Sweden: TV advert says ‘accept multiculturalism‘
Swedes need to give up their identity and integrate with migrants because ‘being Swedish needs to be about more than skin colour and place of birth’. In a new TV advert from Swedish charity organisation IM, Swedes are called on to create ‘Det nya landet’ (the new country). The English text from their website says, ‘There is no turning back. Sweden will never be what it was before. It is an understanding of what the world actually looks like – that Sweden is needed as a safe place for people who need refuge. Some yearn back to how it used to be. It’s okay to miss the past and talk about it – but we have to seek ways forward and find a way for everyone to live together. Because now we have a Europe and a Sweden that is what it is: in a state of change.’
Israel: Netanyahu holds security meeting
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is assessing the security situation ahead of the Tishrei holidays - Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot. He has increased police presence in the Old City and Temple Mount to prevent attempts to violate public order, increased watchfulness for PA Arab incitement on social networks, and established a response team to refute disinformation about Israeli policy about the Temple Mount (such as claiming the Jews are plotting to destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque). It appears that the wave of terror that the security personnel thought was behind them is back in full force. In just one day, 18 September, a 50-year-old policeman and a 30-year-old policewoman were stabbed near Jerusalem’s Flower Gate, an IDF officer was wounded inside the town of Efrat in a terror attack, and an Arab woman pulled out a knife on two IDF soldiers near the town of Itamar. See also:
Syria: aid delivery to Aleppo to resume?
Yesterday the UN said it was ready to resume the delivery of life-saving aid to Syria, days after an attack on a humanitarian convoy killed 20 people and triggered the suspension of much-needed relief operations. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said, ‘The preparation for these convoys has now resumed, and we are ready to deliver aid to besieged and hard-to-reach areas as soon as possible. The UN continues to call for safe, unconditional, unimpeded and sustained access to all Syrians in need, wherever they are.’ However, today this hope now looks increasingly unlikely, following the collapse of talks between the USA and Russia and a resumption of the Syrian government’s attacks on Aleppo.
Iraq: US pastor gives $4,000 for weapons for Christian militia
Pastor William Devlin of Infinity Bible Church in New York City gave $4,000 from his own pocket to buy weapons for the Christian militia fighting IS. He bought grenades, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and AK-47 assault rifles for the Nineveh Plain Protection Units, saying that weapons are much needed by the Christian militia in their battle against terrorists. However, many believe this raises the serious issue of what forms of aid and intervention Western Christians should offer to help their Middle Eastern brothers and sisters. How we engage has wide repercussions and demands deep reflection. Although the US has provided training for weaponry, the American government has not supplied weapons. Meanwhile the Iraqi ministry of the interior revealed that security forces had seized four trucks carrying explosives in southern Baghdad. They had come from Syria and entered Baghdad in collusion with some local authorities, paying $13,000 per truck. See:
