Climate crisis and finite resources policy are subordinate to economic greed/growth

 Economic, foreign and defence/security policy are worsening the climate horrors ("2023 the hottest year on record" - Copernicus Deputy Director, Dr Samantha Burgess, https://climate.copernicus.eu/) and worsening the divisions between Muslims and the other, more united, two children of Abraham, Jews and Christians.

Economic policy is all about the expansion of exploiting finite fossil fuels to rush humanity towards the Gadarene dash to the cliff edge or the metaphorical 'lemming's.

Economic policy is about expanding our comfort and well-being regardless of a fast warming world from ever more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that heats more than air.  Known since Foote and Tyndall did their research in the 1850s - the founders of climate science.

Foreign, defence and security policy (all violence is terror) has reinforced the traditional Christian/Jewish West to have the upper hand in the world that has always been at the expense of the poor South who live more sustainably and tread more lightly on the planet.

Our important, ferocious ally through its direct violence and, later pre-emptive wars since the 1940s has brought them land with only Gaza given back in 2005.  Since then it has been tightly controlled by Israel and Egypt by land and sea to make it the world's biggest and most densely populated prison/refugee camp for over two million people.  Two million but fast declining as every day of the war lasts.

A decent and civilised reaction to the 7 October atrocity would have been a counter-terrorism action to release the hostages, close and destroy the Hamas tunnels instead of wringing their hands in deep sorrow for over 10,000 entirely innocent civilians killed by Israel who had nothing to do with the Hamas attack and simply wanted more of the pre 7 October uncivilised, unacceptable conditions they were living in then.

Israel is breaking every rule in every book

It is a most cruel and disproportionate form of revenge for Israel to spend 3 months demolishing the homes of Palestinians in Gaza with families still inside them. Especially when none of them had anything to do with the October 7 atrocity and, anyway wanted no one hurt in this way or, any other way.

It breaks Israel's own Hebrew Scriptures that make clear that revenge must be limited to an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth kind of retribution. 

It ends up with the Palestinians who are left alive in Gaza even angrier with Israel. And so the hatred never ends.

Israel has not learnt a thing from the real 9/11 in 2001. And, ignored Biden's warnings over NOT overreacting as the West did at that time.

Who is the Big Bad Wolf?

Posted bcc to the select few.  For your edification, elucidation and education but delete if not impressed!

VERY BAD NEIGHBOURS indeed!

Trauma for Israel with 4,500 rockets from Gaza, said Prof Gerald Steinberg.  Presenter, Matt Frei drily observed, “I was in Gaza and it was traumatic to see 12 storey apartment blocks reduced to one storey with entire families dying within them.”

Gerald was on LBC radio last Thursday morning, 3 June 2021.  He was eloquent, self-assured, easily able to demolish every pertinent point put to him.  Above all, he shared the State of Israel's comfortable stance of sitting pretty with Israel and the rich West in the dominant, all-powerful position as top dog.  In other words, nothing has changed in 73 years of the endless cycle of asymmetric warfare and death for one side only (not quite).  And they don’t want anything to change.  An inability to live in justice and peace with their neighbour because they always come out of it best - indeed victorious with their neighbour vanquished.

However, it reminds me of the parable of the Good Samaritan.  Hatred between Jews and Samaritans lasted for 800 years.  The present hatred between Jews and Palestinians has only lasted 73 years.  In that story, Jesus, a Jew told a story putting his own side down and making the hero, shockingly, his nation's very worst enemy - a Samaritan!

Could the Jewish Jesus be speaking to both sides today, especially to his own tribe and tongue?  Wanting his own people to be good neighbours like the Samaritan and NOT like the robbers easily beating up the man of whom we know nothing.  But, could the man stand for any victim of war, of aggression, of environmental degradation and of man’s inhumanity to man?  Could the beaten-up man even stand for the Gazans who are losing out, big time with nothing ever being done to stop their slaughter and loss of human decency, dignity and of land?

Can Israel change from robbing the Gazans and Palestinians of everything, even life itself for some, to becoming more like the Good Samaritan?

Can the Big Powerful Wealthy Magnificent Seven, actually be the G7 Good Samaritan to sort out the seven decades of stalemate, injustice, oppression and loss of land for the People With Nothing - and nothing to lose?

