By Benoit Lannoo* ANTWERP, Belgium | 7 October 2026 (IDN) — On the Instagram account of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa reported early Saturday morning that an airstrike on an apartment building in the Al-Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City had killed, in addition to three other Palestinians, Maysa Abu Dawood and her […]
Israel’s Apartheid policy is jeopardising Christian schools in Jerusalem
Christian schools in Jerusalem remained closed on 1 September because more than 70 teachers from the West Bank had been denied entry. But what surprised Benoit Lannoo, an Antwerp based expert on Eastern Christians, most of all was that there was no reaction whatsoever from European, Western institutions or from any EU Member State, neither […]
The Heartbeat of Resistance, Resilience and Kindness, in Today’s World – The Arbaeen Pilgrimage
By Azza Karam* KARBALA, Iraq | 10 August 2026 (IDN) —There are pilgrimages, and then there is Arbaeen. Each year, millions of people converge on the Iraqi city of Karbala in one of the largest annual religious gatherings anywhere in the world. This year, according to the Governor of Karbala, more than 22 million pilgrims […]
Catholicos Garegin II in court
By Benoit Lannoo* YEREVAN, Armenia | 8 August 2026 (IDN) — Do you remember the Investiture Controversy, when medieval emperors tried to take over the pope’s episcopal appointments? Or the difficult issue of the appointment of bishops in the People’s Republic of China? Well, although Armenia is considered a democratic state in Western chancelleries, respectful […]
Genocides Are No Bargaining Chips
By Benoit Lannoo* ANTWERP, Belgium | 25 July 2026 (IDN) — The relations of the State of Israel with Türkiye and Azerbaijan have been under great tension since the Israeli government submitted a bill recognising the Armenian Genocide to the parliament, the Knesset, at the end of June. The government of Benjamin Netanyahu did not […]
Armenian Church Ready for New Clashes with PM Pashinyan
By Benoit Lannoo* ANTWERP, Belgium | 23 July 2026 (IDN) — It was a remarkable meeting at the Vardavar celebration – the 14th Sunday after Easter – in Etchmiadzin. Armenian Apostolic Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan was blessed by Catholicos Garegin II in the mother-cathedral of this autocephalous (independent) Eastern Church. ‘Blessing with lots of water’ plays a […]
The Jews Ignore Their History in the Post-Christian Era
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 10 June 2026 (IDN) — There are questions that even today, historians don’t seem moved to investigate. Two important ones come to mind. Why was it that Pharaonic Egypt rarely went to war, with gaps of over a hundred years, until Ramesses 11 became pharaoh in 1303 BC? Isn’t […]
Is Islam Violent? A Question Framed by Fear
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 1 April 2026 (IDN) — Is Islam violent? ISIS in Syria. Iraq and West Africa. In Pakistan, there is Lashkar-e-Taiba and the attempted murderer of the schoolgirl, Malala Yousafzai. Immigrant Moroccan men roughly pushing women and fondling them in the crowd in Cologne. Murderous bombs in Paris and Manchester. […]
FROM BETHLEHEM – A View of Misthought Israeli History
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 26 January 2026 (IDN) — Perhaps the biggest single misthink in Western history is best understood by standing in the town square of Bethlehem, allowing one’s gaze to pass over the rooftop of the Church that covers the stable where Jesus was supposedly born, and letting one’s eye drift […]
Is the West accepting Azerbaijan to hold political prisoners?
By Benoit Lannoo* ANTWERP (Belgium) | 02 September 2025 (IDN) — For two years, at least twenty-three Artsakhis are jailed in Baku. Their crime: wanting to be what they are, namely Artsakhis. And what does the European Union do? Nothing! Today, it is Independence Day in Artsakh. But there is nothing to celebrate, since the […]