Tbilisi – Iranian Clergy Respond to the Call for Peace Prayer

„The Christian clergyman of Karbala calls Iranian clerics to help in bringing Peace to Nagorno-Karabakh“ says a Persian article, published by the Iranian Young Journalists Club. The author of the article, Pouria Soleimanzadeh, a young Persian journalist is reffering to Bishop Malkhaz Songulashvili as „the Christian clergyman of Karbala“. Karbala is a religious title among Shia Muslims given to someone who has paricipated in the Arbaeen pilgimage from Najaf to Karbala (about 80 kilometers). In 2018 Bishop Malkhaz particimated in the Arbaeen walk/pilgrimage and hence his Shia religious title: Bishop Malkhaz of Karbala.

The lengthy article speaks in details about the initiative of Peace Cathedral to bring Azerbaijani and Armenian clergy to pray for peace between Armania ans Azerbaijan. In his interview with the Iranian journalist Bishop Malkhaz called Irianian clergy to joing Peaec Cathedrao in prayer for peace.

Peace Cathedral has already received an assurance from some Iranian clergymen that they will be virtually joining the Peace Prayer at Peace Cathedral in Tbilisi every Saturday at 7 pm (Georgian Standard Time) until the war is over. Peace Cathedral has also received assurance of joining the Peace Prayer from its German, American, Israeli, Italian and British fiends. This includes clergy from Anglican, Old Anglo Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Yezidi, Armenian Protestant and Armenian Apostolic, Shia and Sunni Muslim, Jewish backgrounds.

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Conflictul din Orientul Mijlociu – O serata Strajerul – 7

Harta răspândirii Islamului

Hai să rezervăm câteva minute și viitorului. Ce se va întâmpla acolo? În mod clar, creștinii s-au aliat cu evreii în toată povestea asta și ca atare, creștinii sunt dușmanii declarați ai islamului, islam care nu poate fi neglijat, căci conține o populație destul de numeroasă…

Aproape 1 miliard!

… un teritoriu suficient de mare și care cuplând toată perspectiva lor, care-am povestit-o …

…una teocratică…

…sunt în stare de orice și ca atare, ei sunt o amenințare care nu poate fi neglijată din niciun punct de vedere. Pe lângă asta, ei sunt și-un popor militant, cum spuneai, nu numai cu armele, ci și sub raport misionar. Am mai povestit noi aici, Anglia este, realmente, terorizată de musulmani, Franța, de asemenea. Au existat, ați văzut, toate poveștile de violență din Franța, care realmente au întors lumea pe dos. Sunt oameni care trăiesc acolo, creștini sau nu, fie în Anglia, fie în Franța și care-și mărturisesc realmente frica de a trăi în acele zone dominate numeric de musulmani. Este interesant că istoria are consecințele ei: dacă Franța și-a alungat protestanții, acum are în locul lor musulmani și n-are decât să trăiască cu chestia asta.

Sigur!

Și așa mai departe. Deci noi creștinii suntem percepuți ca dușmani ai islamului De aceea, suntem vizați oriunde și peste tot în acțiunile lor, pentru că susținem Israelul. Deci un conflict aparent minor între două-trei milioane de oameni, de-o parte și tot așa de partea cealaltă, de fapt, se prelungește, se extinde la un conflict de proporții aproape mondiale, care acolo, local, se desfășoară în forma armelor și-a bombelor, iar la nivel mondial, sub forma ideologiilor, a politicilor economice, a influențelor ș.a.m.d. Dac-ar fi să discutăm în parametrii ăștia, lucrurile sunt mult mai grave. Noi stăm așa detașați, la distanță…

Așa credem noi.

…dar să vedem care ar putea fi viitorul și care ar putea fi în viitor impactul a ceea ce se întâmplă acolo, în Orientul Mijlociu.

Sigur!

Poate mai sunt întrebări sau comentarii.

