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Friday, February 10, 2006
Some headlines and summaries from JTA
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Evangelicals rally for Israel
A new organization united Christians in support of Israel.
About 400 evangelical leaders gathered in San Antonio Tuesday for a conference entitled Christians United for Israel, with the aim of using resources in the movement to lobby for pro-Israel legislation.
The effort is led by televangelist John Hagee, a pastor who has held an Israel night for more than 25 years.
Ayalon stresses need for Hamas change
Israel´s ambassador to the United States said the country could “do business” with a Hamas-led Palestinian government if it meets international criteria.
Daniel Ayalon joined Afif Safieh, the new Palestinian representative to the United States, in a Wilson Center forum in Washington Thursday. He endorsed statements from the Middle East Quartet – made up of the United States, United Nations, Russia and the European Union – that said Hamas must recognize Israel, denounce violence and disarm before international aid could continue.
Safeih denounced Israeli unilateralism and said peace agreements must not be a matter of internal Israeli politics. "Israel is hardly equipped to be the moral compass of the world today," Safieh said.
Ayalon countered that Israel is a moral compass, "not just because it´s a democratic country with free institutions and free press, but also because we took some complete and very, very painful steps" for the cause of peace.
It was the first time the Israeli and Palestinian envoys spoke together.
Mofaz to address NATO
Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz was invited to speak to NATO defense ministers. Mofaz will address the Iranian nuclear threat and Israel’s reaction to Hamas’ victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections, in a speech Friday in Sicily, Italy.
Representatives of Arab states such as Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Jordan and Mauritania will also be attending.
Mofaz said NATO defense ministers have expressed unity over the Iranian nuclear threat, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The defense minister also announced plans to visit Egypt Tuesday and meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. He is expected to seek Arab support for dealing with Hamas.
Jewish symbols approved in schools
A federal appeals court upheld New York City’s policy of allowing symbols of Jewish and Muslim holiday scenes in school displays, but not Christian nativity scenes.
In a 2-1 ruling, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed Thursday with a lower court judge who maintained that allowing secular symbols neither advanced nor inhibited religion.
The appeals court determined no objective observer would believe the city wanted to communicate to its students “any official endorsement of Judaism and Islam or any dismissal of Christianity.” Instead, the court held, the purpose was to use holidays to encourage respect for diverse cultural traditions.
Dissenting Judge Chester Straub said the policy “utilizes religious symbols of certain religions, but bans the religious symbols of another.”
http://www.jta.org/
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