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[Shammu]

Bush tells Iraq leader U.S. will back him

By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent 13 minutes ago

BAGHDAD, Iraq - President Bush told Iraq's new leader in a surprise face-to-face visit on Tuesday that the fate of his war-scarred country was in Iraq's own hands. Bush was pressed in turn not to withdraw U.S. troops too quickly.

"There's a worry almost to a person that we will leave before they are capable of defending themselves," Bush said as he flew back to the United States after his lightning, long-distance trip to meet with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Bush spent over 5 1/2 hours in Baghdad in his second visit of the three-year war, both kept secret until he had safely arrived. He met with American troops at Thanksgiving 2003 in a visit confined to the airport and limited to several hours.

This time, he traveled to the city's heavily fortified Green Zone.

In a mission designed to both showcase U.S. support for the new unity government and to ease war concerns at home, the president told the Iraqi prime minister the United States would stand by the new government as it works to achieve stability.

"When America gives its word, it keeps its word," Bush said.

At the same time, he emphasized that Iraq must control its own destiny.

"The decisions you and your cabinet make will be determinate as to whether or not a country succeeds that can govern itself, sustain itself and defend itself," he told al-Maliki.

Bush slipped away from what had been billed as a two-day meeting at Camp David, Md., for the 11-hour overnight flight that brought him to his first direct talks with al-Maliki and members of the new government.

His visit was accompanied by incredibly tight security. Leaving Baghdad, lights were turned off both on the helicopters that took Bush and his entourage to the airport and on Air Force One itself.

Only a handful of close aides knew about the trip in advance.

Later, speaking with reporters on the flight home, Bush said he assured the Iraqi leaders "they didn't need to worry" about U.S. troops withdrawing too soon and too quickly.

"They are counting on us to continue to take the lead until such time as they are ready to take the lead," Bush said.

Bush said that top U.S. military and policy officials would sit down with Iraqi officials in the days ahead "and devise a way forward." The president also said he would step up pressure on other world leaders to do more to help Iraq.

"I am going to call these leaders again and remind them that a stable and secure Iraq is part of a stable and secure Middle East," Bush said.

Bush's trip comes at a time when many Democrats — and some in his own party — are calling for a substantial number of American troops to be brought home by the end of this year.

War anxiety has been the driving force behind Bush's plunge in the polls and a cause of Republican distress about holding control of Congress in the November mid-tem elections.

Al-Maliki himself did not know the president was in Baghdad until five minutes before they met in the blue-domed palace once used by Saddam Hussein but which now houses part of the U.S. Embassy in the heavily fortified Green Zone.

The Iraqi prime minister had come to the embassy expecting to participate in a satellite video conference with Bush and aides from the presidential mountain retreat in Maryland.

Instead, Bush sat beside him. The video conference went on as scheduled with the U.S. officials still at Camp David.

"I've come to not only look you in the eye. I've also come to tell you that when America gives its word, it keeps its word — that it's in our interest that Iraq succeed," Bush told al-Maliki.

Bush didn't say whether he and the prime minister had discussed the timing or scope of a possible U.S. military withdrawal. There are now about 130,000 U.S. troops in the country and Bush faces increasing pressure at home to begin bringing many of them home.

Al-Maliki, speaking in Arabic, thanked Bush for U.S. protection, but expressed a general hope for the day when American troops would be gone.

"God willing, all of the suffering will be over, and all of the soldiers will be able to return to their countries with our gratitude for what they have offered," al-Maliki said.

Before leaving Baghdad, Bush addressed a group of about 300 cheering U.S. troops assigned in supporting roles to the U.S. Embassy. He thanked them for their work and said a top U.S. priority was now to support the new government.

"Our job is to help them succeed and we will," Bush said.

Several U.S. lawmakers briefed on Bush's trip predicted that a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops might be accelerated following the presidential visit.

This time, Bush flew by helicopter from Baghdad International Airport to and from the Green Zone, where Iraq's government meets and the U.S. and British embassies are based.

Bush also met with other Iraqi leaders before leaving the country.

Later, speaking with reporters for about 35 minutes on Air Force One, Bush said one of the Iraqi cabinet ministers asked him about the U.S. military's conduct in terms of human rights of Iraqis.

"I assured her any complaints she had, the ambassador is more than willing to listen and there will be full investigations." He said he reminded the Iraqi officials that mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by Americans at Abu Ghraib prison "is a sorry chapter in the Iraqi experience."

The U.S. troops cheered loudly and raised cameras high as Bush visited them.

"Thought I'd stop by to say hello," Bush said, to laughter. "I bring greetings from a grateful nation. And I thank you for your sacrifice."

Bush's visit came as his administration attempted to regain the initiative after months of increasingly deadly violence in Iraq and flagging support for the war among Americans.

In Washington, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld gave a classified briefing on Bush's trip to selected senators.

Sen. Carl Levin (news, bio, voting record) of Michigan, senior Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, told reporters afterward that Bush's trip "is likely to lead to phased redeployments this year and continuing in the next year."

Rumsfeld said that many U.S. troops have already been brought home. He said officials would meet with Iraqi leaders "in the weeks ahead discussing at what pace we're going to be able to draw down our forces and it will all be done in a very orderly way."

Bush's visit came six days after a U.S. air strike killed terror chief Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and five days after al-Maliki completed his cabinet by naming the ministers of Defense and Interior — events the president's advisers hoped would lead to political progress.

But underscoring the dangers that remain, a series of explosions struck the northern city of Kirkuk on Tuesday, killing at least 16 people. And the new leader of al-Qaida in Iraq pledged to avenge predecessor al-Zarqawi's death with horrific attacks, according to a statement posted on the Web.

Al-Maliki has won U.S. admiration by promising to crack down on militias and sectarian violence, promote national reconciliation, accelerate reconstruction efforts and restore essential services such as electricity.

[Soldier4Christ]

US bans four Chinese companies for aiding Iran


The United States on Tuesday prohibited all transactions with four Chinese companies and one US company for allegedly helping Iran acquire weapons of mass destruction and missiles capable of delivering them.

"The companies targeted today have supplied Iran's military and Iranian proliferators with missile-related and dual-use components," said Stuart Levey, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the US Treasury, reports Trend.

He urged governments worldwide to take appropriate measures to ensure that their companies and financial institutions are not facilitating Iran's proliferation activities.

Three of the Chinese companies are Bejing Alite Technologies Company, Ltd; LIMMT Economic and Trade Company, Ltd and Great Wall Industry Corproration.

