Israeli President Shimon Peres was in Berlin on Wednesday for the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and delivered a speech to the German parliament. Read his complete remarks.
I stand here before you, as the President of the State of Israel, the home of the Jewish People.
While my heart is breaking at the memory of the atrocious past - my eyes envision a common future for a world that is young, a world free of all hatred. A world in which the words "war" and "anti-Semitism" will be dead words.
Distinguished gathering, in the Jewish tradition that accompanies us for thousands of years, there exists a prayer in Aramaic recited when mourning the dead, in memory of fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters.
The mothers, whose infants were torn from their arms, and the fathers, who watched in horror as their children were pushed into the gas chambers and their children go up in the smoke of the crematoriums, did not have the time to recite nor to listen to this ancient prayer.
On this occasion, ladies and gentlemen, I wish to recite this prayer, here and now, in the name of the Jewish people, in memory of, and in honor of, the six million Jews who turned to ashes:
"Exalted and hallowed be His great Name throughout the world which He has created according to His will. May He establish His kingship, bring forth His redemption and hasten the coming of His Messiah in your lifetime and in your days and in the lifetime of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon, and say, Amen."
And the prayer ends with the words which became a symbol in the State of Israel, a dream in the Jewish world: "He, who makes peace in His Heights, may He, in his compassion, make peace upon us, and upon all Israel. And they responded: Amen."
My Friends, the leaders of the German people and its representatives, in the State of Israel, and across the world, survivors of the Holocaust are gradually departing from the world of the living. Their numbers are daily diminishing.
And at the same time, men and women, who took part in the most odious activity on earth - that of genocide - still live on German and European soil, and in other parts of the world.
My request of you is: Please do everything to bring them to justice.
This is not revenge in our eyes. This is an educational lesson. This is an hour of grace for the young generation, wherever they may be. That they may remember, and never forget, that they should know what took place, and that they never, absolutely never, have the slightest doubt in their minds that there is another option, other than peace, reconciliation and love.
Today, the International Remembrance Day for the victims of the Holocaust is the day on which the sun shone for the first time sixty-five years ago, after six evil years, its rays revealing the full extent of the destruction of my people.
On that same day, the smoke still rose above the bombed incinerators, and the blood-stains and ashes still heavily lay on the soil of the extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.
The train-station platform was silent. And the "selection ramp" was empty of people. On the monstrous field of slaughter settled a deceptive atmosphere of tranquility.
The ear caught only the quiet, yet from the depth of the frozen ground emanated a scream that broke human hearts, and ascended to the passive and silent heavens.
On January 27th, 1945, the world awoke to the fact, somewhat too late, that six million Jews were no longer among the living.
This day not only represents a memorial day for the victims, not only the pangs of conscience of humankind in the face of the incomprehensible atrocity that took place, but also of the tragedy that derived from the procrastination in taking action.
This constitutes the lesson learnt from the world's inattention in the face of the rising flames, and the killing machine that operated day after day, year after year, with no opposition.
Three years beforehand, on January 20th, 1942, not far from here, in "Villa Wannsee," on the shores of the beautiful lake, a group of senior officers and bureaucrats, headed by Reinhard Heydrich, convened to devise and coordinate the "Final Solution" plan for the "Jewish Question."
Adolf Eichmann diligently worked on a document that identified the target population intended for deportation and extermination.
It encompassed all the Jews in the European continent. From the three million living in Poland, Ukraine, and the Soviet Union, to the two hundred Jews living in tiny Albania.
Eleven million Jews were marked to die.
The Nazis performed an effective job, and from Wannsee the path led to Auschwitz, to the gas-chambers and the incinerators.
I stand before you on this day and in this place, distinguished leaders and representatives of a different Germany, democratic, as the representative of the State of the Jews, of the State of the Survivors, of the State of Israel.
I am humbled by the significance of this daunting and elevated position. I believe and hope that you feel as I do.
I can see in my mind's eye, at this very moment, the imposing image of my deeply respected grandfather, Rabbi Zvi Melzer, handsome and dignified.
I was blessed to have been his beloved grandson.
He was my guide and mentor.
He was the one who taught me Torah. I see him with his white beard and dark eyebrows, enveloped in his Tallith (praying shawl), among the congregation praying in the synagogue, in the town where I was born, Vishniev in Belarus.
I wrapped myself in the folds of his Tallith, and with much emotion listened to his clear and lovely voice. It is still ringing in my ears, as he recited the Kol Nidrei prayer of Yom Kippur, in the hours and the moments when, according to our belief, the Creator of the world determines who to life and who to death.
I still remember him at the train station from which I, an 11-year-old child, started on my journey from my village to Eretz Israel.
I remember his poignant embrace. I remember the last words and the order that heard from his mouth: "My boy, always remain a Jew!"
The train whistled and started on its way. I continued watching my grandfather until he disappeared from sight. That was the last time I saw him.
When the Nazis came to Vishniev, they ordered all the members of the community to congregate in the synagogue.
My grandfather marched in front, together with his family, wrapped in the same Tallith in which I enveloped myself as a kid. The doors were locked from the outside and the wooden structure was torched. And the only remains of the whole community were embers.
There were no survivors.
Distinguished gathering, the Holocaust raises painful questions that touch on the infinite depth of a man's soul.
To which depth can the evil in man sink? And to which extent can a people that knew culture and respected intellect, remain silent?
What kind of atrocities can be performed? How much can a moral compass be silenced? A rational deliberation be crushed? How can a nation consider itself to be "a superior race" and others inferior?
And the question still remains today why did the Nazis see in the existence of Jews a great and immediate danger?
What induced them to invest in the killing machine such extensive resources?
What motivated the Nazis to continue operating with such determination to the very end, even though their defeat had already appeared on the horizon?
Was a Jewish power threatening to block the "thousand-year Reich?" Could the persecuted people, crushed by the boot of the oppressor, stop the destructive war machine of the Nazis?
How many divisions were at the disposal of the Jewish communities in Europe? How many tanks, war-planes, guns?
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Nazi rabid hatred cannot be solely defined as "anti-Semitic."
This is a commonly-used definition. It does not fully explain the burning, murderous, beastly drive that motivated the Nazi regime, and their obsessive resolve to annihilate the Jews.
The war's objective was to conquer Europe; not to settle scores with Jewish history.
And if we constituted, we the Jews, a terrible threat in the eyes of Hitler's regime, this was not a military threat, but rather a moral threat.
An opposition to the desire that denied our faith that every man is born in the image of God, that we are all equal in the eyes of God, and that all men are equal.
A Jew, even when unable to defend himself, will still sanctify God's name, and fulfill the commandments.
Since the day when the Jewish nation was founded, we have been commanded: "Thou shall not kill!" "Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself!" "Seek peace and pursue it!" - in every situation, in every place.
This naïve Jew, who believes in these commandments, I now see in front of me, in the form of my good grandfather, the most honest and beloved of men.
The Nazis tried to demonize him. They burned him and his brothers alive. The flames burned their corpses. But not their spirit. They tried to depict my people in horrible propaganda films and on the pages of "The Stürmer" as parasites, sewer-rats, and the propagators of illnesses.
