From Manchester to Jerusalem: The limits of Trump’s terror narrative

Latest post published in full at Writing from the Edge

Here's an extract:

There was nothing wrong in Trump offering his condolences and sympathy. That was entirely appropriate. The attack in Manchester was a wicked, senseless crime.
What made me uncomfortable was the way Trump used terrorism to avoid confronting the complicated, compromised and messy reality in which we live, especially in the Middle East.
For Trump, in all the speeches he made this week in the region, terror appeared to be the only cause of the problem, and its defeat would be sure to bring peace.
If only it were true.
Trump’s narrative lacked understanding, substance and integrity. And that went for terror in Manchester as well as the Middle East.

Read the full post here 

Church of Scotland must be fearless against the bullying Board of Deputies

My new blog post on the latest attempt by the Board of Deputies to close down debate by Churches on Israel/Palestine

Once again, the Board of Deputies of British Jews has shown itself to be a bully when it comes to interfaith dialogue on Israel/Palestine. This time its victim is the Church of Scotland. It’s all depressingly predictable and immensely tiresome for anyone who cares about justice in the Holy Land and indeed the future of Jewish-Christian relations in the U.K.

Read the full post at Patheos