Swords into plowshares
About this blog
Swords into Plowshares is the blog of the Peacemaking Program and the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations of the General Assembly Mission Council of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Seeking peace. Striving for justice. Together.
Seeking peace. Striving for justice. Together.
Recent posts
- Do one thing for diversity and inclusion
- Palestinian prisoners, Israel agree to end of hunger strike
- A call from the Madagascar Council of Churches
- Authorize a Violence Against Women Act consistent with Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) policy
- Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike
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- Human Rights (372)
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Posts with category: Human Rights
May 15, 2012Palestinian prisoners, Israel agree to end of hunger strike
Here are a number of reports about the end of the hunger strike by Palestinian prisoners. Thanks are in order for this development and for all who helped make it possible. Prayers are in order for those who have been on the hunger strike – for their health and wellbeing – for their nonviolent witness. Work is in order to recognize and respect the human rights of Palestinians. The effort to establish a just and durable peace for Palestinians and Israelis continues.
May 15, 2012
A call from the Madagascar Council of Churches
The Malagasy Christian Council of Churches (FFKM) released a declaration on the crisis in Madagascar. The PC(USA) works in partnership with the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM), which was formed by the union of three churches in 1968. The FJKM is a member of the Malagasy Christian Council of Churches. The following is the English translation of the declaration. Pray for the people of Madagascar.
Malagasy Christian Council of Churches (FFKM)
English Translation
May 12, 2012
May the grace and peace of God be with you.
After the numerous pleas to the churches within the Malagasy Christian ...
May 15, 2012
Authorize a Violence Against Women Act consistent with Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) policy
From the Office of Public Witness:
Call the House to authorize a Violence Against Women Act that is consistent with Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) policy:
On May 8, the House Judiciary Committee marked up and passed the Adams (R-FL) version of the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization, HR 4970. This bill fails to live up to the bipartisan Senate-passed bill (S 1925), which provides improved protections for particularly vulnerable populations. In fact, this House bill turns back the clock on the Violence Against Women Act and is NOT a real VAWA reauthorization.
The full House is expected to vote ...
May 9, 2012
Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike
Amnesty International has issued a call for urgent action that asks individuals around the world to contact Israeli authorities concerning Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh, two Palestinian men who are at immediate risk of death as they engage in the nonviolent action of a hunger strike. Both are being held without charge or trial by Israel.
Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons are staging a mass hunger strike to protest prison conditions and the practice of administrative detention. CNN reports:
As of May 6, Bilal Diab and Tha'er Halahla entered the 70th day of their strike. CNN uses the headline ...
May 7, 2012
The Tragic Legacies of Lebanon’s Phalangists
The Tragic Legacies of Lebanon’s Phalangists
A conversation with
Jonathan Randal
Author of
The Tragedy of Lebanon: Christian Warlords, Israeli Adventurers, and American Bunglers
Friday, May 11, 2012
10:30 – Noon
Hardin Room, 11th Floor
Church Center for the United Nations
777 UN Plaza –corner of 44th St. and 1st Ave.
In 1975, Phalange Party hardliners from Lebanon’s Maronite Christian community responded to their sense of vulnerability by unleashing a wave of anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian violence that peaked with 1982’s massacres at Sabra and Shatila. Veteran Washington Post foreign correspondent Jonathan Randal was one of the first ...