Focus
Topics of relevance to the promotion of intercultural and interfaith programs and issues occuring around the world will be presented by scholars, religious, spiritual leaders and special articles.
Embrace Foundation is a non-profit,
educational foundation set up to
create better understanding
between people of different
religions, cultures, traditions and
world philosophies.
Embrace Foundation works to bring
leaders and scholars of world-wide
religions, cultures and philosophies
together by sponsoring forums,
seminars, lectures and developing
an international exchange program.
Embrace Foundation is particularly
concerned with reaching the world
public through the media.
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Travel As An Interfaith Act
Embrace encourages all who can
do so, to learn about other
traditions and cultures by traveling
as “Grassroots Diplomats.” We
hope that people every where
become life long students of our
world-wide humanity.
“ In every man there is something
wherein I may learn of him, and in
that I am his pupil.”
R.W.Emerson
Embrace Humanity
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- Global Water Shortages
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- Resource Based Population
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Great Visions - TV
Guests are: Swami Satchidananda &
the Rt. Reverend Dean Parks Morton
Embrace Archives
Limited Editions Gallery
Umrah - Jordan
Embrace Sacred Places
Monastery of Bahira - Syria
Embrace Foundation Universal
Monk Reading - Ethiopia
African Christians & Muslims Stand United - Show Americans How NOT to Let
ISIS Win
By William N. Grigg on January 22, 2016 - http://thefreethoughtproject.com
For three years, the Nigeria-based Boko Haram terrorist group, which has aligned itself with ISIS,
has carried out murderous attacks in neighboring Cameroon. The advertised purpose of that
onslaught, in which more than 1,100 people have been killed, is to turn the country into an “Islamic
state.” Five people were murdered in the most recent attack, a suicide bombing at a mosque in
Rather than seeing the country’s Muslim minority as a fifth column, many within its Christian
“I feel frustrated seeing my brothers and sisters dying,” explained Klofou. “I must act while praying to
God to send his angels and warriors to fight Boko Haram because He is the merciful God of armies.”
Referring to Boko haram as “a group of bad people,” Djafarou Alamine of Cameroon’s central
mosques declared that “Islam condemns all that they have been doing to both Christians and
Muslims who are all God’s creatures even though they have religious differences.”
This inter-faith cooperation is not unusual in Cameroon, contends Midjiyawa Bakari, governor of the
country’s Far North region.
“Cameroon is a country where priests and imams both go to churches and mosques to preach and
pray during ecumenical services,” reported AllAfrica.com. “It is a treasure to keep.”
Although the inter-communal self-defense project has been applauded by government officials, it is
an entirely private initiative in which neighbors of different religious backgrounds organize to protect
each other without the state’s involvement. All of this offers a striking and instructive contrast to the
conditions that prevailed in Rwanda that led to the genocidal massacres that descended on that
nation twenty-two years ago. Up to 1.1 million people were annihilated by government-backed death
squads over the course of roughly one hundred days. Most of the victims were part of the Tutsi
ethnic group while the government was in the hands of people identified as Hutus.
Rwanda is a country in which ninety percent of the population, at the beginning of the 1990s,
identified as Christians. Unfortunately, as Timothy Longman of Vassar College points out, during the
late 19th and early 20th Centuries colonial administrators had created a political system in which the
churches were treated as adjuncts to the government - and all positions of public influence were
defined by a racial caste system. Rwandans considered to have more “European” features were
labeled “Tutsis,” and given access to power. Those with what the colonialists regarded as less
desirable physical traits were called “Hutus” and saw their once-autonomous tribal leadership
abolished - relegating them to second-class status. This led to decades of intermittent ethnic
warfare, which in turn entrenched the politics of ethnic collectivism in Rwandan society - including
the Christian churches.
“The leaders of the Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, and Baptist churches were all close
associates” of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimama, and many had key positions in his “Hutu
Power” government, Longman points out. In 1993, the Hutu Power regime organized a plan to
massacre Rwandan Tutsis and Hutus who were seen as traitors. Weapons were cached, and death
squads quietly made preparations. In December 1993, Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire, the Canadian
officer commanding a UN peacekeeping mission to Rwanda, learned of the impending slaughter
from a defector but was forbidden to intervene to prevent it. The massacres begin in April following
the death of President Habyarimana in a suspicious plane crash.
When the death squads began their rampage, terrified Tutsis sought sanctuary in churches - only to
find no refuge.
Church leaders in Rwanda “helped make genocide possible by making ethnic violence
understandable and acceptable to the population,” Longman writes. This was “not simply because
church leaders hoped to avoid opposing their governmental allies but because ethnic conflict was
itself an integral part of Christianity in Rwanda. Christians could kill without obvious qualms of
conscience, even in the church, because Christianity as they had always known it had been a
religion defined by struggles for power, and ethnicity had always been at the base of those
struggles.” (Emphasis added.)
This was why machete-wielding death squads “attended mass before going out to kill,” or, if the
victims had been cattle-penned in a church, the killers would pause “during the massacres to pray at
the altar.” Like the Aztec priests who personally slaughtered an estimated 30,000 victims during the
1487 dedication of a temple to Huitzilopochtli, the devout murderers in Rwanda “felt their work was
consistent with church teachings.”
Acting as palace prophets on behalf of the political elite, Rwanda’s churches made the slaughter
“morally permissible,” Longman continues. Some individual congregants and clergy “took
courageous stands, even risking their lives to save those threatened, but the majority of people in
the churches gave tacit or even open support to the genocide. Church officials lent credibility to
those organizing the genocide by calling on their members to support the new government.”
With churches being used as slaughter pens, Christian Tutsis were offered sanctuary in mosques.
Jean-Pierre Sagahutu, a Tutsi who saw his father and nine members of his family butchered by
fellow Christians, was offered refuge by a Hutu Muslim family.
“I know people in America think Muslims are terrorists, but for Rwandans they were our freedom
fighters during the genocide,” Sagahutu told a Washington Post reporter in 2002. “If it weren’t for the
Muslims, my whole family would be dead,” agrees Aisha Umwimbabazi, who was struck by the fact
that mosques, unlike churches, rejected the state-defined ethnic categories and social divisions.
Rwanda’s Hutu Muslims refused to allow the government to depict their neighbors as their enemies.
None to Tell the Story, what happened in Rwanda was not “an uncontrollable outburst of rage by a
people consumed by `ancient tribal hatreds,’” but rather the result of “the deliberate choice of a
modern elite to foster hatred and fear to keep itself in power.”
At a time when many governments are fostering collectivist hatred and fear, officials in Cameroon
are to be commended for encouraging citizens to regard each other as neighbors and cooperate to
protect each other. Regrettably, albeit predictably, while Cameroon’s population is uniting to defend
the country from terrorism, the national government’s cross-border military operations against Boko
Haram may be exacerbating that threat by killing civilians and laying waste to entire villages.
Terrorism is a plague cultivated, nurtured, aggravated, and exploited by political elites working
through the state, which is why the state cannot protect us from it.
Bubble Nebula looks like a gigantic cosmic soap bubble
SCIENCE DAILY
Date: April 21, 2016
Source: ESA/Hubble Information Centre
This new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image, released to celebrate Hubble's 26th year in
orbit, captures in stunning clarity what looks like a gigantic cosmic soap bubble. The object, known
as the Bubble Nebula, is in fact a cloud of gas and dust illuminated by the brilliant star within it. The
vivid new portrait of this dramatic scene wins the Bubble Nebula a place in the exclusive Hubble hall
of fame, following an impressive lineage of Hubble anniversary images.
The Bubble Nebula, also known as NGC 7653, is an emission nebula located 11,000 light-years away. This stunning new image was observed by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to celebrate its 26th year in space.
Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage Team
Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage Team
ABOUT EMBRACE & SOME OF ITS’ REMARKABLE FOUNDING RABBIS, REBS
For 35 years Embrace has worked with open-hearted, open-minded Rabbis and Rebs and looks
forward to doing so for many years to come.
Founding Rabbis, like the close personal friend of the Embrace Founders, Rabbi Gelberman, were
raised in the Hasidic tradition and were even Hasidic Rabbis in Europe, before deciding to become
what might be termed “interfaith - spiritual.” This change came partially because of their desire to
share mystical Jewish teachings with interested gentiles and their determination to reach out to
people who were not Jewish to create better understanding between communities.
Rabbi Gelberman however, is one who despite losing his wife and children in the holocaust,
decided to “Embrace” love and goodness and to look forward with hope to a new kind of world with
the enthusiasm of the Besht. He was almost always cheerful. Of the Jewish Rabbis and Rebs doing
intensive interfaith work in the 1960’s and 1970’s Rabbi Gelberman and Rabbi Carlbach were
among the first and foremost. They both, especially Rabbi Gelberman contributed greatly to
Embrace. It should also be noted that these Rabbis were recommended to us early on by members
in the Sufi community who had already been doing interfaith programs with them before Embrace
was founded in 1982.
