Religion Press Release Services
An RSS feed for press releases distributed through Religion Press Release ServicesLinks
Monday, October 30, 2006
Fair Witness Confronts America Magazine’s Distorted Moral Narrative on the Middle East
Contact:
Sr. Ruth Lautt, O.P., Esq.
National Director, Fair Witness
(516) 870-0335 Ext. 3
(Jericho, New York) October 30, 2006 -- Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East (“Fair Witness”) is disturbed by the unbalanced manner in which the weekly Jesuit publication America Magazine and its editor Drew Christiansen have covered the on-going conflict in the Middle East. With this lack of balance in mind, Fair Witness looked specifically at the manner in which America has applied Catholic just war doctrine to the hostilities that took place over the past year.
“In the course of our analysis we found that in their assessment of the recent round of violence between Israel and its adversaries, the writers and editors of America have exhibited a marked tendency to invoke the language of the just war doctrine to condemn Israel’s behavior without fairly applying the principles this language is meant to portray,” said Sr. Ruth Lautt.
According to Fr. James Loughran, S.A. “a fair and comprehensive application of the just war doctrine would draw attention to the unjust goals pursued by Hamas and Hezbollah, and the manner in which these groups have pursued these goals – issues that have been for the most part ignored in the pages of America.”
”Despite the fact that Israel was a victim of two unprovoked attacks from territory from which it had previously withdrawn, certain commentators persist in condemning Israel for responding in an allegedly disproportionate manner,” adds Dexter Van Zile. “This reveals a disturbing double standard. Fifty-eight years of non-stop aggression against the Jewish state has resulted in a selective habituation. Violence against Israel has become an unremarkable part of life in the Middle East – background noise not worth mentioning. Israeli response to this violence however, continues to provoke severe criticism.”
The full report is now available at Fair Witness’ website.
Christianfairwitness.com
*****
About Religion Press Release Services
Religion Press Release Services distributes press releases, press advisories, photos and other stories on behalf of religious organizations, denominational offices, think tanks, watchdog groups, advocacy groups, coalitions, foundations, colleges, universities, seminaries, publishers and others.
The organizations and/or individuals who submit materials for distribution by Religion Press Release Services are solely responsible for the facts in and accuracy of their materials. Religion Press Release Services will correct any errors brought to its attention.
Contact Us
To distribute press releases through Religion Press Release Services, contact Claudia Sans at csans@religionnews.com or 202-383-7870. For more information check out our PDF brochure.
Religion News Service, 1101 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036 (202) 463-8777
Sr. Ruth Lautt, O.P., Esq.
National Director, Fair Witness
(516) 870-0335 Ext. 3
(Jericho, New York) October 30, 2006 -- Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East (“Fair Witness”) is disturbed by the unbalanced manner in which the weekly Jesuit publication America Magazine and its editor Drew Christiansen have covered the on-going conflict in the Middle East. With this lack of balance in mind, Fair Witness looked specifically at the manner in which America has applied Catholic just war doctrine to the hostilities that took place over the past year.
“In the course of our analysis we found that in their assessment of the recent round of violence between Israel and its adversaries, the writers and editors of America have exhibited a marked tendency to invoke the language of the just war doctrine to condemn Israel’s behavior without fairly applying the principles this language is meant to portray,” said Sr. Ruth Lautt.
According to Fr. James Loughran, S.A. “a fair and comprehensive application of the just war doctrine would draw attention to the unjust goals pursued by Hamas and Hezbollah, and the manner in which these groups have pursued these goals – issues that have been for the most part ignored in the pages of America.”
”Despite the fact that Israel was a victim of two unprovoked attacks from territory from which it had previously withdrawn, certain commentators persist in condemning Israel for responding in an allegedly disproportionate manner,” adds Dexter Van Zile. “This reveals a disturbing double standard. Fifty-eight years of non-stop aggression against the Jewish state has resulted in a selective habituation. Violence against Israel has become an unremarkable part of life in the Middle East – background noise not worth mentioning. Israeli response to this violence however, continues to provoke severe criticism.”
The full report is now available at Fair Witness’ website.
Christianfairwitness.com
*****
About Religion Press Release Services
Religion Press Release Services distributes press releases, press advisories, photos and other stories on behalf of religious organizations, denominational offices, think tanks, watchdog groups, advocacy groups, coalitions, foundations, colleges, universities, seminaries, publishers and others.
The organizations and/or individuals who submit materials for distribution by Religion Press Release Services are solely responsible for the facts in and accuracy of their materials. Religion Press Release Services will correct any errors brought to its attention.
Contact Us
To distribute press releases through Religion Press Release Services, contact Claudia Sans at csans@religionnews.com or 202-383-7870. For more information check out our PDF brochure.
Religion News Service, 1101 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036 (202) 463-8777
Archives
March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 March 2008 April 2008
About Religion Press Release ServicesReligion Press Release Services distributes press releases, press advisories, photos and other stories on behalf of religious organizations, denominational offices, think tanks, watchdog groups, advocacy groups, coalitions, foundations, colleges, universities, seminaries, publishers and others. The organizations and/or individuals who submit materials for distribution by Religion Press Release Services are solely responsible for the facts in and accuracy of their materials. Religion Press Release Services will correct any errors brought to its attention.
Contact Us
To distribute press releases through Religion Press Release Services, contact Claudia Sans at csans@religionnews.com or 202-383-7870. For more information check out our PDF brochure.
Religion News Service, 1101 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036 (202) 463-8777
