A woman professor from Oxford University filed charges recently against the school, claiming she was discriminated against when she converted from Judaism to Christianity.

Dr. Tali Argov of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew & Jewish Studies told the Reading Employment Tribunal hearing that she was unfairly dismissed and discriminated against after she became an Anglican in 2008.

Argov said she was bypassed for promotion, lost her privileges and was treated coldly by her peers at social gatherings.

She said the staff wanted to check her lectures to ensure she does not criticize Israel. Eventually she was dismissed although she had offered to undertake new roles, the Telegraph said.

Argov said, “It is my belief that, following firstly the conversion of my husband and then the conversion of myself, the treatment which I received as an employee of the Respondents was very different and a number of incidents occurred which led me to believe that I was being discriminated against,” the Telegraph said.

Argov said she and her husband, Eran, were raised as Jews and formerly lived in Israel. In 2000 they moved to England when Argov was offered a lector of modern Hebrew post at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew & Jewish Studies, the Telegraph said.

At first she was well accepted by her peers, but when her husband converted to the Church of England in 2005, “all those kind, heart-warming gestures disappeared overnight,” the Telegraph said.

She was treated even worse when she also became an Anglican in 2008, and became active with St. Mary Magdalene church, which is situated at the center of Oxford, the Telegraph said.

Argov said, “It is very rare for an Israeli Jew to convert to Christianity and I was aware that not only would this be frowned upon but many Jews would believe I was a traitor who had betrayed the faith,” the Telegraph said.

She said she noted strange looks from some colleagues and hushed silence whenever she approached. When she applied for a lectureship post a colleague told her, “Don’t bother – you will be kicked on your teeth.” She claims a less qualified candidate got the post.

She also said she felt humiliated as the only full-time staff who was not included in a photo shoot for a brochure. In due time her office was taken from her, as was her pigeonhole, the Telegraph said.

A lesser title was placed on her University ID card, which meant loss of her email account and admission to the library. These privileges were later reinstated, the Telegraph said.

She was not invited to a London fundraising event, but she and her husband were permitted admission. However the Center’s president at the time, Peter Oppenheimer, seemed to sneer at the couple and gave her a “limp handshake” when they arrived, she said. Other colleagues ignored them and made them feel very uncomfortable, the Telegraph said.

Argov also said that in 2008, the year when she became an Anglican, she was told that her lectures would need to be cleared in advance. She regarded this as an insult to her professionalism and an incursion on her academic freedom, the Telegraph said.

In October of that year she was also told that she would henceforth be paid hourly because the Center was confronted with financial difficulties. However, she noted that new staff were still being accepted. She was later dismissed, the Telegraph said.

Dr. David Ariel, president of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, declined in a statement to comment on the case because it is still ongoing. However, he said the Center adheres to a policy of respect for the religious beliefs of all its employees, the Telegraph said.

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Darlene Zschech became known the world over for her powerful voice as a praise and worship leader with Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia.

She has won many gold albums, and was nominated in 1997 for Dove Album of the Year, 1998 for Dove Song of the Year, and 2000 for Dove Songwriter of the Year. She received the International Award for influence and praise and worship, Christian Today said.

Her many music compositions have been played in church services all around the world, with her most famous song, Shout to the Lord, covered by some 20 recording artists, Christian Today said.

After inspiring millions of people through music, Darlene has become enwrapped in a new passion, HOPE: Rwanda, in response to the 100-day genocide where some 1 million people were killed in 1994, Christian Today said.

In that same tragedy some hundreds of thousand others were also brutally beaten, injured and forced to flee their homes. Darlene and husband Mark were inspired to start HOPE: Rwanda when they first visited the country in 2004, Christian Today said.

She and her husband went to visit two children they had sponsored in central Africa. It was also during the 10^th year anniversary of the Rwanda genocide, Christian Today said.

“Every Rwandan was affected by it and many people were still grieving,” Zschech says. Some 1 million died in a country with a population of 8 million. Zschech recalls going into a bank where the teller had only one arm and a huge gash on her face—a victim of the genocide, Christian Today said.

