bobjots : redux

In the “grand tradition” initiated by Sivin (see his conversations posted here, here and here), here’s a little e-mail exchange I had with a friend who forwarded me a prayer request from a Christian ministry that’s currently providing relief for Israeli victims of the Israel-Palestine conflict. I was belatedly aware of the date of the [...]

This is just a quick post before I leave the house but a unilateral ceasefire has been declared in the Gaza Strip by Israel. While not the ideal situation (Hamas has so far refused to recognise the ceasefire and Israel has threatened to retaliate if there are any attacks), this is a welcome development and [...]

.. and while your politicians and the rest of us rally to your causes with militant exclusivity .. your children continue to die. Maybe a reminder from Golda Meir (with a minor twist) might be worth a thought .. Peace will come only when you love your children more than you hate theirs Hope you [...]

There’s been some allusions and not so subtle hints from some of my Christian friends that by virtue of our vocal support for the end of the current violence in the Gaza strip as well as advocacy for peace in the Middle East, we have somehow: Been subsumed by the mainstream anti-semitism (I don’t need [...]

The National Evangelical Christian Fellowship has issued a statement asking Christians to pray for the cessation of violence in the current Israel-Palestine conflict: As an evangelical Christian organisation in Malaysia committed to the full authority of our holy scriptures, we are compelled to call on all member churches to pray earnestly and without ceasing for [...]

I am still trying to work out my own feelings after reading this piece by Dr Ng Kam Weng of the Kairos Research Centre. While technically not disagreeing with the points he presented, I am wondering how different it is from the counter opinions that we commonly see presented in our media. Granted its definitely [...]

This prayer appeared in the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, on January 7, 2009. If we could all start praying and acting this way, perhaps we might see an end to the cycle of violence and see a just and lasting peace in the region: If there has ever been a time for prayer, this is that [...]

In the context of the larger Israeli-Palestinean conflict, the Western media is frequently accused of having a pro-Israeli bias. This is definitely true of the more openly right wing media agencies. On the flip side, the Malaysian media is quite openly anti-Israeli and pro-Palestine. One of the more obvious similarities shared by these two poles [...]

I just got this outburst of frustration from a friend of mine : Enough is enough .. the blame game is all over the place! Israel is wrong .. I get it. Hamas is wrong .. I get it. Fatah is wrong .. I get it. The West is wrong .. I get it. Well [...]

Munafik is a Malay word originating from Arabic. It basically means hypocrisy. And looking at what’s been happening of late, it seems to be the main modus operandi of Malaysia’s officialdom. Yesterday, there were a few large demonstrations after the Muslim Friday prayers that culminated in the handing over of a memorandum of protest regarding [...]

I’ve seen many statements on the current Gaza crisis. While I feel that a lot of them bring up points I can personally agree with, it is perhaps this statement by Musalaha (see also the Wikipedia entry as their website is being redeveloped), a non-profit organisation that works towards reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians, that [...]

A friend of mine who has been posting some resources on peacemaking and reconciliation vis-a-vis the recent crisis that is occuring in the Gaza strip has been receiving some critical e-mails from fellow Christians about what they perceive as his blind support for the Palestinean cause. In a sense, it is fortunate that my friend [...]

The Council of Churches of Malaysia has issued a statement stating their support for an immediate ceasefire and the seeking of a just and lasting peace for both Palestine and Israel. CCM also launched a Gaza Humanitarian Relief Fund for the purpose of providing aid for the civilians caught in the crossfire: Call for an [...]