Latest news with #Inquisition
Scoop
26-05-2025
- General
- Scoop
The War On Gaza Is A War On Our Humanity
Some years ago in this west coast college town, a putative friend that enjoyed setting me up introduced me to a young woman he met in the local Irish bar. She was straight off the boat from Ireland, and was the picture of an Irish lass – red hair, pale skin and green eyes. 'Martin is Irish,' my Italian friend said with an impish smile. How he knew what was coming I don't know, but the young woman looked me up and down, gave me the dirtiest look I've ever received, and spat the words, ' Black Irish.' 'Black Irish' had been a term of pride in my mostly Irish, Mediterranean-skinned family, so I was perplexed, to say the least, at being called what felt like was the equivalent of a nigger. I phoned a woman I'd been corresponding with in Galway and asked, 'What does it mean when an Irish person calls someone 'Black Irish?'' 'We don't use that phrase,' she quickly replied. When pressed, she said, 'Call me back in a week and I'll tell you.' When I did she gave me quite a history lesson. 'During the Inquisition in Spain,' she began, 'many Jews converted to Catholicism so they wouldn't be tortured and killed. But that wasn't good enough for the Inquisitors, so they tortured people to gain 'confessions' from Jews who had converted but were suspected of still practicing Judaism in secret.' 'Many Jews and converted Catholics fled and settled on the west coast of Ireland, where they were tolerated but not assimilated. Antisemites in Ireland have called their swarthy descendents 'Black Irish' ever since.' A DNA test wouldn't matter, it's likely that my anti-Semitic family, Irish but for one Quebecoise grandfather, was descended from Spanish Jews. It's a sweet irony. Having grown up hearing antisemitic slurs, I marked the beginning of manhood when I first called out my domineering father and said I never wanted to hear his bigoted crap again. But there is a bitter historical irony between the Inquisition, when Ferdinand and Isabella tried to expel all Jews from Spain in 1492 in order to unify the kingdom under Christianity, and Israel's plans, 'with God's help,' of 'scorching the conditions for life in Gaza, forcing people to leave, and starving and killing those who remain' in the name of a unified Judea. The slaughter of nearly 1200 Jews by Hamas monsters has made Israel's slaughter of more than 50,000 people in Gaza 'complicated,' to use Barack Obama's weaselly word. No, the 'nuances' of my own ancestry have made the horrors of identification clearer. This endless evil cannot be justified by the excremental excuse of American and European leaders of 'Israel's right to defend itself.' American bombs and shells and bullets have killed thousands of children in Gaza. That means, as America slides into authoritarianism on this Memorial Day under the tyrant Trump, that our military is completely complicit in mass murder. It's not just the governments of the US and EU that are complicit in Israel's genocide however; everyone who identifies with a particular national or religious fragment of humanity is complicit. Group identification is the root of conflict, war and genocide. There is not a war in Gaza; it's a war on Gaza. And the Israeli government, by dismissing any criticism of its criminal campaign as antisemitic, has greatly increased antisemitism in the world. This nonstop assault on Gaza marks not just the end of the post-world war international system, or even the end of western civilization, but the end of the illusion of human progress. The saying, 'the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice' has become not only a cliché, but also a falsehood. The biblical barbarity of Israel's rubble on rubble, child's corpse on child's corpse destruction of Gaza is shot through with references to a special dispensation from God to inhabit all of Judea. And the more maliciously and malevolently the Netanyahu regime acts, the more Israel claims they are being 'misunderstood, discriminated against, and surrounded by enemies.' Jewish people have a truly tragic history of victimization, but it has fed a bottomless, vengeful sense of victimhood on the right. Israel has no right to act with impunity in Gaza, deflecting any criticism of its diabolical crusade against Palestinians by charges of antisemitism. Whether Hamas is using the Gazan people as human shields or not, Israel has no right to mass murder. And just because Hamas has distributed food and medicine, Israel has no right to use starvation as a weapon or bomb hospitals. Though Israel has upended international political and moral arrangements, the pillars and foundation were rotten before the unspeakable malevolence by Hamas of October 7 triggered Israel's never-ending revenge on Gazans. How could the leader of a people that have been persecuted for centuries, culminating in the Holocaust, become so depraved to say, as Netanyahu has, that the 'entire people of Gaza are an evil, and that Israel is committed to eradicating this evil from the world?' The murder of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington last week has as much to do with Gaza as Israel's massacre of innocents in Gaza. True to the Netanyahu regime's malignant form, the Israeli government is using the two murders to blame Israel's critics for fueling antisemitism and support for Hamas, and to deflect from its crimes against humanity by ceaselessly targeting a people imprisoned by both Hamas and Israel. There are two objects in Israel's needless war of present and past revenge on Gaza, and neither have anything to do with wiping out Hamas. The first is to destroy all credibility and efficacy of international organizations, humanitarian missions and courts of justice. The hateful Bezalel Smotrich, the Israeli finance minister, confirmed as much last week when he declared: 'We are destroying everything in Gaza, the world isn't stopping us.' The second is to destroy the human spirit, to make all decent people 'walk around with a feeling of heaviness they cannot shake,' because they 'feel powerless in the face of such egregious injustice.' The worst conduits of man's Darkness, such as Netanyahu, Trump and Putin, are working to produce 'a loss of trust or faith, not just in governments and institutions, but also in any moral order in the world, and its ability to protect children.' The intentional darkness in human consciousness rules the world; the question is, how long will it continue? That's not up to governments, but to individuals around the world who can still see and feel.
