Nearly half of 3 million who fled Myanmar due to conflict did so since coup

The number of internally displaced persons more than doubled in the past 19 months.

By RFA Burmese
2022.09.23

People flee their homes after junta forces raided villages in Khin-U township, Sagaing region, Sept. 21, 2022. Citizen journalist

Nearly 3 million people have fled Myanmar because of armed conflict, nearly half of whom left the country after last year’s military coup, an independent research group said Friday.

The Myanmar Institute for Strategic and Policy Studies (ISP-Myanmar) said 2,930,201 internally displaced persons (IDPs), or slightly more than 5% of Myanmar’s population of 54.4 million, have fled violence in the country. It said 1,413,811 of them, or 48%, fled Myanmar amid the conflict that followed the Feb. 1, 2021, putsch.

According to ISP-Myanmar, the number of people in Myanmar who were classified as IDPs due to civil war more than doubled to 1,019,190 after the coup from 497,200 prior to the takeover.

The research group said its list was compiled from data obtained by organizations that assist refugees in conflict zones, international aid groups, ethnic armed groups, and reporting by independent media. It said the data had been checked and confirmed by its researchers.

ISP-Myanmar senior research officer Kyaw Htet Aung told RFA Burmese that all combatants in Myanmar must adopt measures to reduce civilian suffering.

“IDPs do not have full access to humanitarian aid at present and their number is rising month by month,” he said.

“How are we going to solve the problem? All the adversaries must pay more attention to military codes of conduct to minimize harm to civilians. If they can do that, I think civilian suffering would be substantially reduced. Additionally, IDPs must have better access to international aid.”

According to ISP-Myanmar, 533,833 people displaced by violence since the coup are from Sagaing region, where the military has encountered some of the fiercest resistance to its rule over the past 19 months.

Aid workers told RFA that fighting between the military and the armed opposition is intensifying and spreading rapidly throughout Myanmar, resulting in a substantial increase in the number of IDPs and civilian casualties.

IDPs from Kyaung Pyar, Kyaukkyi township, Bago region, flee their village after military raids, July 4, 2022. Credit: Citizen journalist

No access to international aid

A villager who recently fled fighting in Sagaing’s Kanbalu township said that IDPs have had to rely on assistance from people in the region because they have not received any international aid.

“We have been on the run since the moment the military entered our villages, and we’ve faced a lot of difficulties moving through the jungle with the elderly, pregnant women and children,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“People are exhausted from running and hiding for so long without food. These days, it's difficult to get even one or two baskets of rice. We have never received any international aid. We all are struggling to stay alive.”

In addition to the challenges of obtaining food and medicine, the villager said his group also faces dangers such as snake bites while sheltering in the jungle.

Similar problems have been reported in Chin state, where transportation is difficult due to the region’s terrain and lack of infrastructure.

An official with the Mindat Township Refugee Camps Management Committee, who declined to be named, told RFA that basic food items and fuel are getting expensive, leaving IDPs in dire straits.

“The price of rice has risen and with the increase in fuel prices, buying rice has become even more difficult,” he said.

“In the meantime, we are also facing the danger of landslides because it is the rainy season. There are a lot of landslides here as it has been raining non-stop for more than two weeks.”

Banya, the director of the ethnic Karenni Human Rights Group, said IDPs also endure psychological suffering when they lack food, shelter and healthcare.

“The loss of their family members and homes, and being in the jungle for a long time, leaves them stressed,” he said.

“When they go from expecting a month or two of displacement, to six months, and finally more than a year, it’s very difficult to comfort them. Their losses are heavy and it is a difficult situation to bear. Currently, everything — including health conditions — have been quite bad.”

At present, he said, only emergency measures for obtaining food and medicine can be offered to the displaced, while long-term planning has been out of the question.

Aid program status unclear

Win Myat Aye, minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management for the shadow National Unity Government (NUG), said efforts are underway to provide aid to the country’s IDPs, but he acknowledged the limitations he faces.

“With more than a year and a half of experience, our connection with aid groups has gradually become stronger and we can now provide more effective support,” he said.