(Un interlocutor din sală) …se povestea că în timpul califatului musulman, creștinii au dus-o de fapt foarte bine…

Da! Mai bine decât politeiștii, vreau să spun. Pentru asta însă au plătit un preț, au fost mai degrabă o populație de gradul al doilea, dar li s-a dat dreptul să trăiască, nu să moară, ca celorlalți. Eu aș duce lucrurile un pas mai în spate, aș zice, apariția islamului este, într-un fel, judecata lui Dumnezeu asupra unui creștinism decăzut. Uitați-vă. Islamul a triumfat în toate zonele în care a existat creștinism înainte. Dar creștinismul a decăzut, sub raport dogmatic, sub raport moral și chiar sub raport administrativ. Zona Orientului Apropiat și a Orientului Mijlociu este una în care creștinii au fost la un moment dat în istorie extrem de puternici. Discutăm aici mai ales despre Irak, unde biserica caldeeană (de persuasiune nestoriană, monofizită), care este acum o rămășiță, a avut o activitate misionară extraordinară, cu rezultate incredibile în perioada medievală timpurie (înainte de anul 1000). Biserica ortodoxă orientală a Siriei, numită și siriacă, a întărit rămășițele bisericii rezultate, conform tradiției, din lucrarea misionară a apostolului Toma, în zona Kerala, pe coasta Malabar, din sud-vestul Indiei. Acum, biserica aceea se numește Siro-Malabar, din pricina influenței puternice a bisericii siriace. Între India și Siria este-o distanță uriașă, mai mare decât distanța dintre București și Londra. Misionarii aceia au împânzit lumea asiatică, până în Siberia la nord, în Mongolia, în zona centrală, și în China, la răsărit. Dar, cu vremea, din pricina unor cauze complexe, credința creștină a decăzut acolo, s-a amestecat cu religiile locale, și rezultatul este că un creștinism decăzut a devenit solul fertil pentru apariția unei erezii, pentru că islamul nu este altceva decât o erezie creștină. Același lucru s-a întâmplat în tot nordul Africii, care-a fost creștin în primele secole ale bisericii, din Egipt până în Maroc. Iar astăzi, acel spațiu este islamic și islamul se întinde mereu, ca o pânză, înspre sudul Africii, până în Nigeria, și dincolo de ea.

Conflictul din Orientul Mijlociu – O serata Strajerul – 3

Cristos este crucificat, aproximativ în jurul anului 30. Templul construit de Irod este apoi distrus în anul 70 AD de generalul Titus, care avea să devină mai târziu împărat, și iudeii sunt împrăștiați în Imperiul Roman: este rezultatul unei serii de revolte ale evreilor împotriva romanilor. Ei sunt împrăștiați peste tot în Imperiul Roman și de aici diaspora evreiască, cea care continuă și astăzi. O mare parte a evreilor a rămas însă în zonele în care-au fost împrăștiați atunci, ei și urmașii lor.

Sub împăratul Constantin, creștinismul este legalizat, în anul 313, prin edictul de la Milano, și în acest punct, începe o istorie foarte stranie, în relațiile dintre Biserică și evrei. Mai multe edicte, date în cadrul sinoadelor sau date de împărați, aduc situații foarte stranii. Vreau să menționez aici doar un edict al împăratului bizantin Iustinian cel Mare, care instituie principiul „servitus iudeorum” (al servituții evreilor), în urma căruia se instituiau următoarele: numai creștinii aveau dreptul de a fi cetățeni ai Imperiului; evreii nu puteau depune mărturie împotriva creștinilor, în tribunal; folosirea limbii ebraice în închinare, era interzisă. În mod special, acea afirmare-a credinței iudaice: „Sh’ma Ysrael!” (Ascultă, Israele: Domnul, Dumnezeul tău este unul!) este complet interzisă, pentru că este considerată un fel de manifest sau negare a Sfintei Treimi. O parte a comunității iudaice este convertită prin forță; o serie de sinagogi sunt transformate în biserici și este, de fapt, începutul unei relații foarte tensionate, de-a lungul istoriei, cu enorm de multe evenimente. Ne-ar lua o zi întreagă numai să le enumerăm foarte, foarte pe scurt.

Anul 622 este considerat în mod tradițional drept începutului religiei islamice, anul în care se produce hadj, plecarea lui Muhammad la Medina, și crearea acolo a primului stat islamic.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks on Jerusalem: The 50th Anniversary of Reunification

A love tribute to Jerusalem, by the Chief Rabbi of UK, Dr Jonathan Sachs.

As we approach Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) on the 23rd / 24th May, and the 50th anniversary of the reunification of our beloved city, here are a few thoughts about what Jerusalem means to me. (This video includes captions in Hebrew. If you wish to receive an MP4 version of this video for use in your community, school or organisation on Yom Yerushalayim, please email info@rabbisacks.org and put ‘Jerusalem 50 video’ in the subject line.)

Premiu al Uniunii Scriitorilor pentru romanul Sarbatoarea corturilor

Un premiu pe deplin meritat.

Felicitari domnului Ioan T Morar!

In vizita la Sarbatoarea corturilor

Grupul Agape, condus de Nelu Moț (al doilea din stinga).
Primul din stinga este Mihai, fratele lui Jan Gligor.

Clipul de mai sus, este o introducere perfectă în etosul muzical al ‘janistilor’, grupul format în jurul lui Jan Gligor, modelul personajului principal, Jac, din fascinantul roman Sărbătoarea corturilor, al lui Ioan T. Morar.

The Pope Dancing to Hasidic Music

The encounter took place during a 45-minute papal audience on Monday (May 8) with a delegation led by Polish Rabbi Edgar Gluck, who was accompanied by his son Zvi, who lives in New York, and other rabbis.

(Source, HERE.)

Israeli Settlements Explained

The latest discourse of Secretary of State John Kerry on the danger for peace in the Middle East represented by the constant extension of the Israeli settlements in the Palestinian occupied territorries stirred again the debate on the lack of solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the obvious resistance of the Israeli right wing government to come to a peaceful two-state resolution of this conflict.

I am sure many of you, especially those who have been influenced by Zionist propaganda – whether Christian Jewish or secular, or by the suspect dispensationalist interpretations of the sacred text, wonder what is the big fusss with these seettlements.

Yohanna Katanacho – Yom Kippur. A Palestinian Christian Perspective

Today, we celebrate in Israel the day of atonement or Yom Kippur. It is a day of repentance, humiliation before God, and forgiveness. On this day, there is no eating, no bathing or washing, no anointing, and no marital relations. It is a day dedicated to seeking the forgiveness of God. It is a day in which God expects from those who follow Him to forgive the sins of others.

Can Jews forgive the sins of the nations who attacked and abused them? Can they reflect on their own sins that led our country to the current situation? Can Palestinians forgive the Jewish people? I pray that I will discover my own sins on this day and will seek to forgive and bless all of my neighbors. I also pray that my Jewish neighbors will seek true forgiveness that is much more than just ritual celebrations. Perhaps, the test of Yom Kippur is more than ritual! It is also an ethical one. Furthermore, it seems to me that Jewish ethics today cannot be divorced from the Palestinian question. The latter is the litmus test for the authenticity of celebrating Yom Kippur in Israel in the 21st century. Such forgiveness would change the hearts of the nation as well as its politics leading to the support of a politics of peace and reconciliation rather than war and further alienation. May God answer the desires of all the hearts that seek forgiveness and bless them with true atonement! As a Christian I found this atonement embodied in the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth who died on the cross for my own sins.

Căl(c)ătorul în ale credinței: un itinerar – Coram Deo

Nu doar în navigație se face periplu. Nu doar marinarii acostează – după o alchimie doar de ei știută – de la un port la altul. Și căutătorii în ale credinței fac la fel. Sufletul omului însetează mereu și se […]

Source: Căl(c)ătorul în ale credinței: un itinerar – Coram Deo

I noua cronica, de culoare evident evanghelica, la ultima cartea a lui Ioan T Morar.

Bihoreanul – Lansare sarbatoarea corturilor la Oradea

Source: eBihoreanul Mobile | Stiri pe mobil

Iata un nou articol despre lansarea de la Oradea a cartii lui Ioan T Morar, Sarbatoarea corturilor.

Ioan T. Morar și-a lansat „conserva de Arad” la Librăria Corina – Special Arad

Ziar online cuprinzând știri din Arad, din țară și străinătate, investigații de presă și reportaje locale, cultură, opinie, pamflete, administrație și sport.

Source: Ioan T. Morar și-a lansat „conserva de Arad” la Librăria Corina – Special Arad

Un nou articol despre lansarea de la Arad a cartii lui Ioan T Morar, Sarbatoarea corturilor

Lansare Ioan T Morar, Sarbatoarea corturilor la Bucuresti

Marți, 31 mai, la ora 18.00, la Librăria Cărturești Verona (Str. Arthur Verona 13-15, București), Ioan T. Morar va dialoga cu Cristian Pătrășconiu despre noul său roman, Sărbătoarea Corturilor, apărut de curînd în colecţia „Fiction Ltd.” a Editurii Polirom, şi în ediţie digitală).

