Let Us Discuss Anti-Semitism With Father Dave

Father Dave

Welcome Fighter!

I'm afraid the ezine is a day or two late this week, but I made an executive decision early in the week to devote most of my spare hours to writing this article on anti-Semitism.

It wasn't an easy decision to make actually, as it involved me in criticising Aussie Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd (who is a man I deeply admire) for his attack on Iranian President, Mahmoud Admadinejad - a man I seriously dislike.

You'll remember that only a few weeks ago I interviewed Mr Khatami - the former President of Iran and Admadinejad's sworn enemy - and I really wasn't looking for opportunities to support the current regime. Even so, Mr Rudd's statement that Admadinejad's government was 'anti-Semitic' really bothered me, and in the end I had to write something. Anyway, the article on anti-Semitism has been published and I'd be grateful for your comments, and even more grateful if you don't label me as anti-Semitic on the basis of the article.

Apart from spending an inordinate amount of time this week writing (articles and sermons) I had a wedding, a baptism and a funeral, and did numerous rounds in the ring.

What was your week like? If you'd like to tell me in person, join me this coming Sunday in the Fighting Fathers Web Chat Room.

If you're a member of Fighting-Fathers.com you get entirely free access,. and indeed, I'd love to see you there. Just go to this URL at the appropriate time next Sunday and click the 'launch' button.

The time to meet on Sunday is 10pm, Sydney time. If you want to check how that translates into your timezone, check the Fighting Fathers Calendar for a comprehensive lists of times and places.

Father David Smith Talks To Seyed Khatami - the former President of Iran

Catching up with Khatami
Certainly the highlight of my week was catching up with Seyed Khatami - the former President of Iran.
The point of connection was my friend Sheikh Mansour. Not only are they both Iranian but Mr Khatami is a fellow sheikh, and so Mansour managed to organise a meeting between the three of us.
Mr Khatami had been invited to Australia by the Australian National University in Canberra to share his vision of a 'dialogue between civilisations', where Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, and people of all faiths and cultures can sit down and share and learn from one another.
Mr Khatami's visit was not without controversy. In an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, Colin Rubenstein claimed that Khatami was both anti-semitic and a supporter of terrorism. Certainly, as you'll see from the video below, Mr Khatami disagrees on both points.
My goal in interviewing Mr Khatami was both to hear of his vision for peace between peoples of all faiths and nations and to hear how he responded to the charges made against him in the Herald by Mr Rubenstein.

The video you see here is only about half of the first of the two sessions Mr Khatami gave me.
The unabridged audio versions of both interviews have been uploaded to the Fighting Father members area if you want to hear the rest. Just click here.

And if you want to keep up-to-date with my videos on YouTube, click here.