The Nazis tried to forget, and induce others to forget, the values of justice and mercy.
As a Jew, I always carry the pain of the holocaust endured by my brothers and sisters. As an Israeli, I regret the tragic delay in the establishment of the Jewish State that left my people with no safe harbor.
As a grandfather, I cannot come to terms with the loss of one and a half million children - the greatest human and creative potential that could have changed Israel's destiny.
I am proud that we are the arch-enemy of Nazi evil. I am proud of the legacy of our forefathers, diametrically opposed to the doctrine of racism. I am proud of the revival of Israel, the moral and historic answer to the attempt to erase the Jewish People from the face of the earth. I thank the Lord that peoples rose and crushed the madness, the evil and cruelty.
The Holocaust must always be prominent in our minds and in the conscience of humanity, and serve as an unequivocal warning in perpetuity.
As a binding decree to uphold the sanctity of life, equality among men, freedom and peace.
The murder of Jews in Europe by Nazi Germany should not be seen as a kind of astrophysical "Black Hole," that ingests the past as well as the future.
The Holocaust must not become a barrier against faith in decency, in hope and in life.
I ask myself today how would the European Jews have wanted us to remember them? Only through the smoke of the incinerators? Or to also remember life before the Holocaust?
If there is a collective voice for the millions of European Jews, this voice calls upon us to look ahead. To be what the victims could have been and were not. To create anew what we lost when they were annihilated.
The contribution of German Jewry, who identified with their country, to fields such as culture, science, the economy, and the standing of Germany as a whole, was extensive, out of proportion with the size of the community.
In the thousand years of their existence, the Jews of Europe moved with the forces of Europe's advances. From the golden era of Spain to the golden era of Germany.
The Jews of Europe were instrumental in advancing and developing the spheres of science, technology, the economy, literature and the arts of this continent.
This they achieved because when they were banished from their countries, they were forced into a nomadic life. They were well-versed in literature, multi-lingual merchants, a people blessed with doctors, writers, scientists and artists. Many of them played prominent roles in Germany's culture and contributed to the world at large.
I am overwhelmed at the thought of the tremendous stream of visionaries and inventors that burst forth from the foundations of the Jewish towns, the Jewish ghettos. From the homes of the Jewish bourgeoisie, when Jews were permitted to enter the gates of the universities.
As with the stroke of a wand, there appeared Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Martin Buber, Karl Marx, Herman Cohen, Hannah Arendt, Heinrich Heine, Moshe Mendelson, Rosa Luxemburg, Walther Rathenau, Stefan Zweig and Walter Benjamin.
Common to these dissimilar people is their tremendous contribution to human thinking, their contribution to modernism in their own exceptional way.
They guided the sight of Europe and the world to a new future.
And now we are left with the decisive lesson: "Never again" - never again a racist doctrine. Never again the feeling of superiority. Never again a so-called divine authority to incite, murder, scorn the law, deny God and the Holocaust. Never again ignore blood-thirsty dictators, hiding behind demagogical masks, who utter murderous slogans.
The threats to annihilate a people and a nation are voiced in the shadow of weapons of mass-destruction, which are held by irresponsible hands, by irrational thinking and in an untruthful language.
To prevent another holocaust, we must educate our children to respect human life and to promote relations between peoples based on peace.
Respect individual cultures and universal values, turn every time anew to the Ten Commandments.
Unlock scientific secrets with lit torches, microscopes and telescopes, to advance into the realm of new remedies for human beings and their souls. Food for the hungry, water for the thirsty, air to breathe. Knowledge for humankind.
As the British Mandate came to an end, David Ben-Gurion, leader of the newly revived Jewish nation, declared the establishment of the State of Israel.
The Arabs rejected the U.N. resolution and their armies attacked Israel.
Indeed, a few hours after its Declaration of Independence, seven Arab armies invaded Israel, with the object of destroying it even before it was established.
We faced them alone. With no allies, with our backs to the last shores of hope that the Jewish People still maintained.
Had we been defeated in war, this could have been the end of our people.
The IDF won this desperate battle, in which historical justice and human heroism joined forces. Holocaust survivors were already serving in the IDF, and some of them fell in the line of duty.
The small Israel, while it was still licking its wounds, immediately opened its gates to the remnants of the Holocaust survivors and the multitude of Jewish refugees from Arab countries. All other gates were closed to them.
Distinguished gathering, we remember that as we were still bleeding from our wounds, help came from an unexpected quarter, from the new Germany.
Two leaders, prominent in the annals of history, stretched their hands out one to the other, from the two sides of the abyss:
Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, the father of the Democratic Federation of Germany, and David Ben-Gurion, the founding father and first prime minister of the State of Israel.
On September 27th, 1951, from the Bundestag podium, Adenauer spoke about the responsibility of the German people for the crimes of the Third Reich against the Jewish people, and the intention of his government to devise a compensation agreement for the loss of Jewish property and help in the revival process of Israel.
The decision of the government of Israel to hold direct negotiations with the German government provoked a stormy reaction thus far never experienced.
Holocaust victims with death camp numbers embedded in their arms were among the stone-throwers at the Knesset and there were those who sided with Ben-Gurion.
Ben-Gurion stood by his decision: there is a new Germany. With it we have to discuss the future, not only the past. The distressed Knesset gave its consent.
The restitution payments helped in Israel's economic recovery and contributed to its accelerated development.
It was my privilege at the time, as a young man, to serve as his assistant, and later as Ben-Gurion's deputy at the Ministry of Defense. I learned that while Israel was building its home, it also had to defend its sons.
Also here we found an attentive German ear, providing us with defense equipment.
Unique ties developed between Germany and Israel.
The friendship that was established did not develop at the expense of forsaking the memory of the Holocaust, but from the memory of the dark hours of the past. In view of the joint and decisive decision to look ahead - towards the horizon of optimistic hope. Tikkun Olam - putting the world aright.
The bridge built across the ravine was built by painful hands and shoulders that were carrying the burden of memory. It rested on strong moral foundations.
We built a living memorial for our brothers and sisters. With ploughshares that turned the arid desert into thriving orchards.
With laboratories that generated new life. With defense forces able to defend our survival. On the pillars of an uncompromising democracy.
We believed, and continue to believe, that the new Germany will be doing whatever needs to be done to ensure that the Jewish state will never again have to fight for its survival alone.
That murderous and condescending dictatorships will never again raise their heads, in our era.
David Ben-Gurion, who predicted a different Germany, was right. Thank you.
From Konrad Adenauer, who found a common language with David Ben-Gurion, and Willy Brandt, who kneeled in memory of the Warsaw Ghetto heroes, and you, Members of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, from Helmut Schmidt and Helmut Kohl, and other leaders, you strengthened the foundations and ties of friendship.
And institutions, financial organizations, cultural centers, intellectuals and doers, who contributed to the enrichment of these unique relations.
You, President Horst Köhler, you declared at the Knesset in Jerusalem that "the responsibility for the Holocaust is part of the German identity." We very much appreciate this.