Exista si o versiune electronica a cartii lui Vasile Ernu, Sectantii

Un anunt special pentru prietenii mei din strainatate.

Sectantii (eBook)
AUTOR:	Vasile Ernu
COLECTIE:	EGO-GRAFII
PRET:	25.11 RON
DOMENIU:	Memorii, jurnale, corespondenta
ISBN EPUB:	978-973-46-5450-5
ISBN PDF:	978-973-46-5451-2
ANUL APARITIEI:	2015
FORMAT:	ePub (Adobe DRM), PDF (Adobe DRM)

Puteti comanda AICI aceasta carte in format digital

A aparut versiunea electronica a cartii lui Ioan T Morar, Sarbatoarea corturilor

Sarbatoarea Corturilor (eBook)
AUTOR:	Ioan T. Morar
COLECTIE:	FICTION LTD
PRET:	31.95 RON
DOMENIU:	Literatura romana
ISBN EPUB:	978-973-46-6100-8
ISBN PDF:	978-973-46-6101-5
ANUL APARITIEI:	2016
FORMAT:	ePub (Adobe DRM), PDF (Adobe DRM)

Gasiti AICI linkul unde puteti comanda cartea.

 

Într-o confesiune dramatică – ARADON

La Librăria Corina s-a lansat, azi, romanul „Sărbătoarea Corturilor” de Ioan T. Morar.

Source: Într-o confesiune dramatică – ARADON

Lansari ale cartii Sarbatoarea Corturilor la Timisoara, Arad si Oradea

Iata ce scrie domnul Morar despre lansari, pe blogul sau:

Astăzi am definitivat datele și orele pentru lansările din afara Bucureștiului (unde voi fi la BookFest). Așadar, la Timișoara, pe 25 mai, ora 18.00, la Librăria Esotera.

A doua zi, 26 mai, la ora 12.00, la Arad, la librăria Corina. Și, în aceeași zi, la ora 16, în Oradea, la Librăria Gutenberg.

Din pacate, nefiind in tara, nu pot participa la niciuna dintre ele, dar sper, totusi, intr-o lansare la Iasi, cindva in toamna, cind revin in tara.

Benjamin L Corey – 5 Reasons We So Blindly Support Israel in Spite of the Truth or Biblical Ethics

Over the course of time I’ve noticed a troubling trend: it’s *almost* impossible to have a reasonable discussion with fellow Christians who believe we are called to give unwavering support the modern secular nation state of Israel.

This of course, has led me to try to figure out why this is the case. Why do so many Christians reject basic facts about Israel? Why do so many of us have an aversion to believing truth on this issue?

As your list-maker-in-chief, I have a few ideas as to why this seems to occur. So, here are my 5 reasons so many of us irrationally support Israel– in spite of truth or biblical ethics:

1. Bad theology regarding Israel has led us to become victims of our own confirmation bias
…

2. We don’t listen to Palestinian voices– not even our Christian brothers and sisters in Palestine
…

Iasi, Romania Jewish Heritage 2

Iasi, Romania Jewish Heritage1

 

Romulus Balasz – Souvenirs de Iasi – trailer

A documentary that explores the story of Iasi pogrom through the traces remaining today in Romania.

Click on this link to know more about the film and to help bring this film to life : http://bit.ly/1RYiqhc

Version en Français : https://youtu.be/DLkO-cW-KOs
Versiunea în română: https://youtu.be/6j7WUJcTupo

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks on His New Book ‘Not in God’s Name’

Notable Rabbi Jonathan Sacks talks to Andrew Marr on “The Andrew Marr Show” about the War on Terror; Islam; Islamic Extremism and the history of religion combining with war.

* * *

If you are interested, you may listen below, to a lomger discussion about this very important book.

Are Islam’s Allah and Christianity’s God the Same Deity? | University Abbey

My virtual friend Carson Clark discusses in tis post the tough question of whether Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Here are just two comments on this matter:

1. Until about a century ago, the unanimous answer of Christians was a resoundiong  ‘yes’. We need to ask ourselves what made us all to of a sudden doubt it.
2. This question cannot be answered legitimately if we cannot also add to it the question if Christians and Jews worship the same God. If we answer yes to this question and no to the second, we are in a blatant contradiction.

