faith

Originally published on Youthradio.org, the premier source for youth generated news throughout the globe.

By Nora Barrows-Friedman

I first met Ibrahim Abdil-Mu'id Ramey after he delivered the plenary speech about Dr. Martin Luther King and the linkage between Dr. King's movement and the present work for nuclear abolition at Riverside Church in April. Ibrahim reminded us that Dr. King had focused on the three evils of racism, economic injustice, and war. I was raised by a mother who was devoted to King's message. One month later I caught up with Ibrahim in the lobby of the Millennium Hotel, across from the United Nations, where we had a chance to chat.

It's indicative of Israel's PR acumen -- or lack thereof -- that when a crisis strikes, the reflex of the leadership is to head for the bunker. The Flotilla fiasco will go down as one of Israel's biggest PR disasters. This was no Israeli commando raid in response to years of terrorist attacks or rockets raining on civilians. This was a raid to protect a blockade that has very little international support, and against a boat that was dressed up as a humanitarian mission. Yes, of course, it was an ambush.

Republican Chair Michael Steele addressed Israel Day crowd on bonds of faith, fate. Steele accused Obama of "dithering" on Iran. Full text below.

A study based on Jews expelled from Gaza links post-trauma growth to faith, family.

A Muslim killed his wife and 3 others this month because she refused to adopt his faith. He is one of many to have converted to Islam in US prison.

When I was young, I was taught that the purpose of religion was to foster compassion through loving kindness, to seek peace by example, to perform with human hands the work of angels.

Then I moved to the Holy Land.

If ever the history of religion were written in blood, it was here. If ever religion has drowned history in blood, this is the venue. If ever the sword has beaten the plowshare, whether brandished along with the Old Testament, the New, or the Koran -- we can show you the spot.

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On March 22, I wrote my first commentary denouncing the Obama administration for its hostile and unfair actions and words directed at Israel. It was clear that a campaign had been orchestrated by the President to blame Israel for the lack of progress in achieving peace with the Palestinians, notwithstanding the Palestinians' repeated rejection of Israel's peace offers. The objective of this campaign was to fundamentally reorient U.S. foreign policy in a pro-Arab direction.

Allow me to begin with a word or two about lying.

Lying in the Middle East is not the same as lying other places. In the Mideast, lying is a way of life, which is to say, it is a cultural imperative. It is at once armor and entryway. It cushions and conditions the way people feel and think, it lubricates commercial and social intercourse, it frames all political debate and negotiation.