(A Note: Of all the early Religious, Spiritual leaders and Scholars working with Embrace, four were
deeply involved with interfaith work in the United States long before we were founded and all of
them were a strong foundation for our organization to build upon. - They were: Pir Vilayat Inayat
Khan (Sufi), Swami Satchidananda (Yoga, Hindu), Rabbi Joseph Gelberman (Judaism & the
Interfaith Seminary) and Rabbi Carlbach.) Also, these men were doing a lot of their work on the
East Coast of the United States, so they were easy to call upon and meet with. They all knew each
other for years and had collaborated with each other before Embrace was founded.)
It should also be noted that for many years Embrace had offices in two buildings in Manhattan, New
York where a large number of tenants were Torah Jews, (members of the Jewish Hasidic & Litvak
communities.) We grew to greatly respect and admire their unremitting adherence to “Truth” and to
their devotion to the Divine despite much unkind discrimination. The Litvak community regularly
demonstrates on behalf of Palestinian Human Rights in front of the United Nations and other
locations. All Hasidim and Litvak are peace oriented and try hard to adhere to the 10
Commandments, which the Government in the Holy Land perpetually violates especially
commandments 6, 8,9 & 10 without compunction.
To Learn More About Spiritual Judaism and Hasidic/ Litvak Judaism:
See: Ushpizin (The Guests) DVD - A Touching Story about Faith and Trying to Do the Right Thing
- All people can relate to it
Kabbalah -The Way of The Mystic, by Perle Epstein - Inspiring (Good for Beginner with Basics)
Sacred Treasure - The Cairo Genziah - By Rabbi Mark Glickman - The Embrace Founders visited
the Ben Ezra Synagogue where the Genziah is upstairs. As Rabbi Glickman muses, this is a long
period when Jews and Muslims were just normal neighbors and friends. Kept documents in the
Genziah give reference to these years. (Fine for Introduction)
The Tales of the Hasidim - Later Masters - Martin Buber - (Excellent for Introduction)
Zohar (Their are other translations) -Daniel Matt (Skylight Illuminations, Series Editor Andrew
Harvey)
The Essential Kabbalah - (Also other Translations) Daniel C. Matt - Intro. - Huston Smith
Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism - Gershom G. Scholem - (Scholarly)
Tree of Life - Zev Ben Shimon Halevi
Judaism - Edited by Arthur Hertzberg - George Braziller Publishers, (The Braziller family were
neighbors of the Embrace Founders for many years) (Excellent Book for Everyone) part of a series
of volumes on Buddhism, Christianity (Protestant & Catholic volumes), Hinduism, Islam & Judaism
These are just a very few we’ve pulled from our shelves.
International Repatriation of Sacred Objects for Indigenous People
Above talented young people demonstrated the difficult and fascinating Hoop Dance at the
International Repatriation Conference organized by the Association of American Indian
Affairs in New Mexico, USA.
Around the world sacred objects belonging to Indigenous People are put up for auction to non-
indigenous people to whom the ownership of First Peoples belongings is merely a status symbol to
be put on a shelf or hung on a wall. For indigenous people, these objects have an active and
important place in their cultural life.
The event honored the Honorable Kurt Riley, Governor of the Acoma Pueblo for his work in
repatriation - in particular an Acoma sacred shield from a Paris auction. The attorneys who work
closely for the Native American (First American) community also need to be acknowledged for their
determination, hard work and commitment to this cause.
The Lightening Boy Foundation, Youth Hoop Dancers and the Tesuque Pueblo Youth Dancers
demonstrated the complex Hoop Dance at the event.
As our friend Leo Cortez from the Santa Domingo Pueblo once said,”Dancing is the Indians way of
prayer...our feet pray.”
The Demographic and Ecological Situation in the Holy Land
Embrace has researched some information and percentages regarding the population in the Holy
Land. For those not familiar with the history of the Holy Land since WW II, we would like to explain
that there are Palestinians that agreed to become citizens of the government now controlling the
Holy Land, (hoping not to lose family homes, property and businesses - never-the-less, many lost
their homes, lands and businesses anyway.) Other Palestinians refused to become citizens and
lost all of their property, family heirlooms and businesses. These Palestinians live in the West Bank
and Gaza.
Dual Citizenship
One of the reasons for the discrepancy in population accounts of the Jewish population in the Holy
Land is that a vast number of Jewish people with citizenship in the Holy Land actually have dual
citizenship in the United States, Britain, the British Commonwealth Nations and Europe. Some
*Russian Jews also have dual citizenship although dual citizenship seems to be phasing out. A very
substantial number of these dual-citizens live outside of the Holy Land.