New York Post
25-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Embassy staffers' hate-driven killing: Letters to the Editor — May 26, 2025
The Issue: Two Israeli embassy staffers who were shot and killed in Washington, DC, on Wednesday. There's no question that America's Jews are experiencing an unprecedented level of rampant antisemitism ('Home grown terror,' May 23). Attacks in Charlottesville (2017), Pittsburgh (2018), Poway (2019), Jersey City (2019) and Colleyville, Texas (2022) all occurred before Hamas murdered 1,200 Israelis in October 2023, igniting anti-Israel protests across America. The recent murders of Israeli embassy staffers reminded me of Mel Brooks' take on the Inquisition: Antisemitism is here, and it's here to stay. I cannot enter a synagogue, Jewish school or Jewish community center without being greeted by armed guards. It's irrelevant whether a Jew supports Israel, believes that Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza and/or Palestine or doesn't even have an opinion. Every Jew is now fair game. Paul L. Newman Merion Station, Pa. Elias Rodriguez has gained instant notoriety, if not outright stardom, in his killing of two Israeli embassy staffers. He has now become the poster child of antisemites and those seeking Israel's outright destruction worldwide. Raised fists and celebrations are sure to follow, not only among Hamas and its followers but among right- and left-wing extremists both off and on campus within our own beloved country. History continues to repeat itself. And for those who think otherwise, Elias Rodriguez and his ilk will set you straight. S.P. Hersh Lawrence Much will be written and said in the weeks ahead about Rodriguez and his hate for the Jewish people and America. In America, he is innocent until proven guilty. But I believe he should be dealt with on a federal level, and if convicted, be sentenced to death. There is no difference between him and Timothy McVeigh, who was responsible for the death of 168 men and women who perished in a violent explosion that McVeigh made and planted. It, too, was deliberate and premeditated. America must defend itself against these anarchists. Patrick Abbruzzi Staten Island What is going on in America? I see a lovely young Jewish couple gunned down in DC, just because they are Jews. I see deranged hoodlums ruining the Columbia graduation ceremonies and burning their diplomas. I see constant attacks on Jews all over the country. I am starting to feel like I am living in 1933 Germany, rather than 2025 America. Even if the despicable thug who shot the pair is given the death penalty, and even if the misguided jerks who destroyed their diplomas are never hired by anyone, the damage has been done. The only thing I can hope for is that President Trump properly deals with these ugly situations. Warren Goldfein Mount Arlington, NJ Three innocent individuals have now been murdered by two miscreants who thought they were killing for a cause. How much more disillusioned can Luigi Mangione and Elias Rodriguez be? They both believed they did something that needed to be done. The murders won't change anything. But what is going to change is Mangione and Rodruqez's views on maximum security prisons, where they should spend the rest of their lives. Donald Riccio Manchester, Conn. If anyone doubts the barbaric nature of antisemitism, he need look no further than the slaughter of two innocent people in Washington, DC, both devoted to making better relationships between Israelis and the rest of the Middle East. The deranged American murderer, fueled by the incessant drumbeat of hate spewed by students on campuses as well as leftist members of Congress, snuffed out the lives of two beautiful young people. Yaron and Sarah should not have died at the hands of a terrorist. Antisemitism has been around for centuries. When will we find the resolve to finally put an end to this hateful persecution, at least in America? Anthony Bruno Smithtown Want to weigh in on today's stories? Send your thoughts (along with your full name and city of residence) to letters@ Letters are subject to editing for clarity, length, accuracy, and style.