The company with US connections is China National Precision Machinery Import/Export Corporation, whose US representative is G.W. Aerospace, Inc., based in California.

[Soldier4Christ]

New al-Qaeda chief in Iraq, Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, releases first message, calls on jihadis to carry on holy war, issues threats against Shiites


The new leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, has issued his first statement, vowing that terrorists in Iraq will go on with the jihad until "the infidels fall back."

 

The triumphant communiqué, peppered with Koranic quotes, was disseminated on jihadist internet sites. It contained violently anti-Shiite sentiments and threats, and claimed that jihadists were in the "showdown stage" in Iraq.

"We will continue with you what our Sheikh Abu Musab, may Allah give mercy on him, started," Muhajir said, in a message released by the Media Committee of Mujahedeen (holy warriors) Shura Council of Iraq.

 

"Three years (have) gone, your Mujahedeen sons gave the enemy the taste of defeat and humiliation, and by Allah's will your sons are in the showdown stage, and nothing (is) left to our enemy but turning their backs," the statement claimed.

 

"Your sons in the land of two rivers (Iraq) are fine, and they today have a strong backbone… and no matter what the Kufar (infidels) do, and no matter what there numbers are they will be defeated, and they will be expelled with the blood on their face and this is what their leaders admitted," Muhajir declared.

 

He added: "The Mujahedeen everyday step forward while the Kufar continues falling back and in continuous breakdown."

 

Quoting from the Koran, Muhajiir said: "Truth hath come, and falsehood showeth not its face and will not return. 39:49."

 

Attempting to use a tone of strength, Muhajir appealed to the "the Nation of Islam, soldiers of Jihad," saying: "You saw how your crusader enemy begs its allies not to withdraw and leave the US alone in this war. And call European countries for help… our enemy doesn't know what to do with his puppets of apostates and hypocrites."

 

'Deadlock is Allah's plan'

 

Attacking democracy and Shiite Muslims, the new al-Qaeda terror chief in Iraq added: "And after all this it (America) came with democracy games, and lies of elections which brought him his servant of Shiites, and Sunnis hypocrite whom betrayed Allah and his Messenger, and now nothing is left in his pocket but to admit to the deadlock in which he put himself in by Allah's plan. This is the final stage, and their gathering will bring them nothing."

Muhajir urged Muslims to wage war in Iraq, using his first message as a recruitment call. "Fight them! Allah will chastise them at your hands, and He will lay them low and give you victory over them, and He will heal the breasts of folk who are believers," he said, quoting the Koran again.

 

"We tell those who let you down, from those who are calling themselves that they are Sunnis, sold their souls to the crusaders, and shook hands with spiteful Shiites based on weak excuses and falsified interpretations: You will see by Allah's will what we prepared for you for your betrayal, our swords will be on your necks, and it will not differentiate between an apostate and another," the message threatened.

 

'Retaliation day coming soon'

 

"The retaliation day is coming soon, and your lofty towers in the green zone will not protect you. And if they would betray thee, they betrayed Allah before, and He gave (thee) power over them. Allah is all Knower," the message said.

 

Muhajir lashed out repeatedly against Iraqi Shiite Muslims, saying they "worshiped other than Allah," and accusing them of betraying Islam's prophet, Muhammad.

Indicating that he would go on with Zarqawi's policies of massacring Shiites, Muhajir said: "We will continue with you what our Sheikh Abu Musab may Allah give mercy on him started, and we will fight you until the monotheistic word gets reveled and your word is one down.".

 

Abu Hamza Muhajir also swore loyalty to Osama Bin Laden, concluding his message: "Our Sheikh and leader, Osama, we pledge to your signal, and your commands, and we are happy to tell you that the morals of your soldiers are high, and honored souls that became under your flag, and beginnings of the near victory by Allah's well. And Allah is predominant in His career, but most of mankind knows not."

[Soldier4Christ]

Palestinian Workers Storm Parliament

Dozens of Palestinian civil servants stormed parliament Wednesday to demand long-overdue salaries, pelting Hamas lawmakers with water bottles and forcing the parliament speaker to flee the building.

The second attack on the parliament this week, along with the shooting death of a Hamas gunmen in the Gaza Strip, cast doubt on renewed efforts by leaders of the rival Fatah and Hamas parties to halt their increasingly deadly infighting.

Tensions have been high since Hamas defeated Fatah in legislative elections in January. President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, who was elected separately last year, has been in a power struggle with the Islamic group, and 22 people have been killed in factional fighting in recent weeks.

Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas agreed late Tuesday to start a weeklong series of meetings to try to reach an agreement over a proposal that implicitly recognizes the Jewish state. Their talks continued Wednesday, as senior security commanders joined in.

Abbas has endorsed the plan as a way to restart peace talks and lift crippling international economic sanctions that have rendered the government unable, since February, to pay salaries that support one-third of the Palestinian population. Hamas has rejected it.

In France, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed to "make every effort" to resume negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, although he also insisted that rocket attacks must stop first.

In Ramallah, hundreds of government workers demonstrated outside the parliament building, chanting anti-government slogans and demanding their wages. As the chanting grew louder, several dozen protesters burst into the building and pelted Hamas lawmakers with water bottles, tissue boxes and other small items.

"We are hungry. We are hungry," the protesters screamed. "Haniyeh, go home!"

During the melee, some demonstrators climbed onto lawmakers' desks. At one point, security guards broke up a scuffle between two female lawmakers. No injuries were reported.

Parliament speaker Abdel Aziz Duaik, a top Hamas official, fled the hall under heavy guard shortly before the crowd burst in. "I'm not coming back until they leave," Duaik said as he rushed out.

Order was restored after about 45 minutes, and the session resumed.

Most of the demonstrators were thought to be Fatah activists. Later Wednesday, several hundred Hamas supporters marched peacefully in Ramallah to condemn attacks on government buildings.

"We ask, whose interests are you serving through these actions, burning down our institutions?" Hamas leader Farhat Assad asked in a speech. "It is uglier than the practices of the Israeli occupation."

Earlier this week, hundreds of pro-Fatah security personnel went on a rampage in Ramallah, shooting and burning the parliament and Cabinet buildings in a rage against the Hamas-led government.

The power struggle, which has spilled over into factional fighting, has centered on control of the powerful, Fatah-dominated security forces.

In fighting Wednesday, a Hamas gunman was killed in the southern Gaza Strip shortly after Hamas militants attacked the local commander of one of the Palestinian security agencies. The commander was shot in the legs seven times and moderately wounded.

After the Hamas militant was killed, the group attacked the commander's home and set it on fire. Hamas activists pulled the commander's family out of the building before it was torched.