After their visit, she and her husband flew to Nashville, USA for the Gospel Music Awards. “You couldn’t get more of a dichotomy,” she said. During a Gospel Music Association breakfast she saw the roomful of influential people and realized they could be used to help Rwanda, Christian Today said.

For Rwandans, the time of the genocide is called ‘the time the world forgot us.’ But Zschech felt the Church could start a change in Rwanda. One of HOPE: Rwanda’s first projects was The 100 Days of Hope project in 2006 to parallel the 100 days of genocide. “In those 100 days our aim was to put hope in – to fill Rwanda with what was 100 days of horror with 100 Days of Hope. The project was called a Global Church Mission and was about the Church working together and having a major impact,” Christian Today reported.

Included were city, regional and provincial events with a comprehensive structure to cover evangelism, teaching farmers improved farming techniques, care, leadership, worship, immunization, micro-enterprise and literacy, Christian Today said.

For now, HOPE: Rwanda is working on the sustainability of the country. “Many of the initiatives that started in the ‘100 days’ are still operating and growing,” Szchech said.

Included in their efforts is the treatment of people with HIV/AIDS, the building of homes for widows who have taken in orphans, and future plans to build a community center and school, Christian Today said.

Source:

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/darlene.zschech.continues.to.shout.to.the.lord/26128-3.htm

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Last February  Ephraim Shehata and his wife Rasha Samir were riddled with bullets on an empty rode then left for dead.

The attack by four extremist Muslims en route to the village Samalut has left Shehata bedridden and extremely disabled despite multiple surgeries and an unpaid medical bill of more than 85,000 Egyptian pounds (US$14,855).  He may never be able to work again, CDN said.

The assailants are in prison pending trial when Shehata can testify.  The case may bear international embarrassment regarding fairness in Egypt, as a pending presidential election will gain global interest, CDN said.

Shehata said he will drop all charges if the Egyptian government will stop blocking him from building a church on donated land—something he was obstructed from doing for 10 years, CDN said.

Shehata worked as a lab technician and was studying law before the attack.  He is a visible figure in the community where he ran a community center and medical clinic on rented space, which gave free medical service, food for the elderly and help to indigents, both Muslim and Christian, CDN says.

The center also taught hygiene and sanitation, provided sewing training and was a worksite for Christian women to earn extra income. It survived on donations—but just barely, CDN says.

Melee

Shehata and Samir were caught in a melee that began when a Muslim accidentally died.  On Feb. 2 a group of men from the nearby village Samalout tried to kidnap a Coptic woman who was riding with her husband on their motorcycle  The husband punched one of the attackers who died instantly.  Autopsy reports showed he died of a heart attack, CDN said.

Muslims were nonetheless enraged and Christians received death threats. Shehata thinks he was singled out because he warned government officials that Christians were going to be attacked.  He also gave an interview to a human rights activist which was posted on many Christian websites, CDN says.

On an empty road sandwiched between the Nile river and empty fields, en route to Samalut, Shehata and Samir were attacked. A man with a stick clubbed Shehata then shot him in the back. Samir screamed Jesus’ name, so the man shot her in the arm, CDN said.

Three more approached so Samir protectively covered Shehata with her body and pleaded for their lives, but the men spray-fired their guns at them. Samir prayed, “Please God…I am going to die.” She heard Shehata whisper Bible verses then a bullet hit his neck. She held hear breath and let her body fall limp.  One man said, “Let’s go, they’re dead,” CDN said.

Miracle

Samir says it is a miracle that she and Shehata are alive. “There were lots of bullets being shot, but they didn’t hit us, only three or four.  Where are the others?” She believes God allowed them to be “struck with the bullets that injured…but pushed away the bullets that would have killed,” CDN says.

Church

The Christian couple say a church can serve the town and surrounding villages. For now, Christians in surrounding villages go to St. Mark’s Cathedral in Samalut. Shehata and Samir organized a dozen open-top cattle cars for transport, which are normally used to transport animals.

Shehata hopes his personal misfortune can be used for good. “We are human,” he said. He relayed to the SSI that he will drop charges if he has permission to build the church, CDN said.

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