Statements from around the Anglican Communion on the Situation in Gaza

6 comments on “Statements from around the Anglican Communion on the Situation in Gaza”

1. William P. Sulik says:

   January 2, 2009 at 8:22 pm

   These statements are all very frustrating to read. These are generally intelligent men, yet when it comes to Israel and the terrorists, they begin reasoning worse than kindergartners.

   And I say worse because even little ones have a strong sense of justice which is devoid in these statements. See G.K. Chesterton: “[C]hildren are innocent and love justice, while most of us are wicked and naturally prefer mercy.” [G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936), an English writer-critic, has confided his revelation upon taking two children to see Maeterlinck’s The Blue Bird. In discussion afterward, he discovered that the children were dissatisfied with the play’s outcome, because there was no reward for the faithful dog, no punishment for the faithless cat. ‘For children are innocent and love justice, while most of us are wicked and naturally prefer mercy,’ he wrote.” Source: BC Christian News
   http://www.bcchristiannews.org/weekly/october00/2/writer.html ]

2. drjoan says:

   January 2, 2009 at 11:03 pm

   Does anyone have information on the humanitarian measures provided by Israel to Gaza? I understand much has been sent to the area but little has been “received.”
   I believe that I would object to incessant bombing of the countryside around my home as seems to be the case for the Israelis living within just 15-20 miles (can’t do Kms!)of Gaza.
   May God protect all but especially the little ones.

3. Bill C says:

   January 2, 2009 at 11:21 pm

   I join my voice to theirs and those of many others around the world, challenging the Israeli government to call a halt to this wholly disproportionate escalation of violence. I challenge the Palestinian forces to end their rocket attacks on Israelis.”

   ‘Disproportionate’ in war is a tricky word to use. Was the atomic bomb a disproportionate response in the war against Japan? Many think so, many think not. Were the fire bombings of Dresden and Cologne disproportionate? Isn’t the ultimate goal to ‘beat’ the enemy -whatever that means. Israel is in a far more precarious position with enemies who are geographically within miles of their population so they have far less leeway for error.
   Disproportionate or not, Palestine should draw tears and prayers from all of us.

4. A Senior Priest says:

   January 3, 2009 at 6:46 am

   I’m all for Israel ending their military action, when Hamas and Hizbullah (in Lebanon) cease firing missiles into Israel. Hamas sends on average 60 a day. Let’s have Israel just do that indefinitely, with their renowned accuracy. That ought to be proportionate… huh?

5. wportbello says:

   January 3, 2009 at 9:28 am

   drjoan
   Alan Dershowitz reported:

   Just before the hostilities began, Israel reopened a checkpoint to allow humanitarian aid to reenter Gaza. It had closed the point of entry after it had been targeted by Gazan rockets.

   http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1231/p09s02-coop.html

   Bill C
   The Timesonline reported:

   Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, threatened Palestinians in the Gaza Strip with military action in an attempt to stop rocket attacks. More than 200 rockets and shells have been fired at Israel since a ceasefire ended on Friday, and Mr Olmert said that he would not hesitate to use force against Hamas, the Islamist party that controls Gaza. “Hamas must be stopped.” he told the Arabic television station al-Arabiya.

   http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5397897.ece

   I hardly call that disproportionate. I call it fair.

6. LeightonC says:

   January 3, 2009 at 7:45 pm

   While I do not know what the solution is for peace, I do know the talking hasn’t worked, giving up parcels of land for peace hasn’t worked, and all the diplomatic pressure from the UN et.al. won’t work either. You cannot reason with an enemy who refuses to seriously talk peace and has the long view of wiping you off the face of the earth — something the rest of the world refuses to acknowledge, yet Israel gets blame for “ethnic cleansing.” Israel is engaged in systematically weakening the structure of Hamas, it’s leadership, and it’s ability to wage war. They have used their time wisely to gather intel on tunnels and ammo dumps as witnessed via targeting video of the current military ops. A disproportionate response would be similar to what the Roman Empire did to Carthage.