Frank Ritchie talks about the recent Israeli attack on the flotilla attempting to break the blockade and bring aid supplies into Gaza.

On July 11, 1947 a ship once known as President Warfield but renamed SS Exodus, left the port of miggets Sete in France. The ship had served as part of the American navy during WW2 but was sold by the War Shipping Administration in 1946. It was purchased by the Potomac Shipwrecking Company which was acting as an agent of the Haganah. The Haganah was an underground militant Jewish organisation operating in Palestine at the [...]

“Damn Israel”. That’s what Turkish protesters have been yelling outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul. Israel is accused of attacking a flotilla of vessels bringing aid to Gaza. Apparently 10,000 tonnes of aid was aboard. About 9 “activists” were killed in the incident. Like most other news emanating from any Israeli-Palestinian conflict – truth is the first casualty. Even a brief perusal of a number of news sources shows contradictory and confusing information. The Telegraph [...]

The following is a guest post from Philip Church. Philip serves as a Senior Lecturer in the School of Theology at Laidlaw College. Philip completed an MCS from Regent College in 1983 and an ACT MTh in 1996, both in New Testament Studies. He was the Registrar of the former Tyndale College from 1985 until 2000 as well as being a regular tutor for the College. He was appointed Academic Registrar of the Tyndale Graduate [...]

The issuing of visas which prevent NGOs from working among Palestinians has been condemned by TEAR Fund NZ. TEAR Fund Executive director Stephen Tollestrup said issuing NGOS with tourist visas which prevent them working was another element in Israel’s `Matrix of Control’ to frustrate and intimidate the Palestinian population and their NGO advocates.

On July 9th, Ian McInnes from TEAR Fund attended a one day conference at Laidlaw College exploring biblical perspectives on the land of Israel.  This is his brief summary of the day Israel The national of Israel and its modern day boarders raise strong opinions within the church and the world beyond. Israel’s capital Jerusalem and in particularly the Temple Mount – on which the Dome of the Rock sits – is perhaps the most [...]

There are many stories out there now about the first meeting between Obama and Netanyahu as President and Primie Minister, most are based on the press briefing. You can read all the conjecture from reporters, but it is also good to see the thing they are reporting on for yourself, so here is the press briefing for you to watch.

There is a book coming out in New Zealand that looks at 5 Christian perspectives on the Palestinian/Israeli issue and puts them in conversation with each other. One of the 5 contributors is Steve Tollestrup, the Executive Director of TEAR Fund. In this edition of the Podcast we chat with Steve about the book, the Christian perspective of the issue and TEAR Fund’s involvement in the West Bank and Gaza. Click here for instructions on [...]

Even when a movie scores rave reviews and a truck load of awards there’s still no guarantee you’re going to enjoy it… and you probably won’t enjoy Waltz with Bashir. It’s a grueling watch, not for the faint hearted. Waltz with Bashir is a 90 minute animated documentary, recorded in modern Hebrew and subtitled, made in Israel last year by Ari Folman. Folman was a 19 year old conscripted soldier in 1982 when Israel invaded [...]

A couple of days ago, I mentioned that Israel’s election was drawing near. With the election now concluded, how has it played out? Kadima (Israel’s centrist party) narrowly got the most votes with the right wing Likud party just behind. The win doesn’t mean much for Kadima though as the whole thing is about coalitions and it looks like the right wing block got more seats in the Knesset (parliament). Now both Tzipi Livni (Kadima [...]