In their meeting in Gaza City, Abbas, Haniyeh and senior security officials discussed ways to end the violence.

"We deplore and regret these incidents," Haniyeh said. "We all are concerned and interested in stopping this deterioration. The government is going to carry out its responsibilities along with the security branches in order to maintain law and order."

Participants said Wednesday's talks focused on Hamas' controversial private militia. Hamas deployed the 3,000-member force last month, setting off weeks of bloodshed. Abbas has demanded the force be disbanded.

Haniyeh said Abbas had agreed to incorporate the militia into the regular police force in Gaza. But he declined to say when this might take place. Hamas has twice pledged to remove the militia out of public places, but it remains in position.

The wider dialogue between Fatah and Hamas has concentrated on a plan that calls for a Palestinian state alongside Israel and in effect recognizes the Jewish state.

Abbas believes the plan gives the Palestinians a way to form a united political front. But if the talks fail, he has scheduled a July 26 referendum on the plan, over Hamas' objections. Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction, wants changes in the language of the document, but Abbas says it will not be revised.

The talks have come amid a spike in fighting with Israel. On Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike killed eight civilians and two militants in Gaza. Two children were among the dead.

Abbas called the airstrike "state terrorism," and Haniyeh demanded an international inquiry.

Israel said the strike was aimed to stop militants about to carry out a rocket attack against Israel.

The airstrike followed the death of eight civilians in an explosion on a Gaza beach on Friday. Palestinians say the blast was caused by an Israeli artillery round, but on Tuesday, Israel said an internal inquiry concluded it was not to blame.

Fatah and Hamas officials rejected the Israeli findings.

[Soldier4Christ]

Iraqi Forces Begin Baghdad Operation

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Tens of thousands of Iraqi police and soldiers searched cars and secured roads in Baghdad on Wednesday as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki launched a major security crackdown aimed at ending the violence that has devastated the capital.

Despite the stepped up security measures, however, a parked car bomb struck the northern district of Qahira, killing at least four civilians and wounding six, police Lt. Ali Mitaab said.

The crackdown, which army officials said was dubbed Operation Forward Together, began a day after President Bush paid a surprise visit to Baghdad, promising continued U.S. support for Iraqis but cautioning them that "the future of the country is in your hands."

Iraqis encountered more checkpoints and soldiers as they drove to work Wednesday morning, causing traffic to back up in some areas, although noticeably fewer cars were on the streets elsewhere.

Al-Maliki called on Iraqis to be patient with the security measures and promised Iraqi forces would respect human rights and not single out any ethnic or sectarian group.

"We are only going to attack areas that are dens for terrorists," he said during a news conference to formally unveil the plan in Baghdad.

Maj. Gen. Mahdi al-Gharrawi, the commander of public order forces under the Interior Ministry, said his forces had not encountered any resistance, even in some of the capital's most volatile areas.

"The people are feeling comfortable with the security measures and they are waving to us," he said. "Until now, no clashes have erupted and no bullets have been fired at us."

Osama Ahmed Salah, a 50-year-old Sunni university professor in western Baghdad, said he hoped authorities would not randomly target the minority sect.

"The security plan operations should not depend on false information and they should not be sectarian or directed against a specific kind of people," he said. "The operations should be well-prepared and they should not be conducted in a way that humiliates citizens."

Security officials said Tuesday that 75,000 Iraqi and multinational forces would be deployed throughout Baghdad, securing roads in and out of the city, establishing more checkpoints, launching raids against insurgent hideouts and calling in airstrikes if necessary.

Al-Maliki also has announced plans for an extended curfew and a weapons ban, saying he would show "no mercy" to terrorists a week after al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. airstrike northeast of Baghdad.

The government did not say how long the crackdown would last and declined to give precise numbers about checkpoints and troops on Wednesday, citing security concerns.

But al-Gharrawi said Tuesday that the operation was the biggest of its kind in Baghdad since the U.S. handed over sovereignty to Iraq in June 2004.

The Iraqi army launched a similar crackdown dubbed Operation Lightning in May 2005, deploying more than 40,000 Iraqi police and soldiers, backed by American troops and air support. However, violence continued to spike and many Sunnis were alienated by the heavy-handed tactics concentrating on their neighborhoods.

The extended curfew is expected to curtail what few social activities Baghdad's 6 million residents have left. But those activities were already restricted in many neighborhoods where the streets are not safe at night.

Bush's visit, meanwhile, prompted a noisy protest in Baghdad on Wednesday by hundreds of followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The demonstrators raised Iraqi flags and pictures of al-Sadr while chanting "Iraq is for Iraqis" and "No to the occupation."

Al-Sadr led two armed uprisings against U.S.-led forces in 2004 and frequently has criticized the foreign military mission.

Abdul-Hadi al-Daraji, one of al-Sadr's closest political advisers, accused Bush of breaching Iraq's sovereignty by arriving in the country without notice. Bush's trip was made under incredibly tight security and only a handful of close aides knew about it in advance. Al-Maliki himself did not know the president was in Baghdad until five minutes before they met.

"Even the Iraqi prime minister wasn't informed about the visit by the American president to Iraq," al-Daraji said in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV. "These violations by the U.S.A. ... are in fact rejected by the Iraqi people."

He also demanded that U.S.-led troops be withdrawn from the country.

Bush said Tuesday that the U.S. military presence - now at about 132,000 troops - would continue for a while. "I have expressed our country's desire to work with you, but I appreciate you recognize the fact that the future of the country is in your hands," Bush said.

Despite Wednesday's protest, the visit was welcomed by many Iraqis.

"It is truly a surprise visit, but it is a good gesture and a step forward on the path of establishing security and stability," author Abbas al-Rubai said in Baghdad.

Baghdad's residents have suffered most from the suicide attackers and other bombings and shootings that plague the country on a daily basis and al-Qaida in Iraq has been increasingly focusing its attacks on the capital rather than on U.S. targets in western Iraq.

Authorities said they have specific intelligence that would help them focus the new security measures. "Baghdad is divided according to geographical area, and we know the al-Qaida leaders in each area," al-Gharrawi said.

Despite the security crackdown, he warned insurgents were likely to step up their attacks.

"We are expecting clashes will erupt in the predominantly Sunni areas," al-Gharrawi said. "The terrorists will escalate their violence especially during the first week as revenge for the killing of al-Zarqawi."

Civilians have also complained of random violence and detentions by Iraqi forces, especially the police, which are widely believed to have been infiltrated by so-called sectarian death squads.

