The modern notion of Human Rights is a secular concept asserting the existence of universal rights shared by all people worldwide, regardless of age, sex, religion, ethnic origin, wealth or position. On Dec. 10, 1948, these rights were codified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), unanimously passed by the United Nations General Assembly and further elaborated in a number of Conventions, Treaties, Institutions and Tribunals. On the surface, these rights are not based in scripture or theology but on a commitment to basic “natural

The Age (& SMH) / Reuters | James Mackenzie | 12 February 2025 This is pure evil – Mark US President Donald Trump has reacted to a delay in the release of hostages announced by Hamas by saying all captives in Gaza must be released by midday Saturday, or he will propose cancelling the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and “let hell break out”. Hamas earlier announced it would stop releasing Israeli hostages until further notice over what the Palestinian militant group called violations of the ceasefire agreement, raising

Statement by Non-Governmental Organizations on President Trump’s Recent StatementsEndorsing the Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinians in GazaWe are deeply alarmed by President Trump’s recent statements that appear to endorse andplan for forced Palestinian displacement leading to the ethnic cleansing of the Gaza Strip. OnJanuary 25th, Trump stated “I would like Egypt to take people… You’re talking about probably amillion and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say: ‘You know, it’s over.’”He also said that he had informed King Abdullah of Jordan

Feb 13th, 2025 Every Thursday at 6 PM Jerusalem time, Sabeel gathers our friends from around the world for our weekly online service. Led by Rev. Naim Ateek, the service includes the Wave of Prayer, readings of the upcoming week, and a time of group reflections. The gospel reading for the upcoming Sunday, to be reflected on at Sabeel’s Thursday service, is Luke 6:17-26.   Christ, you stood on level ground with the poor and oppressed, declaring blessing upon those who hunger, mourn, and are rejected. Yet

Ministers and senior officials protected arms deals facilitating death and horror in Gaza and Yemen. I urge my former colleagues to resist them Britain’s system for controlling arms exports is broken, former diplomat claims The Guardian | Mark Smith | 10 February 2025 Tories / Labour – same as each other and same as the USA – corruption at every level – Mark My name is Mark Smith. I am a former diplomat and policy adviser at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). I spent

Sydney Morning Herald (The Age) / AP, Reuters | Lolita Baldor & Julia Frankel | 9 February 2025 Doesn’t matter which President is in the White House – murder continues – Mark The Trump administration has approved weapon sales of more than $US7 billion ($11 billion) to Israel, including thousands of bombs, despite a Democratic lawmakers’ request that the sale be paused until he received more information.The massive arms sale came just two days after Donald Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Oval

February 5, 2025 God bless the small number of ‘sane’ Jews left in the world – Mark The Jewish Council of Australia strongly condemns Donald Trump’s suggestion the United States will ‘take over’ the Gaza Strip and move Palestinian people elsewhere. We furthermore condemn the cynical use of humanitarian language by Trump to justify his egregious plan. This language  adds insult to injury given the mounting evidence collected by human rights organisations about Israel’s gross violations of International Humanitarian Law in its 15-months long attack on the

No Palestinian will voluntarily leave – it will always be under duress – Mark Israel’s defence minister ordered the army on Thursday to prepare for “voluntary” departures from Gaza, after US President Donald Trump proposed moving Palestinians out of the territory. The idea sparked uproar from leaders in the Middle East and beyond, and the Trump administration appeared to walk back some of the suggestions. Hours later, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the military to formulate a plan for Palestinians to leave