“Access to funding and cash flow is a challenge, but now that the NUG has its own sources of income, it can supplement public donations. We are making special efforts in cooperation with ethnic armed groups to provide international support.”

He said he believes humanitarian assistance will soon be able to reach the displaced.

At the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Humanitarian Assistance Coordination Meeting held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on May 6, a decision was reached that the ASEAN Humanitarian Coordination Center (AHA) would act under the supervision of Myanmar military authorities to provide aid to the country’s IDPs.

On Sept. 20 pro-junta media reported that the AHA task force held an interim meeting on the aid situation in Myanmar, but more than four months since the ASEAN decision, RFA has been unable to independently confirm the status of the program.

Attempts by RFA to contact the AHA Center went unanswered on Friday.

According to Thailand’s Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), authorities in Myanmar have killed at least 2,316 civilians and arrested more than 15,600 since the coup, mostly during peaceful anti-junta protests.

Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

Drones level playing field for Myanmar’s armed opposition against powerful military

The low-cost technology makes operations safer and more effective, PDF groups say.

By RFA Burmese
2022.09.24

Federal Wings, a drop team fighting along with ethnic militias and local People’s Defense Force groups, Sept. 15, 2022.

Nearly 20 months after the military coup in Myanmar, amid a rapidly intensifying conflict, People’s Defense Force (PDF) paramilitary groups are turning to drone technology to level the playing field as they engage with better equipped junta troops.

When the PDF formed in the months following the Feb. 1, 2021 military takeover, it’s members were forced to fight Southeast Asia’s second largest army using only slingshots and the same crude flintlock “Tumee” rifles their forefathers used to fight off British colonizers in the 1880s. As the network grew, the groups began to use homemade landmines to target their enemy’s convoys.

The latest addition to the PDF arsenal are civilian drones, refitted to drop explosives on junta troops. PDF sources told RFA Burmese that the drones are safe, accurate, and require little manpower to operate during clashes.

Boh Lin Yaung, leader of the Khin-U Support Organization (KSO) in Sagaing region’s Khin-U township, said his group took civilian drones used for shooting video and upgraded them to drop bombs on specific locations.

“Drones have lots of advantages, so we started buying them,” he said.

“Right now, we are working with small drones used for photography, and therefore can only carry small payloads – around half a viss (24 ounces). The main reason we use them is because it’s the safest way for us to engage the enemy.”

Boh Lin Yaung said his group had previously sought to obtain automatic rifles, but decided to use drones instead because of how effective they are for such a low cost point against the junta’s advantages in modern military equipment, training, and supplies.

Members of Sagaing Region PDFs also reported success using drones, although they acknowledged that they are susceptible to being shot out of the sky. They noted that the junta has been using reconnaissance drones to determine their locations and engage them with heavy weapons and airstrikes.

At left, a bomb [blue] begins to fall towards a target. At right, a bomb hits a Myanmar army trench. Credit: Yangon Revolution Force

‘Our drones dominate the skies’

In Kayin state, where the intensity of fighting rivals that in Sagaing, PDFs are using large-scale drones with six propellers that can carry heavier loads.

Myo Thura Ko, the information officer of the Cobra Regiment, said PDFs have been using combat and patrol drones in Kayin since December 2021.

“The enemy can be easily defeated because the drones unnerve them ... They get scared when they hear the sound of the drones flying,” he said.

“They carry out a lot of airstrikes, but their planes just drop bombs and leave. For the rest of the time, our drones dominate the skies. Our drones also have the ability to scout at night, so they have become a nightmare for the enemy troops.”

Myo Thura Ko said a drone can be equipped with up to five bombs and patrol in dangerous areas using less manpower.

PDFs said the junta has recently begun deploying radio frequency jammers to prevent drones from flying near their camps.

Attempts by RFA to contact junta Deputy Information Minister Major General Zaw Min Tun about the military response to PDF drones went unanswered. However, at a Sept. 20 press conference in the capital Naypyidaw, he told reporters that anti-drone guns have been installed in strategic locations to protect against attack.

Thein Tun Oo, executive director of the Thayningha Strategy Studies Group, a group of former military officers, said PDFs are limited in their ability to attack using civilian drones because of their need for technical support.

