A Threat to Religious Freedom

End of the Age News

By Dave Robbins

 
 

The Core Issue of the Israeli/Palestinian Debate 

At the very core of the issues between the Israelis and the Palestinians is the debate over who will eventually control the 35 acres of the temple Mount in East Jerusalem. Currently, the Muslim WAQF oversee the Temple Mount and do not allow Jews to pray there. However, there is a major push right now, by the Jewish people to have the freedom to pray on the site where their First and Second Temples stood.

 

The Jews claim that the temple Mount is their number one holy site in the world, while the Muslims claim it as their third holiest site. The amount of Jews that ascend to the temple Mount have increased over the passed few years from 5,700 in 2009 to 8,000 in 2013. This issue, who will gain final control control the 35 acres of the Temple Mount seems to be at the very heart of the debate between Israelis and Palestinians at the negotiating table for a Middle East Peace Agreement.

 

It has been discussed, that to finally be able to make a peace agreement work, the Temple Mount be placed under an international sharing arrangement between the Israelis and Palestinians. It appears that, for now, we will have to wait until an agreement is signed to see if this is the final arrangement.

 

A Threat to Religious Freedom

The US Senate recently passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) 64-32, which protects employees on the basis of their sexual orientation.

 

Although the vast majority of employers do not consider an employees sexual orientation relevant, some religious business owners fear that the law will force them to hire and retain an employee that may not adhere to the same moral standards set forth by the religious entity.

 

Even though there is a religious exemption in the law, these exemption may vary. For instance, even if all nonprofits were exempted, some for profit businesses such as a Christian bookstore or Bible publisher could be forced to comply. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act now awaits a vote by the House of Representatives where it faces a tough road ahead through the GOP leadership.

 

NSA Leader Contemplates Eric Snowden Amnesty

Finally, it appears that the head of an NSA task force, which has been assigned to gauge the amount of information leaked by Edward Snowden is now at least considering amnesty in return for top secret documents. Edward Snowden is the 29 year old source behind the biggest intelligence leak in the National Security Agency’s history.

 

Earlier this year, Snowden revealed a top secret massive surveillance machine being used by the United States Government and the NSA. These documents eventually revealed that the NSA was involved in monitoring the calls of 35 world leaders including the likes of Angela Merkel of Germany as well as the leaders of Brazil, Mexico, France and Spain.

 

Although the White House has claimed that there will be no amnesty granted, Rick Ledgett of the NSA said that he supports at least having a discussion about. But only if the sensitive documents are returned.

3 replies

Comments are closed.