And you, Madam Chancellor, Angela Merkel, you have conquered the hearts of our nation with your sincerity and your warmth. You said to the American Senate and House of Representatives that "an attack on Israel will equate an attack on Germany." We shall not forget this.
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, close to sixty years have passed since the founding of the State of Israel.
We have withstood the test of nine wars. We reached two peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan. We gave back that which fell into our hands in the wars to the countries with whom we made peace.
We remained a country small in size and poor in raw material. Our land is barren, yet we were still successful in developing a model agriculture esteemed by many to be one of the best in the world.
We compensated for the lack of natural resources with cutting-edge scientific and technological advances that have brought us to the forefront of scientific developments. These accomplishments make up for the smallness of our land.
We have seen an ingathering of exiles. The major part of the Jewish people today lives in Israel.
We have regained our language. We are the only country in the region in which its citizens speak the same language that was spoken four thousand years ago - the Hebrew language, the language of the Bible.
Jewish history continues to move forward on two parallel tracks:
The moral track, encapsulated in the Ten Commandments. The document which was written some three thousand years ago, has not required any change and has become the basis of western culture.
And the scientific track, which unravels hidden secrets and breaks genetic codes, concealed in the past from the eyes of men and which, unraveled, change our lives.
Israel is a Jewish and democratic state. In it some million and a half Arab citizens live with equal rights. We shall not allow discrimination against anyone on account of their nationality or faith.
We overcame the global economic crisis and have returned to growth. Our culture is modern and traditional at one and the same time.
Israeli democracy is ebullient. Without a dull moment. It never remains idle, not even in times of war.
Israel's victories did not eliminate the dangers it faces. We do not crave for land which is not ours. We do not wish to rule other peoples. But do we have the right to close our eyes.
Our national ambition is distinct and clear, to make peace with our neighbors. Israel supports the principle of the "two state solution". We paid a price in wars, we did not hesitate to also pay a price for peace.
Also today we are prepared to relinquish territories to achieve peace with the Palestinians and to enable them to establish an independent, prosperous and peaceful state.
Like our neighbours, we identify with the millions of Iranians who revolt against dictatorship and violence.
Like them we reject a fanatic regime, which contradicts the United Nations Charter. A regime which threatens destruction, accompanied by nuclear plants and missiles and who activates terror in its country and in other countries.
This regime is a danger to the entire world.
We want to learn from the Europeans, who unshackled Europe from a thousand years of war, and bitterness and enabled Europe's young to substitute the hostility of their forefathers by brotherhood.
It would be wise to learn from their experience, to dream about a Middle East in which its countries will depart from the conflicts of their parents on behalf of peace for their children.
Establish a modern regional economy that would fight new and common challenges: Hunger, desertification, sickness and terror.
Promote scientific cooperation to improve the standard of living and secure quality of life.
The common god of all is the god of peace, not the god of war.
Distinguished gathering, I stand here before you as a man who believes that it is in your power, and in our power, to contribute to the creation of a new history.
Threats on Israel will not divert its heart from peace. I believe that peace is attainable.
I stand here before you as the son of a people that aspires to contribute in every way they can to attain a world which is enlightened and lucid, where men will act as human beings to human beings.
The International Holocaust Remembrance Day is a day of communion and reflection.
An hour of education and hope.
I started with Kaddish and will end with the Hatikva:
"In the Jewish heart, a Jewish spirit still sings, And the eyes look east, toward Zion, Our hope is not lost, our hope of two thousand years, To be a free nation in our land, In the land of Zion and Jerusalem."
Permit us, allow yourselves, to dream and realize the dreams.
soource:http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,674407,00.html
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Israeli President Asks Germany to Pursue Holocaust Perpetrators
On the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz extermination camp, Israeli President Shimon Peres implored German lawmakers to continue trying to bring Holocaust perpetrators to justice. Speaking before the German parliament, Peres also reminded his audience of the dangers posed by Iran.
Security at the German parliament, the Bundestag, was tighter than normal on Wednesday as Israeli President Shimon Peres addressed gathered lawmakers on the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Speaking in Hebrew, Peres, 86, implored Germany to do everything in its power to track down those remaining perpetrators of the Holocaust and bring them to justice.
"In the state of Israel, and across the world," Peres said in his 35-minute-long speech, "survivors of the Holocaust are gradually departing from the world of the living. ... At the same time, men and women who took part in the most odious activity on earth -- that of genocide -- still live on German and European soil and in other parts of the world. My request of you is: Please do everything to bring them to justice." ( Read the full text of his speech here.)
Peres was the third Israeli head of state to address the Bundestag, following Ezer Weizman and Mosche Katzav. His speech was preceded by remarks by Bundestag President Norbert Lammert, who underlined Germany's unique responsibility when it comes to dangers faced by the state of Israel. "On issues where Israel's right to exist is threatened," he said, "Germany cannot be neutral. Some things can be negotiated; the existence of Israel is not one of those things."
Dangers from Tehran
Currently, there are two suspects on trial in Germany for their alleged involvement in Holocaust-related atrocities. John Demjanjuk, 89, stands accused of having been an SS guard at the Sobibor death camp and has been charged with aiding in the murder of 29,000 people. Heinrich Boere, 88, has been charged with killing three innocent Dutch civilians as an SS assassin.
Peres' visit comes just 10 days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the rest of the Israeli cabinet visited Berlin for talks with their German counterparts. And just as Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program played a central role in talks between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Netanyahu, Peres also devoted part of his talk to the dangers emanating from Tehran.
"This regime is a danger to the entire world," Peres said, in reference to the Iranian government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "We reject a fanatic regime, which contradicts the United Nations Charter. A regime which threatens destruction, accompanied by nuclear plants and missiles and who activates terror in its country and other countries."
'Tantalizing Month'
On Tuesday, Peres and Merkel met to talk about ongoing tensions with Iran. "Time is running out," Merkel told reporters afterward. She said that it was time to consider additional international sanctions against Iran and said that February would be a "tantalizing month." France will hold the rotating chair of the United Nations Security Council in February and will likely address the issue of sanctions against Iran.
The Central Council of Jews in Germany released a statement on the occasion of Holocaust Remembrance Day on Wednesday pointing to the ongoing presence of neo-Nazis in Germany. "It is unacceptable that, 65 years after the end of the National Socialist reign of horror, right extremists continue to distribute neo-Nazi propaganda and attempt, with their perfidious tactics, to abuse our guaranteed freedoms and undermine democracy," the statement read.
source: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,674392,00.html
Security at the German parliament, the Bundestag, was tighter than normal on Wednesday as Israeli President Shimon Peres addressed gathered lawmakers on the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Speaking in Hebrew, Peres, 86, implored Germany to do everything in its power to track down those remaining perpetrators of the Holocaust and bring them to justice.
"In the state of Israel, and across the world," Peres said in his 35-minute-long speech, "survivors of the Holocaust are gradually departing from the world of the living. ... At the same time, men and women who took part in the most odious activity on earth -- that of genocide -- still live on German and European soil and in other parts of the world. My request of you is: Please do everything to bring them to justice." ( Read the full text of his speech here.)