 

Tim Weller   I am seeking to instil some urgency into how changes in transport, jobs and housing policy can reduce the impact of human-caused climate breakdown and postpone Attenborough's "collapse of civilisations" and "extinction of much of the natural world" and "time is running out" warnings (at COP 24, December 2018 - over two years ago and nothing has changed, apart from the climates of the world!).

 

My manifesto is for more sensible, cost-effective and easier ways to reduce congestion and pollution.  Fareless, electric buses for ALL; not only for the few, like me!  To free up road space for essential users.  Paid for by abandoning anymore Metro and Sprint schemes.  Called, Regional Fare-Free Public Transport for ALL that I have had for 13 years!

 

My manifesto (for Chancellor!) is for a considerable income hike for all NHS and care workers receiving wages and a lesser rise for those in receipt of monthly salaries paying the basic rate of income tax, only.  Pay freeze for the wealthy rest.

 

28 Hunnington Cres  Halesowen  B63 3DJ

0121 550 9446;  0791 380 4363

BLOG: TRAINS BACK ON THE TRACKS at http://timweller1.blogspot.com/

 

MY PHOTOS: what you see described by one person as 'bizarre'; another called it 'bonkers':

Wasted 56 Kms from Stourbridge Jct to Burton on Trent on the ready built, but only half used, 120 Kms Worcester to Derby principal mainline railway:

 

Since the 1980s, the intention remains to fell these trees for an embankment/viaduct for the Metro tram when, 600m away, is the half-finished, half-used, principal mainline railway that needs finishing and not wasted, unused and even destroyed in places by Metro:

6 glorious white trees.jpg

 

When the 6 lane motorway opened in Dec 2003 with private money, it was half the estimated price per Km of Dudley tram construction that breaks up the 120 Kms intercity railway between Worcester and Derby. 

M6 Toll banner 01.jpg

 

17 years have passed for metal thieves to pinch the up line.   It is taking an eternity - and more - to get the trains back because of Metro trams

M6 Toll 03.jpg

 

MISSION STATEMENT:

TRAINS returned to finish the 120 Kms ("of national strategic significance") railway on the 50 Kms without the "bus on rails" trams on 6 Kms.

The disparity chasm between Jewish and Arab Israelis

The attempted ethnic cleansing of the mainly Palestinian area of Sheikh Jarrah in Eastern Jerusalem and the violent invasion of the Al-Aqsa Mosque has stimulated an enormous resistance of the Israeli Arab population and Palestinians in the Gaza and the West Bank. This has in turn triggered international resistance in support for the Palestinians from across the world in mass demonstrations and grassroots political mobilisations. These mobilisations have begun to change part of the reporting in the establishment media, BBC, ITV and Sky News. There is now some reporting of the deep racist inequality in Israel.

Arabs are not allowed to live in most towns in Israel (backed by Israeli law, just as the white areas under South African Apartheid was similarly enforced by law), the funding of primary schools in Jewish areas is often three times that in Arab areas, Palestinian children are subject to military law and can be interrogated in the absence of their parents, Jewish children are subject to only civil law etc. 

This systematic bias of the British press against the Palestinian cause can be illustrated by the low key coverage of the brutal invasion of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. What would their response be if the Iranian army invaded one of the Synagogues in Tehran?

from 7 June 2021 Stop the War Coalition email - Stuart Richardson?

Gaza last week; Belarus this.

Last week, the West killed 248 Gazans of whom 65 were children; and the Gazans killed 12 Israelis.

This week, again, all hell has broken out with very real shock horror over the hi-jacking of a passenger plane to detain a Belarus opposition leader and journalist.

I kind of feel that there has been more reaction to these stunning events than yet more unequal slaughter in the Holy Land.

Asymetric warfare last week; asymetric reaction this week.

Antisemitism from 2016

 29 April 2016 from John Davison:

If ‘the establishment’ were genuinely concerned about the awful treatment of European Jews, why was there not proper compensation at the time?  Seemed to be an endorsement of transferring people to another territory.

Now Gaza is excused.

SELF: How very true.  War crimes in 2014 were excused because it was our friend and ally who did them.  And our side has been the experts in such things in every single year since, at least, 4 August 1914 (centuries of empire building and ruling the waves by force before then).  Gaza was graciously ‘given’ to the Palestinians as their unofficial state in order, it seems, for the Israelis to take over more and more of the West Bank of Judea and Samaria with a little less troublesome conscience.

In 1948, the Jews were given Palestine and renamed it Israel.  Ever since, Jews from all over the world have been relocating there.  And still relocating to this day into more and more of everything except Gaza.

