c. 2005 Religion News Service Rabbi Tapped to Oversee Religious Tolerance at Air Force Academy WASHINGTON (RNS) A Jewish rabbi and a veteran Navy chaplain has been tapped by the Air Force to help oversee religious tolerance in the “religious climate” at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff, the former U.S. director of interfaith relations for the American Jewish Committee, was named Monday (June 27) as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff for Values and Vision. “It is imperative that we continue to emphasize and ingrain in all we do the importance of mutual respect among airmen,” Michael Dominguez, acting secretary of the Air Force, said in a news release. Resnicoff’s appointment follows a June 22 report by a 16-member military panel that found no “overt religious discrimination” at the elite academy, but rather an overall “perception of religious intolerance,” especially against non-Christian cadets. The panel’s 100-page report said some cadets were “overly aggressive” in sharing or expressing their faith, and that some faculty and staff had a “lack of awareness” of when proper lines had been crossed. Resnicoff served 12 months (2001-2002) as the interfaith director for the American Jewish Committee after 30 years in the Navy. A Conservative rabbi who was ordained in 1976, Resnicoff retired in 2001 as command chaplain for the armed services in Europe. Resnicoff also served as principal adviser to Gen. Wesley Clark, NATO’s former supreme allied commander, on issues of religion, ethics and morals. He was the first Jewish chaplain to graduate from the Naval War College. _ Kevin Eckstrom Muslim Countries to Launch Islamic Bank (RNS) A global Islamic bank, in which no interest is paid or charged on deposits and loans, will open next year, a group of investors announced Wednesday (June 22). The proposed $1 billion bank, which will be called the Emaar International Group, will adhere to Muslim law and bring together investors from a number of countries. The bank’s headquarters will either be in Malaysia, Bahrain, Qatar or Dubai, Saleh A. Kamal, chairman of the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions, said, according to the Associated Press. According to Kamal, many Islamic banks that currently exist are undercapitalized and in dire financial straits. Additionally, the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), a 57-nation group whose financial arm is a key shareholder in the new proposed bank, includes 27 nations that are classified by the World Bank as “low-income.” Addressing financial needs and adhering to Islamic laws governing finance are two reasons for launching the new bank, but a third reason organizers cited was using a 10-year financial services master plan to encourage development in the Muslim world. Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told a group of investors gathered at a forum that addressing “the problems of extremism and terrorism” and encouraging development in OIC member-nations would be priorities for the new bank. _ Holly Lebowitz Rossi Update: Catholic Bishops, WCC Condemn Zimbabwe Cleanup Campaign
(RNS) U.S. Roman Catholic have called on the government of Zimbabwe to provide restitution as well as “urgently needed” food and shelter for thousands of urban poor displaced by a “cleanup” campaign.
The June 24 statement by Bishop John H. Ricard, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on International Policy, was the latest in a growing chorus of criticism of the Zimbabwe government’s “Operation Restore Order.”
The government maintains the campaign _ aimed primarily at the urban poor _ is necessary to destroy illegal dwellings and businesses and to clean up the nation’s cities. Opponents argue, in part, that it is aimed at political enemies of President Robert Mugabe, the increasingly autocratic ruler of Zimbabwe.
Also on June 24, the World Council of Churches’ International Affairs office called the evictions “an operation of segregation against the working poor.”
“To carry out such acts of cruelty shows clearly that the government is losing the moral and ethical grounds for leadership, healing and reconciliation,” the WCC said.
Meanwhile, a special envoy from U.S. Secretary General Kofi Annan arrived in Zimbabwe on Sunday (June 26) to assess the evictions and demolitions of the shantytowns. UNICEF, the United Nation’s children’s agency, issued an appeal for some $3 million to aid what it said were tens of thousands of children evicted from their homes in the campaign.
“Many children are now without shelter during winter, others have been separated from their parents and caregivers, schooling has been widely disrupted, access to water is difficult, and respiratory infections and diarrhoeal diseases are a real threat,” said Dr. Festo Kavishe, representative of the UN children’s fund in Zimbabwe.
The WCC said the government has not allowed churches and other independent groups to assist those who have been evicted from their homes or have had their businesses bulldozed and destroyed.
“There is a moral, ethical and theological imperative to assist those who are suffering,” the WCC statement said.
Ricard, in his statement for the U.S. bishops, called on the government of Zimbabwe to “facilitate efforts of those organizations (including those sponsored by the church) to provide humanitarian and development assistance to the poor and defenseless.”
_ David E. Anderson
Update: Court Allows Jerusalem Gay Pride March to Proceed JERUSALEM (RNS) A Jerusalem district court ruled Sunday (June 26) that city officials did not have the authority to ban a gay pride parade scheduled to take place on June 30. Jerusalem Open House (JOH), a gay and lesbian organization that is planning the fourth annual Gay Pride Parade, appealed to the courts after the city denied permits to organizers on June 23. The court ruled that banning the parade would amount to discrimination against a certain segment of the population and ordered the municipality and its ultra-Orthodox mayor, Uri Lupolianski, to each pay approximately $7,000 in court fees. Lupoliansky had been under intense pressure from Jewish, Muslim and Christian leaders who did not want International WorldPride 2005, a 10-day gay and lesbian event, or the local parade to take place in Jerusalem, a city claimed by all three faiths as holy. Daphna Stroumsa, vice chairperson of JOH, said organizers were “thrilled” by the court’s decision. “It’s a victory for Israeli democracy and for our freedom of expression,” Stroumsa said in an interview. “It’s wonderful not only for the gay community but for all people who care about a pluralistic, open Jerusalem.” The JOH recently decided to postpone International WorldPride 2005 until 2006, due to a scheduling conflict with Israel’s planned withdrawl of troops and settlers from Gaza and the northern part of the West Bank in mid-August. By all accounts, the withdrawal will strain Israeli security services and exacerbate tensions within Israeli society. Israelis are deeply torn over the issue of uprooting Jews and relinquishing territory to the Palestinians. _ Michele Chabin Quote of the Day: Suhaila Tawfik, a Veterinarian in Baghdad (RNS) “I’m thirsty for this kind of church. I want to go deep in understanding the Bible.” _ Suhaila Tawfik, who attends National Evangelical Baptist Church, one of at least seven new Christian churches that emerged in Iraq during the past two years. Tawfik was quoted by The Washington Post. KRE/JL END RNS
