The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) has just learned that an Ethiopian evangelist named Tedase was beaten to death by militant Muslims on Monday, March 26th, as he and two young women were on a street evangelism assignment in Jimma, Ethiopia. This marks the second time in six months that Christians residing in Southeast Ethiopia have been attacked and killed by extremist (Wahabbi) Muslims.
On Monday afternoon Tedase and two female coworkers were conducting street evangelism on Merkato Street in Jimma, Southern Ethiopia. Merkato Street runs by a Wahabbi Mosque. As the team was walking by the Mosque, a group of Muslims exited the Mosque and began to run after them to confront them. Tedase's female coworkers ran away from the mob but Tedase continued on. The Muslims caught up with Tedase, pulled him into the mosque, and savagely beat him to death. Sources from Jimma reported that Tedase was beaten with a calculated intention to kill him. This was no accident or case of mob frenzy getting out of control. His body was later taken to the hospital for an autopsy and he was buried Tuesday, March 27.
Our sources also reveal that Jimma Christians were conducting an evangelism campaign, and news of the outreach was spreading among Jimma residents as well as militant Muslim groups in the area. The Muslims that belonged to the Wahabbi sect purposefully beat Tedase to death as a message to Christians that they are ready to combat evangelism.
Aftershocks of the September 2006 Pogrom
This most recent incident in Ethiopia confirms ICC's decision to include this country in its Hall of Shame list, which highlights nations where Christians are enduring the most severe persecution. It is important to note that the Muslims who attacked Tedase belonged to the Wahabbi brand of Islam, an extremist sect imported from Saudi Arabia. It is clear that the Christians in Ethiopia are feeling Saudi Arabia's influence, particularly in Jimma, a Muslim dominated area where local authorities are almost exclusively Muslim. It was only six months ago, in September of 2006, that Muslim extremists burned down a number of churches and parishes, as well as Christian homes. As many as 2,000 Christians were displaced by the attack, an attempt to intimidate Christians with the hopes of converting them to Islam.
Evangelical church leaders are fearful that if police ignore Tedase's death, it will be a green light for Muslim groups in the area to attack their Christian neighbors at will and without retribution. We appeal to concerned individuals to contact the Ethiopian embassy in their own countries to ask for an investigation of Tedase's murder.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Iran: Britain must admit navy trespassed
Iran's foreign minister said Wednesday that Britain must admit that its 15 sailors and marines entered Iranian waters in order to resolve a standoff over their capture by Iranian authorities.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki's announcement came on a day of escalating tensions, highlighted by an Iranian video of the detained Britons that showed the only woman captive saying her group had "trespassed" in Iranian waters. Britain angrily denounced the video as unacceptable and froze most dealings with the mideast nation.
"First they have to admit that they have made a mistake. Admitting the mistake will facilitate a solution to the problem," Mottaki told The Associated Press in an interview in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. "But unfortunately the British have not admitted their mistake."
Mottaki also backed off a prediction that the female sailor, Faye Turney, could be freed Wednesday or Thursday, but said Tehran agreed to allow British officials to meet with service personnel.
His comments were the first confirmation that Iran agreed to a British request for a consular visit with the crew, though he did not specify when. Iran has not said where the 15 are being held.
"We have accepted that (the British request), there is no problem. Measures are underway (to arrange meeting.) They can meet them," he said.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki's announcement came on a day of escalating tensions, highlighted by an Iranian video of the detained Britons that showed the only woman captive saying her group had "trespassed" in Iranian waters. Britain angrily denounced the video as unacceptable and froze most dealings with the mideast nation.
"First they have to admit that they have made a mistake. Admitting the mistake will facilitate a solution to the problem," Mottaki told The Associated Press in an interview in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. "But unfortunately the British have not admitted their mistake."
Mottaki also backed off a prediction that the female sailor, Faye Turney, could be freed Wednesday or Thursday, but said Tehran agreed to allow British officials to meet with service personnel.
His comments were the first confirmation that Iran agreed to a British request for a consular visit with the crew, though he did not specify when. Iran has not said where the 15 are being held.
"We have accepted that (the British request), there is no problem. Measures are underway (to arrange meeting.) They can meet them," he said.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Brothers in arms IDF
This is an eye-watering video made by the IDF spokes person in dedication to the thousands of soldiers fighting everyday to protect the lives of the Israeli civilians from the terrorists who wish to end them.
Sewage Disaster Caused by Palestinians Stealing Sand
Further deadly sewage floods are feared after a wave of stinking waste and mud from a collapsed septic pool inundated a Gaza village, killing five people, including two babies.
The collapse has been blamed on residents stealing sand from an embankment.