But it is anti-Semitism for one person to suggest, the very far-fetched, totally impractical and most outlandish notion that Israel should ever be relocated to the USA.  Do the Jews and Arabs of Israel (and the press, media and politicians of the UK) have no sense of humour?  What is the matter with them?

INCIDENTALLY: In Hebrew the meaning of the name Israel is: May God prevail. He struggles with God. God perseveres; contends. In the Bible when Jacob was in his nineties as a token of blessing God changed his name to Israel.  (source: the Great, good God Google)

This is not a hundred miles from the Arab word, ‘intifada’, meaning struggle or ‘to shake off’.      Tim Weller

Is Christian discipleship meant to embrace non-violence, justice and actually doing what Christ taught?

Doing our duty to Queen and Country; doing total discipleship to our God, JC1

Thinking about our nation's recent military interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria, is there one verse in one of Paul's letters that has a bearing on those trouble spots?  And another as, perhaps, a slight corrective to that one?  What could I be thinking of?!

What would be the mind of Christ in those situations?

How then does that apply to our own Christian discipleship?  Should it affect how we vote, how we write to or, even visit, our MEPs, MPs and councillors?

Hi Tim,

Thanks for all these thoughts on walks etc - we will look forward to seeing you by 9am Friday - we will bring our own lunch and so be ready for the off.

re: your thought for the day, your question about the 'mind of Christ' is a really good one; unfortunately He doesnt offer any soundbites on Afghanistan, Iraq, the Labour leadership etc!!!! (No soundbites but much teaching in the Gospels, Acts and in Paul's letters, don't you think, Peter?)  So we have to rely on the big picture of scripture as a whole I think.  Both the Old Testament and the gospels were written during tumultuous times politically and socially  from slavery in Egypt, warring nations, constant attempts to stamp out the people of God, the failure of the Jewish kings to meet expectations etc;. In the NT there is the total occupation and dominance of the Roman empire with all the injustice and inhumanity that accompanied it.  The apostle Paul made good use of his Roman citizenship and was not, of course, rebellious or revolutionary.  Unlike our Western governments and the public opinion that allows them to be so.  But only when it comes to weaker countries who can't hit back (apart from with terrorism).

When it comes to Romans 13 v 1-7, my commentary has: "The Christian and the state.  Though the Christian has no right to punish (12 v 19-21), the state does have that right and the Christian must respect it.  Paul's confidence that the Roman state is, on the whole, just and beneficent is matched in 1 Peter 2.13-17; 3.v13."

How is the mind of God and of his Messiah expressed? Constantly reconciliation with God through his Messiah is the theme, BEFORE reconciliation with our neighbour is possible. So the sermon on the mount (which most people take as great advice for life) is all about mourning our sin, hungering for God and His righteousness, seeking peace with God first, and only then can we live in our messy world loving our neighbour in need.

So I cannot expect a world that doesn't live under the lordship of Christ to follow his way any more than the OT Israelites, or NT believers could expect those around them to do. Should those who do live in the lordship of Christ follow His (non-aggression) way, however difficult or costly?  That doesn't mean I shouldn't do 'all the good I can to all the people I can just so long as I can', but I think it suggests that the main witness of Christian believers is to enjoy living under the lordship of Christ.- enjoying his world, his peace, his forgiveness, and do all I can to be reconciled with my 'neighbour'.

This may not be what you wanted to hear, as you are still in'campaigning' mode, but I think our world will remain messy until Christ comes again !!  But our own little, individual world should have the minimum mess (or hypocrisy) in it.

Every blessing Tim, and thanks again for all the prep for our time away.

Peter.

This has been sent only to you, Les but is one reply to what Peter wrote on the back of the sheet I gave you yesterday.

You are right.  It is campaigning but, as I see it, it is also, for me, doing my duty to Queen and Country and discipleship to my God (JC1).  "Give to Caesar those things that are Caesar's and to God those things that are God's."

I think, this kind of patriotism puts Jesus Christ first and is also in line with His Spirit that cannot possibly be about overthrowing foreign governments.  In this century alone, these have been Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and now Syria.  Last decade, our friends and allies (and our fellow believers) in the States had seven countries as part of their Project for the New American Century.  All to be overthrown to become democratic and American compliant.  All contrary to Titus 3 v 1 and Romans 13 - being submissive and obedient to rulers and authorities.  Especially, the Spirit of Jesus cannot be about bringing democracy down the barrel of a gun, as all three main political parties we vote for believe and do.  My pastor, Les Hardwick, told me that the corrective to complying with the wishes of the authorities is the verse in Acts, "Peter and the apostles answered, 'We must obey God rather than men' " Acts 5 v 29.

