On the UN Day of Solidarity with Palestine, Professor Walid Khalidi gives a lecture on the history of political Zionism and its profound impact on the struggle to control Jerusalem and how this city has become a source of conflict between Islam and the West. He discusses many wide held misconceptions on Islam and the history of Zionism and details the importance of Jerusalem for the faith of Islam.
Born in Jerusalem, Walid Khalidi, is the author of several books on Palestinian history and he is the Secretary General for the Institute of Palestine Studies.
This program was produced by Radio Tahrir for December 29, 2009.
For more information, visit:
http://radiotahrir.org/
With publication of the Palestine Kairos Document, the Alternative Information Center interviewed Reverend Dr. Naim Ateek, a co-signatory of the document and founder of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center based in Jerusalem.
The Palestine Kairos Document, issued at a 11 December meeting in Bethlehem, echoes a similar summons issued by South African churches in the mid-1980s at the height of repression under the apartheid regime. That call served to galvanize churches and the wider public in a concerted effort that eventually brought the end of apartheid.
The authors of the Kairos Palestine Document believe that current efforts in the Middle East are confined to managing the crisis rather than finding pertinent and long term solutions to the crisis.
They reject any use of the Bible to legitimize or support political options and positions that are based upon injustice.
Through the logic of peaceful resistance, the authors believe that resistance is as much a right as it is a duty, as it has the potential to hasten the time of reconciliation. Reverend Dr. Ateek reviews the background and ideas behind the Palestine Kairos Document in this interview.
This program was produced by News From Within for December 21, 2009.
For more information, visit:
http://alternativenews.org
Archbishop of Galilee Elias Chacour was just 8 years old when Jewish immigrants began to pour into his native Palestine after World War II. He and all of his village neighbors were forcefully evicted from their homes by Jewish armed forces, igniting anger and bitterness in many Arabs. But Chacour’s father refused to hate, instead finding strength in the non-violent teachings embedded in traditional Arab Christianity. Chacour says he found his father’s lessons difficult at first, but ultimately came to see the wisdom in that message. Chacour sits down with host Frank Stasio to discuss the challenges of promoting peace between Palestinians and Israelis.
For more information, visit:
http://wunc.org/tsot
http://www.meei.org/ (Mar Elias Educational Institutions)