Serving Bread

Lebanon needs your/mine/our prayers. A key Lebanese politician, Pierre Gemayel, was assassinated today. He was a vocal opponent of allying Lebanon with Syria. He is the third prominent, anti-Syrian Lebanese killed in the last year. Last February, Rafik Hariri (a popular Shiite) was killed in a car bomb. Today, Gemayel (a popular Christian leader) was assassinated by an assassin’s bullet.

The Gemayel family is prominent in Lebanon. They are a political family (much like the Bush’s or the Kennedy’s), where Pierre’s grandfather (also Pierre) founded and led a powerful Christian militia group during the 15 year civil war. Pierre Jr.’s uncle Bashir (a very popular politician) was assassinated before assuming the presidency in the early 1980s. His brother, Amin, took on that mantle for much of the civil war years.

This slaying also comes on the eve of Independence day–which for Lebanon during the civil war witnessed the year’s worst fighting. Lebanon is a politically fragile country. There is no telling what will roll the country back into civil war. Please pray for Lebanon!

On a different note (but still news from the Middle East), an Israeli organization called Peace Now, has released a report today citing evidence that the majority of the Settlements in Palestinian territory are illegal. Of course, most Palestinians have known that for years, and most Israelis did too (deep down in their hearts).

* Calling the Gemayels Christian is somewhat of a misnomer. They affiliate with the Christian (Catholic Maronite) religion, but that does not necessarily reflect any faith convictions that are founded in the Bible or the teachings of Jesus.