Al-Gharrawi said there were plans for a single uniform to distinguish legitimate forces in the coming days. "There will be a special uniform with special badges to be put on the vehicles as a sign that it belongs to our forces," he said.

[Soldier4Christ]

Bush warns against quick pullout from Iraq
President addresses media a day after surprise visit to Baghdad

WASHINGTON - Back from a surprise visit to Iraq and a meeting with its new prime minister, President Bush on Wednesday reiterated U.S. support for the newly named Iraqi government and rejected calls for a quick drawdown of American troops.

“The policy of the U.S. government is to stand with this (Iraqi) government and help them succeed,” he said at a news conference in the Rose Garden.

“Iraqi and coalition forces are still on the offense,” Bush said. He cited raids of suspected terrorist targets. “We got new intelligence from those raids which will enable us to keep the pressure on the foreigners and the local Iraqis who are killing innocent lives.”

On Tuesday, Bush assured Iraqis in a surprise visit to Baghdad that the United States stands with them and their new government.

Facing the lowest approval ratings of his presidency, Bush over the past several weeks has sought to bolster support among his conservative base and for the the war in Iraq.

In a USA Today/Gallup poll earlier this month, Bush’s approval rating stood at 38 percent. A Harris-Wall Street Journal poll last month showed 29 percent of Americans approved of the president’s performance

Intelligence-gathering breakthroughs
In response to a reporter’s question following his prepared statement, Bush appeared to dismiss talk of a troop drawdown in Iraq. “If we pull out of Iraq before we complete the mission, we will make the world a more dangerous place,” he said.

“My message to the enemy is, don’t count on us leaving before we succeed,” Bush said.

As to war critics, Bush said, “my message to the critics is, we listen very carefully, and we adjust when needed to adjust.”

On related issues, the president hailed information-gathering efforts.

“Obviously the raids aren’t going to end terrorism ... but the terrorists are vulnerable,” Bush said.

Of his meeting with newly installed Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Bush said, “I saw first hand the strength of his character and his deep determination to succeed.”

In response to a question about Guantanamo Bay, Bush said that remaining detainees will face trial if they haven’t already been released to their native countries.

“I would like to close Guantanamo,” he said. “I also recognize that we're holding some people that are darn dangerous. Eventually, these people will have trials and they will have counsel.”

The recent suicides of three detainees at the U.S. prison camp has prompted new calls from European critics and the United Nations for its closure.

Bush also addressed abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib, a former Saddam Hussein-era prison.

“Abu Ghraib was a terrible mistake,” he said.

On domestic issues, Bush addressed a variety of topics:

    * On the CIA leak investigation, which ended its probe of top White House advisor Karl Rove this week, Bush called the special prosecutor’s work “thorough.” He sidestepped a question as to whether an apology was necessary for Rove’s involvement. “Now we’re going to move forward,” he said. “I trust Karl Rove. He’s an integral part of my team.”
    * Bush sounded an optimistic note on Republicans’ chances in upcoming elections. “I believe we’re going to hold the House and the Senate,” he said. “We’ve got a record to run on.”
    * Bush touted the strength of the U.S. economy and job growth adding that the Federal Reserve was watching closely for signs of inflation. “The Fed is watching the signals for inflation very carefully,” he said. “They'll make decisions independent of the White House.”

[Shammu]

God and gays: Churchgoers divided

By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY Tue Jun 13, 7:23 AM ET

Every Sunday there's an intense struggle in the souls of some believers as one religious denomination after another battles over the rights and roles of homosexuals.

Gay or not, progressive or traditional, those who disagree with their denomination's stance wonder:

Should they leave their church?

Has their church left them?

Is this any place to find God at all?

The questions are as fresh as the headlines, as old as Christianity itself. Early fathers of the church ruled on which teachings were heresy and which were "true."

"Denominations have fractured since Day One. The very word 'denominated' means divided," says Boston University sociologist Nancy Ammerman.

This week the national governing bodies of two mainline Protestant denominations, the Episcopal Church USA and the Presbyterian Church (USA), each meet to debate their views on gay clergy and same-sex unions, and whether the denominational rulings or local churches should have the final say.

But while leaders argue, ordinary people soldier on.

Many, gay or straight, seek a community of souls that welcomes them and shares their sense of the Scriptures and the sacred.

It may mean staying in their church of a lifetime, finding ways to accept - or overlook - teachings with which they disagree.

Most people (72%) have stayed with one religion all their lives, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup survey of 1,002 adults June 9-11. Brian Flanagan, 28, a cradle Catholic, openly gay and studying to be a theologian, says not even an unbroken line of rulings from the
Vatican can drive him from his church because what truly matters is the "way it talks about Christ, about God."

It may mean they must decamp for a church more fitting to their current faith. The survey found 15% say they've switched religions. Many of these switchers (40%) say disagreement over church teachings was the major reason for moving, another 24% say that is a minor reason.

The Rev. Jo Gayle Hudson, 52, had no choice. She was outed as a lesbian and booted from her post in the United Methodist Church just days before she was to be ordained as an elder. Now, she's a United Church of Christ pastor at the nation's largest gay church.

Some walk away to pursue a personal spirituality - about 10% say they now have no religious denominational preference.

Others struggle with their choices.

Perhaps, like 26% of switchers, they are unhappy with the local church's actions - or inaction. Or, like 25%, they like the faith but not the squabblings of national leaders.

Architect Jim Cullion, 52, is halfway out the door of Trinity Church in Boston. He's "very hurt, very sad" that the historic Episcopal church didn't take a stand for gay men such as him during Massachusetts' same-sex-union battles.

Barbara Brown Taylor, 55, left the Episcopal priesthood, observing that "human beings never behave more badly toward one another than when they believe they are protecting God."

There it is, the three-letter word that makes all the difference.

Not S-E-X or G-A-Y but G-O-D.

"Gay Catholics, like women who don't like the church's stance on ordination, tend to place those things on a lower level of authority than the church's teachings on fundamentals such as the Resurrection and the Eucharist," says the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author of My Life with the Saints.

A familiar faith

They want to stay with the family, the songs and prayers of a lifetime or a familiar road to the divine, because they have hope for change, even if it's not in their own lifetime.

"They say to themselves, 'I accept the most important part - the creed - and the other things I will strive to change and hope they will change.' It's like being a proud American but disagreeing on foreign policy," Martin says.

"The openness of American culture encourages people to feel they needn't stick where they were brought up. They can try something new if they are dissatisfied," says Ammerman.

"They can leave the farm, and they can leave the faith."

