Delegates of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), meeting in Orlando this past week, passed an amended anti-Israel resolution titled "Peace Not Walls: Stand for Justice in the Holy Land." While the resolution was approved 668 to 269, many delegates and lay members of the church seemed to be offering only tepid support, as indicated by a much closer subsequent vote on a motion to "reconsider."
An e-mail message celebrating the London terror bombings from a self-described "hasidic Jew," has been sent to members of the British Parliament and was also cited on the blog of the left-wing British newspaper, The Guardian. While the e-mail seems to be a hoax, it is important to note that even if it turns out to be genuine, the writer speaks only for himself, and in no way represents any segment of the Jewish community of the United States or Britain.
Covering the recent controversy over building and demolition orders in the Silwan neighborhood of Jerusalem, New York Times reporter Christine Hauser credulously repeated false allegations from the extremist anti-Israel group which calls itself the Israeli Committee against House Demolitions.
A New York Times report on the exodus of Christians from Bethlehem omitted a major reason for this demographic change – official and unofficial Muslim discrimination against Arab Christians, amid a rising tide of Islamism in the Palestinian territories.
All too often journalists sitting across the table from Arab leaders do their utmost to avoid asking any tough questions, lest they give "offense" to people clearly unused to being challenged. But now and then an intrepid interviewer does pose the uncomfortable question to a king or potentate. NBC's Tom Brokaw, for example, in a recent interview asked the tough questions of Jordan's King Abdullah. Why did they end up on the cutting room floor?