Saba Yemen
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Freed Prisoner Al-Barghouti: Zionist enemy prisons are "Graveyards for living," world's silence is disgrace
Istanbul – Saba: Freed prisoner Nael Al-Barghouti affirmed that the reality faced by Palestinian detainees in the prisons of the Zionist enemy represents a humanitarian catastrophe, amid global indifference to their suffering—in stark contrast to the care and international attention given to the enemy's captives. In press statements on Wednesday, Al-Barghouti pointed out the exaggerated concern shown toward the enemy's prisoners, including official receptions in Arab countries and meetings with world leaders, while the families of victims of the genocide in Gaza—martyrs and wounded—are completely ignored, along with the daily massacres committed against Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. He stressed that the prisons have become "graveyards for the living," where detainees endure daily torture, slow killing, and violations of their human dignity under unprecedented conditions—even worse than the darkest chapters of history. He compared the situation to the Inquisition, long condemned by civilization, all while the world remains shamefully silent. Al-Barghouti called for urgent action to expose what is happening inside the prisons and to reveal the Zionist policies against Palestinian prisoners, holding the international community complicit for its silence in the face of these crimes. Al-Barghouti was freed on February 19, 2025, as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and the Zionist enemy, which the latter refused to complete by failing to proceed with the second phase that would end the ongoing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023. Nael Al-Barghouti (67 years old) holds special symbolic significance for Palestinians, having spent approximately 45 years in Zionist prisons—the longest detention period of any Palestinian prisoner, according to the Palestinian Prisoners' Affairs Authority. This has earned him the title "Dean of Palestinian Prisoners." Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Herald Malaysia
07-05-2025
- General
- Herald Malaysia
Remember the Church's beginnings when electing the pope
From catacombs to cathedrals, the temptations of empire remain May 07, 2025 A church in West Sussex is home to a scale replica of the Sistine Chapel's ceiling Francis is no longer with us. The cardinals are meeting again under the painted ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. But what's really at stake isn't just continuity or change. It's whether the Church dares to follow the path Francis spent a decade pointing toward — or turns back. The question is not just who will lead. It's what kind of Church they will inherit — and what kind they intend to become. The earliest Christian community was an underground movement. The first pope, Peter, led from the shadows, not the throne. The Church in its infancy was fragile, decentralized and deeply rooted in solidarity with the poor. It had no cathedrals, no state alliances, and no political capital. Its strength came from its witness — its radical commitment to love, mercy, and shared life. But when Constantine converted in the fourth century, everything changed. The persecuted became privileged. Christianity became the official religion of empire, and with that came new temptations: prestige, wealth, hierarchy. Over time, the Church began to mirror imperial structures. What had started in the catacombs now occupied marble halls. The consequences were lasting. The Church's long descent into power came with no shortage of scandal: the Crusades waged in the name of Christ, the Inquisition burning those who questioned, indulgences sold as tickets to heaven, and the Renaissance — an era where beauty and corruption lived side by side. Even St. Peter's Basilica, magnificent as it is, was funded in part through those indulgences. That abuse didn't just stain the Church. It helped spark the all responses led to schism. Not everyone broke away. Ignatius of Loyola stayed and reimagined the Church from the inside. Francis of Assisi stepped outside it, barefoot and broke, trusting that the Gospel was enough. His call still haunts us: 'Go, repair my Church, which as you see is falling into ruin.'Pope Francis, elected in 2013, took that summons to the very beginning, he signaled a different kind of papacy. He refused the trappings of empire — choosing simpler vestments, paying his own hotel bill, riding in a modest car. But these gestures were not cosmetic. They were a Church long burdened by hierarchy, he emphasized mercy over judgment, dialogue over dogma, and proximity to the poor over protection of privilege. He named the global peripheries — not Rome — as the Church's new center. He challenged a clerical culture that had often concealed abuse and silenced dissent. While his critics accused him of ambiguity or populism, his true project was clear: to bring the Church closer to the Gospel, and the Gospel closer to the people. Yet not all welcomed this return. In the US, a group of conservative bishops pushed back hard. For them, Francis went too far. Raymond Burke, Carlo Maria Viganò, Joseph Strickland, and Robert Barron, all made it clear — this wasn't the kind of pope they wanted. They spoke as if the Church had lost its footing, when it was their grip on control that was slipping. At its core, their vision is not a return to roots, but to robes. History teaches that the Church loses its moral clarity whenever it grows too comfortable with temporal power. It becomes a mirror of empire, not a mirror of Christ. The next pope will face pressure to retreat into tradition, reassert dogma, and mollify political allies. But if the Church is to remain credible, it must once again choose witness over control. It must remember that its authority never came from pageantry, but from proximity to the suffering. Pope Francis did not fix everything — he couldn't — but he reoriented the Church toward its origins. He reminded us that faith is not performance — it's presence. As the conclave decides the Church's next leader, the most crucial question is not how Catholicism will govern itself in Rome, but how it will live out its mission on the margins. The Church was born in catacombs, not in palaces. And its future — if it is to remain faithful — lies not in reclaiming its throne, but in remembering where it
