Ariel Sharon - Israel's Lost & Forgotten Saviour?

I read in today's Independent of a sculpture of former Israeli PM Ariel Sharon, lying in a coma, which has been unveiled in Israel.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-divided-over-sculpture-of-sharon-in-a-coma-2110301.html

I can't quite believe that it has now almost been 5 years since he had the stroke that brought on this coma in January 2006. Time flies but in the middle east, sadly, some things never change.

For a fierce old right-winger, he had really raised eyebrows during his time as Prime Minister when he withdrew the Israeli military and some 8,000 Israeli settlers from Gaza. He even left his right-wing Likud Party, and boldly set-up his own Kadima Party, whilst at the top.

I recall thinking that maybe, here was a battle-scarred old leader from the Israeli right who, similar to Ian Paisley Snr in Northern Ireland, could see that a new policy of engagement with the enemy was required to benefit his own hand.

Of course, we'll never know what would've happened had Sharon have continued as Prime Minister. Would he have led Israel into the disastrous war that his successor Ehud Olmert did with the Lebanon? How would he have reacted to Hamas in Gaza?

We can't answer these questions, but under Olmert, the peace process failed to move forward. Indeed, accusations of corruption against him did nothing for his authority and Tzipi Livni took over as head of the Kadima Party at the end of 2008. She lost out to Benjamin Netanyahu in the elections in the spring of '09 and so did the hope of taking forward a Sharon-like policy in the middle east.

Benjamin Netanyahu - the new Ian Paisley?
I wondered during that closely fought Israeli election last year whether, against my better inclination, a Netanyahu victory may better focus middle eastern minds. In Northern Ireland, it took the extreme two wings of the debate to come together before a stable peace could be found. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement, brokered by the more moderate UUP and SDLP, stalled entirely within 5 years. But now, the 2007 accord agreed by bitterest rivals the DUP and Sinn Fein has ironically set Northern Ireland onto a true path for peace.

Could the Likud Party, back in goverment under a 2nd Netanyahu administration, provide a similar miracle with Fatah, and even Hamas?

Well, after 18 months, no it hasn't. Could it still? I very much doubt it.

Just days away from the 15th anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin's assassination in November 1995, middle east peace looks no closer to coming to fruition than it has since those heady days of the Oslo Accords of 1993.

Would we be any closer now to a lasting peace had Sharon not had his stroke whilst at the height of his powers? Well, we wouldn't have been any further away from it, that's for sure.

The Pope and Me

I'm watching the Pope give mass in Glasgow. I must admit, it's quite a moving experience.

Now, on blogs and on twitter, on Facebook and on the news, all we have had heard in recent days is the coming of Pope Benedict XVI to the UK. It is after all, only the second visit to the UK of a Holy See since the Reformation in the 16th century following Pope John Paul II's visit in the year of my birth, 1982.

Much of the chatter has been negative. The cost to the taxpayer, the media faux pax's of his entourage and of course, the moralistic stand that he himself takes on behalf of his global family on some very controversial issues.

My Faith
I'm not a Catholic. I never will be. But I respect those who wish to be. Indeed, my sister and also one of my sisters-in-law's family are Catholics. Indeed, a nephew and niece of mine have been Christened in that faith. As a liberal, I'm happy for them to make their decision and to allow them to follow that chosen path.

I went to a Baptist Sunday School and was given my Bible on leaving at the age of 15. I have not yet been Baptised whereas some of my elder brother have been. I may well decide to go through the ritual of Baptism in the future - I may not. That decision is for the future and one I will keep my mind open too.

Above everything, I have always looked to keep an open mind on the issue of faith and to respect the views of others - even when I don't agree with those views. I believe that if everyone respected the right of others to hold their own views, it would be to the benefit of us all.

We should respect those who are in Glasgow right now. We should also respect those of other Christian faiths and also those of other faiths. As I mentioned in an earlier blog entry, we need to respect those of faiths that may appear different from the traditional ones of our own.

http://johnmarkcole.blogspot.com/2010/09/no1-un-american-american-sees-light.html

We must also repsect those who have no faith.

