Russell Brand is an English comedian, actor, radio host and activist who in a recent interview on his program Under the Skin has what I believe is a very important conversation with Dr. Gabor Mate’, a Vancouver addictions and trauma expert, speaker and author who is less known as a Hungarian Holocaust survivor. In this interview This Needs to Be Heard , he speaks about his own Holocaust story, his early days as a young Zionist and the most recent escalations of violence in Israel-Palestine from a perspective that we do not always get to hear.
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A couple of weeks ago I highlighted British Palestinian film director Farah Nabulsi’s film The Present. This morning we heard an interview with Nabulsi and Telos, the American peacemaking group which focusses on Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation and peace. The movie has garnered a great deal of international recognition and is part of what could well be a turning of the tide. Let’s hope so. Nabulsi talked about her film, the little story that it tells within the much larger story that has been unfolding for decades. She suggested in the interview that colonizers have this in common. They systematically dehumanize, brand and deny the existence and worth of the other. We should know this pattern by now. Nabulsi has written an earlier short film, Oceans of Injustice which features Nabulsi herself. It is another immersion in these treacherous waters and a must-see film. Born of Dutch Christian Reformed immigrant parents who made their way to Canada post WWII, left on me a particular bias that has taken some time to shift in order to gather in the larger narrative that makes up the reality of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as it is unfolding today and has for the last 70 years. Part of that story was hearing my parents talk about hiding Jewish folk from the Nazi extermination machine. It was formative for me and it was told in the context the Chosen people that was the scripture lens we were reading through. In my late teens I was very taken by the historical novels of Leon Uris (Exodus) and then by the works of Chaim Potok, particularly, The Chosen, My Name is Asher Lev and Davida’s Harp. I was captivated by the peculiar world of New York’s Hadic Jewish community. When I started teaching, I was introduced to Issac Bashevis Singer and taught some of his short stories and later his novel The Slave. That was followed by a favorite musical Fiddler on the Roof which I directed for high school, with its beloved main character Tevya. I could and still can relate to him. I have long had a fascination with Holocaust films and novels and still read them as they are published. But I confess that I was ignorant to the fact that there was another narrative that was playing out in Palestine all that time and I feel like that last ten years have been a frantic attempt to be attentive to a deep and tragic injustice that has been unfolding, an unholy story in a Holy Land. Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in her TED Talk from a number of years ago, The Danger of a Single Story talks about the importance of reading widely to avoid wearing blinders to history. Life is more complex than that. There are places to look and listen to another story. Mapping Israeli Occupation is one of those places; a beginning place to realize that there is no single story. The images and news out of Palestine and Jerusalem these days is heartbreaking. What happened to the vision of Psalm 87 and is it possible to find our way back to that ancient picture of Shalom/Salam? Flourishing life for all. A song. A psalm of the descendants of Korah. He built his city, on the holy mountain, as a labour of love The Lord loves spending time at his home in Zion more than all his other homes combined. We hear nothing but the highest praise for you, we hear amazing things about you, city of God. I will summarize the unbelievable reports we hear coming from the city: There are people in Egypt and Babylon that confess me, even in Philstia and Tyre, including Cush I will say about all of them, “This child was born in my home,” Incredible as it seems, this will be true of Zion: “It is now a multi ethnic community, not by chance but because God himself will make it so,” The Lord himself will verify their citizenship by writing, “This child was born in Zion.” Then they all will join the party, singing this song to God, in their own language. All my joy in living springs from you. Translation by Joe Tolkamp May 13, 2021 “One more time we awake to the news of violence. Reports come in, even as you read this, about violence that has caused death, life-changing injury and destruction of property and lives. Violence which is borne of frustration, rooted in injustice and the violation of international law and in truth, the violation of human rights and human decency. In the Name of the God of all creation, the violence must stop, regardless of where it comes from and to whom it is directed. One more time The Episcopal Church stands to say that violence is