Therefore, should Christian believers be voting for the main political parties who do war around the world, to try and keep Western compliant governments in power or, use military might to protect their vital strategic interests?  "Not by might, nor by power but by My Spirit says the Lord of hosts" Zechariah 4 v 6.

​Tim

Hi Tim 

Thank you for your e-mail in which you raise some very difficult questions.  In Matthew 24v6 Jesus said "You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.".He also spoke in chapter 25 of the need to look after the poor and hungry v 31 to 46.

The question of voting  has to be answered according to our own conscience accepting that someone else will act differently while following their own conscience. Not voting can open the door to  even worse forms of government     (there was a time when I would not vote.)

In September 2002 (15 February 2003) over one million people marched in London protesting against the war against Iraq, the war still went ahead!  The 1950s,saw many protests against  weapons of mass destruction, nothing has changed.  There seems little we can do! but we can feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, try to overcome poverty and vote for the party which seems most willing to tackle these issues!

Les

Thanks v much for these thoughts.

We need a much higher profile given to non violence, constraint not coercion, a new determination to eschew aggression, power, domination, colonialism, empire building, forcing our ways (and wars) on others.

A new determination to allow religious and political toleration, equality, justice tempered with mercy instead of constant punishment and revenge.  A rejection of hypocrisy in too much unethical foreign policy and the closure of Guantanamo Bay.  A rejection of the all out war on Gaza that our side perpetrated in July and August of 2014.  A rejection of lying that allows some of our political leaders to say, "Of course, I will press the nuclear button" to send much of humanity to kingdom come.  Obscene riches to allow, with Trident, such disgusting behaviour by our leaders and, when poverty and inequality is so rife too!

"What we sow today we will reap tomorrow".  Mayhem, instability, civil war in the Middle East is now spreading, with revenge attacks, to our own Western nations that are bombing, missiling Syria and Iraq - and, for many more years to come.  Nearly all the politicians we vote for have unleashed the dogs of war, opened the Pandora's Box, well and truly stirred up a hornet's nest of anger and hatred against Israel and the West.

I must come round today to get the meter reading that Places for People want today.

Every blessing

Tim

'Focus on Israel'

Dear friend

My son, this morning, gave me the Summer 2014 issue of 'infocus', that I read at the time when my copy was sent to me - thanks.

My Bible believing and Zionist Christian family are in full agreement with Israel continuing to wage war on Gaza to teach them a lesson that they never seem to learn. Would you, perhaps feel able to write a short piece in the next issue of 'infocus' on the following lines?

TELL THEM TO TALK TO THE TERRORISTS!

This must be one of the most important and tragic unresolved nightmares in the world today.

Over the years, tight road blocks and checkpoints, strict restrictions and searches, invasions/occupations, suicide bombers, rockets and aerial bombing raids have all failed to bring peace with justice for both sides. Three wars on Gaza have all failed.

In our church, it seems that I alone think that non-violent actions must be tried, in the spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ of the gospels. Bizarrely, it is not our political leaders with their Judeo-Christian upbringing - nor our church leaders in sermons - who have ever uttered the sentence, " We must use non-violence". In fact, it was a Palestinian MP, Mahmood Bagooti on the Radio 4, 'Today' programme last July. I counted four utterances of the all too rare two words, as he was interviewed by John Humphrys, showing what he was doing to persuade his side to follow in the footsteps of Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jnr and, above all, Jesus Christ!

Israel must talk to the terrorists with the help of their ally, the USA, as Margaret Thatcher began to do with the IRA, when she was Prime Minister. John Major and Tony Blair continued to success.

Israel and Palestine MUST talk to each other.  Make friends of your neighbours, O Israel, rather than deepening the enmity!

"The same old story" means never ending violence and aggression - for even the righteous of the Lord/Yahweh. A dismal outlook!

Why not make harmless concessions to Muslim extremists - God forbid! Whatever next?

Like, refraining from exercising all our rights of free expression and not publishing images of the Prophet or making fun of him or Islam.
Like, restraining our natural instincts and not invading and occupying Muslim lands or killing Muslims - or, anyone else for that matter.
How about becoming less dependant on Arab oil or refraining from attacking Gaza?
What about the French allowing Muslim women to wear the full burqa, if they so wish?
And letting them have their mosques in western Europe, even with minarets?

