Welcome. Im bob abernethy. Its good to have you with us. Amid tragedy and suffering in so many places around the world, people of faith had an intense week of prayer and activism. At the vatican, pope francis highlighted the middle east, iraq and ukraine and led prayers for peace and reconciliation everywhere. Religious groups continued to raise concerns about the conflict between israel and the palestinians. Christian, muslim and some jewish groups issued new statements decrying the large number of Palestinian Civilians killed and urging israel to lift its longstanding blockade against gaza. Many other jewish groups and some christians maintained their solidarity with israel and accused hamas of using civilians as human shields. They also condemned antisemitic attacks tied to antiisrael protests in europe. Faithbased relief groups denounced the humanitarian impact of the violence, especially on the children of gaza. More than 120,000 gazans have sought shelter in schools, medical cent
Broward County Mayor Lamar Fisher has responded defensively to a challenge regarding his recent speech at the Islamic Center of South Florida (ICOSF), a mosque known for promoting radical views and supporting violence. In an email sent to this author,