Middle East

Rome, 22 March – Urgent action is required to control a major outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease and prevent its spread throughout North Africa and the Middle East, which could have serious implications for food security in the region, FAO warned today.

The government of Damascus accepted the plan for a resolution to the crisis proposed by the Arab League and United Nations special envoy for Syria, Kofi Annan. According to the spokesperson for the former UN chief, Annan already responded to President al Bashir, urging the prompt application of the proposals.

There is something quite unique about the Middle East’s “Resistance Axis” which includes Iran, Hezbollah, Syria, Hamas and a smattering of smaller groups opposed to western imperialism and zionism. It is the only major grouping or alliance in the region that includes 1) Arab and Iranian, 2) Sunni and Shia, 3) Islamist and Secularist.

The campaign against a war between Israel and Iran has moved from the social networks to the streets. About a thousand Israelis participated in a peaceful march. Tensions between Tehran and Tel Aviv have been increasing due to disagreements over Iran’s nuclear programme and Israeli society is divided about a possible war with Tehran.

Tomas Hirsch, former presidential candidate for the Chilean Humanist Party was invited by the Truman Institute of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to talk about the present situation in Latin America. He focussed mainly on Chile as it is best known to him but also because it is a good example of the paradigm of installation of the neoliberal model and the fall of that myth.

During our visit to Israel to disseminate Silo’s Message and Universalist Humanism, we met with Councilman Meir Margalit of Jerusalem. Meir is known for his struggle for human rights, the defence of Palestinian people, his campaigns to prevent the demolition of Palestinian homes, and his confrontation with institutions to prevent abuses of power.

A massive vaccination campaign, launched by the UN, is under way in Yemen, where a new outbreak of measles has killed at least 126 children under the age of five.

In recent weeks, there has been a notable shuffle in the positions of key external players in the Syrian crisis. Momentum has quite suddenly shifted from an all-out onslaught against the Assad government to a quiet investigation of exit strategies. The clashes between government forces and opposition militias in Baba Amr were a clear tipping point for these players…

Should academia deal with Spirituality? What is spirituality anyway? Is it different from religion? Is secularism the same as atheism? Is secularism growing? Is atheist humanism in need of spirituality? These and other questions were discussed at Haifa University. Members of Silo’s Message participated with its point of view about a new spirituality arising in the world.

Following several days of mounting tensions after Israel discusses openly the possibility of bombing Iran’s nuclear installations, an Israeli couple starts a Facebook page called “Israelis love Iranians” stating in posters: we will never bomb your country. Soon responses from Iranians began to arrive saying “We love you too”.