Peres was the third Israeli head of state to address the Bundestag, following Ezer Weizman and Mosche Katzav. His speech was preceded by remarks by Bundestag President Norbert Lammert, who underlined Germany's unique responsibility when it comes to dangers faced by the state of Israel. "On issues where Israel's right to exist is threatened," he said, "Germany cannot be neutral. Some things can be negotiated; the existence of Israel is not one of those things."
Dangers from Tehran
Currently, there are two suspects on trial in Germany for their alleged involvement in Holocaust-related atrocities. John Demjanjuk, 89, stands accused of having been an SS guard at the Sobibor death camp and has been charged with aiding in the murder of 29,000 people. Heinrich Boere, 88, has been charged with killing three innocent Dutch civilians as an SS assassin.
Peres' visit comes just 10 days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the rest of the Israeli cabinet visited Berlin for talks with their German counterparts. And just as Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program played a central role in talks between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Netanyahu, Peres also devoted part of his talk to the dangers emanating from Tehran.
"This regime is a danger to the entire world," Peres said, in reference to the Iranian government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "We reject a fanatic regime, which contradicts the United Nations Charter. A regime which threatens destruction, accompanied by nuclear plants and missiles and who activates terror in its country and other countries."
'Tantalizing Month'
On Tuesday, Peres and Merkel met to talk about ongoing tensions with Iran. "Time is running out," Merkel told reporters afterward. She said that it was time to consider additional international sanctions against Iran and said that February would be a "tantalizing month." France will hold the rotating chair of the United Nations Security Council in February and will likely address the issue of sanctions against Iran.
The Central Council of Jews in Germany released a statement on the occasion of Holocaust Remembrance Day on Wednesday pointing to the ongoing presence of neo-Nazis in Germany. "It is unacceptable that, 65 years after the end of the National Socialist reign of horror, right extremists continue to distribute neo-Nazi propaganda and attempt, with their perfidious tactics, to abuse our guaranteed freedoms and undermine democracy," the statement read.
source: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,674392,00.html
Prime Minister: "The entire world is full of appreciation for your work"
28 January 2010 , 12:27
IDF Delegation to Haiti returns to Israel
Praise given to the IDF aid delegation to Haiti as they were received by the Prime Minister, the Chief of the General Staff and the Minister of Defense.
Members of the IDF Delegation to Haiti arrived Thursday morning (Jan. 28) to Ben Gurion International Airport with an official military ceremony, in the presence of senior officials of both the IDF and the government, including Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, Commander of the Home Front Command Maj. Gen. Yair Golan, Commander of the Air Force Maj. Gen. Ido Nachushtan and the Head Medical Officer Brig. Gen. Nachman Esh.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said that “approximately 40 hours after the earthquake in Haiti, about 36 hours after my instructions to send the delegation, the IDF forces were already on their way to Haiti. In less than 24 hours, people were on the ground. The plan was to build a field hospital within 30 hours, but in reality the mission was accomplished in half of the time.”
“You showed the world the true spirit of the IDF”
Prime Minister Netanyahu also added that,“The Chief of the General Staff updated me and told me that everyone expressed amazement at the speed of the work of the IDF in the field. We, who are familiar with the IDF, in how it operates in changing situations throughout the years, and especially in missions that seem impossible- we were not surprised. It is possible to plan for things at a basic level, but the biggest test of our strength, as a nation and as a military, is the ability to be ready and to rescue people quickly, by making quick decisions.” Prime Minister Netanyahu added that, “You have proven the capability and the proficiency, but you did much more than that. You raised peoples’ spirits; you raised the name of the State of Israel and the name of the IDF. Precisely during these days, during which there are those who conspire against us and distort and degrade the name of the IDF and the name of the State of Israel, you showed the world the true spirit of the IDF.”
“What characterizes the IDF in my opinion? Yesterday I returned from another place, a place where a terrible catastrophe occurred, and it was not a natural disaster but instead a disaster of human nature, with the most terrible brutality against our nation and against humanity in history.” Referring to his visit in Poland, from where he returned Thursday morning, Netanyahu added, “In this place, there was no one to arrive in time in order to save our people. Today we have the Israel Defense Force, which operates first and foremost in order to defend our people, but also to rescue people from distress all over the world- and only yesterday you were on the other side of the world.”
The Prime Minister concluded by saying that, “The entire world is full of appreciation for your work. I request to salute you in the name of the State of Israel and in the name of decent, honest and unswerving mankind. Well done, IDF.”
“You have merited praise from all over the world”
Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, returned today from a two day visit with the Commander of NATO in Brazil. Upon receiving the delegation, the Chief of the General Staff said that, “the shocking earthquake which took place near the capital of Haiti left behind unprecedented destruction: hundreds of thousands of people were killed and more than a million people lost their homes. An entire country was hit by shock and destruction which immediately struck all who passed there. Between the pain and fear for the future, and the excitement over lives saved – the amazing group of Home Front Command and Israeli Medical Corps personnel were there.”
“You have merited praise from all over the world and have turned into a source of pride for every Jew and every Israeli. The coping capability of the Home Front Command and the Medical Corps were already known in the past, among other incidents in the terrorist attack in Kenya and the earthquakes in Greece and Turkey. It can be said that in this mission, your capability in saving lives crossed new borders.” The Chief of the General Staff added that, “I was a witness to you speedy mobilization, to your treatment of injured people, to your struggle for every living soul, for everyone that still had a chance to be saved.”
“Our values guide us to cross continents in order to save lives”
While speaking about the spirit of the IDF that was expressed through the work of the delegation, the Chief of the General Staff said: “This spirit stands alone as one which inspires soldiers of the IDF and the values permeated in it. This is the most precise phrase explaining the feeling of representation and delegation which characterizes the IDF. Lately there have been those who complain about the IDF and have chosen to muddy its face and complain against its morals and ethics. In your work you have proven the opposite to be true – our values guide us to cross continents in order to save lives. That is what guides us today and will continue to guide us in the future.”
In his meetings with commanders of western militaries, within the framework of the annual NATO conference,The Chief of the General Staff said that the work of the IDF delegation received special notice. “Every personal conversation, and even formal speeches for the entire conference, opened will much praise for your work. As commander of this army, I was excited to represent you. We are proud of you and salute you,” he said.
Minister of Defense Ehud Barak said that the entire world was watching the work of the delegation. “It was heartwarming to see you doing not only your professional duties, but being present in a world where Israel merits so much criticism for its behavior and standpoints – with your work in Haiti you succeeded in showing the true spirit of the IDF, the true spirit of the State of Israel, and the long tradition of Jewish involvement… You strengthen the IDF, the land of Israel, and all of us.”
“This was no simple achievement”
The head of the Israeli delegation, Brig. Gen. Shalom Ben Arie, described the difficulties and challenges facing the IDF delegation to Haiti. “This was no simple achievement, because this was not an organic unit or a body trained for this mission. That being said, within 48 hours, we established an organized unit. The conditions in Haiti did not make the work any easier.”
