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.

This week we chat with Dr Tim Meadowcroft – Senior theology lecturer at Laidlaw College, TEAR Fund board member and recent visitor to the Palestinian territories.

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.

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 passage use phrases such as “everlasting posession” indicating a gift that is in place eternally, [...]

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 Gaza with little food, water and medicine, and under almost continuous attack from the land, [...]

AS the death toll in the Gaza war nears 1000, Kiwis have responded quickly by giving to TEAR Fund’s Gaza appeal. TEAR Fund is on target to raise NZ$30,000 and anticipates raising more than NZ$50,000 TEAR Fund executive director Stephen Tollestrup said he is pleased that Kiwis are seeing past the politics of the situation.

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 English translation of the initiative here.

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 something you are interested in, happy reading.

With the ongoing tensions and conflict between Israeli authorities and Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank that has continued since the establishment of the state of Israel, there are many factors of burden that never receive any sort of publicity. The tensions often noticed are militant in nature – direct acts and reactions of force. It’s not often we here about things such as water. It may come as a surprise to many that [...]