With one eye on trigger-happy western nations, a Lebanese group of intellectuals have questioned the uniquely confessionalist Lebanese political system — in which power is proportionally distributed amongst representatives of different religious groups — in favor of a secular, humanist code.
The Lebanese Daily Star carries the following (via).
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This morning the UN passed a resolution urging a “full cessation of hostilities”, after which both Hezbollah and Israel continued offensive action, Hezbollah firing more rockets into northern Israel and Israel carrying out further air strikes; Israel will vote on accepting the resolution tomorrow (BBC: “Fresh Israel raids after UN vote“).
Meanwhile, the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) published a response to the Israel-Hezbollah crisis (IHEU: “Missiles? What missiles? Israel and the UN Human Rights Council“). The IHEU refer primarily to a separate resolution considered yesterday by the new UN Human Rights Council, saying that “During the debate, not one member state mentioned the avowed aim of Hezbollah and its sponsor, the Islamic Republic of Iran, to wipe Israel from the map. It was left to an NGO to remind the Human Rights Council of Hezbollah’s objectives”. They damned the Council as biased against Israel for failing to mention — let alone condemn — the role of Hezbollah.
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Complex geopolitical fragility? Israel as Western puppet, Hezbollah as Syrian-Iranian proxy? The epic religious tensions of millennia overspilling in response to Jewish nationalization, hostage-taking and indiscriminate missile fire?
No. The crisis in the Middle East is the fault of gay people marching in Jerusalem, according to Orthodox Jewish rabbi Yehuda Levin (US). Responding to the gay Pride events in Jerusalem this year (Agape Press: “Rabbi Concerned ‘WorldPride’ Event Might Bring God’s Judgement“) he said:
“The homosexualization of the Middle East, beginning with God’s backyard, is one of the end-day struggles that could literally lead to a spiritual and physical Armageddon in both Israel and spread back to America[…”]
The rabbi also notes that Israel’s prime minister and Hezbollah’s leader cannot explain why they have gone to war at this time. Levin believes they may have had no choice. “The answer may be because both Olmert and Nazrallah are literally puppets of Almighty God,” he shares.
According to Rabbi Levin, 24 hours before the hostilities began, an effort to get the government to rescind the permits for the week of pro-homosexual activities was rejected.
(Via Dispatches From the Culture Wars, via I’m A Bright.)