He added “The delegation did not resemble any other delegation I saw, as two main factors jeopardized its success. First, we arrived to a country where all governing institutions were physically destroyed and therefore there was no one to receive us or to direct our aid efforts. We had to work blindly. Second, since 1994 Haiti has not had a military and there is a lot to think when stationing a military with such a large presence. Depsite this, we worked cooperatively with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense, and we accomplished our mission in the best possible way.”
The head of the delegation added that “The field hospital, commanded by Col. Dr. Itzik Kries, treated 1,111 people, and performed over 300 life-saving surgeries. Each of this people would have died, were it not for this treatment. We are speaking of true life saving. The delegation worked out of the desire to stick to the mission and the determination to succeed, out of a sense of representing the country, out of friendship and the knowledge of the heavy weight responsibility on all of our shoulders. It is as if the success of the delegation hung on each person.”
source: http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/News/today/10/01/2801.htm
IDF Delegation to Haiti returns to Israel
Praise given to the IDF aid delegation to Haiti as they were received by the Prime Minister, the Chief of the General Staff and the Minister of Defense.
Members of the IDF Delegation to Haiti arrived Thursday morning (Jan. 28) to Ben Gurion International Airport with an official military ceremony, in the presence of senior officials of both the IDF and the government, including Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, Commander of the Home Front Command Maj. Gen. Yair Golan, Commander of the Air Force Maj. Gen. Ido Nachushtan and the Head Medical Officer Brig. Gen. Nachman Esh.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said that “approximately 40 hours after the earthquake in Haiti, about 36 hours after my instructions to send the delegation, the IDF forces were already on their way to Haiti. In less than 24 hours, people were on the ground. The plan was to build a field hospital within 30 hours, but in reality the mission was accomplished in half of the time.”
“You showed the world the true spirit of the IDF”
Prime Minister Netanyahu also added that,“The Chief of the General Staff updated me and told me that everyone expressed amazement at the speed of the work of the IDF in the field. We, who are familiar with the IDF, in how it operates in changing situations throughout the years, and especially in missions that seem impossible- we were not surprised. It is possible to plan for things at a basic level, but the biggest test of our strength, as a nation and as a military, is the ability to be ready and to rescue people quickly, by making quick decisions.” Prime Minister Netanyahu added that, “You have proven the capability and the proficiency, but you did much more than that. You raised peoples’ spirits; you raised the name of the State of Israel and the name of the IDF. Precisely during these days, during which there are those who conspire against us and distort and degrade the name of the IDF and the name of the State of Israel, you showed the world the true spirit of the IDF.”
“What characterizes the IDF in my opinion? Yesterday I returned from another place, a place where a terrible catastrophe occurred, and it was not a natural disaster but instead a disaster of human nature, with the most terrible brutality against our nation and against humanity in history.” Referring to his visit in Poland, from where he returned Thursday morning, Netanyahu added, “In this place, there was no one to arrive in time in order to save our people. Today we have the Israel Defense Force, which operates first and foremost in order to defend our people, but also to rescue people from distress all over the world- and only yesterday you were on the other side of the world.”
The Prime Minister concluded by saying that, “The entire world is full of appreciation for your work. I request to salute you in the name of the State of Israel and in the name of decent, honest and unswerving mankind. Well done, IDF.”
“You have merited praise from all over the world”
Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, returned today from a two day visit with the Commander of NATO in Brazil. Upon receiving the delegation, the Chief of the General Staff said that, “the shocking earthquake which took place near the capital of Haiti left behind unprecedented destruction: hundreds of thousands of people were killed and more than a million people lost their homes. An entire country was hit by shock and destruction which immediately struck all who passed there. Between the pain and fear for the future, and the excitement over lives saved – the amazing group of Home Front Command and Israeli Medical Corps personnel were there.”
“You have merited praise from all over the world and have turned into a source of pride for every Jew and every Israeli. The coping capability of the Home Front Command and the Medical Corps were already known in the past, among other incidents in the terrorist attack in Kenya and the earthquakes in Greece and Turkey. It can be said that in this mission, your capability in saving lives crossed new borders.” The Chief of the General Staff added that, “I was a witness to you speedy mobilization, to your treatment of injured people, to your struggle for every living soul, for everyone that still had a chance to be saved.”
“Our values guide us to cross continents in order to save lives”
While speaking about the spirit of the IDF that was expressed through the work of the delegation, the Chief of the General Staff said: “This spirit stands alone as one which inspires soldiers of the IDF and the values permeated in it. This is the most precise phrase explaining the feeling of representation and delegation which characterizes the IDF. Lately there have been those who complain about the IDF and have chosen to muddy its face and complain against its morals and ethics. In your work you have proven the opposite to be true – our values guide us to cross continents in order to save lives. That is what guides us today and will continue to guide us in the future.”
In his meetings with commanders of western militaries, within the framework of the annual NATO conference,The Chief of the General Staff said that the work of the IDF delegation received special notice. “Every personal conversation, and even formal speeches for the entire conference, opened will much praise for your work. As commander of this army, I was excited to represent you. We are proud of you and salute you,” he said.
Minister of Defense Ehud Barak said that the entire world was watching the work of the delegation. “It was heartwarming to see you doing not only your professional duties, but being present in a world where Israel merits so much criticism for its behavior and standpoints – with your work in Haiti you succeeded in showing the true spirit of the IDF, the true spirit of the State of Israel, and the long tradition of Jewish involvement… You strengthen the IDF, the land of Israel, and all of us.”
“This was no simple achievement”
The head of the Israeli delegation, Brig. Gen. Shalom Ben Arie, described the difficulties and challenges facing the IDF delegation to Haiti. “This was no simple achievement, because this was not an organic unit or a body trained for this mission. That being said, within 48 hours, we established an organized unit. The conditions in Haiti did not make the work any easier.”
He added “The delegation did not resemble any other delegation I saw, as two main factors jeopardized its success. First, we arrived to a country where all governing institutions were physically destroyed and therefore there was no one to receive us or to direct our aid efforts. We had to work blindly. Second, since 1994 Haiti has not had a military and there is a lot to think when stationing a military with such a large presence. Depsite this, we worked cooperatively with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense, and we accomplished our mission in the best possible way.”
The head of the delegation added that “The field hospital, commanded by Col. Dr. Itzik Kries, treated 1,111 people, and performed over 300 life-saving surgeries. Each of this people would have died, were it not for this treatment. We are speaking of true life saving. The delegation worked out of the desire to stick to the mission and the determination to succeed, out of a sense of representing the country, out of friendship and the knowledge of the heavy weight responsibility on all of our shoulders. It is as if the success of the delegation hung on each person.”
source: http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/News/today/10/01/2801.htm
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Christian apologists: Be careful with Oprah's spiritual teachings
by Michelle A Vu, Christian PostPosted: Tuesday, January 26, 2010, 8:45 (GMT)
She is persuasive, influential and does a lot of good, but Christians should be careful when Oprah speaks about spirituality, warned two apologists.
