The murder of a headmaster at the hands of a minor sparks controversy. The shooter was a student who wanted ‘revenge’ for his expulsion. Pro-government unions (also) go on strike. Fr. Monge: education is only the ‘tip of the iceberg’. The four Akp reforms have overturned secular and scientific education. Erdogan's ‘nemesis’ and the rise of Imamoglu.
The German-born Benedictine who leads the Dormition Monastery stigmatises the ‘fanatical’ attitude while ‘people are suffering, dying’. The opposing front seen as ‘monster’ or ‘animal’ to justify the violence. The rise to power of the ultra-right Ben-Gvir government has led to an escalation in anti-Christian attacks in the Old City. Like Jesus prayer and forgiveness in response to hatred, the way to reconciliation.
Fr Bahjat Karakach, a Franciscan, talks about the difficult situation in the battered city after 13 years of war, a powerful earthquake, and the Gaza War. With inflation and rents skyrocketing, people survive with “remittances from relatives abroad.” The parish is involved in various projects in neighbourhoods once occupied by militias where poverty and degradation are high. The Church today is "a light in the midst of darkness.”
The hostages in the hands of Hamas, but also the starving civilians in the Strip and the victims of settler violence, in the prayer published in Israel by Rabbi Arik Ascherman - of the 'Torah of Justice' movement - on the evening when Jews celebrate through the rite of the seder the liberation from Egypt. "It is all too easy to become oppressed and oppressor at the same time. Stay with us, so that our fears do not become our masters".
Chaldean Patriarch calls for joint efforts to "ease" an escalation with "devastating" consequences. The Iraqi premier in Washington for a strenuous search for stability. The cardinal's satisfaction at returning to the capital after months of voluntary exile in protest against the withdrawal of the presidential decree. The promise of an inter-religious prayer for peace.
A gang of Syrian car thieves is suspected in the abduction and murder of the senior leader of the Lebanese Forces. The Maronite party calls the death, a “premeditated crime”. For Minister for Displaced Persons Issam Sharafeddine, thousands of armed Syrians are roaming refugee camps, “ready to take action against the Syrian regime.” Nasrallah denies any Hezbollah involvement and warns against “dangerous” reactions.
The vicar of Aleppo expresses concerns after yesterday’s raid against the Iranian embassy in Damascus that killed General Mohammad Reza Zahedi. “Here too we have counted 35 dead in an attack that seems to have been coordinated with the rebels and terrorists who control Idlib,” said the prelate who thanks Pope Francis for citing Syria’s suffering in his Easter message. To survive, “people are constantly looking for a piece of bread,” said Maronite Archbishop Nassar.
For Fr Romanelli, "something is moving" in the quagmire of international diplomacy, but an "effective" truce and "humanitarian aid" are needed. Yesterday's UN vote is a positive step, but it must be accompanied by the delivery of food and medicine and the stop of the invasion of southern Gaza. This year’s Holy Week celebrations are a mixture of “bitterness and joy”.
The autonomous region is expected to go to the polls on 10 June in a vote postponed several times due to disagreements between the min Kurdish parties. A ruling by Iraq's Federal Supreme Court is causing chaos after it abolished minority quota seats. Both the Chaldean patriarch and the Shura Council of Kurdistan have criticised the court’s ruling, which puts at risk the crucial, yet fragile balance exists between various groups.
On 20 February, the Chaldean Patriarch took part in the Saudi government's third forum on the media as "bridges" of peace, the Kaiciid a partner in the event. The relationship between Christians and Muslims in a nation in "evolution". The call for a form of 'synodality' also for Islam. The "wise" position of Riyadh in the war in the Holy Land. And to the Holy See: "We must dialogue, discuss" with the Saudis.
The 2024 Niwano Peace Prize, the “Nobel Prize for Religions" was given to a Sufi Muslim, who teaches at the American University in Washington, for his "holistic contribution to the cause of peace”. After the Hamas attack sparked Israel's war in Gaza, he renewed his work in recent months. Religious leaders must not allow themselves to be dragged into the "polarization", but ought instead to maintain a "prophetic voice" to promote justice.
The international community's focus is now on Rafah, while Israel gets ready for a ground assault. For Jordanian scholar Amer Al Sabaileh, the Palestinian cause has given way to global jihad. Hamas is politically divided while Shia groups are beholden to Iran. Saudis could play the role of mediators, transcending the Abraham Accords.
The ground operation in the south risks dragging Cairo into the conflict. The Camp David Accords at risk. After 130 days of conflict and a number of dead and wounded exceeding 100,000, the spectre of a new Nakba. Custody of the Holy Land: land operation "final drama" for the Strip. Fr. Romanelli: Rafah "only contact" with foreign countries, Gaza is "a cage".
The situation is still critical and Antioch a "ghost town". Caritas' contribution in guaranteeing food, accommodation, psychological support, education and schooling. Bishop Bizzeti: "It will take at least 10 years to understand whether the region will be able to recover, but I am optimistic".
The attack on Tower 22 and casualties among US troops have put Jordan back at the centre of regional events. A Lebanese source told AsiaNews that "a red line has been crossed". A Jordanian priest sees a "complicated" situation, but unity of people and leadership is a factor of stability. Peace in the Holy Land and a Palestinian state are the only way to put out the blaze of conflict.
