Rap Sheet
Links on R&P from around the web
The Fear of Women As Bishops
posted on November 28, 2012At The New Yorker, Jane Kramer discusses why the General Synod of the Church of England failed to allow women to become bishops. She interviews her friend Judith Maltby, a priest and Synod member, who blamed the stealth of the church’s conservative evangelicals, who publicly expressed support for women bishops while ultimately defeating the measure by six votes. “Maybe the real question, in politics as in religion, should be: Why is the right so much better at stealth than the rest of us?” Kramer writes.
Pro-Life Activists Conveniently Ignore the Abortion Drop
posted on November 28, 2012The Center for Disease Control recently released data showing the abortion rate fell 5 percent in 2009, the largest drop in a decade, and teen pregnancy is at the lowest levels in 40 years. Yet, Amy Sullivan of The New Republic argues that pro-life activists are ignoring this news and instead focusing on the rise in abortion-related deaths. “Why did most media outlets choose not to focus on the dozen abortion-related deaths reported by the CDC?” Sullivan asks. “Probably because by all available measures, pregnancy itself remains vastly more dangerous for women than abortion, even in the U.S., where maternal mortality is relatively low.”
Ex-Foreign Minister Forms New Party to Oppose Netanyahu
posted on November 28, 2012Jodi Rudoren of The New York Times writes that Israel’s former foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, will reenter the political arena as the head of a new party. However, polls suggest that the centrist Livni will have a hard time beating right-leaning and religious parties. “The only thing that Livni is capable of doing is splitting the ‘left’ bloc, not increasing it,” wrote Aviad Kleinberg, a professor of history at Tel Aviv University, in a column.
God’s Tax Subsidies
posted on November 28, 2012At Slate, Matthew Yglesias questions why churches receive tax breaks. “If church donations were subject to income taxes and church land were subject to property taxes, this would presumably lead to smaller and less architecturally splendid churches located in less-pricey areas and perhaps with lower-paid clergy. But would fewer souls be saved? Would an angry God blight are crops?” he writes. Although churches might provide fewer social services, the trade-off has to be weighed against the benefit of economic growth.
Gay Bishop Gene Robinson Sets Sights on D.C. as Retirement Looms
posted on November 28, 2012At Religion News Service, G. Jeffrey MacDonald reports on the retirement of the first gay Episcopal bishop, Gene Robinson, and his plan to move to Washington, DC, where he will found a Center for Non-Violent Communication. “Our big goal is to change the nature of the debate in Washington,” he said. “We’re mostly shouting at each other these days. We’d like (the center) to become a place where people can learn about and commit themselves to a different kind of tone.”
As Worshippers Gather, Pakistani City Endures Second Deadly Blast in Two Days
posted on November 27, 2012As Shiite Muslims mark Ashura, a sacred holiday that commemorates the death of Mohammed’s grandson in a battle that caused the split between Shiite and Sunni Muslims, the Sunni Taliban in Pakistan has claimed responsibility for deadly bomb blasts that disrupted the observance of Ashura, reports Nasir Habib and Shaan Khan of CNN. The spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, Ihsanullah Ihsan, said the group would continue “its mission” and attack Shiite Ashura processions across Pakistan.
Israel’s Ehud Barak Says He’s Leaving Politics
posted on November 27, 2012The Associated Press reports that Ehud Barak, a decorated Israeli military leader and one-time Israeli prime minster, plans on quitting politics after the general election on January 22. In contrast to the more hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Barak was a moderating voice, often serving as an unofficial envoy to Washington to mend rifts between Netanyahu and the White House. “His impending departure comes at a key time for Israel, as the nation struggles to find its way in a region where the old order of Arab autocrats has been swept aside by the Arab Spring and the rise of Islamist political parties,” reports the Associated Press.
Mahmoud Abbas Bid for U.N. Sanction of Palestine State Could Explode West Bank
posted on November 27, 2012At The Daily Beast, Peter Beinart reports that Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, plans to ask the U.N. General Assembly to recognize Palestine as a “nonmember state.” The Palestinian Authority already faces monetary and political crises as many Palestinians are fed up with nonviolent peacemaking efforts with Israel that have made little progress. “This week’s U.N. bid makes the Palestinian Authority’s collapse more likely than ever before. And if the Palestinian Authority collapses, the danger Israel has been facing in the Gaza Strip could soon pale before the danger it faces in the West Bank,” writes Beinart.
The ‘Kids’ Behind IDF’s Media
posted on November 27, 2012Operation Pillar of Defense may be the first war in which social media has become a virtual military battlefield, as Israelis and Palestinians engage in direct contact with the public through social media like Twitter and Facebook, reports Allison Hoffman of Tablet. “We’re at a moment where this stuff is not only the way a lot of these communications happen, but the audience is primed for it,” said Sree Sreenivasan, a professor of social media at Columbia’s School of Journalism. “There’s no point saying they shouldn’t be doing it because no one is going to listen,” he said. “Both sides are going to do whatever is in their self-interest. And social media is an example of that.”
Colombian Evangelical Christians Convert to Judaism, Embracing Hidden Past
posted on November 27, 2012At The Washington Post, Juan Forero reports on families in Bello, Columbia, who were once devout Catholics and evangelicals, but are now joining a worldwide movement in which descendants of Jews forced from Spain during the Inquisition are embracing their Jewish heritage. “There’s a real awakening that’s taking place,” said Michael Freund, who directs Shavei Israel, a Jerusalem-based group that helps new Jewish communities such the one in Bello. “The Jewish spark was never quenched, and … they are taking back the Jewish identity that was so brutally stolen from their forefathers.”