Speaking to a crowd of more than 1,500 people at McLean Bible Church outside Washington DC on Friday evening, renowned apologist Josh McDowell and up-and-coming apologist Dave Sterrett explained the danger of adopting Oprah’s spiritual teachings from a Christian perspective.
McDowell and Sterrett, who recently co-authored a book on the subject, pointed out that the talk show queen and the spiritual teachers she promotes teach pantheism – God is all and all is God – and that there are multiple paths to reach God. She also emphasises that people should carry out their inner longings instead of restraining themselves if the act is said to be a sin by the Bible.
“Here is where you got to be careful,” said McDowell, bestselling author of More Than a Carpenter.
“Not only Oprah but others use Christian or religious terminologies that Christians would accept as Christian.
“The Christian God is a personal creator God which all truth resides, who is totally outside of ourselves and outside of our universe.
“When Oprah and others refer to God, it is an impersonal force. And I think one way that comes out is that they will say, ‘Look within you and find yourself from within. Find that God-consciousness. That is God.’”
In their book, O God: A Dialogue on Truth and Oprah’s Spirituality, the apologists warn that Oprah “uses the language of the Bible and Christian traditions” but mixes that with other traditions to “create a hodgepodge of personalised faith”.
They point out in their book that Oprah said during her first A New Earth web seminar in 2008 that Christ came to show people that they can discover their own “Christ-consciousness”.
One of the main characters in the book, Lindsey, is struggling to make sense of Christianity, Oprah’s spirituality, and the teachings of Eckhart Tolle, author of Oprah Book Club’s pick A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose. She says at one point:
“Maybe Jesus was no more God than you and I are. Maybe we’re all just part of the UltimateBeing that we call God or Universal Energy or that Eckhart calls Consciousness. Eckhart doesn’t feel that it is arrogant for me to say, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.’ If Jesus said it, why can’t I?”
But McDowell warned Friday that reliance on this inner consciousness is dangerous because it can justify sin since people should follow what they feel rather than an absolute Truth.
McDowell recalled an episode on an Oprah Winfrey Show last year where former evangelical leader Ted Haggard, who was involved in a gay sex and drug scandal, and his wife Gayle were guests. Gayle said that her husband had struggled with homosexuality since he was 12 years old and that he was trying hard to bring the desires under control and defeat them.
Oprah reacted by standing up and saying she disagrees and that one needs to look within oneself, to find the inner longings and live them out in order to be authentic.
“But wait just a minute,” the respected apologist cautioned. “What if he was a child abuser? Would Oprah say the same thing? To be consistent she has to. What if he was a rapist? She would have to say the same thing.”
McDowell and Sterrett, through examples of what Oprah teaches about spirituality, demonstrate that she cannot be consistent with her belief.
The apologists also addressed the opinion of Oprah and others who subscribe to religious pluralism – which says multiple religions, often contradicting, are equally true – saying that Christians are intolerant for saying Jesus is the only way. The apologists pointed out that those who say they cannot tolerate people who declare Jesus to be the only way are in fact showing they are intolerant of that statement. If they were as open-minded as they claim, the authors argued, they would tolerate people who disagree with them.
“I am not called in the Bible to be tolerant,” McDowell declared emphatically. “I am not. I refuse to be tolerant. I think it demeans people. I am not called to be tolerant; I am called to be loving. I am not called to tolerate people; I am called to love people.
“When you tolerate someone, it demeans them,” McDowell continued. “When you love someone, it projects value, dignity and worth in that person. As Christians we are called to not only love one another, we are called to love the ungodly.”
McDowell’s strong message resonated with audience member Denise Wingerd, 30, of Reston Bible Church.
“It clicked with me when he said Christians shouldn’t be tolerant,” Wingerd said to The Christian Post after the event. “The Christ standard is to love, to love those who persecute you. That is way above tolerance,” she said.
Wingerd said she used to watch the Oprah Winfrey Show until a “defining moment” made her decide to stop. On one episode, Oprah congratulated a guest for divorcing his wife and leaving his family after coming out, telling him it was time to celebrate that he was now his best self.
“I thought to myself, this woman does not deserve my attention,” Wingerd said.
Melanie McFarland, 29, a member of McLean Bible Church, appreciated McDowell’s argument that if people followed Oprah’s teaching on acting on their inner longings then child abuse and rape would be acceptable.
“You can rationalise everything in the world,” McFarland said. “He (McDowell) opened my eyes.”
She added, “I don’t watch Oprah but it’s just amazing people take her word and don’t look for the truth.”
O God: A Dialogue on Truth on Oprah’s Spirituality is written as a fictional Socratic dialogue where the reader feels he/she is sitting at the table with the characters discussing and comparing Christianity with pantheism and the spiritual teachings promoted by Oprah and her teachers. The book contains many exact quotes from Oprah and the authors she promotes on their views of spirituality.
Included in the back of the book are discussion questions that can serve as a guide in conversations about Oprah’s spirituality in community groups, book clubs, and Sunday school Bible classes.
source:http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christian.apologists.be.careful.with.oprahs.spiritual.teachings/25154.htm
She is persuasive, influential and does a lot of good, but Christians should be careful when Oprah speaks about spirituality, warned two apologists.
Speaking to a crowd of more than 1,500 people at McLean Bible Church outside Washington DC on Friday evening, renowned apologist Josh McDowell and up-and-coming apologist Dave Sterrett explained the danger of adopting Oprah’s spiritual teachings from a Christian perspective.
McDowell and Sterrett, who recently co-authored a book on the subject, pointed out that the talk show queen and the spiritual teachers she promotes teach pantheism – God is all and all is God – and that there are multiple paths to reach God. She also emphasises that people should carry out their inner longings instead of restraining themselves if the act is said to be a sin by the Bible.
“Here is where you got to be careful,” said McDowell, bestselling author of More Than a Carpenter.
“Not only Oprah but others use Christian or religious terminologies that Christians would accept as Christian.
“The Christian God is a personal creator God which all truth resides, who is totally outside of ourselves and outside of our universe.
“When Oprah and others refer to God, it is an impersonal force. And I think one way that comes out is that they will say, ‘Look within you and find yourself from within. Find that God-consciousness. That is God.’”
In their book, O God: A Dialogue on Truth and Oprah’s Spirituality, the apologists warn that Oprah “uses the language of the Bible and Christian traditions” but mixes that with other traditions to “create a hodgepodge of personalised faith”.
They point out in their book that Oprah said during her first A New Earth web seminar in 2008 that Christ came to show people that they can discover their own “Christ-consciousness”.
One of the main characters in the book, Lindsey, is struggling to make sense of Christianity, Oprah’s spirituality, and the teachings of Eckhart Tolle, author of Oprah Book Club’s pick A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose. She says at one point:
“Maybe Jesus was no more God than you and I are. Maybe we’re all just part of the UltimateBeing that we call God or Universal Energy or that Eckhart calls Consciousness. Eckhart doesn’t feel that it is arrogant for me to say, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.’ If Jesus said it, why can’t I?”