Do you really want to know who is responsible for Israel attacking Gaza? GAZA!

I have watched the video from Israelvideonetwork.com that explains why this summer's attack on Gaza has been the most justified war, ever.

The video maintains that the Gazans are committing suicide as Israel's massive 50 days of attack kill and injure many thousands of Gazans. Suicide by the people of Gaza because they are sheltering the Hamas fighters who fire rockets at Israel; suicide because the people of Gaza do as they are told by Hamas and put themselves in the line of fire; suicide by the people because they welcome the Hamas rockets being fired from their homes that then get bombed by Israel.

For me, Israel's attack does not comply with Jewish ethics of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth because the Gazan's sub standard rockets into Israel killed or injured no-one before Israel's attack began on the 8 July 2014. Operation Protective Edge was solely about giving everyone in Israel a little peace and quiet from the ineffective rockets that were so noisily shot down by, in contrast, Israel's modern and effective missile defence system, Iron Dome. Operation Overkill would have been a more honest and accurate name that Israel might have chosen. Jewish ethics could do with a wholesale review, methinks!

UK Collusion in Gazan killings

from: thewallmustfall@riseup.net

*On trial: Anti-Nato protesters who demanded Barclays divest from the arms trade*

Barclays Bank will be back in the spotlight today at Newport Magistrates Court, when 4 activists stand trial on charges of aggravated trespass. The activists were arrested when they occupied the Newport branch of Barclays as part of the anti-NATO week of action organised by Stop NATO Cymru at the beginning of September. The trial is set to last for a day and a half. All defendants have plead not guilty to all charges

On Friday 5th September this year, scores of people occupied the bank on Newport high street. They held banners calling on Barclays to divest from the arms trade and to stop investing in Israel's war crimes.

The protest was part of a campaign, called for by Palestinians in Gaza,[1] aimed at persuading Barclays to pull its money out of Elbit Systems, Israel's largest military company which manufactures the unpiloted drones used to bomb Palestinians in Gaza.

During July and August 2014, 2,150 Palestinians were killed as Israel carried out another massacre of Palestinians in the besieged Gaza strip. Entire neighbourhoods were destroyed and mosques, market places, UN relief compounds and schools were deliberately targeted. There was no safe place for the 1.7 million people in Gaza to take shelter from the Israeli bombardment. Israeli drones, carried out over 800 major strikes.

Barclays has been condemned in recent years for its excessive use of tax havens, for creating a special 'tax avoidance division', for paying well below the nominal UK rate of corporation tax and manipulating the Libor rate. But this protest was more reminiscent of those which plagued Barclays through the 1970s and 1980s when the bank was heavily invested in apartheid South Africa.

The activists claim that Israel's drone programme is dependent on the investments of companies like Barclays. They called on customers and staff to boycott Barclays, just as anti apartheid campaigners did over
30 years ago.

The occupation of Barclays had been timed to coincide with the NATO summit. Elbit's drones are also used by NATO members. The company is part of a partnership manufacturing the Watchkeeper drone for use by the UK military.

*Campaigners will hold a demonstration outside Newport Magistrates Court on Monday morning in support of the defendant. The four defendants are due in court at 10am. *

For more details or to interview the defendants please email thewallmustfall@riseup.net or call07907385974.

Does God have a conscience?

I think Israel, the guilty party with their illegal, immoral and unnecessary attacks on Gaza, should be paying for the rebuilding.  They were wholly responsible for US$4.5 to US$5 billion worth of destruction in fifty days and many thousands of casualties, mainly non-combatants.  2,100 killed, including over 500 children.

Between the three Gazan wars, Israel was bumping off Hamas fighters - called extra judicial assassinations.  That was suspended with their indiscriminate killings of Gazans over the fifty days.  Yet, Israel is God's one and only Chosen/Favoured nation that is meant to be a blessing to all the other 190 nations!

Do you have no conscience, Derek?  Does God not have a conscience?

We have to be honest and face up to these 9 observations on the Faith!

God is wrong in having 'Rules for Waging Holy War' in Deuteronomy 20 v 1-20.

He is mistaken about homosexuality being immoral.  I believe I am right in saying that Christians, Muslims and Jews did nothing about changing the law to prevent homosexuals being imprisoned.  Now, all of them accept the new law without a murmur of dissent being heard.  Homosexuality is not unheard of in the animal kingdom, of which we are part, as the human animal.