“The drones used for spraying chemicals in agriculture called ‘Hexacopters’ have six propellers. They can carry a larger payload and are now being used to drop bombs from the air. But if we look at it from a technical standpoint, the triggering mechanism isn’t simple to operate,” he said.

“In order to overcome this problem, they require support. So this is not a normal development. It’s not something they can do themselves. It's obvious that someone else is providing the technical know-how.”

Members of Federal Wings prepare two munitions for a drone attack.

 Credit: Federal Wings

Shadow govt drone unit

The Ministry of Communications, Information and Technology (MOCIT) under Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG) recently formed a “Federal Wings” drone unit manned by tech-savvy youth. The Federal Wings’ social media page claims that the unit has already participated in operations on the battlefield using drones.

The NUG Ministry of Defense also said it is seeking funding to consolidate PDF drone attack forces into an armed force.

Min Zaw Oo, executive director of the Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security, said he expects both sides to increasingly add drones to their arsenals.

“Using drones not only for scouting, but also to deploy weapons, is a development that has come about mostly since the coup,” he said.

“Drones are a widely available technology that can be used by both sides. The role of drones is of growing importance to modern warfare.”

Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

PM Hun Sen's United Nations appearance draws Cambodian diaspora protest

Members of the Cambodian diaspora rallied near the U.N. headquarters during the General Assembly.

By Sokunthea Hong for RFA Khmer
2022.09.23

Protestors hold signs at a demonstration by members of the Cambodian diaspora at United Nations headquarters as Prime Minister Hun Sen was set to give a speech at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Sept. 23, 2022.

About 300 members of the Cambodian diaspora in the U.S. rallied at United Nations headquarters in New York on Friday, demanding that the Phnom Penh government release political prisoners and implement democratic reforms as Prime Minister Hun Sen was set to address the U.N. General Assembly. 

The protesters displayed photos of detained activists from the now-dissolved Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), whose leader Sam Rainsy has been in exile in France, and urged Hun Sen, the country’s long-ruling strongman, to release his grip on power. 

“Please respect human rights, release political activists to their freedom, and have free and fair elections in which all parties can participate,” Sam Vathana of Long Beach, California, told RFA when asked what his message was for Hun Sen. 

Chun Sothy, a CNRP activist who recently received asylum in the United States, traveled from North Carolina to attend the New York protest, told RFA that he was persecuted in Cambodia and fled to Thailand for three years before coming to the U.S. 

“I want Hun Sen to return our positions that he robbed from us. I am a former commune councilor. He robbed 5,007 seats,” Chun Sothy said. “He robbed the wills of more than 3 million people. If Hun Sen loves peace, why did he rob the wills of the people?”

Chun Sothy was referring to Cambodia’s recent communal elections, which opposition activists and civil society groups said was marred by pressure campaigns from Hun Sen’s allies. 

“I want to tell the world that Hun Sen is not a leader who was elected. He stole power and we are living under a dictatorial and corrupt regime,” Chun Sothy said.  

The prime minister, who has ruled Cambodia for more than three decades, did not schedule any meetings with Cambodians now living in the U.S. while on his trip to the U.S., saying he was too busy. But some of his supporters greeted him at his hotel in New York.

Members of the Cambodian diaspora protest against 

Prime Minister Hun Sen's authoritarian rule as the

 long-time strongman was set to address the 

U.N. General Assembly in New York, Sept. 23, 2022.

The protest was organized by the Cambodia-Myanmar Group, in opposition to “Hun Sen and his Cambodian People’s Party’s (CPP) decades-long tyrannical rule in the country,” the group said. 

It called on Cambodia “to reverse all wrongful convictions and detentions,” including the recent conviction of Cambodian American human rights attorney Seng Theary for conspiracy to commit treason, part of a mass trial largely viewed as part of a broader crackdown on critics of Hun Sen.

Since coming to power in 1985, Hun Sen has consistently targeted opponents to his rule and placed CPP officials in positions of authority nationwide. Parties that challenge his rule are often subjected to investigations, arrests and other forms of harassment by CPP officials and their supporters. 

Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Nawar Nemeh.

Villagers take protest over long-running land dispute to Cambodian capital

They say local authorities in their home provinces have refused 

to help them resolve the issue.

By RFA Khmer
2022.09.06

Villagers protest in front of Cambodia's Ministry of Justice, seeking the government's intervention in resolving a long-running land dispute, in Phnom Penh, Sept. 6, 2022. Photo courtesy of a citizen journalist

More than 1,000 people from two Cambodian provinces staged a protest on Tuesday outside the Ministry of Justice in Phnom Penh, calling on the government to resolve a long-running dispute over land taken by politically connected businesspeople, sources in the country said.

The residents of several hundred villages in Koh Kong and Kampong Speu provinces west of Phnom Penh contend that they did not receive adequate compensation for farmland seized to build an airport and have been forced into poverty as a result.

Land disputes are common in Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries. Government officials routinely seize land for lucrative real estate ventures, leaving displaced locals with little or no recourse.

The villagers said they took their decade-long grievances to the capital city after provincial authorities turned down their request for help.

They raised banners imploring Prime Minister Hun Sen and his wife, Bun Rany, to intervene and deliver justice, saying the ongoing dispute has caused them financial hardship. They also petitioned the Ministry of Justice and Hun Sen’s Cabinet, requesting that charges against more than 30 representatives of the villagers be dropped.

Authorities arrested the representatives in September 2021 during a violent roundup of protesters in Kandal province, which surrounds the capital region. They were demonstrating against land the government took from them and gave to a businessman with ties to the autocratic leader to build an airport.

Det Huor, a representative of the Koh Kong villagers, told RFA that the 1,000 people who protested on Tuesday also intended to march to the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, but were stopped by security officers.

She said villagers involved in the land dispute can no longer afford to send their children to school. She and other villagers have been imprisoned for defending their rights, she said.

“Villagers’ representatives are the most vulnerable,” she said. “When we demanded [a solution], companies filed complaints to the court. I myself was sentenced to two years in jail and ordered to pay a fine.”

The protesters’ banners displayed portraits of Hun Sen and requested he identify villagers as citizens with incomes below the poverty line, so they can receive free medical services and other benefits. They also asked that officials stop pursuing legal action against them and against village representatives in court.

Pheap Teng, another representative from Koh Kong, said authorities and wealthy Cambodians used the courts to prosecute the villagers in the land dispute between her community and the provincial airport company owned by Ly Yong Phat, a casino tycoon and senator from the ruling Cambodian People’s Party.

Pheap Teng said she worries she will become even more impoverished if the dispute drags on.

“Please speed up a solution for my community,” she said. “Only Samdech [an honorific for Hun Sen] can give us a solution with Okhna [honorific] Ly Yong Phat.”

RFA couldn’t reach government spokesman Phay Siphan for comment on Tuesday.

Soeung Sengkaruna, spokesman for Cambodian rights group Adhoc, said after local authorities neglected the villagers’ entreaties, the residents had to spend a lot of money seeking intervention from the central government to no avail. Because of this, he urged Hun Sen to provide a solution.

“People think that only the prime minister can resolve the conflict,” he told RFA. “This is why they urged him to deliver a solution.”

Translated by Samean Yun for RFA Khmer. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

White House rebukes World Bank chief in climate row

In this file photo taken on November 3, 2021 World Bank president David Malpass

 speaks during a panel discussion at the COP26 UN Climate Summit in Glasgow. — AFP pic

Saturday, 24 Sep 2022 7:31 AM MYT

WASHINGTON, Sept 24 — The White House on Friday rebuked the head of the World Bank David Malpass, who is battling charges of climate denial for dodging questions on the role of man-made emissions in global warming.

Under mounting fire, Malpass has rejected suggestions he might quit over the uproar — and has moved to clarify his position several times in recent days.

“Look, it’s clear that greenhouse gas emissions from human activity are adding to, are causing climate change,” he told Politico Friday, affirming that none of the bank’s member countries had asked him to leave and that he was “not resigning.”