Surveys have shown that most of the growing denominations and non-denominational community "Bible churches" are theologically conservative, with no openly gay clergy or no same-sex unions blessed.

When the Rev. Mark Coppenger, a Southern Baptist, started a new conservative Evangelical church in Evanston, Ill., in the heart of Chicago's liberal North Shore, he soon found students switching from liberal Protestant churches "where they didn't find what they later came to cherish in biblical teaching and preaching," he says.

Doctrine does play a role in the ways religion reflects and shapes society and culture, experts say.

"Whether it's the 1840s and slavery, the 1960s and '70s and women, or the 1990s and 2000s on homosexuality, what is on people's minds in their communities will show up in their churches," Ammerman says.

Once, black people, women and homosexuals were viewed the same way by the leading theologians of the times: "They were all cursed by God in Scripture, inferior in moral character and willfully sinful and deserving punishment," says the Rev. Jack Rogers, former head of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and author of a new book, Jesus, the Bible and Homosexuality.

Eventually, most churches found a biblical basis for changing their stance on race and gender but not on homosexuality.

Churches slow to change

The largest U.S. denominations - Roman Catholics, Southern Baptists, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and Lutherans in the Missouri Synod - clearly proclaim that homosexual behavior is a sin.

They don't allow a different theological direction, however welcoming individual congregations may be. Change is not on their agendas.

Ammerman forecasts it could take another generation before mainline Protestant groups set a clear direction.

Last summer, the United Methodist Church voted down all proposals to liberalize its views on homosexuality, including a motion to acknowledge that "faithful Christians hold differing opinions," but the issue is sure to return to the 2008 agenda.

And the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America began a four-year process of examining its views on ordaining gay clergy and blessings for same-sex unions.

Rogers wonders whether churches can afford the wait, particularly when some, such as the Presbyterian and Episcopal churches, are losing members at a rate of 40,000 a year, he says.

"Young adults today can't understand what the fuss is all about. Their lives are colorblind. They have gay friends and straight friends. They have good values, but they don't stay with the church," he says.

"The gay-rights battle isn't the main reason, but it's one of them. They don't see in their church a lens to see the world."

And people of all ages "are really tired of all this" fighting.

"Most people just want to get on with thinking about Jesus."

God and gays: Churchgoers divided

[Shammu]

Turkey orders 500-year-old inscription erased from castle

ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkey's Islamic-rooted government has ordered a 500-year old Latin inscription believed to have been carved by the Knights of St. John erased from an old castle, newspaper reports said Tuesday.

In the written order, the Culture Minister told museum officials to scrape away the inscription "Inde deus abest," or "Where God does not exist," carved at the entrance to the dungeon of the Castle of St. Peter in the Aegean resort of Bodrum, Hurriyet, Sabah and Milliyet newspapers reported Tuesday.

The ministry claimed the inscription had no historical value, the papers said.

Culture Ministry officials would not immediately comment on the reports but said a statement would be released on the issue later.

The move comes at a time when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government is under criticism for alleged attempts to raise Islam's profile in predominantly Muslim but secular Turkey. The government denies it has an Islamic agenda.

The sign could be considered offensive to devout Muslims who believe in God's omnipresence.

"Baffling censorship on 500-year-old inscription," Sabah said in a banner headline.

"500-year-old inscription has no historic value!" read the headline in Milliyet.

The Castle of St. Peter is now a museum of underwater archaeology displaying ship wrecks. The castle's dungeon -- the Gatineau dungeon -- was used as a lockup and torture chamber from 1513 to 1523.

Milliyet said the ministry ordered the inscription erased two months ago. Museum officials had removed a tin plate sign with the English and Turkish translations of "Inde deus abest" and were pondering what to do with the inscription, it said.

"Either we will scrape it away or cover it somehow," the paper quoted museum director Yasar Yildiz as saying.

Turkey orders 500-year-old inscription erased from castle

[Shammu]

Gay Bishop Says He's 'Not an Abomination'

By RACHEL ZOLL
The Associated Press
Wednesday, June 14, 2006; 9:25 PM

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The first openly gay Episcopal bishop said at a packed church hearing Wednesday that he is "not an abomination," as he pleaded with the denomination not to bar gays from the office of bishop, even temporarily, for the sake of Anglican unity.

If Episcopalians "see Christ in the faithful lives of our gay and lesbian members," they should have the courage to say so, no matter the potential consequences, said Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

"I am not an abomination before God," he told the Episcopal General Convention. "Please, I beg you, let's say our prayers and stand up for right."

But Bishop Robert Duncan, who leads a network of conservative Episcopal dioceses that opposed Robinson's consecration, told those at the hearing that the denomination is attempting an impossible task, "which is to hold together the conserving and progressive wings of our church."

"We've reached a moment where it is very difficult, indeed I think we've reached an impossible moment, in holding it together," said Duncan, of the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

The convention will vote over the next few days whether to meet demands from Anglican leaders to impose a moratorium on electing gay bishops and express regret for the turmoil caused by Robinson's 2003 consecration.

The Episcopal Church is the U.S. arm of the 77 million-member Anglican Communion, the global association of churches that trace their roots to the Church of England. The majority of overseas Anglicans believe the Bible prohibits same-sex relationships, and they want the Americans to follow that teaching or leave the communion.

If Anglican leaders dislike the outcome of the General Convention, which runs through June 21, the communion could break apart. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, has repeatedly expressed concern about the future of the fellowship.

"We cannot survive as a communion of churches without some common convictions about what it is to live and to make decisions as the Body of Christ," he wrote in a message to the General Convention, which runs through June 21.

Wednesday night's hearing was organized by a committee crafting the Episcopal response to the crisis. The main proposal before delegates does not contain a moratorium on future gay bishops. Instead, it asks dioceses to "exercise very considerable caution" in electing leaders. However, delegates can revise or reject the legislation.

People began standing in line more than an hour before the hearing began to make sure they could get inside. Delegates and visitors filled the vast hotel ballroom to its 1,500-person capacity, while an overflow crowd outside listened on speakers as delegates took turns commenting on how the church should proceed.

Many expressed concern about the church's place in the Anglican family, while others said it would go against God to put restrictions on gay clergy.

Gay Bishop Says He's 'Not an Abomination'

My note; Bull the Bible says, Leviticus 18:22 You shall not lie with a man as with a woman; it is an abomination.

[Shammu]

No music, no dancing, no football as Muslim law takes over from reign of the warlords
By Rob Crilly
The man who drove US-backed warlords out of Mogadishu says he has no desire for an Islamic state

THE man who has just imposed Sharia on one of Africa’s most brutal capitals breezes into the simple villa which serves as his headquarters.