God shows favouritism in having one nation out of 193 nations as his one and only Chosen, Special and No 1 nation who is the apple of His eye (Israel).  For the surrounding Arab nations, Israel is seen as part of the all powerful, all domineering, War of Terrorism Western powers.  The West is noted for its centuries of Christianity and, unfortunately, its Scriptures command the faithful to pray only for the peace of Jerusalem - certainly NOT Mecca or any other city!  Thus Israel is identified even here, with the West in the heart of the Arab and Muslim Middle East.

God has missed out the most obvious and much needed command that should be the first and foremost viz: "Thou shalt embrace non-violence and never embark on attack, aggression and dominating other countries." The last one, domination, in defiance of temptation 3 that Jesus rightly rejected.

The Lord's Commandment no 6 is not strong enough with "Thou shalt not murder."  It let the people of Israel off the hook to allow them to wipe out the inhabitants of the holy land - the land that God promised them and them alone - as now.  Hence, we have in the Bible how the people rejoiced that, "King Saul has slain his thousands but David his tens of thousands."  No wonder the modern people of Israel are so ready to attack their neighbours, of course in self defence and, so desperate not to kill women and children.  However, Israel always seems to end up killing many more of them than their enemy kill Israelis. Over ten times more in both the November 2012 attack on Gaza and the 2008/2009 war on Gaza when 1,400 Palestinians, unfortunately and quite unintentionally, of course, ended up dead.

All God-fearing Jews, Christians and Muslims should see this behaviour, above as morally deviant.  Perversely and shamefully they do not, viewing instead, homosexuality as being morally deviant.

God is wrong in having Kings and Queens over past centuries who all appointed themselves as having the authority and power of God on earth; together with Presidents and Prime Ministers down the years.  Two of them, since 7 October 2001 with the War of Terrorism, who both believed they were doing God's will in attacking first Afghanistan on 10/7 (2001) and then Iraq in March 2003.

God is prejudiced in disallowing women from positions of leadership in His church.  Yet, His Son was forgiving, compassionate and sympathetic to women - even those caught in adultery and, prostitutes, too.

It is unacceptable for God to promise one nation, Israel all the land from the cedars of Lebanon in the north to the deserts of Sinai in the south; from the rivers Euphrates and Tigris in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west (Joshua 1 v 4).  It all the more encourages that nation's expansionist tendencies, the growth of illegal settlements on the West Bank and in east Jerusalem; and, the flouting of UN resolutions.

The problem of Israel - an outpost of the loathed USA

The problems that I have with Israel are these:

As last night's film showed, it is a mirror copy of the West, in particular the USA from whom it gets so much funding and enthusiastic support from the powerful Israeli lobby in the corridors of power.  There are many US companies in tiny Israel.  I feel the UK is the 51st state of the US and Israel is the 52nd.  Both countries are swift to carry out the wishes of
the USA in the Middle East.  As a result, both the UK and Israel incur the wrath of the vast majority of the populations of the Middle East who are horrified by the West's and Israel's attack, invasion and occupation of first Afghanistan from 7 October 2001 and then Iraq from the 19 March 2003.  I include Israel with the West and NATO because, as I say, it looks and feels like a very powerful Western nation.  They even speak the most impeccable English, too!

While Israel continues, by its own tragic admission in last night's film, to be "surrounded by enemies", it is a failed state.  It can make the desert bloom but it cannot turn enemies into friends.  It cannot turn the victim mentality of the Palestinians into bosom buddies.  "It is more blessed to give than to receive" is beyond its comprehension.  It simply takes yet more land in the West Bank for itself, feeling that is fair enough when it gave up Gaza.  But that was without the agreement of any Palestinian.  And what was left behind was razed to the ground to prevent the hated Palestinians from benefiting in any way!

In addition, the abysmal track record of who does the most killings puts Israel at the top of the league.  Its might is right, shoot first ask questions later tactic means it simply ratchets up the loathing.  The occasional extra-judicial killings by Mosad don't exactly help, either.  Those of us who want to be proud of Israel, continue to observe their answer of aggression to every problem, in utter amazement at such a foolish and counter-productive policy.  For them, it is always war, war and never jaw, jaw.  Lots of military aggression against the Lebanese and Palestinians but not lots of talking or acts of sacrificial giving or sharing of the land.  Now, threats against Iran to wipe their nuclear installations off the face of the earth.  No balance of terror is allowed by Israel; only they are allowed to place Iran and Syria under the threat of nuclear annihilation, with the blessing of the USA.  All their wars have got them absolutely nowhere.  It has not given them the peace and security that other Western nations enjoy.  Israel and the West are not respected by so many in the Arab world.