“The task for us, for the world, is to pull together the projects and the funding that actually has an impact,” he said.

Malpass is a veteran of Republican US administrations and was tapped to lead the bank in 2019 by then-president Donald Trump, who famously and repeatedly denied the science behind climate change.

Climate activists have previously called for Malpass to be removed for what they say is an inadequate approach to the climate crisis — but the chorus grew suddenly louder after his appearance at a New York Times-organised conference this week.

Asked on stage to respond to a claim by former US vice president Al Gore that he was a climate denier, Malpass declined multiple times to say whether he believed man-made emissions were warming the planet — responding, “I’m not a scientist.”

“We condemn the words of the president,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told a White House briefing in response to the incident.

“We expect the World Bank to be a global leader” on the climate crisis response, she said, adding that the US Treasury Department “has and will continue to make that expectation clear to the World Bank leadership.”

Malpass has been seeking to course-correct since the row erupted earlier this week, and in an interview with CNN on Thursday he clearly acknowledged that climate-warming emissions were “coming from manmade sources, including fossil fuels, methane, agricultural uses and industrial uses.”

“I’m not a denier,” he told the network, saying his message had been “tangled” and he was “not always good at conveying” what he means.

But the uproar shows little sign of dying down, with the Union of Concerned Scientists the latest group to call for him to be “replaced immediately.”

Pressed on whether President Joe Biden still has confidence in Malpass and media reports that some US officials are seeking his removal, Jean-Pierre said: “Removing him requires a majority of shareholders, so that’s something to keep in mind.”

“The US believes the World Bank must be a full partner in delivering on the aggressive climate agenda, poverty reduction and sustainability development. Again, Treasury will hold Malpass accountable to this position and support the many staff working to fight climate change.”

‘I am worried’

Malpass’s initial nomination faced intense criticism but since taking the role he has been a staunch supporter of aid and debt relief for the poorest nations, in addition to consistently noting the dangers from climate change.

In a speech in June where he warned about the overlapping crises facing the global community amid soaring inflation and debt distress, he emphasized the need to “effectively address climate change.”

“It requires massive investments in cleaner energy, energy efficiency, and electricity grids and transmission. Gas flaring, methane leakage, and the operation of antiquated coal-fired power plants, with severe health and environmental impacts, continue with little abatement,” he said.

Even so, critics of the lending institution have grown increasingly loud.

“I am worried right now about the World Bank,” the Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz told AFP earlier this week.

“Unfortunately the World Bank has not taken the kind of global leadership that the world needs right now” on climate and other critical issues, said Stiglitz, himself a former chief economist of the institution.

The head of the World Bank is traditionally an American, while the leader of the other big international lender in Washington, the IMF, tends to be European.

Malpass is not the first leader of one of those institutions to come under fire for personal or professional behaviour.

His predecessor Jim Yong Kim faced controversy over reforms and management of the Bank and then left early to join the private sector, while current IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva fell into hot water over changes made to data in a now discontinued World Bank report that painted China in a more positive light. — AFP

 Pakistan’s dire floods signal global climate crisis, PM tells UN

Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif speaks at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters on September 23, 2022 in New York City. — Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/AFP pic

Saturday, 24 Sep 2022 

NEW YORK, Sept 24 — Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warned Friday that his country’s worst-ever floods were a sign of climate catastrophes to come around the world, as he urged justice for developing nations that bear little responsibility for warming.

Unprecedented monsoon downpours flooded a third of the country — an area the size of the United Kingdom — killing nearly 1,600 people and displacing more than seven million.

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“What happened in Pakistan will not stay in Pakistan,” he said in a passionate address to the United Nations General Assembly, adding that lost homes, decimated livelihoods and deluged cropland had meant that for many, life had “changed forever.”

Sharif said injustice was inherent in the crisis, with his country of 220 million people at “ground zero” of climate change but responsible for less than one percent of carbon emissions.

“Why are my people paying the price of such high global warming through no fault of their own? Nature has unleashed her fury on Pakistan without looking at our carbon footprint, which is next to nothing,” he said.