It highlighted the desperate need to upgrade Gaza's overloaded, outdated infrastructure - but aid officials say construction of a modern sewage treatment plant has been held up by constant Israeli-Palestinian fighting.
However, construction of a new plant did not appear to have been affected by year-old international sanctions on the Palestinian Authority. The Gaza City mayor blamed the collapse on local people digging dirt from an earthen embankment around the structure and selling it to building contractors.
The existing plant in northern Gaza - located just a few hundred metres from the frontier with Israel - stored incoming waste in seven holding basins. But with the burgeoning population producing nearly four times as much waste as the plant could treat, local officials were forced to store the overflow in the nearby dunes, creating a lake of sewage covering nearly 45 hectares, according to the United Nations.
An embankment around one of the seven holding basins collapsed, sending a wall of sewage crashing into the neighbouring village of Umm Naser.
The wave killed two women in their 70s, two toddlers and a teenage girl and injured 35 others, hospital officials said. More than 200 homes were destroyed, health officials said.
"This is a human tragedy," said Public Works Minister Sameeh al-Abed.
Rescue crews and gunmen from the militant Hamas group rushed to search for people feared buried under the sewage and mud. Most residents fled or were evacuated.
Rescuers in wetsuits paddled boats through the layer of brown foam floating on the green-brown rivers of waste. Others waded up to their hips into the sewage.
Angry residents drove reporters out of the area and mobbed government officials. When Interior Minister Hani Kawasmeh arrived to survey the damage, his bodyguards fired in the air to disperse the crowd.
In one house, everything from the television to the sink was covered in muck. The town was filled with the noxious smell of waste and dead animals.
"We lost everything. Everything was covered by the flood. It's a disaster," said Amina Afif, 65, whose small shack was destroyed.
The collapse will force officials to divert the waste into the other six basins, putting those in danger as well. Another collapse could send sewage flooding into Beit Lahiya, a far larger town nearby, local officials said.
Fadel Kawash, head of the Palestinian Water Authority, said the sewage level had risen in recent days, creeping up the earthen embankments.
Gaza City Mayor Majid Abu Ramadan, who leads a council of Gaza municipalities, blamed the collapse on endemic lawlessness.
He accused local residents of stealing the dirt and selling it to building companies for 300 shekels ($A86.80) a truckload.
A 2004 United Nations report warned that the sewage facility, built to service a population of 50,000, was handling waste from 190,000 people, and flooding was inevitable. It warned that the lake created by the overflow from the seven basins posed a serious health hazard, providing a breeding ground for mosquitoes and waterborne diseases.
Umm Naser is about 300 metres from the border with Israel, in an area where Palestinians have frequently launched rockets into Israel and Israeli artillery and aircraft have fired back. The situation worsened after Hamas-linked militants captured an Israeli soldier last June in a cross-border raid, and Israel responded by invading northern Gaza.
The incident underscored the fragility of the overburdened infrastructure in this impoverished and overcrowded coastal strip of 1.4 million people. The West Bank, too, is suffering from eroding sewage and water infrastructure.
The collapse has been blamed on residents stealing sand from an embankment.
It highlighted the desperate need to upgrade Gaza's overloaded, outdated infrastructure - but aid officials say construction of a modern sewage treatment plant has been held up by constant Israeli-Palestinian fighting.
However, construction of a new plant did not appear to have been affected by year-old international sanctions on the Palestinian Authority. The Gaza City mayor blamed the collapse on local people digging dirt from an earthen embankment around the structure and selling it to building contractors.
The existing plant in northern Gaza - located just a few hundred metres from the frontier with Israel - stored incoming waste in seven holding basins. But with the burgeoning population producing nearly four times as much waste as the plant could treat, local officials were forced to store the overflow in the nearby dunes, creating a lake of sewage covering nearly 45 hectares, according to the United Nations.
An embankment around one of the seven holding basins collapsed, sending a wall of sewage crashing into the neighbouring village of Umm Naser.
The wave killed two women in their 70s, two toddlers and a teenage girl and injured 35 others, hospital officials said. More than 200 homes were destroyed, health officials said.
"This is a human tragedy," said Public Works Minister Sameeh al-Abed.
Rescue crews and gunmen from the militant Hamas group rushed to search for people feared buried under the sewage and mud. Most residents fled or were evacuated.
Rescuers in wetsuits paddled boats through the layer of brown foam floating on the green-brown rivers of waste. Others waded up to their hips into the sewage.
Angry residents drove reporters out of the area and mobbed government officials. When Interior Minister Hani Kawasmeh arrived to survey the damage, his bodyguards fired in the air to disperse the crowd.
In one house, everything from the television to the sink was covered in muck. The town was filled with the noxious smell of waste and dead animals.
"We lost everything. Everything was covered by the flood. It's a disaster," said Amina Afif, 65, whose small shack was destroyed.