Euronews
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Under the hood: The true story of Spain's Nazarene capirote and the Ku Klux Klan
ADVERTISEMENT "It's the Ku Klux Klan!", say some tourists unfamiliar with Spanish Holy Week when they see the penitents accompanying processions in the streets. The elder brother of the Archconfraternity of Jesús de Medinaceli in Madrid, Miguel Ángel Izquierdo, explains to Euronews that this is a common comment every year: "You have to explain to them that it has nothing to do with anything. However, although the supremacist movement adopted a costume similar to that of the Nazarenes, the capirote, a conical form of a Christian pointed hat, predates even the founding of the United States. In Spain, the first pointed hats, which are the origin of today's capuchons, appeared in the 16th century with the Inquisition. Shame and humiliation When the Catholic Monarchs established the Holy Tribunal, an era of Catholic orthodoxy began in Castile, punishing crimes ranging from blasphemy to heresy. "During the autos de fe, the Inquisition imposed on heretics and condemned them to wear the 'sambenito', a special habit, similar to a poncho, which was a form of humiliation, a visual punishment and a public scorn. In some cases, especially with serious convictions, it was topped with a pointed capirote," historian David Botello tells Euronews. Cross burning by the Ku Klux Klan in Rumford, Virginia. Scott Perry/AP1987 The origin of the capirote "The origin of the capirote can be traced back to two sources: medieval spirituality and the Inquisition, because penitents covered themselves out of humility, so that they would not be recognised", adds Botello, author of "Don't touch my Bourbons" (No me toques los Borbones), among many other books in which he delves into the history of Spain. Some were condemned to death and presented themselves in these clothes for execution, which could be death by drowning if they repented of their sins, or they could be burned alive in a public square. Since they were people who were serving a capital sentence, they were called penitents. Painting 'Auto-da-fé of the Inquisition' by Francisco de Goya (1812-1819) in which those condemned by the Holy Inquisition appear wearing hoods Public domain image Paintings such as 'Auto de fe de la Inquisición' by Francisco de Goya, painted between 1812 and 1819, illustrate such clothing. The question is how the different confraternities adopted the same symbolism in their processions. "The confraternities took this attire and redefined it: what was a humiliation, they turned into a voluntary penance," says Botello. "The capirote became a symbol of spiritual elevation: the higher the capirote, the closer you got to God," explains the historian. Originally, in the processions, the Nazarenes were dressed more simply, but "over the centuries, the confraternities improved the design: the hood went from being a simple hood to having a structure and colours or insignia were incorporated". Despite all these changes Botello stresses that "the essence of the dress remains the same: anonymity, recollection and penitence". Why did the Ku Klux Klan adopt the penitents costume? Whatever its origin and evolution, the similarity of the uniforms chosen by the Ku Klux Klan at the end of the 19th century is evident. There are several theories on the matter, "some point to an indirect visual inspiration, maybe a KKK designer saw an illustration, a lithograph or a scene from Holy Week in Spain and thought: 'this imposes'," says Botello. That possibility coincides with a clipping from 'Opportunity' magazine, published in New York in 1927, which said: "One need only glance at it to see the similarity to the white robes and hoods worn by the Ku Klux Klan in our country. To all appearances, the American organisation copied the dress of those Christian believers," the text says. However, Botello insists that there is no conclusive proof of the origin of the supremacists' clothing. "It could also be pure coincidence: many cultures have used hoods to hide their identity, from medieval executioners to members of some sects ," he says. The hood may be imposing and scary, but ignorance is much more frightening. David Botello Historian Whether or not it is cultural appropriation is another debate. What David Botello is clear about, however, is that it is "an aesthetic deformation with radically opposite ends, as Holy Week is a living manifestation of faith, history and tradition that has been reinvented over the centuries". "To confuse a penitent with a supremacist is a disastrous mistake, which erases centuries of spirituality and collective memory", says the historian, who firmly believes that "the hood can be imposing and scary, but ignorance is much scarier".
