#israel/gaza war

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Adam Gregerman

Pope Francis has called for an investigation to determine if Israel’s operation in Gaza constitutes genocide, according to a new book published for the Catholic Church’s jubilee year. “According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide,” the pope said in excerpts published Sunday by the Italian daily La Stampa.

What makes the inflammatory statements in the pope’s book especially disturbing is that they follow on remarks by the pope that appear to demonize Jews even more broadly and which are contrary to teachings of the Church. Pope Francis’ prior Letter to Catholics of the Middle East on the first anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel from Gaza provoked widespread confusion and consternation among Jews and Catholics. While he has spoken regularly about the attack and the fighting that erupted in its wake, his inclusion in the letter of a citation of John 8:44 to denounce the evils of war was to many inexplicable.

The verse chosen by the pontiff, a vitriolic accusation that the Jews “are from [their] father, the devil,” has for centuries provoked and been used to justify Church hostility to Jews. Yet such terrible imagery of Jewish malfeasance is thoroughly out of place in a modern Catholic document. Regrettably, the pope nonetheless chose to use this notorious verse at a time when global antisemitism has reached disturbingly high levels. Such a statement threatens the intellectual work of his Catholic predecessors going back to the 1960s.

While the citation is surely troubling, more significant is the letter itself, for it is yet another example of an ongoing presentation of Francis’ extensive and controversial views on the Israel-Hamas war. This letter has made people aware of this significant body of statements and demonstrates the compelling need to understand current relations with one of the Jewish community’s most influential and important partners, Pope Francis and the Catholic Church. In the year after the attack, Francis has spoken publicly about the war at least 75 different times. The conflict is not just like other conflicts, for it occurs in a place “which has witnessed the history of revelation” (2/2/24). Not only is he understandably very distressed about the war, but he is also clearly knowledgeable about it and notes many aspects of it (e.g., hostages, negotiations, humanitarian aid, Israeli airstrikes, challenges for aid workers). With the possible exception of Russia’s war on Ukraine, no other conflict has received such frequent mention by Francis, nor has he engaged so intimately with the specific features of other, often more deadly conflicts. He addressed the war most often in scheduled gatherings for the Sunday Angelus Prayer and in weekly audiences with the general public, though he has discussed it at greater length in official contexts (e.g., Address to Members of the Diplomatic Corps Accredited to the Holy See, 1/8/24).

Pope Francis does not just speak homiletically. His statements express his deep-seated and passionate convictions about morality and political affairs. They also both reflect and influence current trends in Catholic thinking about the Israel-Hamas war. The Holy See of course is not just a religious institution but also a state, engaged in pragmatic exchanges and negotiations with other states and organizations. The pope’s views on war and peace necessarily shape Vatican diplomacy and guide Catholic political proposals, as seen for example in the statement of the Apostolic Nuncio to the U.N. in January 2024, which is replete with references to Francis’ speeches and elaboration on his ideas.

Francis is struggling to reconcile traditional Catholic just war theory, which began with St. Augustine centuries ago, with contemporary Catholic resistance to almost any justification of war, especially without international sanction (Fratelli Tutti 258 n. 242; see also the Catechism of the Catholic Church 2302-17). The latter, more skeptical view of war has roots in the 19th century but emerged strongly after World War II and the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), especially in the wake of the Shoah and the development of nuclear weapons. It continues to develop today, with Francis giving it his own emphases that reflect his roots in the global south and the influence of liberationist theology.

It is ironic, or perhaps predictable, that the Catholic Church in the modern period, now without access to military power, has moved away from just war theory and now largely deploys its more restrained views of war and peace in judging others. Given the prominence of the Israel-Hamas war in Francis’ speeches and its moral and political complexity, as well as his stature internationally, his views are relevant and influential.

[girlactionfigure]

Gazans are wondering where the "Gaza girl" Bisan has gone who managed to raise 3.5 million kroner (about one million shekels) online, "to rebuild hope in Gaza".

By the way, the journalist - the Gazan clown Saleh Aljafrawi has already managed to make almost a million shekels...

Well, Aljafarawi managed to siphon off more than half a million dollars from a recruitment account on another website.

The guy is a millionaire!

Sitting in a tent in Gaza and laughing all the way to the bank.

He's keeping his fingers crossed that the war will last as long as possible... it's a serious business for him.

Criticisms against him among Gazans in this matter are only increasing, but so is the rate of the cash flow...

There is another "heartbreaking" fundraising story about Mansour Shouman who managed to raise 650,000 Canadian dollars on the claim that he was kidnapped by IDF forces in Gaza - something that turned out to be complete nonsense after some Gazans delved into his story.

And there are many more "heartbreaking" stories, each of which managed to raise hundreds of thousands of shekels in the name of "Suffering in Gaza".