“Please forgive my lateness,” Sheikh Sharif Ahmed says politely. He has spent the morning accepting donations of rice, sugar and cooking oil from local businessmen.

Sheikh Ahmed used to be a teacher until a gang kidnapped one of his students. He began campaigning for Islamic courts, with strict laws and punishments, to counter the chaos of a city run by warlords since the fall of President Siad Barre in 1991. Today his Union of Islamic Courts runs Mogadishu, its militias having expelled the warlords last week, and Sheikh Ahmed is causing consternation in the West.

Washington is widely believed to have been backing the warlords to check the spread of the Sharia courts and the alleged influence of al-Qaeda.

In an interview with The Times Sheikh Ahmed insists the courts have no interest in turning Somalia into an Islamic state or governing like the Taleban in Afghanistan. He claims to have no agenda beyond keeping the warlords from the city.

“We don’t do anything. We will make facilities for the community — whether politicians or intellectuals, women or youths — we make facilities for people to choose what they want,” he says. “We just want to defend our people.”

He denies any links to al-Qaeda even though his movement includes jihadists such as Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, leader of Al-Ittihad, who has admitted meeting al-Qaeda leaders and is wanted by the US.

“The USA has to bring evidence of whether he is a criminal. After that we will have a discussion,” he says. The West has got it all wrong. “We ourselves have a question. The Westerners are against our religion, but we don’t know why,” he says before a muezzin’s call to prayer abruptly ends the interview.

Outside Sheikh Ahmed’s ramshackle headquarters lies a city in ruins. Minarets and mobile phone masts are the only structures that stand more than two storeys high. Donkey carts carrying water barrels traverse sludge-filled tracks that may once have been paved roads. Mango trees and acacia bushes have spread through the rubble as the African scrub reclaims parts of Mogadishu. Sheikh Ahmed’s network of Sharia courts began life in the mid- 1990s, set up by businessmen sick of seeing their profits skimmed by the warlords.

Today there are 11 courts, each administering justice to a particular sub-clan. In the void of a failed state, they have managed to set up schools and clinics, and their victory last week has halted the bloodiest round of fighting seen in a decade, with more than 350 people killed this year.

But the restoration of some semblance of order has come at a price. The courts have closed cinemas accused of showing immoral films and made celebrating New Year a capital offence. A boy was recently allowed to stab his father’s killer to death in front of a cheering crowd.

At Mogadishu’s Peace Hotel weddings used to finish with hundreds of people dancing in the car park, but no longer. “The Islamic courts have told us there can be no pop music,” says a waiter. “It’s very sad. We all hope that things are not going to be like Afghanistan.”

Further afield Somalia’s fledgling government, set up 18 months ago with United Nations backing, is watching developments anxiously from its base in Baidoa about 130 miles to the northwest.

It has opened talks with the Sharia courts to see whether they might be able to work together. Mohamed Abdi Hayir, Somalia’s Information Minister, said: “Like any organisation there are extremists and moderates within the courts. We will see if we can work with the moderates so that the extremists do not have any power.”

But Sheikh Ahmed’s allies include many who believe that the Sharia courts’ triumph in Mogadishu should be replicated nationwide, turning Somalia into an Islamic state.

Sheikh Mohamed Siad, the governor of Lower Shabelle, is one of the military strongmen whose thousands of militiamen and fleet of “technicals” — Toyota pick-ups fitted with anti-aircraft guns — provide much of the Islamic courts’ muscle.

“We are Muslims and we must work at implementing Koranic law. Democracy will never work,” he says, slurping a cappuccino as he holds court.

The militias are engaged in a war against infidels, he says. “The warlords are killers, looters. So we are at war with them and the people who supported them, including Americans.”

For now, however, there is unaccustomed peace on the streets of Mogadishu. Roadblocks have been dismantled. Nights are no longer interrupted by shelling. That is enough for many shopping at Bakara market — where the price of an AK47 has fallen from $550 (£300) to $350 — who say they support anyone with the firepower to defeat the warlords.

Others are less sure. “Yes, they got rid of the warlords. But what will the courts do now?” asks one old man, his beard red with henna. “No one can ask this because they are scared of being stoned.”

JUSTICE AND THE KORAN
Sharia, or Islamic law, is either specified in the Koran or Sunna (sayings of the Prophet), or interpreted from them by religious scholars

Saudi Arabia
Exclusively derived from the Koran and the Sunna. Recommended punishments for some specific offences include mutilation and beheading

Nigeria
Some northern states have implemented Sharia. Recommended punishments are enforced

Malaysia
Islamic civil courts are increasingly powerful, despite secular constitution

Turkey
The only Muslim country with total separation of religion from state

Iraq
Permanent constitution states that no law may be enacted that contradicts the established provisions of Islam

Dubai
Law is largely based on Sharia, but without the recommended punishments. Dubai International Financial Centre is a free trade zone operating under English law

No music, no dancing, no football as Muslim law takes over from reign of the warlords

[Soldier4Christ]

Israel, Egypt, Jordan on alert for al-Qaida attack
Fears of terrorist retaliation high after Zarqawi killed in Iraq


TEL AVIV – Egypt, Jordan and Israel are on high alert for possible large-scale attacks by al-Qaida members in response to last week's killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the global terror group's leader in Iraq, security sources said.

The sources said Egyptian, Jordanian and Palestinian Arab intelligence officials have held several meetings the past few days to share information and coordinate anti-terror measures in light of the new threats.

Israel has beefed up border security for fear al-Qaida could try to penetrate from neighboring territories or attack along the border. There is also information the Popular Resistance Committees, a Gaza-based terror group, is looking to carry out an attack inside Israel to avenge Zarqawi's death and the assassination on the same day of its own leader, Jamal Abu Samhadana.

Zarqawi was killed when two 500-pound American bombs blasted his hideout northeast of Baghdad. His declared replacement, Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, this week threatened regional violence and vowed in an Internet message to "defeat the crusaders and Shiites" in Iraq.

According to some reports, which were confirmed to WND by Israeli security sources, Jordanian intelligence officers operating in Iraq provided important information that led to the assassination of Zarqawi.

"Jordan is on particularly high alert for revenge attacks because of the government's involvement in his killing and al-Qaida's known infiltration of the country," said a security source.

Zarqawi, born in Jordan, previously spent time in Jordanian jails for conspiring to overthrow the country's monarchy in hopes of establishing an Islamic caliphate there. He was sentenced to death in absentia for allegedly plotting to attack the Radisson SAS Hotel in Amman, Jordan, where Israeli, American and British tourists frequently lodge.

