On July 16th, five days into Israel's blitz on Lebanon, the Interfaith Community United for Justice and Peace convened a meeting of Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Islamic Center of Southern California. Speakers were Rev. Dr. George Regas, Rabbi Leonard Beerman and Dr. Maher Hathout.

"We must speak out against violence," Rev. Regas, retired rector of All Saints Episcopal Church of Pasadena, told the audience of 250 concerned citizens. While denouncing the capture of Israeli soldiers by Hamas and Hezbollah, the cleric called on Israel to cease its greatly overproportional actions in Lebanon and Gaza.

The Bush administration showing some signs of being chastened by its international isolation, needs to shake off the last vestiges of its neoconservative thinking, "creative chaos" which it once believed would usher in democracy has instead brought only anarchy. And the fanciful notion that overwhelming violence would defeat all enemies and be a transformative force has, instead, only yielded more violence and anger in its wake.

Clearly a new direction is required.

by James Zogby

Israel is waging "psychological warfare" against Gazans. "Life becomes unpredictable. No one can avoid involvement. No one can hide. Trauma is caused by these uncontrollable, unavoidable and uncontainable factors. People cannot develop coping strategies. They have a feeling of helplessness which induces depression. Israel is driving the whole community into a pathological state, paralysing Palestinians."