But McDowell warned Friday that reliance on this inner consciousness is dangerous because it can justify sin since people should follow what they feel rather than an absolute Truth.
McDowell recalled an episode on an Oprah Winfrey Show last year where former evangelical leader Ted Haggard, who was involved in a gay sex and drug scandal, and his wife Gayle were guests. Gayle said that her husband had struggled with homosexuality since he was 12 years old and that he was trying hard to bring the desires under control and defeat them.
Oprah reacted by standing up and saying she disagrees and that one needs to look within oneself, to find the inner longings and live them out in order to be authentic.
“But wait just a minute,” the respected apologist cautioned. “What if he was a child abuser? Would Oprah say the same thing? To be consistent she has to. What if he was a rapist? She would have to say the same thing.”
McDowell and Sterrett, through examples of what Oprah teaches about spirituality, demonstrate that she cannot be consistent with her belief.
The apologists also addressed the opinion of Oprah and others who subscribe to religious pluralism – which says multiple religions, often contradicting, are equally true – saying that Christians are intolerant for saying Jesus is the only way. The apologists pointed out that those who say they cannot tolerate people who declare Jesus to be the only way are in fact showing they are intolerant of that statement. If they were as open-minded as they claim, the authors argued, they would tolerate people who disagree with them.
“I am not called in the Bible to be tolerant,” McDowell declared emphatically. “I am not. I refuse to be tolerant. I think it demeans people. I am not called to be tolerant; I am called to be loving. I am not called to tolerate people; I am called to love people.
“When you tolerate someone, it demeans them,” McDowell continued. “When you love someone, it projects value, dignity and worth in that person. As Christians we are called to not only love one another, we are called to love the ungodly.”
McDowell’s strong message resonated with audience member Denise Wingerd, 30, of Reston Bible Church.
“It clicked with me when he said Christians shouldn’t be tolerant,” Wingerd said to The Christian Post after the event. “The Christ standard is to love, to love those who persecute you. That is way above tolerance,” she said.
Wingerd said she used to watch the Oprah Winfrey Show until a “defining moment” made her decide to stop. On one episode, Oprah congratulated a guest for divorcing his wife and leaving his family after coming out, telling him it was time to celebrate that he was now his best self.
“I thought to myself, this woman does not deserve my attention,” Wingerd said.
Melanie McFarland, 29, a member of McLean Bible Church, appreciated McDowell’s argument that if people followed Oprah’s teaching on acting on their inner longings then child abuse and rape would be acceptable.
“You can rationalise everything in the world,” McFarland said. “He (McDowell) opened my eyes.”
She added, “I don’t watch Oprah but it’s just amazing people take her word and don’t look for the truth.”
O God: A Dialogue on Truth on Oprah’s Spirituality is written as a fictional Socratic dialogue where the reader feels he/she is sitting at the table with the characters discussing and comparing Christianity with pantheism and the spiritual teachings promoted by Oprah and her teachers. The book contains many exact quotes from Oprah and the authors she promotes on their views of spirituality.
Included in the back of the book are discussion questions that can serve as a guide in conversations about Oprah’s spirituality in community groups, book clubs, and Sunday school Bible classes.
source:http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christian.apologists.be.careful.with.oprahs.spiritual.teachings/25154.htm
Monday, January 25, 2010
Abortion Whistleblowers $10,000 Reward Campaign Intensifies
by Staff
January 25, 2010
WICHITA, Kans., (christiansunite.com) -- Operation Rescue's Abortion Whistleblowers Campaign, which is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of abortionists who are breaking the law, is in full swing and taking to the radio waves, the Internet, and direct mail to advertize the project.
�" Flyers encouraging abortion clinic workers to come forward have been sent to every abortion clinic in the country. (View the flyer)
�" Radio ads have begun to flood the airwaves. (Listen to the ad)
�" A video on YouTube.com explains how to claim the $10,000 reward. (View the video)
�" Postings appear now on Facebook, My Space, and Twitter encouraging Whistleblowers to come forward.
The campaign has already yielded tips in several states, which are currently being evaluated. Operation Rescue is encouraging pro-life activists to help spread the word by distributing the reproducible flyers to clinic workers and posting Abortion Whistleblower links on their web pages and social networking sites.
"We have never found an abortion clinic that completely follows the law," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "Specifically, we are looking for information about fraud, including billing fraud, Medicaid fraud, overbilling, double-billing, and things of that nature that defraud the public. We have seen a number of abortionists charged with these kinds of crimes over the years."
"We are also looking into other violations that directly endanger the lives of women, including sex crimes, the concealment of child sex abuse, unlicensed workers, improper handling of controlled substances, chemical impairment, illegal abortions, falsification of medical records, and other abuses," said Newman.
Operation Rescue is encouraging abortion clinic workers and anyone else who might have knowledge of abortion clinic crimes to do the right thing and come forward in the interest of protecting women.
Newman appeals to potential whistleblowers saying, "You may be a current or former clinic worker. We want to hear from you. You may be a hospital employee that has witnessed abortion- related abuses. You may be former abortion patient that has suffered abuse during your abortion. Information you have could save lives and spare women from suffering as you have."
To learn more or to report abortion clinic abuses contact Operation Rescue at www.operationrescue.org
About Operation Rescue
Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation and has become a strong voice for the pro-life movement in America. Operation Rescue is now headquartered in a former abortion clinic that it bought and closed in 2006. From there, Operation Rescue launches its innovative new strategies across the nation, exposing and closing abortion clinics through peaceful, legal means. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to stop abortion and ultimately restore legal personhood to the pre-born in obedience to biblical mandates.
source:http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion08957.shtml
January 25, 2010
WICHITA, Kans., (christiansunite.com) -- Operation Rescue's Abortion Whistleblowers Campaign, which is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of abortionists who are breaking the law, is in full swing and taking to the radio waves, the Internet, and direct mail to advertize the project.
�" Flyers encouraging abortion clinic workers to come forward have been sent to every abortion clinic in the country. (View the flyer)
�" Radio ads have begun to flood the airwaves. (Listen to the ad)
�" A video on YouTube.com explains how to claim the $10,000 reward. (View the video)
�" Postings appear now on Facebook, My Space, and Twitter encouraging Whistleblowers to come forward.
The campaign has already yielded tips in several states, which are currently being evaluated. Operation Rescue is encouraging pro-life activists to help spread the word by distributing the reproducible flyers to clinic workers and posting Abortion Whistleblower links on their web pages and social networking sites.
"We have never found an abortion clinic that completely follows the law," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "Specifically, we are looking for information about fraud, including billing fraud, Medicaid fraud, overbilling, double-billing, and things of that nature that defraud the public. We have seen a number of abortionists charged with these kinds of crimes over the years."
"We are also looking into other violations that directly endanger the lives of women, including sex crimes, the concealment of child sex abuse, unlicensed workers, improper handling of controlled substances, chemical impairment, illegal abortions, falsification of medical records, and other abuses," said Newman.
