News Highlights:
- U.S. vetoes U.N. Security Council resolution calling for Israel to stop its
offensive in the Gaza Strip that has cost at least 80 Palestinian lives so
far. - Meanwhile, 13-year-old Palestinian girl shot to death by Israeli troops in
Rafah. - Israeli aggression in Gaza has left Palestinian in shock, as many state
Israel is deliberately targeting civilians. - Israeli human rights group, Btselem, says many civilians killed, including
19 kids under the age of 17. - Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Oct. 1st that the Israeli army was
instructed to be a little bit “light on the trigger” to punish the
Palestinians. - Israeli army “reviewing” its claim that UN ambulances transported rockets,
after UN officials demanded an immediate retraction and apology; meanwhile
Israel arrests 13 UN employees on suspicion of “terrorist links”.
Feature:
A live interview with Rev. Naim Ateek, from the group Sabeel, about his
upcoming trip to Vancouver and Sabeel’s conference earlier this year on
“Challenging Christian Zionism”. Rev. Ateek talked about how Sabeel was
founded to advance peace and justice in the Holy Land and how the Christian
Zionists, especially in the U.S., are using the scriptures to promote war
and oppression. A recent example was a speech by Pat Robertson in Israel on
Oct. 4, where he said a Palestinian state in Israeli-controlled land was
part of “Satan’s plan”. Rev. Ateek did point out that many Christian groups
in the U.S., however, were beginning to be more informed and mentioned the
recent divestment from Israel by the U.S. Presbyterian church.
Focus on Zionism:
Excerpts of a Sept. 25th report by AlJazeera.net about the comments of the UN
human rights investigator John Dugard on Israel’s apartheid wall. Dugard, a
South African law professor, said that Israel’s intentions in building the
wall had less to do with security and more to do with confiscating
additional Palestinian land.