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 [...]

“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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Israelis are set to go to the polls in what is a hotly contested election race that sees the party leading the current coalition, Kadima, and the opposition Likud party running very closely to each other in the polls. Kadima is lead by Tzipi Livni, the current Foreign Minister. Likud is lead by Benjamin Netanyahu. Both people have very interesting [...]

God speaking to Abraham – “And I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their God.” Genesis 17:8 (NRSV) Before we go any further, it is important to point out that many English translations of this [...]

The leaders of New Zealand churches are deeply concerned about the dire situation in Gaza and support the call for an immediate ceasefire in the region The escalation of violence and associated increase in civilian casualties is intolerable. It is time for concerted action to end the suffering of the 1.5 million people trapped within the 360 square kilometers of [...]

In private conversations and in various places online where the Israeli/Palestinian conflict has been discussed, I have voiced my personal support for the Arab peace initiative that was adopted by the Arab League at the annual Arab summit in Beirut in 2002. Many people have expressed little awareness about what it actually is, so I thought I would put the [...]

With reports saying that 46% of Palestinian deaths in this assault on Gaza are women and children and the humanitarian crisis there now being seen as a catastrophe, I would urge you to consider supporting this appeal. TEAR Fund New Zealand has launched an emergency appeal for Gaza in the wake of mounting civilian casualties and internal displacement caused by [...]

I have decided to write this after my latest post about the Israel/Palestinian conflict led to a conversation that probably needs me to fill out some of my theological/biblical studies thoughts a little more. This is a very long article (over 4500 words) so feel free to not bother reading it if this stuff doesn’t interest you. If it is [...]