 

Visit the post for more.

Source: Are Islam’s Allah and Christianity’s God the Same Deity? | University Abbey

Message of A Palestinian Christian to ‘Christians United for Israel’

My name is Elizabeth Daoud. I, like over a million Palestinians, am both Palestinian and Christian. I actually come from the Assyrian Orthodox Church, the first and original church of Christians in the Middle East. My parents were born in Palestine and have a long blood line from Jerusalem and Bayte Sahour. Many members of my family were first hand victims of the “nakbah” and had to flee their homeland after being expelled from their homes by Zionist militias, leaving them without the right to return to their land, even to this day. Today in Palestine, Christianity is experiencing what some believe is a crisis. The plight of Palestinian Christians, similar to what Palestinian Muslims are going through, is daily injustice at the hands of oppressive, doctoral and inhumane police forces of the Israeli government. This is occurring in both the West Bank and Gaza, where my Palestinian people live under a brutal and illegal military occupation, and also inside Israel itself, where Palestinians, Muslim and Christian, live as second-class citizens.

Palestinian Christians, like their Muslim brothers and sisters, have lived under Israeli policies of occupation and injustice while many living in the West deny this fact. Many Palestinian Christians feel betrayed by Christians living in North America and Europe who support the state of Israel and the oppression of the Palestinian people. We see them as hypocritical, standing by a state that has left us Palestinians, indiscriminately Christian and Muslim, without a state for over half a century.

Today, Palestinian Christians live under harsh, extreme oppression and apartheid policies. While Christian and Muslim Palestinians living in the West Bank under the heavy hand of martial law are not permitted to vote, undocumented Jewish settlers are subject to civil law and are allowed to vote in Israeli elections. South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who fought to end Apartheid in South Africa, has even embraced the movement of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel until they respect my people’s equal rights, an end to the occupation and the return to the homeland which Israel expelled them from, saying, “I have witnessed the systemic humiliation of Palestinian men, women and children by members of the Israeli security forces … Their humiliation is familiar to all black South Africans who were corralled and harassed and insulted and assaulted by the security forces of the apartheid government.” Palestinian land continues to be confiscated and Palestinians continue to be humiliated by the Israelis for their religious beliefs. They were almost unable to celebrate Christmas in 2014 due to riots and street fights caused by the Israeli Police. They experience unemployment, poverty and illegal occupation. Moreover, they are routinely prohibited from visiting one of the most holy sites of Christianity: the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City of Jerusalem, the church that commemorates Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection from the dead.

As a Palestinian Christian, it is truly upsetting and disappointing to see Christians United for Israel justify the oppression of Palestinian Christians under the banner of Christian values. Palestinian Christians don’t have the smallest right to visit even the holiest of sites that started Christianity because of Israeli policies. How can Christians United for Israel be in support of this when indigenous Christians are being prevented from exercising Christianity in the very place that Jesus walked. I end this by calling upon CUFI to please stop justifying oppression, persecution and repression of my people in the name of the message of the Bible and my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Elizabeth Daoud is a Rutgers Business School senior double majoring in finance and management information systems.

(Source, HERE)

The Peacemaking Palestinian Evangelicals of Israel

AS Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu concluded cantankerous negotiations to finalise his right-wing cabinet, Palestinian-Israeli evangelicals were hoping for something better.

Alienated by campaign rhetoric stigmatising Arab citizens as an electoral threat, they turned in response to the source they know best: the Gospel.

In doing so, they seek to reverse a disturbing trend of isolation from society as a whole, and in particular their Jewish neighbors.

‘Are we not asked to be the salt and light of the earth?’ asked Revd Azar Ajaj, president of Nazareth Evangelical College, in an open letter shortly after the Israeli elections.‘How important, then, to show love to those who have been styled as our “enemies”. In fact we are asked to be peacemakers.’

And from April 16-18, he gathered 60 local and international leaders to discuss how.

Rabbi Joshua Stanton – Two Faces of Evangelical Christianity

An evangelical pastor saved my life. But not in the way you are probably thinking.

While a sophomore at Amherst College, I was trying to find my way. Without a clear path, I figured that philanthropy would be a nice occupation. But to be a philanthropist, I needed to make money and lots of it. So I set my sights on finance and began working towards a major in economics.