Our estimates from information gathered is that Palestinians living as citizens under the
current Holy Land government already outnumber the Jewish population living in the Holy
Land (not counting dual citizens) at approximately 53% or perhaps more.
(This is why when the Pentagon decides it isn’t going to fight a war for the Holy Land, amidst
threats of lobbying groups and media controlled by Holy Land government interests they must call
up Jewish people living in the countries listed above to serve in their armed forces.)
Having millions of Palestinians whose parents or grandparents were driven from their ancestral
homes living in Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria as well as the Gulf States is the reason the Holy
Land government has been tirelessly lobbying politically and through the media to get the U.S.
military to bomb Palestinians particularly in Syria and their neighbors, so they don’t have to call up
quasi-citizens living in Western nations to fight.
(*Russian Jews - It should be noted that due to very different outlooks on life and two world wars,
secular German Jews who run the Holy Land government and Russian Jews, as well as Torah
Jews rarely see eye to eye. That is why large numbers of Russian Jews returned to Russia from
the Holy Land. Also, some religious Jews notably the Litvak have given testimony that secular
German Jews who historically formed (and whose current adherents) run the Holy Land
government collaborated with the Nazis, sometimes turning-in religious Jews who died in the
concentration camps so that they could escape themselves.)
Ecological Damage
We are not going to reiterate what Aytzim.Org in the Holy Land has already honestly and concisely
outlined as to the ecologically toxic environment of the Holy Land. Every single part of nature has
been destroyed, air, land, water, animals, flora except to also mention the destruction of all the coral
reefs off the Coast of the Holy Land which are largely dead.
Unbridled greed, total lack of respect for the planet and overpopulation are the major causes.
No Water Security
The Holy Land is a desert and water shortages were always a great probability. More so with more
people.
Population Explosion of Pacifist Torah Jews
With the undisputed doubling or possibly more of the Orthodox (Torah) Jewish population, what
influence will they have on Holy Land politics? What will be socially and culturally acceptable in the
future?
Population Explosion of Palestinians
If the brochures of the Bethlehem Hospital run by the Catholic Church and the CIA World Fact Book
are anything to go by, Palestinians who are not part of he Holy Land government citizenship are
burgeoning. Palestinians in the West Bank are tripling.
West Bank Population Growth:
The West Bank population is approximately 3,284,787 as of 2017.
“The cities included in the West Bank have grown over the years, with some being far more
populous than others. As these cities are modernized and offer opportunities for employment, the
population can only be expected to continue to grow. Figures from the 1990s through the 2000s
show that the population has seen steady growth, with the number of Palestinians growing from
almost 1 million in a 10-year period.”
Gaza Population Growth:
Population: is approximately 3,284,787 as of 2017.
Population Growth Rate: 2.33% (2017 est.)
Birth Rate: 31.4 Births per 1,000 people (2017 est.)
Economy & Poverty
Population Below Poverty Line: 22%
note: Israel's poverty line is $7.30 per person per day (2014 est.)
“In the long term, Israel faces structural issues including low labor participation rates for its fastest
growing social segments - the ultraorthodox and Arab-Israeli communities. Also, Israel's progressive,
globally competitive, knowledge-based technology sector employs only about 8% of the workforce,
with the rest mostly employed in manufacturing and services - sectors which face downward wage
pressures from global competition.
Income inequality and high housing and commodity prices continue to be a concern for many
Israelis. Israel's income inequality and poverty rates are among the highest of OECD countries, and
there is a broad perception among the public that a small number of "tycoons" have a cartel-like grip
over the major parts of the economy. Government officials have called for reforms to boost the
housing supply and to increase competition in the banking sector to address these public
grievances. Despite calls for reforms, the restricted housing supply continues to impact younger
Israelis seeking to purchase homes. Tariffs and non-tariff barriers, coupled with guaranteed prices
and customs tariffs for farmers kept food prices high in 2016. Private consumption is expected to
drive growth through 2018, with consumers benefitting from low inflation and a strong
currency..Expenditures on educational institutions remain low compared to most other OECD
countries with similar GDP per capita.”
From the: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook
In conclusion, secular Jews will be increasingly out-numbered, powerless except for using
the intimidation and torture tactics of the South African apartheid government and living in
a grossly polluted land without any water.
Is All the Greed, Hatred, Propaganda, Torture, Death Worth It ?
Holy Land Pollution
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