“It is therefore entirely reasonable to expect some approximation of justice for this loss and damage,” he continued, adding his voice to growing calls among developing countries for financial compensation from rich polluters.

Climate compensation

The issue of “loss and damage” payments is deeply contentious.

Supporters argue that historic polluters have a moral imperative to pay for the loss and damage already caused by multiplying extreme weather events, which have not been prevented by measures to mitigate or adapt to global warming.

The idea has so far been shot down by rich nations, but UN chief Antonio Guterres endorsed the proposal a few days ago and it is due to be discussed at the next UN climate summit in Egypt.

Pakistan has estimated total financial losses at US$30 billion (RM137 billion), and on Friday its finance minister Miftah Ismail tweeted the county was seeking debt relief from bilateral creditors.

Turning his attention to neighbouring Afghanistan, Sharif urged the international community to heed a US$4.2 billion UN appeal for humanitarian and economic assistance and release the country’s financial reserves, frozen since the Taliban seized power last year.

“Pakistan is working to encourage respect for the rights of Afghan girls and women to education and work. Yet, at this point, isolating the Afghan Interim Government could aggravate the suffering of the Afghan people, who are already destitute,” he said.

The United States recently set up an outside fund to manage Afghanistan’s frozen assets, saying it did not trust the Taliban.

On Kashmir, the Himalayan territory disputed between Pakistan and India since the two countries’ independence from Britain, Sharif accused New Delhi of embarking on “illegal demographic changes” by opening the Muslim-majority region to mass migration by Hindu Indians.

He called on India to “walk the path of peace and dialogue by reversing its illegal steps of 15 August 2019,” when New Delhi revoked Kashmir’s constitutional autonomy. — AFP

 

Two Views Of Abraham’s Sons On Rosh HaShanah – OpEd

 September 24, 2022 

By Rabbi Allen S. Maller

In the June 13, 2022 issue of Islamicity Barnaby Rogerson writes: “In the Muslim account Abraham has two separate families. His Jewish descendants come from his marriage to his cousin-wife Sarah. His Arab descendants come from Hagar, his Egyptian concubine. Hagar had been given to Sarah as a gift from Pharaoh’s sister and, although Sarah had initially allowed her husband to sleep with her, Sarah became jealous when she remained barren while Hagar became pregnant. 

“When Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, Abraham was forced to separate his two women. He took Hagar and her baby across the Arabian desert and left them with just a bag of dates and a jar of water in the empty valley of Mecca. As he climbed out of the valley he stopped on the plain and prayed to God to care for them.

“As their supplies dwindled, Ishmael began to cry out with thirst. Hagar ran distractedly up first one hill and then another (these two hillocks, the hill of Safa and the hill of Marwah, stand just outside the Kaaba sanctuary) searching desperately for water. She ran between these hillocks seven times (the origin of the oldest of the practices of the Muslim pilgrimage) before finally collapsing. The Archangel Gabriel then appeared to her and dug down into the earth in order to expose the Zemzem spring, whose waters bubbled out to save both mother and son.

“Many years later Abraham returned to find his son Ishmael grown into manhood and Hagar presiding over the town of Mecca. His joy was great but his dismay even greater when God tested him by calling upon him to sacrifice his first born son. 

“Ishmael, like his half-brother Isaac, was of course spared this terrible fate. Instead father and son built the Kaaba as an altar to the One God. In the process they discovered the foundations of an earlier altar built by Adam; which had been washed away in the flood. They instituted a three-day festival, which culminated in the sacrifice of a ram to commemorate God’s mercy. This is the original Eid el Kebir, the feast of sacrifice. It is the single greatest festival of the Islamic year.” From “The Prophet Muhammad” by Barnaby Rogerson.

Since I have been writing articles for Islamicity for more than 15 years, I thought I should add some views of Hagar and her son Ishmael that appeared in an article that I, Rabbi Allen Maller, wrote with Rabbi Ron Kronish titled: The Descendants of Prophets Isaac and Ishmael Can Live Together Peacefully. 

Muslims know that Hagar and her son Prophet Ishmael are mentioned in the biblical book of Genesis, (chapter 21); but very few know that “every year Jews in synagogues worldwide read Genesis chapters 21 and 22 on the first and second days of Rosh Hashanah; the Jewish New Year Festival.”

