ARABS & JEWS CLASH IN ACRE

I was in Acre/Akko in late September for an entire day. It was quiet and peaceful, and there were no signs of any brooding tempers. There are a number of Christian Arabs in the Old City of St. Jean D'Acre, which was also the capital of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem for nearly a century (13th). I truly hope peace shall again return. But this sudden violence is so typical of the Middle East, and demonstrates the uncertainity of living and traveling there. This is also a visible reminder that in Israel and the West Bank, it is definitely not always the Arabs who are the only ones to blame for violence (I refer to Jewish Ultra-Orthodox Settlers, specifically). [I will upload my Acre photos soon to my Photobucket site.]

Angry and confused, Acre residents wonder how everyday life will go on

By Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondent

Outgoing prime minister Ehud Olmert called for an end to the violence between Jewish and Arab residents of Acre, saying that there was a feeling that the population of the city was being "held hostage by a group of extremists." Olmert spoke at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday morning, hours after the car of a Jewish Acre resident was torched before dawn as violence between the city's Jewish and Arab residents entered a fifth consecutive day. However, at press time, the violence appeared to be diminishing, and although tension and anger were still palpable, attempts were being made to return to normalcy. Although police remained on alert, the large police contingent that worked to separate Jewish and Arab protesters had time to rest, and the numbers of police seen on the streets had been drastically reduced.
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So far, more than 54 people from both groups have been arrested for involvement in the riots. Some were released and others were remanded for 24 to 48 hours. Police said indictments have been formulated against four people, both Jews and Arabs. Northern District Police commander Maj. Gen. Shimon Koren said police would deal severely with rioters of both groups. In the housing project in the eastern part of town, it was easy to identify the Arab apartments by the damage they had suffered, with uniformed police stationed near some of the undamaged apartments. Meetings were underway all day at City Hall, where the education authorities decided to hold school classes on Monday as usual. Mayor Shimon Lankri on Sunday said in a published statement to residents that events in the city had crossed red lines, the likes of which had not been seen in Acre. "The entire law enforcement system and the municipal authorities do not intend to ignore these events," he wrote.

Read the rest here, including video coverage.

ORTHODOX HIERARCHS MEET IN CONSTANTINOPLE

Orthodox leaders pledge greater Church unity in Istanbul meeting

The leaders of world's 250 million Orthodox Christians pledged Sunday to work for greater church unity by overcoming internal differences through a spirit of love and peace.
Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew had invited leaders to come to Istanbul to boost unity among a faith community riven by conflicting loyalties and power struggles.
Meeting in Istanbul to mark the second millennium since the birth of St. Paul, clerics representing 14 Orthodox churches voiced concern that the global financial crisis was widening a gap between the rich and poor.
Ending a three-day summit, the Orthodox leaders also declared their desire to advance dialogue with other Christian churches as well as the interfaith dialogue with Jews and Muslims.
A declaration issued after Sunday prayers said the Orthodox churches had reaffirmed their "unswerving position and obligation to safeguard the unity of the Orthodox Church ... by settling any problems that arise from time to time in relations among us with a spirit of love and peace."

Read the rest here.

Read the Conference Declaration here.

YAZIDIS IN IRAQ: STRUGGLING TO HOLD ON

"We have nobody to ask for help," Hammo said, "except God and the American Army." Really, doesn't this speak for all of the religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq? Yazidis worship the Lucifer, the Peacock Angel, hence the accusation by some (notably Sunni Muslims) that they worship the devil. While I do not sanction their beliefs, neither do I call them devil-worshippers. They are a peaceful people, and ancient in their antecedents.

Followers of an ancient faith are caught in Iraq's fault lines
By Campbell Robertson
International Herald Tribune

Published: October 14, 2008

QAHTANIYA, Iraq: When an American platoon rolled into this dusty town in the country's northwest corner, a few miles from the Syrian border, the soldiers were greeted by dozens of people holding out pink and yellow Post-it notes. The notes appeared so quickly it seemed that people must have been carrying them at all times, just in case. On each was a name, written carefully in the Roman alphabet, and each came with a question: Can you tell me where this person is?

On the evening of Aug. 14, 2007, four truck bombs exploded here and in the nearby towns of Jazeera and Azair, killing 313 people and wounding 704, local officials said. Nearly 400 houses were destroyed in the attack, the largest coordinated bombing of the Iraq war. The explosions were so huge that dozens of those closest to the bombs vanished without a trace, leaving their relatives to wonder, more than a year later, where they could have gone.

"We just want to know if they're alive or dead," said Ismail Zandin Jindo, 70, who was holding out two wrinkled birth certificates.

The people here are Yazidis, adherents of an ancient religion with roots in Zoroastrianism. Iraqi and American officials pinned responsibility for the bombings on Sunni Arab extremists, who consider the Yazidis devil worshipers.

Read the rest here.

HINDUTVA PERSECUTING CHRISTIANS IN INDIA

Hinduism vs. Christianity in India
By Somini Sengupta
International Herald Tribune

Published: October 13, 2008

BOREPANGA, India: The family of Solomon Digal was summoned by neighbors to what serves as a public square in front of the village tea shop.

They were ordered to get on their knees and bow before the portrait of a Hindu preacher. They were told to turn over their Bibles, hymnals and the two brightly colored calendar images of Christ that hung on their wall. Then, Digal, 45, a Christian since childhood, was forced to watch his Hindu neighbors set the items on fire.

"'Embrace Hinduism, and your house will not be demolished,"' Digal recalled being told on that Wednesday afternoon in September.

"'Otherwise, you will be killed, or you will be thrown out of the village."'

India, the world's most populous democracy and officially a secular nation, is today haunted by a stark assault on one of its fundamental freedoms. Here in eastern Orissa State, riven by six weeks of religious clashes, Christian families like the Digals say they are being forced to abandon their faith in exchange for their safety.

The forced conversions come amid widening attacks on Christians here and in at least five other states across the country, as India prepares for national elections next spring.

Read the rest here.

CHRISTIANS FLEEING MOSUL AFTER TARGETED KILLINGS

Christians fleeing Mosul after targeted killings
By Erica Goode and Suadad Al-Salhy
International Herald Tribune
Published: October 10, 2008

BAGHDAD: Hundreds of Christians are fleeing Mosul after a string of killings that appear to be singling out the minority group in the northern city, where many had sought refuge from persecution in other parts of Iraq.
Since late September, at least 11 and perhaps as many as 14 Christians have been killed in Mosul, according to government officials and humanitarian groups. The victims include a doctor, an engineer, two builders, two businessmen and a 15-year-old boy, who was gunned down in front of his home. In some cases, there have been two or three killings on the same day.
A pharmacist was killed Friday by a man who pretended to be an undercover police officer and asked for the pharmacist's identification card, said Khisroo Koran, deputy governor of Nineveh Province, of which Mosul is the capital.
The attacks coincide with an angry dispute over the Iraqi Parliament's decision to drop a provision of the provincial elections law that ensured political representation for Christians and other minorities, before passing the legislation on Sept. 24. To protest Parliament's action, Christians held demonstrations in Nineveh Province - where about 250,000 Christians live, about 50,000 of them in Mosul - and in Baghdad.

Read the rest here.