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A review of the new movie, The Stoning of Soraya M, reminded me of a story I read in junior-high school. “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, described an American small town in which one person was selected by lottery each year to be stoned to death. The victim in the story was a young boy, and what I still remember decades later is the mob bloodlust that transformed him from a child whom the townspeople had known all their lives into an inhuman, impersonal object of aggression. Soraya’s story doesn’t seem so different; the real Soraya was apparently killed because of village men fabricating charges, fueling the mob mentality, and using religion to legitimize their crimes. for more click here

These are dangerous days for Israel. Iran’s President has repeatedly threatened to wipe Israel off the map and every day get closer to acquiring the nuclear weapons with which to make good on this threat. Iran’s allies, Hezbollah and Hamas, have amassed stockpiles of missiles that can reach all of Israel, and they have demonstrated that they will not hesitate to use them.

Israel’s enemies are on the move not only abroad, but also here at home. When Israel sent its army into Gaza to stop missiles from being fired into its towns and cities, the outcry against her was immediate and loud. In the streets of American cities, protesters called for Israel to be “nuked” and for Jews to be “gassed.” Yet the large majority of Americans who supported Israel’s right to self defense were silent.

The time has come for our leaders and the world to hear from Israel’s friends. The Israel Pledge provides you with the opportunity to express your support for Israel’s right to exist and defend itself from terrorism. Your signature will send a strong message that Americans are standing with Israel at this critical juncture.

Everyone who signs the The Israel Pledge will receive a copy of Israel 101. Israel 101 will provide you with vital information about Israel’s history and culture. You will learn about Israel’s vibrant people and their outstanding contributions to the world.

With your support, we can make sure that our government and our media understand the great breadth and depth of support for Israel across America.

Blessings to you and those you love,

Pastor John Hagee David Brog
National Chairman Executive Director
Christians United for Israel Christians United for Israel

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ISLAMABAD (AP) — An international human rights group urged Pakistan to reverse its decision to enforce Islamic law in a northwestern valley in a peace pact with the Taliban, saying the deal threatens women and takes the region back to the “Dark Ages.”

Human Rights Watch said the government’s move amounted to granting the Taliban “de-facto administrative control of the Swat Valley” and “presents a grave threat to the rights of women and other basic rights in the troubled region.” for more click here

(New York) – The Pakistani government should swiftly reverse its decision to cede de-facto administrative control of the Swat valley in Pakistan’s tribal areas to the Taliban and affiliated groups, Human Rights Watch said today. The move presents a grave threat to the rights of women and other basic rights in the troubled region, Human Rights Watch said. for more click here

WASHINGTON, D.C. – For the first time since 2006, eight countries were designated recently by the U.S. State Department as “Countries of Particular Concern” (CPC) for their severe and egregious religious freedom violations.

The Bush Administration re-designated the same eight countries it named in 2006 – Burma, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, the People’s Republic of China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Uzbekistan. The formal designation by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice took place Jan. 16, but the list was not made available until this week, when the Obama State Department released the list in response to a U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) inquiry. for more click here

A senior British judge has accused the European Court of Human Rights of going beyond its jurisdiction and trying to create a “federal law of Europe”. for more click here

The Inquisition is back, and this time it has set up shop at the United Nations. Consider the resolution “Combating the Defamation of Religions” passed by a comfortable margin last week at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva (and passed by the General Assembly every year since 2005). for more click here

Victims were slowly drained of blood, according to documents read at the trial of “Duch,” head of the S-21 prison. He is accused of torture, murder and crimes against humanity. for more click here

Despite now overwhelming evidence that ex-President George W. Bush and many top aides engaged in a systematic policy of illegal torture, national Democrats appear to be shying away from their recommendation last year for a special prosecutor to investigate these apparent war crimes. for more click here

In January 2007, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives received a donation of a photograph album. The inscription “Auschwitz 21.6.1944″ on its first page signaled the uniqueness of the album—there are very few wartime photographs of the Auschwitz concentration camp complex, which included Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi killing center. Though his name does not appear anywhere in the album, the dates of the photographs and various decorations including adjutant cords on the uniform of the album’s owner, indicate that the album almost certainly belonged to and was created by SS-Obersturmführer Karl Höcker, the adjutant to the commandant of Auschwitz, SS-Sturmbannführer Richard Baer. Höcker was stationed at Auschwitz from May 1944 until the evacuation of the camp in January 1945. for more click here