News and Views

Israel

• UN claim of 14,000 imminent Gazan baby deaths debunked. On Tuesday, the UN’s emergency co-ordinator, Tom Fletcher, told the BBC that “14,000 babies will die in 48 hours” from malnutrition if aid didn't get through immediately. The sensational headline spread like wildfire across the world’s media and social media alike (read here, here and here), virtually nobody questioning the truth of the outrageous claim. In a House of Commons debate about Gaza, members of parliament referred to it no fewer than 13 times. The headline ignited some of the worst Israelophobia – and outright anti-Semitism – seen since 7 October 2023. But, of course, the story was utterly false, being a complete misrepresentation of a claim made by the UN’s IPC food classification system of possible malnutrition in Gaza in the coming year. Read more here and here. 

Society and Politics

• Lucy Connolly the victim of ‘a great injustice’. Childminder Lucy Connolly, wife of a former Conservative councillor, who was jailed for 31 months after calling for hotels housing asylum seekers to be set on fire after the Southport attacks, has lost an appeal against her sentence at the court of appeal. Many commentators have condemned the two-tier system that allows a mother to be jailed for an ill-judged tweet that exceeds the sentences of men convicted of child rape and violent disorder. The Daily Sceptic insists that "The tweets cited by the Judge to ‘prove’ Lucy Connolly is “racist” do nothing of the sort". Boris Johnson has warned that Starmer's Britain is 'turning into a police state'. Barrister Steven Barrett has declared he is "embarrassed for his country" following the court ruling. Read also here and here.

Pandemic Agreement

• WHO adopts adopt the first ever pandemic agreement. After three long years of negotiation, members of the World Health Organization (WHO) formally adopted the Pandemic Agreement at the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva on Tuesday. The treaty aims to make the world safer from future pandemics by encouraging better disease surveillance and sharing of vaccines and other medicines during major outbreaks. The treaty explicitly rules out any role for the WHO over individual states, with powers over travel restrictions, vaccine mandates and lockdowns remaining outside its remit. The final treaty text also dropped earlier references to “misinformation” and “infodemic management”, thus safeguarding free expression. Though the treaty was formally adopted, it must be ratified by 60 member states to come into full effect.
• No transparency, no schedule and ‘half-baked’. Yet the Agreement is legally binding on all 124 countries that approved it in a last-minute committee session – with, according to petition group CitizenGO, “no transparency, no schedule, and barely half the room present.” Poland, Israel, Italy, Russia, Slovakia and Iran abstained, while the USA was conspicuously absent from proceedings, having announced its intention to withdraw from the WHO (as has Argentina).  The UK, like most European countries, has adopted the Agreement. 

• 400 Islamic State fighters are living in UK. More than 400 people who fought with the so-called Islamic State (IS) group have returned to the UK without being prosecuted for their crimes, a parliamentary committee has found. IS was responsible for widespread campaigns of terror, murder and rape against minority groups like the Yazidis in Syria and Iraq – such crimes being designated genocide by the UK government. The committee insists that the ex-militants are brought to justice – saying they should now be tried in British courts. 

Eurovision Song Contest

• Israel wins popular worldwide Eurovision vote. Israel was hugely successful in last weekend's Eurovision Song Contest, with a song by Yuval Raphael, a survivor of Hamas’ notorious attack on the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel came second overall, with Austria winning. But remarkably, Israel scored the highest points of all from the millions watching around the world – a remarkable outcome given that many were calling for Israel to be banned from the Song Contest entirely, and given that pro-Palestinian protesters tried to disrupt Israel’s performance. This is the third year in a row that popular votes for Israel vastly outstripped the number of votes it received from the national juries. In the words of Honest Reporting, “The Media painted Israel’s Eurovision entry as ‘divisive.’ Viewers made her a Star.”
• Israel accused of encouraging manipulation at Eurovision. Yet Israel’s phenomenal success has led to enormous controversy internationally, many claiming the Contest’s voting system was “rigged” by pro-Israel campaigning. The European Broadcasting Union, which organizes the contest, dismissed any allegations of voter fraud, but noted that it takes people’s concerns seriously. Yet, Israel’s entry was only the 19th most popular song from this year’s competition on Spotify in the week of the event, while it scored the maximum 'douze points' from 13 national public votes, including the UK. It has been pointed out that Israeli government social media channels have been encouraging people to vote for Yuval Raphael the maximum 20 times permitted – without necessarily having listened to the song. Many are calling for the Contest’s rules to be changed. Read also here. 

Antisemitism

• Incidents of antisemitism or staunch anti-Israel expression continue to abound, both in the UK and around the world. Some of the most recent examples include:

          • A crazed gunman shouted 'Free Palestine' after he shot and killed two Israeli embassy staff members outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington D.C. Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, described it as a 'depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism.' The two diplomats murdered were Messianic Jews who were planning to get married; Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim. Read also this chilling article (Spectator subscribers only), and here. 

Church Issues

• 1,700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed. This month marks the 1,700th anniversary of the of the Council of Nicaea and the formulation of the Nicene Creed, which affirms belief in God the Father, declares Jesus Christ as the only Son of God, begotten not created, of one being with the Father, and acknowledges the Holy Spirit as Lord and giver of life. The Nicene creed set the foundation for what most Christians - Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant - believe about God today. Special services were held in London and Jerusalem, as well as in Nicea itself, now the Turkish city of İznik. Christians will continue to flock to İznik this anniversary year, but they will find no church in the sizeable town of 44,000 people. Indeed, sadly, no Christians are known to live there. 
• Faith and the English FA Cup final. The English FA Cup was played last Saturday at Wembley, when Crystal Palace sensationally defeated mighty Manchester City for their first-ever major trophy. Some believe that faith may have played a part in the David and Goliath victory, with Crystal Palace being full of players who are open about their Christian faith, meeting regularly to pray together. The club captain, Joel Ward, is known for wearing  the words of Ephesians 3:20 on his wrist. Eberechi Eze, whose goal secured Palace’s win, celebrated it with his trademark cross gesture, and by testifying that “Only God could do this.” Maxence Lacroix, a Palace’s defender, initiated the pre-match prayer meetings that have marked Palace’s season. Then there’s Marc Guéhi, who made headlines last year for writing: “Jesus loves you” on the rainbow pride armband he was asked to wear. Other Christian Palace team players include Eddie Nketiah and Tyrick Mitchell. 

Climate Change

• Jordan Peterson: Net Zero alarmism is a mental illness. Jordan Peterson has declared that, in his professional opinion, climate doomsayers “are possessed by an ideology much more akin to a psychogenic epidemic than they are purveyors of any information remotely scientific”. Writing in the Telegraph, the renowned psychologist suggests climate alarmism is something more like an ideological or religious movement than a scientific one. He writes, “The climate panic is the work of a cabal of narcissistic worshippers of fear and force, cloaking themselves in the sheep’s clothing of planetary guardians. It is dreadfully and terribly expensive and stunningly detrimental to the poor who are the hypothetical targets of the ideological largesse of the Left.”
• UK scientists are about to dim the sun. UK Scientists are soon to test whether “dimming” the light from the sun will combat global warming. Geo-engineers at the Advanced Research and Invention Agency – a government backed body – have been allocated £60 million to inject aerosolized particles into the stratosphere to reflect the vital light the sun provides to the Earth in a bid to hedge global warming. But, critics have real concerns about the impact of sun-dimming on weather patterns and our health, and some have described the project as “barking mad.”