Posts in Middle East
U.S. launches first-ever international religious freedom alliance

(NEWS ANALYSIS) At the launch on Wednesday, the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stressed the ever-growing need to combat the increasing violence based on religion or belief, including “terrorists and violent extremists who target religious minorities, whether they are Yazidis in Iraq, Hindus in Pakistan, Christians in northeast Nigeria, or Muslims in Burma” and “the Chinese Communist Party’s hostility to all faiths.”

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Pilgrims visit site of Jesus’s Baptism, now cleared of landmines

One of Christianity and Judaism’s holiest sites was seeded with more than 6,500 landmines and booby traps inside churches by the Israeli military beginning in 1968.

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New technology helps archeologists identify Bible scribes

Tel Aviv University researchers used an algorithm of image processing and newly-developed machine learning techniques to establish that two scribes wrote the Samaria ostraca some 2,700 years ago.

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New film explores how trauma of anti-semitism drives ongoing conflict

Afterward is a Jewish woman’s personal quest to understand Holocaust perpetrators and her own position in trauma’s legacy in her native Israel.

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Iceland's bestselling book on the woman who escaped pirates

The Travels of Guðríður Símonardóttir tells the little-known story of an Icelandic woman in the 17th century who was captured by North African pirates. She was enslaved at a harem in Algiers until ransomed, then married Iceland’s most famous poet. His hymns, inspired by the couple’s suffering, are still sung in churches and at funerals.

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ISIS spreads more fear after beheading 11 Nigerian Christians

(OPINION) A series of heightened attacks in recent weeks by terror groups in West Africa – Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger Republic and even at Nigeria’s border with Cameroon – gives credence to the theory that this region is targeted as the next formidable stronghold for ISIS.

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Gazan Christians can now escape to Israel's holy sites on Christmas

(OPINION) Israel ended a travel ban that now allows Gazan Christians to cross the border into Bethlehem and Jerusalem for Christmas, but the tiny (and shrinking) community continues to struggle under Hamas.

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Trump advocates for Jews on campus, but Jewish students largely reject him

Research shows that on college campuses where Trump’s executive order to protect Jewish students from discrimination should theoretically have the greatest effect, it seems more likely to fall on highly skeptical ears.

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Federal scrutiny over anti-semitism has deepened campus divisions

President Trump’s latest executive order aligns with his Education Department’s previous action against a Middle East studies program at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As advocates in different corners of the Israel-Palestine and anti-semitism debates gird themselves for more legal fights, those who’ve experienced the aftermath of the one launched in September say discord has worsened.

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Manger Relic's return to Bethlehem is cause for a historic Advent

A piece of wood believed to be from Jesus’ manger arrived in Bethlehem on Saturday. Palestinian Christians are celebrating its presence, and local businesses are hoping it will bring more tourists.

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Young people are living in a 'digital Babylon'

(OPINION) Religious leaders have been slow to catch up to the ways that technology is changing the lives of people in their communities. The consequences are evident.

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Ethiopian Jews celebrate their return to Jerusalem, yearn for more acceptance

Ethiopian Jews claim ancestry back to the Israelite tribe of Dan and escaped religious persecution with aid from Israel. Today, they continue celebrating the festival Sigd, about returning to Jerusalem, to remember God’s promise and bring more awareness is Israeli society about the racism and discrimination they still face.

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Thousands of Jewish worshippers pack Hebron to celebrate the life of Sarah

Some 30,000 Israeli, American, British and French Jews thronged Hebron and the adjoining town of Kiryat Arba on Nov. 22 and 23 to celebrate the Torah reading of Chayei Sarah, which details how Abraham the Patriarch purchased a double cave in which to bury his wife Sarah.

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As Brexit Continues To Divide Britain, A New Genocide Response Initiative Aims To Unite

On November 4, a few British Parliamentarians and experts have launched a new venture to address the issue of genocide. The Coalition for Genocide Response is a new initiative that aims to unite politicians, scholars, and civil society representatives in the common aim to provide a comprehensive response to genocide.

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Ancient Christian Communities Caught in Syria’s Crossfire Need Shelter This Winter

(OPINION) After Turkey’s invasion that bombed and killed civilians, Syrian Christians, Kurds and Arabs fled their homes and are in need of shelter and winter supplies. On a recent visit to the U.S, we talked to Syriac Christian Elizabeth Kourie about the geopolitical conflict and the needs of the community.

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Protests in Lebanon are testing unity among faiths and sects

Nearly three weeks of protests in Lebanon has united people across sectarian religious groups and signaled hopes of a new political system that could redefine how religious affiliation is lived in society.

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The persistent campaign against U.S. police training in Israel

A progressive Jewish activist group is working to end programs that send U.S. police to Israel for training, citing concerns about racial profiling and invasive surveillance techniques. The Anti-Defamation League, one of the most prominent Jewish groups fighting discrimination in the U.S, funds these programs.

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