Sof 66 july 2004 Flotsa Apologies to Americans The editorial of SOF 65 accused ‘front-page headlines’ of ‘ignoring the seizure of Arab lands by Israel and the USA’, a comment that provoked comment. Apologies from the editor if this seemed to be anti-American.
American intervention in Palestine is of course altogether different from America’s overt and covert involvement in Latin America, Africa, Asia and other parts of the Middle East. America has not directly attacked Palestine, like it has attacked Korea, Guatemala, Cuba, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Grenada, Libya, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan. Its covert operations in Palestine are far different from American covert operations in Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Honduras, Panama, Peru, Mexico, Columbia, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Iran. America’s role in Palestine is possible through its special relationship with Israel.
In return for America’s military and financial support, Israel claims to provide support for America’s ‘political-strategic interests in the Middle East’ (Nadav Safran) and is seen to be a ‘strategic asset’ by America. It has also provided a route for CIA subsidies to military groups in Africa, Central America, and Asia, and sells American arms to support many American interventions. So a third of all America’s overseas aid goes to Israel, nor is this financial support subject to sanctions when Israel is in breach of UN Security Council resolutions, demonstrating America’s tacit support of Israel’s seizure of Palestinian land. Israel’s ability to bomb and bulldoze houses and refugee camps, it’s military capacity, is paid for by Americans. Symbolic of this special relationship between Israel and America is America’s veto of the UN Security Council resolutions of 1982, calling for withdrawal from the Lebanese capital Beirut and an end to military action in Lebanon. The American writer Noam Chomsky Dear . Dalai Lama explains such matters well in many works, while exploring the special relationship with Israel in Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel and the Palestinians (1983, updated 1999).
Besides, it is not the American people with whom many outside of America have disagreements. It is America’s foreign policy, its environmental policy (Kyoto, oil, and weapons of mass destruction), its human rights abuses (in Abu Ghrabi prison, in Guantanamo Bay, and in all places of human rights violations to which prisoners are taken to be ‘interrogated’ ), its racism (reflected in the numbers of black poor, and as a consequence of poverty, the number of black prisoners, black soldiers, and blacks without a vote), its lack of true democracy within the US and the world community, such as its violation of international law (of the U.N.), and—perhaps underlying all of this— the belief that it has God’s blessing for such morality and is God’s gift to the world—its peacekeeper! After all, some American people, including Chomsky, are among the first to criticise a President that was appointed by the Supreme Court, and a political system that is run by money. i-church Following the lead of the first internet church, The Church of Fools (www.churchoffools.com), sponsored by the Methodist Church of Great Britain, this month sees the launch of the Church of England’s ‘i-church’, the internet alternative to your local parish church (for those who have the latest versions of software ‘plugins’). The Church of Fools claims to have attracted 68,000 visitors from across the globe in the first two days. The Anglican ‘Web-pastor’, Alyson Leslie, says, ‘The church is recognising that it has to be where people are, and people are spending more time online.’ The Church of England's site will contain interactive services, among other things, creating an online community. Perhaps its success will be that you cannot yet get confirmed on-line — the usual point of departure for most young initiates. sof 66 July 2004 (BDU Luba nau jeIDy, Lvivesicl, WULNgNaln. page FO UeUEIBy ~ 8-14 September 1984 Price 30 The Sea of Faith Don Cupitt examines the ebb and flow of Christian belief in six programmes on BBC2.
Inside: the turn of the tide The September Edition of the Sea of Faith magazine will mark the 20th anniversary of the BBC TV series, The Sea of Faith, which was aired from September 1984. Contributions for this special edition are invited from members and readers. The editor would like to include personal recollections of those who saw the original broadcast, as well as articles. Please mail your reflections to the editor Paul Overend, Glasdo, Llan Ffestiniog, Gwynedd LL41 4LL.