Gazan boys are now sitting in a tent in Gaza and writing the book: This is how I made my first million.

No wonder they cried when the internet went down in Gaza... How could they check how much they had collected and continue to promote the fundraising on social media?

What you see here is a drop in the ocean. The phenomenon is very broad. It seems that anyone can open such a business. Even if he isn't Gazan...

[i-am-aprl]

Palestinian activists get their message across on Londons iconic Tower Bridge landmark- one of the cities most historic buildings. We need a ceasefire now.

[nando161mando]

[remindertoclick]

Hi everyone! Here's your Daily Reminder to Click for Palestine!

And if you can spare a dollar, donate to ANERA!

[hycinthrt]

people are calling what happened today in gaza “the flour massacre”

the flour massacre

these people just wanted to get food for their families, something as basic as flour, one of the things that the very core of humanity is built on, and israel used it as a trap to murder them in cold blood

evil is not enough of a word. there is not a word to describe what they are doing to palestine. they are bleeding her out, they are torturing her and crushing her and hoping that nothing is left to remember her by when they are done. how can anyone stand and watch what is being done with indifference? how can you watch this level of human suffering, this crime against life and feel nothing, do nothing

[iritfelsen]

Videorecording Now Available of My Presentation at the 2024 World Federation of Jewish Holocaust Survivors & Descendants Conference

In September, I had the honor of giving the plenary presentation at the most recent gathering of the World Federation of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants (WFJHS&D), which took place in Toronto, Canada. My talk addressed how October 7 and the Israel/Gaza war have been impacting the descendants of Holocaust survivors. You can view the videorecording of my presentation by clicking on the…

[lesbiansandgayssupporttheminers]

[sugas6thtooth]

It's unfathomable, even more so when you realize this isn't the first time Israel has done this. She was a baby. The men were so obviously red crescent medics, and still, Israeli soldiers shot and killed them.

It wasn't a misfired bomb. It was guns. They knew what they were targeting.

Anyone who defends this, for whatever religion you believe in, even if you believe in nothing at all, I can only hope the afterlife brings you your deserved suffering on a platter. You're disgusting, vile creatures, who must've snuck onto the Earth because there is no way in nature that you are human. Die.

نَّا ِلِلَّٰهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ

Save the children of Palestine. Protect the medics. Free Palestine. 🇵🇸

[odinsblog]

This is unconscionable. (more)

[troythecatfish]

Using "Legalize" as a term to cover up the theft of people's homes and livelihoods is expected at this point from the NYT. The "free" press is complicit in the manufacturing of consent to not only destroy Gaza, but to also annex the West Bank. Free Palestine.

X: Assalrad

[drsonnet]

Hind Rajab was a 5 year old girl in Gaza who was killed while she hid alone in a car, along with the paramedics who tried to rescue her. Yesterday students at Columbia seized the administration building and renamed it in her honor.

Gadzooks Bazooka Instagram: gadzooks_bazooka

Remembering #HindRajab & children in #Gaza: This is what the mother of the child, Hind Rajab . https://tmblr.co/ZTeZMyfB_GHeeu00

Update (July, 2024)

UPDATE FROM

@sunnydice: (and please don't forget Layan Hamadeh , her 15 yr old cousin who was trapped with her or Yusuf Zino and Ahmed Al-Madhoun who bravely volunteered to try to save hind and were murdered by the IOF )

DrSonnet — هذا ما قالته والدة الطفلة هند رجب عندما سمعت بخبر... (tumblr.com)

[sayruq]

London’s biggest screening party for the Eurovision Song Contest finals has been canceled, the venue Rio Cinema and organizer Eurovision Party London have said. “Following discussion with the organizers of Eurovision Party London, we have collectively decided not to screen the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest this year while Israel remains in the competition,” the Rio Cinema said in a statement on X. “The Eurovision Party London has been a beloved partner of The Rio Cinema for many years, and we will continue to work with them in the future. We firmly believe that the Eurovision Song Contest has the power to bring people together across the world, and when its core values of inclusivity, equality and universality are upheld, it can be a genuine force for good. With its own slogan in mind, we hope that we can all be United By Music again soon. We will continue to organize fundraising events for the charities we support, including Doctors Without Borders and Medical Aid for Palestine.”

[i-am-aprl]

UN said: Gaza needs 70 years to be livable, at least 70% of the infrastructure is destroyed.. Gaza, the most beautiful city that I have ever seen in some before and after pictures that shows a little part of the destruction.

[nando161mando]

Biden’s State Department in a nutshell.

[starrswara]

netizens are desensitising gruesome things that are taking place in Palestine.

even the internet’s reaction to graphic things such as - pictures of injured children, civilians stuck under rubble, dead bodies of families in their destroyed homes etc. is beyond underwhelming.

DO NOT NORMALISE GENOCIDE.

BREAK THE STIGMA.

#save palestine