Catholic View on Pull Out of Israeli Settlements?

[gnjsdad]

stillsmallvoice:

It is not illegal to try and persuade someone to change his/her faith in Israel (whether Jewish or not). It is illegal to offer anyone a material/financial inducement to do so. Any organization, religious or otherwise, has full access to the commercial press vis-a-vis buying ads, etc.

The comment I made in post #10 is based on an interview I read with Fr. David Jaeger, OFM - an expert in relations between the Vatican and Israel and the official spokesman for the Franciscan custody in the Holy Land.

This is the relevant excerpt from the interview…

Father Jaeger, it is known that you personally have invested many years of hard work in trying to help build up the relationship between the Catholic Church and the State of Israel - how do you feel about this all?
*I cannot even begin to express how I feel… but let us remain on the objective level. *

Is there anything else we need to bear in mind about this crisis?

Very much so. This crisis calls attention once more to the impossible situation in which the Catholic Church does not have a single structure in Israel that is able and willing to address the Israeli public, and to participate publicly in the national debate. In fact, notwithstanding the manifold physical presence of the Church in the Holy Land, the Church is not publicly present in and to the majority Hebrew-speaking Israeli society at all. Thus, all week, while hate-propaganda was pouring out of the foreign ministry, and those inspired by it, there was no one to answer! No one to answer in Israel, in Hebrew, in the Israeli media, vis-a-vis the Israeli public. The field was completely abandoned. I do not know of another nation where the Church is so completely without public representation, without even a press officer capable and willing to engage the national debate, the national media, in the national language. For this to be effective, it needs moreover to be done on a continuous basis, so that in time of crisis, a recognised spokesman for the Church is always ready and available, and able to make his way into the public discourse and the national media. So much has been said and written for years now of the need to establish an Ecclesial Subject capable of embodying the Church in the Israeli Nation, just as the Church is present in every Nation, in accordance with the command of the Lord and the teaching of the Second Vatican Council. It must be understood that this is of critical importance for every facet of the presence of the Church in the Holy Land, and in the interests of all the national communities present within the wider ecclesial community. But then this is a discourse that must be taken up again and furthered on other occasions.

Is this, in your opinion, an accurate account of the situation of the Catholic Church in Israel?

Thank you, and Peace.

The entire interview can be seen here…

 

[bekalc]

One of my Pentecostal professors, he also said that Christ is the fulfillment of the prophecies. And the prophecies are speaking about Salvation (the kingdom of God).

He told us of how upsetting it was for him to be visiting Israel and some of the Evangelicals with him, were all like “We support you Israelis.” He responded by saying please pursue peace! He felt that our government should be truly neutral in this fight, and thats what I think too.
He then told us of how they prayed for Christians there, and a Palestinian Christian came up to him and asked him to pray for him. He said that he could tell by looking at the guy, how dejected he was.

I also at this seminary, heard a lot of stories from Evangelical missionaries to Muslims, they were all talking about how they wanted these students to understand how unfair the situation was for the Palestinians. One guy said when he wrote an article about justice for the Palestinians fellow Evangelicals spoke out heavily against him. He said that a lot of people need to really start rethinking their theology, if they think a few verses in the Torah mean we should support what’s happening to the Palestinians. However, the sad thing is that a lot of Evangelicals are not listening to these people.

As someone who is a former Evangelical I can say that the a lot of Evangelicals are incapable of listening to reason when it comes to the Israeli/Palestinian crisis. In contrast, a lot of Jewish Americans I know, recognize that Palestinians have rights.

I’m saying this because I think a big part of the problem is Evangelicals unilaterally supporting everything Israel does.

 

[Anna_Elizabeth]

vern humphrey:

Israel controls all the land from the Jordan to the sea. Israel has encouraged Israelis to settle in both the West Bank and Gaza. Some leaders of extreme Israeli groups have said their strategy is to keep building settlements until the Palestinians have nowhere to go. And many in Israel today condem any removal of settlers.

So I think it is fair to say that the Israeli policy has been at times to control all the land from the Jordan to the sea, and they have taken actions to meet that goal.

Vern, What makes you think that Israel only wants the land from Jordan to the Sea? This vastly overruns the UN specifications, but doesn’t come anywhere near the land claimed by those whose justification reverts to the Scriptures.

For starters, I’m quite sure that in exchange for the Gaza places and a few West Bank settlements (OK, call some of them illegal outposts), Israel is supposed to get some brand new West Bank areas.

I think the best we can do is be honest brokers - not favoring either side, and help them arrive at a two-state solution.

How does the saying go? “In your dreams, Vern!”

I asked my first question days and days ago. As the guy who’s “in debt up to [his] eyeballs” says, “Won’t somebody help me?”

Pray always,

Anna

 

[vern_humphrey]

Anna Elizabeth:

Vern, What makes you think that Israel only wants the land from Jordan to the Sea? This vastly overruns the UN specifications, but doesn’t come anywhere near the land claimed by those whose justification reverts to the Scriptures.

Yes, there are people who want a “Greater Israel.” But Israel exchanged the Sinai for peace with Egypt – that worked.

And to think that Israel has serious designs on Jordan or Lebanon is a little far-fetched.
Anna Elizabeth:

For starters, I’m quite sure that in exchange for the Gaza places and a few West Bank settlements (OK, call some of them illegal outposts), Israel is supposed to get some brand new West Bank areas.

Possibly – Israel is in a tight spot here. To a certain extent they’re trying to unring a bell. The problems they’re having with the settlements now must make it clear what a bad idea it was in the first place.

Give them credit for trying, though.