Syrian Soldiers Sneak Into Israel, Nation 2nd in World in Terror Sponsorship
Jerusalem (ICEJ) — Two Syrian soldiers crossed into the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights on Wednesday, the first reported infiltration since September 2001.
Christian Persecution
Anti-Semitism Splashed All Over Cult’s Web Site
Jerusalem (ICEJ) — The web sites of the cult-UFO group, Rael, which claimed last week to have cloned a woman, are rife with potent anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli propaganda tucked among movement’s doctrines and cloning stories.
Arab Candidates Can Run for Election, Supreme Court Rules
Jerusalem (ICEJ) — The Israeli Supreme Court on Thursday overturned the Central Elections Committee’s decision to disqualify two Arab Knesset members and the Balad party from running in the Jan. 28 election.
Labor’s Plan: Withdraw Israelis from Gaza Within One Year
Jerusalem (ICEJ) — A Labor-led government would drain the Jewish settlements in Gaza and transfer Israelis living there to the Negev and the southern coastal plain within one year, according to an internal Labor Party document obtained by Ha’aretz.
Religious Liberty 2003
Lack of religious freedom has always been an issue in Islam; however, the advance of the Islamic renewal movement and Islamic militancy has accentuated this. The rise of Hindutva over the past decade now extends to alleged government complicity in religious violence, and, in parts of India, anti-conversion legislation. Likewise the rise of Buddhist nationalism and militancy, which has lead to increased persecution, may soon extend to anti-conversion legislation being introduced in Sri Lanka.
Three Pakistani Christians Lose Eyesight in Christmas Assault
At least three of the wounded survivors of a deadly Christmas night attack against a village church in Pakistan have sustained permanent eye damage, confirmed doctors from Lahore who operated on two of them.
Chinese Christian Family Beaten and Left in the Cold
At about 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 5, 2003, approximately 10 unidentified men burst into the home of Brother Hua Huiqi and his wife, Ju Mei in Beijing. Forcing all of the members of the household, including Hua’s elderly parents, to lay on the floor, the attackers savagely beat the family, breaking one of the legs of Hua’s 80-year-old father. They then confiscated all of the home’s portable heaters, leaving the family to suffer from the cold of winter. It is believed that the intruders were either sent by the police or could even have been plain-clothes policemen.
Police Use Noxious Gas to Break Up Hmong Meeting in North Vietnam
Police used noxious gas to break up a Christian worship gathering attended by 40 Hmong people in the Dien Bien Dong district of North Vietnam.
Horror of North Korean Prison Camps Revealed in CSW Report on International Human Rights Day
CSW conducted interviews with 50 North Koreans in four different countries and heard of human rights abuses such as arbitrary executions and torture for this report which provides a rare insight into conditions in North Korea’s secret prison camps.
Bulgaria’s Non Orthodox Churches Fear New Law
Bulgaria’s Protestant churches have urged President Georgi Parvanov to veto a law that would force non-Orthodox Christians and other minority groups to obtain court approval to operate in the Balkan country.
Nepal: Maoist Rebels Threaten Missionaries
A missionary leader in Nepal reports that he and his missionaries are being threatened by Maoist rebels.
Ten Palestinians Die in Clashes with Troops, as IDF seek Gaza Bombmakers
erusalem (ICEJ) — At least nine Palestinians were killed and at 10 were injured in the early hours of Friday morning during an Israeli military operation in the El-Bureij neighborhood in the Gaza strip, according to Palestinian sources. The AFP news agency quoted Palestinian medical staff as saying that a 10th person, a woman, died in hospital of her wounds.
15 Suicide Attacks Prevented in Israeli Territory
Jerusalem (Bridges for Peace) — The Israeli Defense Minister disclosed that during the past week the security forces prevented 15 attacks that were intended against Israeli citizens and, in addition, arrested over 400 terrorist activists. “The IDF and security forces are making immense efforts to prevent terrorism. Over the past two weeks we are witnessing an increase in terrorist attempts against Israeli citizens. The assessment is that these increasing waves of terror are aimed at interfering with the democratic process in the State of Israel.”
Shooting Incident in Southern Mexico Signals Rising Tension
Traditionalist Catholic “caciques”(village leaders) in Chiapas, Mexico, accused evangelical Christians of provoking a violent confrontation that left seven people wounded by high powered rifles. However, the 27 evangelical Christian families left homeless for two weeks following the shooting say they are not at fault.
Eritrea Jails 18 More Evangelical Christians
Eritrean police arrested and jailed another Protestant evangelical pastor on Sunday, taking him and seven of his church members to prison.
Christians Killed and Churches Burned in Nigerian Riots Sparked
by Miss World Protests At least one hundred people were killed and 200 injured yesterday as Muslim youths rampaged through the capital of Kaduna State in Nigeria in protest at a newspaper article that was said to have blasphemed the Prophet Mohammed. Muslim youths arrived in Kaduna city in a convoy of buses bearing Arabic inscriptions which observers suspected of belonging to an Islamic organisation. As the day wore on the protest became more violent. Chanting “Allahu Akbar” (God is Great), thousands of youths marched on the Kaduna offices of ThisDay where they proceeded to search for the Chief Correspondent, … Read more
More Than 200 Churches Destroyed in Kaduna, Nigeria
Christian University Worker Arrested for Controversial Prayer by Obed Minchakpu KADUNA, Nigeria (Compass) — A total of 294 churches have been burned in Kaduna city of northern Nigeria during Muslim-Christian clashes since the Kaduna state government decided to adopt and implement the Islamic legal system last year. The violence has also left thousands of Christians homeless and dramatically increased the number of widows and orphans, according to the Macedonian Initiative (MI), a Christian non-governmental organization, which released the figures in June. Nigerian Christian ministers and denominational leaders established the Macedonian Initiative to provide aid to those who have suffered because … Read more
Christian Nurse Shot Dead at Lebanese Clinic
A female American missionary has been shot dead at a Christian heath clinic in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, according to the Reuters news agency.
Christians Shot at Israeli-Jordan Border
Retired missionary of the Christian radio network HCJB World Radio, Gustavo Molina, and his daughter Kathy were among five Ecuadorian tourists wounded Wednesday when a gunman opened fire on the group at the Israel-Jordan border near Israel’s Red Sea resort of Eilat, a Christian station said Friday, Nov 21.
Turkish Authorities Block Use of Protestant Church
Seven months after the newly constructed Diyarbakir Evangelical Church opened in southeast Turkey, a local council under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has again protested against the building’s use as a place of worship.