The collapse will force officials to divert the waste into the other six basins, putting those in danger as well. Another collapse could send sewage flooding into Beit Lahiya, a far larger town nearby, local officials said.
Fadel Kawash, head of the Palestinian Water Authority, said the sewage level had risen in recent days, creeping up the earthen embankments.
Gaza City Mayor Majid Abu Ramadan, who leads a council of Gaza municipalities, blamed the collapse on endemic lawlessness.
He accused local residents of stealing the dirt and selling it to building companies for 300 shekels ($A86.80) a truckload.
A 2004 United Nations report warned that the sewage facility, built to service a population of 50,000, was handling waste from 190,000 people, and flooding was inevitable. It warned that the lake created by the overflow from the seven basins posed a serious health hazard, providing a breeding ground for mosquitoes and waterborne diseases.
Umm Naser is about 300 metres from the border with Israel, in an area where Palestinians have frequently launched rockets into Israel and Israeli artillery and aircraft have fired back. The situation worsened after Hamas-linked militants captured an Israeli soldier last June in a cross-border raid, and Israel responded by invading northern Gaza.
The incident underscored the fragility of the overburdened infrastructure in this impoverished and overcrowded coastal strip of 1.4 million people. The West Bank, too, is suffering from eroding sewage and water infrastructure.
Monday, March 26, 2007
IAF successfully tests modified Arrow
An improved Arrow missile, with modifications to its hardware and electronics, was successfully test-fired at 12:05 p।m. Monday afternoon at Palmahim Air Force Base.
The purpose of Monday's test was to launch the missile in a fly-out (where a missile is fired without intercepting a target) and then gather information on its flight and performance. The data will then be evaluated by the IAI Arrow team and applied to continued development.
Yoav Turgeman, head of the Arrow program at Israel Air force Industries, said that that improvements made to the missile's hardware and electronics not only reduced manufacturing costs - by some 20 percent - but also improved its ability to intercept incoming ballistic threats. The entire test took just one minute.
A senior official said that the Arrow was capable of intercepting ballistic missiles currently capable of threatening Israel, including those in the hands of Iran and Syria.
"The Arrow missile has proven its capabilities time after time," Arieh Herzog of the Homa missile defense agency, told The Jerusalem Post.
"The Arrow protects Israel from all ballistic missiles in the region," Herzog said.
Defense Minister Amir Peretz praised the successful launch, calling it "another stage" in the development of Israel's missile defense system that provided protection against long-range threats to Israel.
Missiles test-fired from Palmahim are programmed to land in the Mediterranean Sea.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Different Values? Or who do we believe?
Today's present Israeli-Palestinian conflict often makes one wonder which side is most correct in their national goals? Are the Palestinians correct when they accuse the Israeli government, and especially the Israeli military of undue harassment against innocent Palestinians, including women and children? Is Israel's unilateral separation policy, including the building of the separation wall, really a situation similar to apartheid (as noted in former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's new book)? From the Israeli point of view, have the numerous suicide bombing and shooting attacks against Israelis, including Kassam rocket attacks against Sderot and other Israeli communities, reason for Israeli reprisals including "targeted assassinations" of Palestinian militants?
While many observers (especially in other countries) feel that both sides have just reasons for their actions, in order to put the matter into its proper perspective the following points should be noted here:
1. Since their formation, both the PLO and the Islamic Hamas organizations have refuse
to acknowledge Israel's existence. Palestinian school text books make no mention of
the State of Israel, and this subject is not taught in Palestinian schools, except from a
negative standpoint.
2. While human life is sacred to Jews ("he who saves one life has saved the entire
world") Muslims seem to accept martyrdom as not only acceptable but even as a
holy duty. This is why so man Palestinians are so willing to become Shahiddim
or Holy Martyrs, and even Palestinian parents are proud that their children
choose to become human bombs in order to kill their hated enemy.
3. Even 'moderate' Palestinians say there is no place for a Jewish State within their
midst.. This is an unfortunate truth, and until this attitude changes, the chance for
peace between the two peoples will be impossible to become reality.
Those who still blame Israel for being the obstacle to peace should see the situation as it really exists. If Palestinians will stop killing and injuring Israelis, Israeli military forces will make life easier for Palestinians. The so called 'security fence' or wall was only built due to the continuous attacks by Palestinians against innocent Israelis. Before the 1st and 2nd Intifada uprisings thousand of Palestinians worked in Israel. They supported their families, and also shopped and enjoyed Israeli restaurants and other places of entertainment. Now, the Palestinian Authority has an 80% unemployment rate, and Palestinians have great difficulty even going to hospitals within Israel – all because of the strife between the two peoples.
So, which values are more unjust? It depends on which side you are addressing them from.
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