Israel loses 21 soldiers in one day, calls for a two-month truce. The hostage issue remains unresolved. Increasingly, Israelis want a deal with Palestinians, with 51.3 per cent backing a demilitarised Palestinian state in exchange for the release of the hostages. Research by an Israeli NGO, Yesh Din, shows that Jewish settlers enjoy impunity; about 94 per cent of investigations into anti-Palestinian violence ended without an indictment.
Without a president for 14 months, the country of the cedars is undergoing a socio-political process of implosion. According to one (alarming) study, Syrian refugees who entered in 2012 could, within 15 years, account for half the population. And at the southern gate, a front has opened up between Hezbollah, a state within a state, and Israel.
Prime Minister Netanyahu's political and personal fate hangs in the balance in the Gaza war. The US fears a spillover into Lebanon (and Iran). For the expert in Jewish-Christian dialogue in Israel, Israeli reality is "complex”. After an early mobilisation, rifts are now emerging. Getting the hostages home is a priority, but peace remains the goal, “Even in these dark days.”
For Iran, 2024 will be the year of the choice of the 88 members of one of the Islamic Republic's most important bodies, scheduled for 1 March. It will be up to them to appoint the supreme guide, in the event of the death (or resignation) of 84-year-old Ali Khamenei. The possible return to the scene of former President Rouhani and the challenge with Raisi. The rise of Mojtaba Khamenei, the ayatollah's son and long-time active behind the scenes.
Speaking to AsiaNews the Latin Patriarch reviews the dramatic events of the last period, the war, the killing of the two Christian women. A "preventable" death, impossible to mistake them for Hamas militiamen. Conflict causes pain that divides, everyone "locked in their own." Jerusalem and Bethlehem's silence, failure to visit Gaza. Starting over with people, "to rebuild."
In this interview with AsiaNews, Avi Dabush, executive director of Rabbis for Human Rights, looks back at the tragic hours when terrorists attacked Kibbutz Nirim. Despite the fear and the violence, he considers the release of the hostages to be paramount and has launched a new outreach programme in the West Bank. For him, it is time to work for rights and justice. In Gaza, the parish of the Holy Family was also hit; a water tank and solar panels were destroyed.
The French Dominican is in charge of restoration work at the Our Lady of the Hour Church one of the symbolic monuments of the former stronghold of the Islamic State. A reconstruction that not only concerns the buildings, but also involves the social fabric and relations with Muslims. A message for the Holy Land suffering from the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Msgr. Imad Khoshaba Gargees received episcopal ordination in early November from the Chaldean Patriarch. In his mission he intends to look at the 'needs and expectations' of a community that has long been without a guide, basing his work on 'love and humility'. The wait is on for the date when he will be able to enter the country and the diocese. The 'many challenges' to which he will have to respond.
Msgr. Martinelli on the appointment that in a fortnight in Dubai will also see the presence of Pope Francis. Ecology and climate become "an element of catechesis" today, especially in the land of Arabia. A document of religious leaders has already been drawn up in Abu Dhabi. Faiths can "converge on ecological issues", finding "fertile ground for encounter, confrontation, dialogue and knowledge" that also embraces "spiritual and doctrinal heritage".
As in the days of Isis, the conflict threatens to inflame the squares of Muslim-majority nations. With the exception of Thailand, the countries in the region close to the Palestinians and Gaza; thousands of people in the streets shouting 'Allah Akhbar'. The war in the Strip fought on Tik Tok with fake news and fake profiles.
Added to concerns over the civilian victims of the conflict in the Strip are fears for regional economies. Oil prices and repercussions in the energy sector are being watched. A sharp drop in GDP is expected for the entire MENA region. World Bank: the impact on employment in an area where 300 million young people will be knocking on the door of the labour market by 2050.
The patriarchal vicar for Israel expressed his shock at the attack in the heart of the country. The massacre struck the innocents, women and children, young people who wanted to have fun. Such violence is rooted in the denial of the rights of the Palestinians people. Only "their respective extremisms" have won. The Church in the Holy Land is not a "political power" but a "voice of peace", which remains "the necessary goal".
Turkish security forces arrested 90 people in 18 provinces suspected of links with the PKK, responsible for last Sunday’s attack in Ankara. For the Kurdish group, it was a way to show the flag, but Turkey’s harsh response risks generating an escalation that will involve Syria and Iraq. In the first half of 2023, Turkey carried out more than 665 air strikes against Kurdish targets in Syria and Iraq.
A debate has opened in the country between those in favor and skeptics in the use of technology, in particular for the "speeding up" of the publications of sentences on religious matters. Beyond the dichotomy between tradition and modernity, Khamenei himself asks religious people to explore and support this process. Iranian government investments in the sector.
The cardinal relects on the the tumultuous weeks since the withdrawal of the presidential decree under pressure from self-styled leaders (in the pay of Tehran). A "more subtle" threat hangs over the community, but with the same logic as Isis: drive out Christians. The bitterness at the Pope's meeting (at the end of a general audience) with Rayan the Chaldean, who has been proclaimin in Iraq that Sako is no longer the patriarch. Forced to give up his presence at the meeting of the Mediterranean bishops in Marseilles because of the complaints in the courts, part of this campaign against him.