Rosh HaShanah begins this year on the evening of September 25 and ends before sunset on September 26 for Reform Jews; and on September 27 for Conservative and Orthodox Jews. Rosh HaShanah ushers in a ten day period of seeking self-improvement by doing a self-judgement review of our deeds in the past year; and then making specific commitments to doing better in the new year.

Rabbi Kronish writes: “On these very special holy days we read about Prophet Ishmael as well as Prophet Isaac. Reading about the patriarch of the Arab people is part of our Jewish tradition because these foundational events are essential to our identity as Jews and Chapter 21—the story of the birth and banishment of Ishmael—establishes our Jewish connection to God’s non-Jewish children. 

“God saw Ishmael was about to die and the text tells us the God of the Hebrew Bible hears the voice of all children, including Ishmael, in their suffering and misery, as well as in their joyous and hopeful moments.

“After these events we next hear about Ishmael a few chapters later, when Isaac and Ishmael meet again (Genesis 25:9) at the funeral of their father Abraham. Islamic and Jewish tradition both agree that Prophet Abraham visited Prophet Ishmael’s distant home on at least two different occasions to make sure that his family relationships were suitable. These pre and post funeral reconciliations would be why the Torah’s describes Abraham as ‘contented’ in his old age. 

“Can we see this as a very good model for family reconciliations [today by] forgiving old hurts? And can it also become a model for the descendants of Prophet Ishmael and Prophet Isaac, the contemporary Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews, to find the grounds to attain, after the military funerals are over, the forgiveness and reconciliation that both Islam and Judaism teach are holy goals.

“Rabbi Kronish’s answer is Yes. “But Jews and Muslims have to overcome some deeply ingrained negative stereotypes of each other. Some of this comes from our understanding –or purposeful misunderstanding — of our sacred texts, which can be very problematic and often lead to negative stereotyping. It is time to choose reconciliation rather than retribution between Jews and Muslims in this world. The time for enmity is over.”

And I would add to the words of Rabbi Kronish that everyone knows how important fasting during Ramadan, and daily worship and prayer are in Islam; but few know that Islam considers reconciling people better than many acts of worship. 

Prophet Muhammad said: “Should I not tell you what is better in degree than prayer, fasting, and charity.” They (the companions) said: “Yes.” He said: “Reconciling people, because grudges and disputes are a razor (that shaves off faith).” (Ahmad, Abu Dawood, and At-Tirmithi)

Even more amazing the Prophet said: “The one who reconciles people is not considered a liar if he exaggerates what is good or says what is good.” [Ahmad] 

This is an excellent guide to dealing with the three-generation old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Rather than focusing mostly on what the other side did to us, we all should focus on how the conflict has hurt all of us, and how much better our future would be if we could live next to each other in peace. 

If the descendants of Prophet Isaac and Prophet Ishmael negotiate a settlement that reflects the religious policy that “…there is no sin upon them if they make terms of settlement between them – and settlement [reconciliation] is best.” (Quran 4: 128) 

For in Jewish tradition family harmony is of such importance that a rabbinic dicta states that this goal even warrants engaging in a “white lie”. When God tells Sarah she will give birth to a son, she says: “After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my husband being old also?” But when God speaks to Abraham, God says: “Why did Sarah say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?” (Genesis: 18:12-13). 

The rabbis comment that God omitted Sarah’s mention of Abraham’s even older age out of concern for their family harmony. And the Sages of the school of Hillel taught that one can praise the beauty of a bride even though she is not very pretty.

Prophet Muhammad said: “He is not a liar who seeks to reconcile between people and says [only] good things.” (al-Bukhaari, 2490) This is because the Qur’an refers to Prophet Abraham as a community or nation: “Abraham was a nation/community [Ummah]; dutiful to God, a monotheist [hanif], not one of the polytheists.” (16:120) 

If Prophet Abraham is himself an Ummah, then fighting between the descendants of Prophets Ishmael and Isaac is a civil war and should always be avoided.