I keep my faith to myself. I don't believe that I should burden others with my beliefs and I don't believe that others should push their beliefs onto others either.

It's about respect, understanding and tolerance of one another and our views and beliefs.

Pope Benedict XVI
I therefore object to what his Holiness said this morning in Edinburgh when he compared atheists with the Nazis when he spoke of 'atheist extremism'.

I'm sorry, but I can not agree with him. Freedom to worship? Absolutely. But freedom to not worship? Absolutely again. There are plenty of people of faith down the ages who have done evil things. Likewise there have been plenty of people down the ages of no faith who have done good things.

I also can not agree with the Catholic stance against contraception and against the LGBT community.

For these reasons and others, I could never join with some of my kin in taking up this creed. It's not for me. But I will respect those who decide differently to myself.

Who Should Pay?
Should we be paying £12m of tax-payers money to help pay for this trip? Those who vitriolically oppose the choice of those who wish to preach the Catholic faith to do so, are screaming no. Those who do practise and follow the words of the Holy See, will say yes and point to the fact that he is in fact, like Elizabeth II both the Head of State and Head of their respective Churches.

I take a rather more practical view. I have no problem with the Pope coming to the UK. Indeed, it is a moving sight here right now to watch thousands in his company. For these who follow his words, he is central to their world. Who am I to say to them that he shouldn't be here? This is a free country with freedom to worship. But maybe, in the middle of a great economic downturn and in a time of great uncertainty for our nation, it may have been wiser for the Vatican to have paid that extra amount themselves on top of the remaining cost which they are paying anyway.

At a time when the Vatican have struggled with badly misfiring public relations gaffes, but particularly, have been under great scrutiny with the child abuse scandal, maybe here was an opportunity for them to win over sceptical public opinion in the UK by offering to pay for the entirety of the cost of the visit.

Let Me Live
Above all though, let's just live with each other and accept that we shall all be different. Let's make our views clear when we disagree and do our best, through the force of our arguement, to change views and opinions. But when the day draws to a close, whether those views have been changed through argument or not, let's remember that we all decide how we live our lives and should be allowed to do so.

Good luck to his Holiness. I hope he sees the light of the errors of his ways. But in the meantime, good luck to those who wish to celebrate their faith with him over the coming days.

The No.1 Un-American American Sees the Light

On this sombre day for the western world, but for Americans in particular, I was pleased to read that the now infamous Reverend Terry Jones has stated that he will not, now or ever, burn a copy of the Koran.

The way that this back-water Pastor from Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida has managed to grab the headlines is incredible but it sadly demonstrates how ill at ease America is with itself. The furore around the proposed site of an Islamic Cultural Centre on Manhattan Island near the site of Ground Zero has heightened tensions at a particularly sensitive time.

This threat of an actual burning of the Koran however just belied incredulity. What did Terry Jones think would be the result of such an act? Is he stupid? Did he honestly think that everyone would thank him for this right and reasonable act? As President Obama put it, there are troops in Afghanistan fighting at this moment. How would such an act go down in the Islamic world? They're not exactly going to greet it with joy now are they. As Obama said "This is a way of endangering our troops, our sons and daughters... you don't play games with that". There are extremists who would jump on such a foolish act and feed the anti-western sentiments that many already hold. American lives would've been put at even greater risk than they already are at present.

Freedom
Americans such as Terry Jones can not have their cake and eat it. America was born with the inalienable right of religious freedoms indelibly marked in the founding paperwork of the late 18th century.

You can not preach to be American and then publish a book named Islam is of the Devil. Tolerance is the absolutely essential ingrediant to a future where we live with each other. Without understanding, without consideration of others and without respect for the views and beliefs of neighbours, no-one, let alone Americans, will ever be able to live in peace from terrorism.

The very notion of burning the Koran, particularly when US Army personnel are on the front line in Afghanistan is the most unpatriotic of un-American acts conceivable. Terry Jones has done himself and his country no favours at all during this past week.

He has at least backed down and stated that the burning will not go ahead. In a Python-esque kind of way, you could almost laugh at this ridiculous, very sad episode. Except you can't. It would've been much better for the man himself, for America and for relations with the Islamic world, if he never opened his mouth in the first place.