Al-Qaida, under the direction of Zarqawi, carried out a series of hotel bombings in Amman in last November killing 60 and injuring more than 115 others. The Radisson was among the hotels attacked.

While Jordan has had some successes fighting al-Qaida cells, security officials fear the terror group still maintains a significant infrastructure there capable of carrying out attacks.

Egypt has had difficulty eliminating al-Qaida cells, particularly those operating among Bedouin villages in the Sinai desert bordering the Gaza Strip.

Al-Qaida has been blamed widely for several Sinai attacks the past two years including the bomb blasts this past April that killed 24 people and injured over 85 in the Sinai town of Dahab and deadly bombings in the resort centers of Taba and Ras gotcha2an in October 2004 and in Sharm el-Sheik in July.

Also this past April, al-Qaida was blamed for two bombings near multinational peacekeeping force in the Sinai adjacent to Gaza. Almost simultaneously inside Gaza, the Popular Resistance Committees attempted to carry out a large-scale car bombing at the Karni Crossing, the main cargo passageway between the Gaza Strip and Israel. The attack was foiled at the last minute after Palestinian forces became suspicious and opened fire at an approaching vehicle.

Immediately following the attacks, Palestinian security officials, including the chief of a Palestinian Authority intelligence agency, told WND the suicide bombing in the Sinai and thwarted Karni attack were coordinated and were the handiwork of groups working on behalf of al-Qaida.

"Al-Qaida came just a few feet from attacking Israel for the first time [at Karni]," said the intelligence chief, speaking on condition his name be withheld.

Israel has for now refrained from connecting the attempted Karni attack to al-Qaida. It said the attack was directed by a senior Hamas leader.

But both Israeli and Palestinian Arab leaders, including PA President Mahmoud Abbas, have warned al-Qaida infiltrated Gaza.

In March, Israel released information it had arrested two northern Samaria Palestinian Arabs charged with membership in al-Qaida. The militants, arrested on their way to Judea and Samaria from Jordan, were suspected of recruiting suicide bombers and seeking financing from Jordanian al-Qaida cells to carry out a large-scale al-Qaida attack inside Israel.

Said an Israeli security official, "Egypt and Jordan fear attacks in their country now. The main fear for Israel is a border attack. But we are also on alert for attempts to infiltrate, particularly by the Popular Resistance Committees."

Jamal Abu Samhadana, the Committee' leader who was also a Hamas national security minister, was assassinated the same day as Zarqawi. Terror leaders speaking at his funeral vowed revenge. Sources close to the group told WND pictures of Zarqawi were displayed prominently last week at mourning services for Samhadana held at his family's residence.

The fears of an al-Qaida-linked attack in Israel also follow the distribution in Gaza last month of a pamphlet by a group claiming to work on behalf of al-Qaida announcing it has set up shop in the Palestinian territories and will soon target Americans and "Zionists."

"We'll hit with an iron hand all those who take part in the American Crusader and Zionist campaign against Islam," read the pamphlet, which was signed by the al-Quds (Jerusalem) Islamic Army. The leaflet said the new group will "start operating in Palestine" and threatened suicide attacks against "Zionist and Crusader targets."

The Islamic Army identified itself as an arm of al-Qaida and stated it was established in response to calls by global jihad chief Osama bin Laden as well as al-Qaida leaders in Iraq.

[Soldier4Christ]

Ahmadinejad seeks Chinese, Russian support
Likely to urge allies: 'Follow ... independent policy and don't go the U.S. way'

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's hard-line president is doing more than just attending an Asian security summit in China: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seeks to gain Russian and Chinese support at a critical moment for his country's nuclear program.

He also aims to prove that his country is not isolated, despite U.S. claims to the contrary.

Past trips to Asia have been a chance for Ahmadinejad to tap into anti-U.S. sentiment and tout himself as a leader who is standing up to Washington. Last month, he was cheered by Indonesian students and by a crowd shouting "Fight America! Fight Israel!" outside a Jakarta mosque where he performed prayers.

His visit to China, which began Wednesday, will likely be more dedicated to intense diplomacy. Ahmadinejad is expected to hold separate meetings with his Chinese and Russian counterparts, Hu Jintao and Vladimir Putin, on the sidelines of the regional summit in Shanghai.

Ahmadinejad hasn't commented on the nuclear issue since his arrival in China. The summit began Thursday with a closed-door meeting between the presidents of China, Russia and four Central Asian nations. Ahmadinejad took part in an enlarged session later in which he invited the participating countries' energy ministers to visit Iran to discuss energy cooperation.

The summit will be a chance to sound out his two allies on a package of incentives offered by the Big Five Powers at the U.N., plus Germany, seeking to persuade Iran to freeze its uranium enrichment program. If Iran agrees, Tehran would then be able to enter negotiations with the United States and Europe over a long-term resolution to the standoff over its nuclear program.

Russia and China have backed the incentives package. But the two countries - longtime allies and trading partners of Iran who hold veto powers at the U.N. - have opposed any move to impose sanctions, which Washington seeks if Tehran turns down the offer.

A key question for Iran is likely to be how much change it can seek in the package and still keep Moscow and Beijing's implicit protection.

Iran has said it finds parts of the package acceptable but that other parts should be removed. And it has said the key issue of uranium enrichment remains unclear and needs further explanation. Tehran has outright rejected demands it scrap enrichment and has been highly reluctant to suspend it.

Tehran has not yet responded to the offer, given to it a week ago.

"Iran is taking its own time (in responding) to get Russia and China to modify the Western pressures on Tehran," said political analyst Davoud Hermidas Bavand.

Ahmadinejad will likely urge Moscow and Beijing to "follow their independent policy and don't go the U.S. way," said analyst Mostafa Kavakebian.

The Iranian president will try to push his own ideas, seeking a compromise that will guarantee his country's right to enrich uranium and at the same time offer guarantees that its nuclear program won't be diverted toward weapons, he said.

In Shanghai, Ahmadinejad joins the leaders of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, who comprise the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The trip is also a chance to show that Iran has friends around the world despite U.S. attempts to isolate it. Iran has made clear it is adjusting its relations with nations based on the nuclear standoff.

"We are redefining our relations with the world," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told a television program last week. "We are managing our relations with other countries based on our national interests and the way we are treated (over the nuclear dispute)."

Iran has repeatedly said it will offer giant economic projects to countries that support its nuclear program and punish those who vote against it.