not the way forward. We say the expansion of Israeli settlements at the expense of Palestinian families must end. We say incitement which encourages violence must end. We say enough is enough. One more time The Episcopal Church encourages the government of the United States and others who have influence, who are of goodwill and who genuinely seek peace to be partners in peacemaking, to bring about a negotiated settlement to the long-standing conflict which has consumed both Israelis and Palestinians. One more time we find ourselves full of sorrow and sadness. We find ourselves grieving over the loss of life, destruction of homes and the fear that lives in the hearts of tens of thousands of innocent people. We join all people of faith to offer up prayers for healing, wholeness, restoration and reconciliation. And we pray God to grant wisdom and courage to all those in authority to seek peace and pursue it without delay, without excuses, without confusion and with only one agenda: a negotiated and equitable agreement for peace between Israelis and Palestinians — once and for all.” The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry Presiding Bishop and Primate The Episcopal Church I came across this little story about Lacombe Alberta on CBC Gems in a series called Big Things Small Towns. It is true that when you drive across the country you do come across some tiny little burgs whose pride is in some small thing made large. The biggest hockey stick, the largest perogy or Easter Egg or dinosaur. I wonder if there is something in the Canadian psyche that is responding to the vastness of the landscape. Look, we are here. We may be tiny against the backdrop of rock, prairie and sky but we are here. Well, Lacombe has bragging rights to the world’s largest fishing lure. If you grew up on the prairies, you might recognize it as a Len Thompson Five of Diamonds fishing lure, the one you used to pull out a Northern Pike while fishing with your dad on a Saturday afternoon at the reservoir. Psalm 72 is a song/poem written to describe or laud King Solomon who was supposedly endowed with wisdom and justice. But his legacy is a mixed one and does not end as it started. But the Psalm has a rather poignant line, especially when reading the news of late. A true and wise king rescues from violence and oppression and he grieves the shedding of blood. For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight. If you have not been following the news in Palestine, spend some time on the AlJazeera news site to learn about what happens when a king fails and justice breaks down into violence and greed. I've just finished reading Eugene Peterson's official biography A Burning in My Bones by Winn Collier. A beautiful book capturing the life of someone who had an enormous impact on his readers and struggled all his life with the interior and exterior world we all try to bring together. Collier writes, " Eugene longed to finish well, to live a faithful life. To be consumed, to the end, by God's fiery love. To become a saint. And to finish the final miles, he would need to return to his quiet home. Eugene needed Montana." The last years of his life were lived at family cottage on Flathead Lake in Montana with his wife Jan, with prodigious writing and much quiet prayer and contemplation and the hosting of family and friends, including U2's Bono. To the end though he struggled with the essential human struggle. "And still, this lifelong desire for congruence between the outside appearance and the inward life: I'd like to actually be what people think I am." For a number of years now I've been privileged to serve on the committee organizing a Reconciliation Walk in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report on Residential Schools that came out 6 years ago. Join us May 28, 29, and 30 for the 6th annual Walk in the Spirit of Reconciliation! This year's walk will be self-guided, maps will be provided and you can walk at a time that works best for you! We will be posting Indigenous information, stories, and videos on the Facebook Event page for you to read or watch before or during the Walk. “The sacred walk is a distinctly Canadian and Indigenously flavoured act of political, spiritual, and social witness.” ~ Bishop Mark MacDonald, National Indigenous Bishop, Anglican Church of Canada We will be following all BC Health regulations to prevent the spread of Covid-19. We will inform you if the Reconciliation Walk event is canceled due to more strict restrictions. Please follow social distancing guidelines while participating, please allow 2 meters between other people or small groups of walkers. You may want to bring or wear a mask and have hand sanitizer with you. We hope you will join us for any/all of the days as we walk in lament and solidarity with our First Nations brothers and sisters whose families have been affected by the residential schools for many generations. As anyone of our human family have been affected, we are all affected. Here's everything you need to know to join in on Eventbrite |
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