Rabbi Dr Ron Kronish is the Founding Director the Inter-religious Coordinating Council in Israel (ICCI), which he directed for 25 years. His book, The Other Peace Process: Inter-religious Dialogue, a View from Jerusalem, was published by Hamilton Books, an imprint of Rowman and LIttlefield, in September 2017.

Rabbi Allen S. Maller
Allen Maller retired in 2006 after 39 years as Rabbi of Temple Akiba in Culver City, Calif. He is the author of an introduction to Jewish mysticism. God. Sex and Kabbalah and editor of the Tikun series of High Holy Day prayerbooks.

PICTURE The dismissal of Hagar, by Pieter Pietersz Lastman. Credit: Wikipedia Commons

Restoring America's Oyster Population Through Conservation & Farming 

NBC Nightly News Films

Sep 23, 2022

From ocean to table, oysters play an important role as both a habitat and a fishing industry. Now, as the country’s wild oyster populations are under threat from overharvesting and climate change, there is a growing movement to establish sustainable aquaculture in the south. Together, scientists and aquafarmers are working to protect wild oyster reefs across the country, fight pollution and continue the Gulf’s rich oyster tradition.

Lofgren signals that stock trading ban will include Supreme Court justices

Mychael Schnell - Yesterday 

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) signaled in a letter to colleagues that legislation banning congressional lawmakers from trading stocks will include Supreme Court justices.

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Lofgren, the chair of the House Administration Committee, outlined a framework for “Combating Financial Conflicts of Interest and Restoring Public Faith and Trust in Government” in Thursday’s letter, with the first prong pertaining to a stock trading ban for “senior government officials,” their spouses and their dependent children.

That group of officials, according to Lofgren, includes members of Congress and the Supreme Court.

If enacted, individuals subject to the ban would be prohibited from investing in securities, commodities, futures, cryptocurrency and other similar investments and be banned from shorting stocks. Investments in diversified mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, widely held investment funds and U.S. Treasury or state and local government bills, notes or bonds would, however, be allowed.

Officials would have the choice of divesting their holdings or placing them in a qualified blind trust.

Lofgren’s framework comes as the House is preparing to consider a lawmaker stock trading ban next week, after months of deliberations on the topic. But it was unclear if Supreme Court justices would be included in the ban.

The push for such a prohibition gained supporters on Capitol Hill after reports surfaced that members violated laws meant to prevent financial conflicts of interest.

Earlier this month, The New York Times published an extensive report that found nearly 100 lawmakers or their family members made financial trades in the past three years that may be conflicts of interest.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) threw her support behind a lawmaker stock ban in February, a reversal of her previous opposition to the push, while also floating the idea of including the judiciary in any reforms made to financial reporting requirements.

Under current law, Supreme Court justices are permitted to trade stocks, which some say could pose a conflict of interest.

Lofgren in Thursday’s letter said she will introduce legislation reflecting her four-point framework.

“A number of bills that have been introduced to date address some of these issues and include thoughtful proposals, but no one bill addresses each of these four elements with this level of detail. I will soon introduce legislative text for a bill built on this framework for reform,” the California Democrat wrote.

“Many Members have already concluded that reforms are necessary. I agree,” she added.

Lofgren’s framework also calls for increasing the “granularity” of financial disclosures by asking for more specific information. It would additionally require electronic filings of all financial disclosure filings from all three branches of government.

Thirdly, the framework would increase penalties for failure to comply with financial disclosure requirements and implement additional fines that would be tied to the sum of assets or transactions that violated rules.

The fourth tenet of the framework is aimed at increasing accountability and public awareness. The measure would require that information about compliance is publicly disclosed and direct the Justice Department to present an annual report to Congress outlining criminal and civil proceedings taken against violators.

Pelosi told reporters last week that a ban on lawmaker stock trading could come to the floor this month. The House is scheduled to leave Washington next week, and it is not set to return until after the November midterm elections.

On the House floor Thursday, top lawmakers said the House may consider legislation to reform the STOCK Act next week. That 2012 statute, an acronym for the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, banned congressional employees and staffers from utilizing information received through work to benefit personally.