Yet, knowing all of this, many evangelical Christians look upon Israel as the apple of God's eye.  It doesn't say much for God!

This I can't believe!

This I can't believe I can't believe in a God who created humans for the sole purpose of them worshipping and praising him and to give him pleasure. What kind of God is that? The Westminster Confession has, "Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him for ever."

I can't believe in a God who, as part of his purposes for his special nation of Israel, that nation under God can slaughter over 1,000 Lebanese and Palestinians in 2006 in Lebanon and a further 1,300 Palestinians in Gaza in 2008/9. Jews for Jesus Christians, certainly, and other Christians, too believe that God is working his purposes out through Israel and, therefore, Israel's aggression is all part of God's wonderful plan for Israel. They also believe that Christ's return is dependant on the Jews return to Israel and their acceptance of Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. Israel's encroachment on to more and more of the West Bank is all part of God's glorious plan in these end times.

I can't believe that a God of justice and love, who is all powerful and all knowing can countenance the suffering, misery and large scale murder by the crown of his creation - humans killing humans. The track record of the West and the whites is easily the worst throughout the planet and down the centuries. Especially in the 20th century - the most ecocidal, suicidal and destructive in the history of humanity. And we all know which God fearers were responsible!

Israel has forgotten its past or ...

.. it is reliving it, this time, as the cruel oppressor.

"You were once strangers in a foreign land. Therefore, love the stranger in your new homeland." my paraphrase of Deuteronomy ch 10 v 18-19. Chapter 20 is the Lord's rules for waging holy war to obtain the Promised Land from the existing settlers - holy war endorsed by Jews and Christians but not found in the Koran.

You were once victims of barbarity and genocide in a strange land. Therefore, you of all peoples, should know how to behave to all the children of Abraham - and to all the human family - in your Middle East region.

You were once not a nation; now you are a mighty nation and the regional super-power. That brings its attendant responsibilities and restraints and obligations to behave within international law and in compliance with numerous UN resolutions over the last sixty years.

Unholy human inhumanity to human in the Holy Land!

Everyone seems unmoved by the latest slaughter - a ratio of 100:1 in Gaza in favour of the Jews. Their big supporters, like some at our church, see what is going on in Israel/Palestine as fulfilment of biblical prophecy and everything working together for the return of Christ. Turning their back on violence and sharing the land with the Palestinians seems to be an alien concept! I really do despair for our God-fearing people and explains my infrequent church attendance, these days, on principle.

One friend wrote in reply:

If all this slaughter is there to prepare the way for the Second Coming, I do not want to accept a God who uses innocent humans as fodder to trumpet his eventual arrival...

I do not believe this is "God's Will"... it is the behaviour of a collective aggressive neurosis which has its basis in the Holocaust .. the Palestinians are only second in the queue behind the Jews when it comes to their revulsion of Hitler.

Justice; then, you might get peace!

We are seeing collective capital punishment by our side on the Palestinian families of Gaza. Just two days after Christmas, hundreds of men, women and children are being killed, wounded and traumatised by the armaments and ammunition we have produced and sold to our good friends and close ally, the Israelis.

Rather than understanding the reasons for rockets being fired into the border towns of Israel from Gaza, we prefer to make, yet again, a wholly disproportionate response. Revenge is sweet for our side and for the Palestinians. It ups the anti and invites ever more rockets into border towns that kill Israelis infrequently. Therefore, ours is a counter productive response, too. For us and the Israelis, we have to wipe out every Palestinian to stop their rockets. Stupid and barbaric indeed.

Our aggression in Iraq and Afghanistan sets a very bad example to our friends the Israelis who, quite understandably, use killing of civilians to similarly 'defend' their expansionist policies into ever more of the West Bank.

On the very same day that hundreds of men, women and children have died at the hands of the Israelis, our church leaders prefer to condemn the immorality of government policy. Yet, that did not include condemning government immorality in a decade of supporting the Israeli terrorism to supposedly stop the Palestinian terrorism.

As Peter Ustinov once said, "The Palestinians are the second victims of the Nazis". The one time oppressed are still the oppressors.