China's state energy company has signed long-term deals for natural gas. Those deals display the growing disregard for Washington's priorities. In 1996 the U.S. said it would consider sanctions on any company that invests more than $20 million annually in the Iranian oil and gas sectors. The threat was never enforced.

Ahmadinejad's participation in the Shanghai summit, as an observer, is a particular irritant to the United States, which views the body as an attempted counterweight against Western influence in Central Asia and the presence of American bases there.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld last week chided China and Russia for backing Tehran's participation in the summit, saying he found it strange to bring the "leading terrorist nation in the world into an organization that says it's against terror."

But host China dismissed the criticism. "We cannot abide by other countries calling our observer nations sponsors of terror," Shanghai Cooperation Organization chief Zhang Deguang said.

[Soldier4Christ]

Khomeini's grandson slams Tehran regime

The grandson of Iran's revolutionary Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini says the republic has devolved into a dictatorship that should be toppled by other countries.

Speaking to the al-Arabiya network on the 17th anniversary of the republic's founding by his late grandfather, Ayatollah Hussein Khomeini denounced the "dictatorship of clerics" leading the fundamentalist Islamist state.

"My grandfather's revolution has devoured its children and has strayed from its course," he said.

He went on to suggest U.S. President George Bush should send troops to occupy Iran, al-Arabiya said.

"Freedom must come to Iran in any possible way, whether through internal or external developments. If you were a prisoner, what would you do?" Khomeini told the network.

He said while he personally favors women wearing a hijab, or veil, Iran needed to "pass a law which makes the wearing of the hijab an optional choice for Iranian women."

For the last three years, Iran has kept Khomeini under surveillance and has banned him from giving interviews to the Iranian media, the Middle East Media Research Institute said.

[Soldier4Christ]

Former chief rabbi of Israel urges Jews to unite

Just days before his devastating second stroke in January, then-Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon called Rabbi Israel Meir Lau to discuss a government position he had in mind for him in the Kadimah party, the former Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Israel told a Toronto audience last week.

Sharon asked for Rabbi Lau’s help addressing two issues: the disconnection between Jews in the Diaspora and Jews in Israel, and the disconnection between Israeli youth and Jewish tradition, said the rabbi, who is now chief rabbi of Tel Aviv. He was speaking to a crowd of almost 1,200 people at the third annual Spirit of Community dinner held by Beth Chabad Israeli Community Centre at Vaughan’s Renaissance Parque Centre.

According to the rabbi, the then prime minister said they would speak again about a title and what his position would be. Sharon, however, has been in a coma since Jan. 5.

That conversation explains why he accepted the invitation to Toronto, extended by Rabbi Yisroel Landa, executive director of the host group, said Rabbi Lau, a child survivor of Buchenwald concentration camp. Beth Chabad Israeli Community Centre addresses exactly those two issues, he explained.

A secular Israeli living in the Diaspora needs a connection to Jewish tradition “more than in Israel,” said Rabbi Lau, who was born in Poland in 1937 and immigrated to Israel in 1945 with his brother on a ship for orphaned children. “He needs to be sure that his continuity is promised, that his grandchildren will be Jewish, as he is.”

He urged his audience “to live in peace and friendship,” united against 21st-century “common enemies” including violence, poverty, cancer, AIDS and “all kinds of weapons.” Jews in particular, “who taught the world monotheism,” must set an example, he said.

“When we are together, we can offer our hands to the rest of mankind – all the religions, all the races, all the nations, all the civilizations – telling them we all belong to the same father in heaven.”

Rabbi Lau made no reference to reports that he is a likely candidate for the next president of Israel. At least one other speaker alluded to them, but did not name the position explicitly.

In a brief, pre-dinner interview, during which he would accept no political questions, the rabbi discussed relationships between Jews and non-Jews, and those of Orthodox Jews with non-observant and non-Orthodox Jews.

Earlier, Rabbi Lau had told the guests at a VIP reception that the precept “Ve’ahavta l’re’acha kamocha” (“You shall love your neighbour as yourself”) is “the most important rule of ethics of Judaism.”

Expanding on that thought, the rabbi – who continues to meet with Muslim leaders – told The CJN that Jews should “respect” non-Jews, but he cautioned against “involvement,” explaining that intermarriages “threaten the very existence of the Jewish future.

“We, the Jewish people, have to follow the footsteps of our ancient fathers, and there is no conflict between us [and] the rest of the people in the world. Just the contrary, we have to find the bridge of moral and ethics which belong to all mankind and not to look for the differences.”

To Jews who are “[still] secular,” he said, “we open our hearts, we offer our hands, and we embrace all of them with the hope that they will come [to understand]… that knowledge of God will make full the world.”

For non-Orthodox Jews – Conservative and Reform, in particular – the answer is “the same,” he said. “We are open to everyone to continue the chain, and we have our laws as they are in Shulchan Aruch, the Jewish code. We are not permitted to change a law which was given by God at Mount Sinai 3,300 years ago.”

Although the rabbi has been lauded for his longtime interfaith efforts with Muslim leaders, he said there has been little progress in building bridges.

“Unfortunately, the moderate leaders are too quiet and the fundamentalist leaders are too noisy, and I’m afraid the moderate, who are the real leaders, are a little bit hesitant – I’m speaking in very strict understatement… because of the noise of some fundamentalist spiritual leaders.”

This year’s dinner honoured businessmen Shlomo (Sam) Cohen and Eli Swirsky, co-founders of the Torgan Group, a commercial real estate company.

Among the politicians and dignitaries at the dinner were Israeli Consul General Ya’acov (Cobie) Brosh and Vaughan Mayor Michael di Biase, who told the crowd a building permit for the Beth Chabad Israeli Community Centre was “on its way.” The community centre currently operates out of rented premises on Centre Street in Thornhill. Rabbi Eliezer Gurkow of London, Ont., was the MC, and Moshe Ronen, vice-president of the World Jewish Congress, introduced Rabbi Lau.

[Soldier4Christ]

Olmert urges French Jews to immigrate to Israel

Two years after former prime minister Ariel Sharon caused a scandal in France by calling upon French Jews to make aliyah, Olmert issued the same call in a more subtle manner:

"We love you, and it's good to know you are around and even more so when you visit us and even more so when you come to live with us. You have wonderful children. They should come to live at home. You have a wonderful country but they have a home and they should live at home. Send them on Birthright and Masa and let them come again and again until they come to live. France has great universities but so does Israel. For us, there is no other land. There is one state named Israel, the state of the Jews and I hope that one day all the Jews will live there in security and peace."