God to the ‘Christian’ God, stating furthermore that Mosaic law does not include any rights or freedoms, only servitude.”Rabbi Di Segni too expressed dismay over this editorial which, he says, serves “the old, banal Marcionist anti-Judaism in a secular wrapping. Marcion was the heretic who contrasted the God of Revenge of the ‘Old’ Testament with the God of Love of the New.”“Years ago”, continued Di Segni, “when ‘La Repubblica’ published a front-page headline entitled ‘The Revenge of Israel’ , we were not wrong in seeing in this the signs of theological prejudice that went far beyond political criticism.”Marco Morselli stresses the ever-present need to further disseminate ‘Nostra Aetate’ and all subsequent documents promulgated by the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with Jews.“They provide a mandatory guide for Jewish-Christian dialogue: reading and interpreting the Christian Sacred Texts in their historical context, so as to avoid repeating negative stereotypes that can otherwise so easily filter out of the New Testament” he says.“When elements of the past resurface and misunderstandings arise… they can become an incentive to work even harder to repair the damage caused by a lingering ‘Supersessionist, or Replacement Theology’ and ‘the teaching of contempt’ (as Jules Isaac termed the volume he presented to John XXIII in their historic encounter in 1960.)”Morselli criticizes the role played by the various media representatives in the ongoing controversy. “While don Filippo Di Giacomo’s opinions are very questionable” he says, “it does not appear he is expressing the Holy See’s official position or even the Pope’s personal thoughts. One therefore wonders what was the point of asking the Chief rabbi of Rome and Ambassador Minerbi – described as one of the greatest experts in Israeli-Vatican relations – for their opinions. Is there not a risk of giving formal importance to words that do not have it, with the possible result of reigniting controversy over complex and sensitive issues?”“Does Don Di Giacomo believe that accusing Israel of ‘short-sighted visions and petty calculations’ against the Vatican is the best way to prepare for Pope Francis’ pilgrimage to Israel?”Fortunately, however, it seems that the higher echelons of diplomacy and religious authority on both shores of the Mediterranean are not tuned in to these problematic rumblings of discontent.
01/ 4/2014 VATICAN INSIDER
Pope abolishes honorary title of monsignor for diocesan priests under the age of 65
Vatican City
