The Jewish organizations said they were ''gravely troubled'' by the resolution calling for the wall's destruction, in a vote by delegates at least week's church assembly in Portland, Ore.
''We wonder with amazement why your denomination proposes an action that would render innocent individuals even more vulnerable to terrorism,'' Jewish leaders wrote in a letter to the Rev. Sharon Watkins, president of the 770,000-member Protestant group. ''Failure to discuss the security barrier within the context of Israel's legitimate right of self-defense undermines both moral and political credibility.''
The letter was endorsed by all three major branches of American Judaism, along with the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, the American Jewish Congress and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.
- The Associated Press
Monks, politicians and others in Cranston, R.I., attended the unveiling of a miniature version of Cambodia's famed Angkor Wat temple complex. The replica, based at the site of the Wat Dhamagosnaram Buddhist Temple, stands about 3 1/2 feet tall and features miniature statues, buildings and monuments - as well as aquatic plants floating in a moat. Constructed in the 12th century in Cambodia's Siem Reap province, the sprawling Angkor Wat complex is a popular attraction in the country and includes numerous buildings and temples
- Hinduism Today
While dozens of people continue to flock to Hoboken, N.J., to see a statue of Jesus that many believe blinked its right eye, church officials aren't claiming a miracle just yet.
Since July 28, many witnesses say a Sacred Heart of Jesus statue - the centerpiece of a Catholic shrine of cherubs, crucifixes and Madonnas created by neighborhood preacher Julio Dones - opened one of its normally half-closed eyes. They believe it's a miracle.
Dones said he was among the first to notice the occurrence. Visibly worn and peeling, the statue's chipping paint falls away in a way that forms a cross on Christ's forehead, which Dones also believes is a miracle.
Word got back to the Rev. Michael Guglielmelli of St. Francis Roman Catholic Church, where Dones is a parishioner. Guglielmelli is not dismissing what everyone believes they saw, but advises them to wait and see what happens next.
''As a priest, I'm always open to everything. Whatever lets a person pray is good,'' he said. ''If this is from God, one way or another he will let us know. If not, it will fade away.''
- Religion News Service
Parisian Muslims can now enjoy halal meals in an atmosphere that mimics U.S. fast-food joints after BKM, or Beurger King Muslim, opened its doors. BKM has set up in the northern Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois, where many locals are first or second generation Muslims from former French colonies.
And half of the suburb's population of 28,000 is younger than 25, the Agence France Presse news agency reported.
"Beur" is slang for a second generation North African living in France.
- BBC news
Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. has signed a law that makes it legal for Navajos to transport and possess peyote for ceremonial purposes on Navajo Nation land. The new tribal law also allows peyote that Navajo police confiscate from people who have it illegally to be given to the Native American Church to be used for approved ceremonies. Shirley said the legislation is a way to preserve the Navajo way of life.
The July 29 signing included an all-night ceremony in a sacred tepee near the Navajo Nation Museum. Officials at the event stressed the importance of using peyote properly.
Peyote is used for meditation and spiritual ties both in the Native American Church and other ceremonies. Ceremonial peyote is not smoked, but ingested as a powder. Smoking peyote is not allowed under the new law.
- The Associated Press
A Bible curriculum that has been placed in hundreds of school districts across the country has been sharply criticized in a new report commissioned by a Texas religious right watchdog group.
The 32-page report by the Texas Freedom Network says the curriculum published by the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools ''on the whole is a sectarian document'' that is inappropriate for the public school setting.
Author Mark Chancey, an assistant professor of religious studies at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, concluded that the curriculum seeks to persuade students to embrace conservative Protestant views about the Bible and the ''distinctively Christian'' nature of America.
''The issue [is] . . . whether such positions should be presented as fact in a public school setting,'' he wrote. ''The obvious answer - both constitutionally and ethically - is 'No.' ''
- Religion News Service