Operation Rescue is encouraging abortion clinic workers and anyone else who might have knowledge of abortion clinic crimes to do the right thing and come forward in the interest of protecting women.
Newman appeals to potential whistleblowers saying, "You may be a current or former clinic worker. We want to hear from you. You may be a hospital employee that has witnessed abortion- related abuses. You may be former abortion patient that has suffered abuse during your abortion. Information you have could save lives and spare women from suffering as you have."
To learn more or to report abortion clinic abuses contact Operation Rescue at www.operationrescue.org
About Operation Rescue
Operation Rescue is one of the leading pro-life Christian activist organizations in the nation and has become a strong voice for the pro-life movement in America. Operation Rescue is now headquartered in a former abortion clinic that it bought and closed in 2006. From there, Operation Rescue launches its innovative new strategies across the nation, exposing and closing abortion clinics through peaceful, legal means. Its activities are on the cutting edge of the abortion issue, taking direct action to stop abortion and ultimately restore legal personhood to the pre-born in obedience to biblical mandates.
source:http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion08957.shtml
Human rights group releases persecution shame list
Human rights group International Christian Concern has released its annual top ten list of the world's worst persecutors of Christians.
International Christian Concern on Thursday released its annual Hall of Shame report that calls attention to the trend of Christian persecution around the globe.
India is ranked with countries such as Eritrea, Pakistan, Iran, North Korea, Somalia, Saudi Arabia and China where religious freedom has been suppressed and atrocities persisting on an alarming scale.
According to the report, India remains on the top ten worst persecutors list “due to constant violent attacks against Christians.”
"Sources indicate that in 2009, there was an average of three attacks per week against Christians. Although attacks are not comparable in intensity with other top ten countries, the scope of persecution in India is widespread and affects millions of believers," the report stated.
It cited the 2008 Orissa violence where dozens of Christians were murdered and over 50,000 were displaced following the murder of a Hindu leader.
"Many Christians in Orissa are still unable to return to their homes due to threats issued by Hindu radicals forcing their conversion to Hinduism as a condition for their return. These Christians continue to suffer in refugee camps that lack housing, sanitation and food," ICC said.
In addition to violence, Christians also face discrimination from state and local officials.
"The states of Gujarat, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh enforce anti-conversion laws which restrict the freedom of Hindus to convert to other religions."
ICC President Jeff King laments that the persecution of Christians has become a common occurrence and is rarely reported by the mainstream media.
"Due to their faith, Christians endure harassment, discrimination, deportation, imprisonment, rape, torture, murder and other forms of persecution," he said.
Interestingly, the report says Communist and former Communist states are becoming less antagonistic towards Christianity (North Korea being the exception). However, persecution continues to increase in Islamic countries.
Last year, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom placed India on its Watch List for the country’s inadequate response in protecting religious minorities.
The federal commission’s watch list consists of countries with governments that tolerate "serious violations of religious freedom.
source: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/human.rights.group.releases.persecution.shame.list/25141.htm
International Christian Concern on Thursday released its annual Hall of Shame report that calls attention to the trend of Christian persecution around the globe.
India is ranked with countries such as Eritrea, Pakistan, Iran, North Korea, Somalia, Saudi Arabia and China where religious freedom has been suppressed and atrocities persisting on an alarming scale.
According to the report, India remains on the top ten worst persecutors list “due to constant violent attacks against Christians.”
"Sources indicate that in 2009, there was an average of three attacks per week against Christians. Although attacks are not comparable in intensity with other top ten countries, the scope of persecution in India is widespread and affects millions of believers," the report stated.
It cited the 2008 Orissa violence where dozens of Christians were murdered and over 50,000 were displaced following the murder of a Hindu leader.
"Many Christians in Orissa are still unable to return to their homes due to threats issued by Hindu radicals forcing their conversion to Hinduism as a condition for their return. These Christians continue to suffer in refugee camps that lack housing, sanitation and food," ICC said.
In addition to violence, Christians also face discrimination from state and local officials.
"The states of Gujarat, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh enforce anti-conversion laws which restrict the freedom of Hindus to convert to other religions."
ICC President Jeff King laments that the persecution of Christians has become a common occurrence and is rarely reported by the mainstream media.
"Due to their faith, Christians endure harassment, discrimination, deportation, imprisonment, rape, torture, murder and other forms of persecution," he said.
Interestingly, the report says Communist and former Communist states are becoming less antagonistic towards Christianity (North Korea being the exception). However, persecution continues to increase in Islamic countries.
Last year, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom placed India on its Watch List for the country’s inadequate response in protecting religious minorities.
The federal commission’s watch list consists of countries with governments that tolerate "serious violations of religious freedom.
source: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/human.rights.group.releases.persecution.shame.list/25141.htm
Maj. Gen Eizenkot: No Tension in the North
24 January 2010 , 13:09
Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot comments on the security situation in the North of Israel
On Sunday (Jan. 24), the GOC of the Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, said that there is no truth to media reports on tension between Israel and Lebanon. “This is a virtual escalation that has no basis in reality.” The comments were made during a conference at the Institute for National Security Studies held in Tel Aviv.
Maj. Gen. Eizenkot spoke against the reports that another conflict in the North is only a matter of time. “The Lebanese side also has an interest in preserving the current calm,” he said, and added however that Syria keeps equipping Hezbollah with weaponry, and because of that “we are in a constant state of preparedness”.
“Hezbollah has not carried out any terror attacks since the Second Lebanon War, but it is growing stronger and we are preparing for any scenario. We will know how to act effectively. Nasrallah’s speeches are empty threats, he knows that important infrastructures have been damaged, and he would be happy to return to the days prior to July 2006,” said Maj. Gen. Eizenkot. “The Iranian threat is very significant and influential in the Northern regions of Lebanon. The hidden factors of the threat are the government’s Quds Forces who are working on the equipment and training of Hezbollah, building strongholds in the South as well,” he added.
source: http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/News/today/10/01/2402.htm
Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot comments on the security situation in the North of Israel
On Sunday (Jan. 24), the GOC of the Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, said that there is no truth to media reports on tension between Israel and Lebanon. “This is a virtual escalation that has no basis in reality.” The comments were made during a conference at the Institute for National Security Studies held in Tel Aviv.
Maj. Gen. Eizenkot spoke against the reports that another conflict in the North is only a matter of time. “The Lebanese side also has an interest in preserving the current calm,” he said, and added however that Syria keeps equipping Hezbollah with weaponry, and because of that “we are in a constant state of preparedness”.
“Hezbollah has not carried out any terror attacks since the Second Lebanon War, but it is growing stronger and we are preparing for any scenario. We will know how to act effectively. Nasrallah’s speeches are empty threats, he knows that important infrastructures have been damaged, and he would be happy to return to the days prior to July 2006,” said Maj. Gen. Eizenkot. “The Iranian threat is very significant and influential in the Northern regions of Lebanon. The hidden factors of the threat are the government’s Quds Forces who are working on the equipment and training of Hezbollah, building strongholds in the South as well,” he added.
source: http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/News/today/10/01/2402.htm
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