Even as I was pursuing a lucrative (and generous) future, I remained rooted in Judaism. I had been brought up in the Conservative movement and had long been active in my synagogue and, in college, the international Jewish campus organization Hillel. In time, I became co-president of the organization’s Amherst chapter and began taking part in regular meetings with Amherst’s director of religious life, the Rev. Dr. Paul Sorrentino.

Paul was not like most pastors I had met, or for that matter religious leaders of any sort. Although he spoke to me about his own beliefs and process of becoming reborn as a Christian, it was not with the intention of proselytizing. He did not want to preach all the time. Instead he wanted to listen. He heard of my ambitions and also saw my love of Judaism. So he planted a seed in my mind, telling me, “You know, you would make a wonderful rabbi, if that were something you were interested in.”

Ben Irwin – Why Evangelicals Should Think Twice about Equating Modern Israel with Israel of the Bible

The other day, I raised a question for evangelicals who think standing with Israel means supporting them no matter what. How do you reconcile a “never criticize Israel” mentality with the overwhelming witness of the biblical prophets?

If you’ve been told that unconditional support for Israel is the only “biblical” position, that the modern-day state enjoys the same kind of “most favored nation” status with God as ancient Israel did, then here’s another question. If Israel today is entitled to the covenant blessings spoken by the Old Testament, what about their covenant obligations?

The Bible never spoke of Israel’s covenant blessings apart from their obligations. It’s no use trying to have one without the other. And at least one of these obligations poses a bit of a problem for the modern state of Israel, if it is indeed the same nation as the one in the Bible.

Christ at the Checkpoint 4 – The Gospel in the Face of Religious Extremism

Bethlehem Bible College invites you to the fourth “Christ at the Checkpoint” Conference, which will take place in Bethlehem from March 7-10, 2016. The conference hopes to follow the success of the first three conferences (2010, 2012, and 2014). The theme of this conference will be “Christ at the Checkpoint 4: The Gospel in the Face of Religious Extremism”.

The motivation for organizing the “Christ at the Checkpoint” conference is that the Israeli/Palestinian conflict with its many complexities still exists. In fact, since our last conference in March 2014, the conflict and the reality of the occupation have worsened. The religious aspect of the conflict, which has not been the primary issue in the past, has become more pronounced. We have seen a marked increase in religious extremism particularly within the Jewish and Muslim communities in our region, and, to a lesser degree, in the Christian community in the West. More than ever, as the Evangelical Christian community in Palestine, we feel an urgent and relevant need to address these issues.

Statement of In Defense of Christians (IDF) President Following Disruption at Gala Dinner

Toufic Baaklini – IDC President

In Defense of Christians President Toufic Baaklini issued the following statement in response to a disruption at the Inaugural Summit Gala Dinner: “As Cardinal Rai so eloquently put it to the attendees of the In Defense of Christians’ inaugural Summit gala dinner: ‘At every wedding, there are a few problems.’  In this case, a few politically motivated opportunists chose to divide a room that for more than 48 hours sought unity in opposing the shared threat of genocide, faced not only by our Christian brothers and sisters, but our Jewish brothers and sisters and people of all other faiths and all people of good will.

“Tonight’s injection of politics when the focus should have been on unity and faith, momentarily played into the hands of a few who do not adhere to IDC’s principles.  They were made no longer welcome.

“When we set out to form In Defense of Christians, many in the foreign policy and faith-based communities said such an effort was impossible.  That it would be too difficult to bring such a diverse group of Christian sects, religious and human rights organizations together to draw attention not only to the plight of the deteriorating situation facing our Christians brothers and sisters, but also to the plight of all people of faith, in the Middle East who are suffering.

Ted Cruz Booed Off Stage at Historic Summit on Middle East Christians

Organisers of an inaugural event held in Washington to highlight the persecution of Christians in the Middle East have said they remain focused and ‘undaunted’ after an incident in which a US senator was booed off stage for his support of Israel.

Attendees at the inaugural In Defense of Christians (IDC) Summit heard warnings that the brutality facing Christians and minorities in the Middle East is only worsening; and were reminded of the need for a united effort to bring an end to the atrocities to prevent further destabilisation in the region.

On Wednesday, Ted Cruz, a Republican junior United States senator from Texas, was speaking during the gala dinner at the summit, which has drawn together global leaders in the US capital over the past three days.