Christmas has become an occasion to bash Israel because Christians are fleeing Bethlehem. Leaving aside the fact that Israel is the only country in the Middle East in which the Christian population has grown over the last 50 years, it's simply not Israel's fault that Christians are leaving Bethlehem or any other city (Ramallah used to have a large Christian population) in Judea and Samaria.
In a particularly vicious piece of this genre in al-Guardian, Harriet Sherwood tries to create the impression that Christians are leaving Bethlehem because Jews are setting up 'settlements' on abandoned plots of land across the city line in Jerusalem, thereby 'choking' Bethlehem.
Amid plastic bags snagged on gorse bushes, rusting hulks of cars in a
breakers yard and a few shabby trailers, traces of a biblical landscape
are still to be found on a hillside between the ancient cities of
Jerusalem and Bethlehem. A couple of donkeys are tethered to a gnarled
olive tree; nearby, sheep and goats bleat as they huddle against the
chill December air.
But this terrain will soon be covered in
concrete after the authorisation last week of the construction of more
than 2,600 homes in Givat Hamatos, the first new Israeli settlement to
be built since 1997.
It lies between two existing settlements:
Gilo, home to 40,000 people, sits atop one hill; to its east, on another
hill, stands Har Homa, whose population is around 20,000, with further
expansion in the pipeline. Both are largely built on Bethlehem land.
Givat
Hamatos will form a strategic link between these twin towns, further
impeding access between Bethlehem and the intended capital of Palestine,
East Jerusalem, just six miles away. Israel
considers these and other settlements across the Green Line to be
legitimate suburbs of Jerusalem, which it claims as the unified,
indivisible capital of the Jewish state. Prime minister Binyamin
Netanyahu and official bodies have announced a spate of expansion plans
in recent weeks.
In the birthplace of Jesus, the impact of Israeli
settlements and their growth has been devastating. In a Christmas
message, the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said Bethlehem was
enduring a "choking reality".
He added: "For the first time in 2,000 years of Christianity
in our homeland, the Holy Cities of Bethlehem and Jerusalem have been
completely separated by Israeli settlements, racist walls and
checkpoints."
By the way, when Christianity started in this area, it started in Israel during the existence of the Jewish Temple which is denied by Abu Bluff.
But it's also important to point out that much of the land in question has actually been owned by Jews since long before 1948. Take Gilo, for instance.
The majority of Gilo, however, is built on
land legally purchased by Jews prior to 1948. In the 1948 war, Jewish
lands in Gilo were captured and confiscated by the Jordanian government.
From 1948-67, Jewish landowners did not relinquish ownership to their
land in Gilo, and when Israel recaptured the land in the Six-Day War,
Gilo was built - not because of war victories, but because of
longstanding legal land purchases.
Gilo lies within Jerusalem's
municipal boundaries and is geographically contiguous to surrounding
Jewish neighborhoods that pre-dated the 1967 reunification of the city.
You could never figure that out from reading Harriet Sherwood, could you?
Then there's the inevitable discussion of 'the wall.'
The wall already snakes around most of Bethlehem, its 8m-high
concrete slabs casting a deep shadow, both literally and metaphorically.
At the Christmas Tree restaurant, where there are almost no takers for
the "Quick Lunches" on offer, business has slowed to a standstill since
the wall blocked what was once the main Jerusalem-Bethlehem road. Scores
of shops along the closed-off artery have shut down altogether.
A
few hundred metres along from the empty restaurant, a long steel-caged
corridor leading through multiple turnstiles to a checkpoint is the main
exit from the city for Palestinians wishing to go to Jerusalem. The
Israel Defence Forces issues thousands of extra permits to Christian
Palestinians to allow them to visit holy sites in Jerusalem over
Christmas, but the lack of routine access has had a dire impact on
businesses and employment rates.
The 'wall' (which is really nothing more than a fancy fence in much of
the country) is there because it has reduced terror attacks outside it
by a huge percentage over the last four years despite the fact that it
is not yet complete. The reason
it's a wall and not a fence in the Bethlehem area is because
'Palestinian' terrorists used Bethlehem's suburbs to shoot at the Jews
of the Jerusalem suburb of Gilo during the early part of this decade,
and that in Gilo they also have a wall where the 'Palestinian' gunfire
most often hit. It's much easier to shoot through a fence than it is to
shoot over a wall, although shooting over a wall is also not impossible.
Just go visit Gaza.
But the most vicious libel here is the implicit one that Israel is somehow responsible for the declining Christian population. That's an out-and-out lie.
Since
assuming control in 1995, Arafat has Islamized Bethlehem by changing
the municipal boundaries of Bethlehem and its twin towns Beit Jallah and
Beit Sahour. Together, they used to constitute the Christian enclave in
Judea and Samaria. Arafat transformed the demography there by
incorporating into the town three neighboring refugee camps, Dehaisheh,
El-Ayda and El-Azeh. Thus 30,000 Muslims were added to the 65,000
residents in Bethlehem's municipal boundaries. He intensified the
Islamization of Bethlehem by adding to its population a few thousand
Bedouins of the Ta'amrah tribe, located east of Bethlehem, encouraging
Muslim immigration from Hebron to Bethlehem, and inducing Christian
emigration/flight away from Bethlehem. The Christian population has been
reduced from a 60% majority in 1990 to a 20% minority (23,000) in 2001.
As
a result, more Beit Jallah Christians reside in Belize (Central
America) than are left in Beit Jallah itself! A similar process has also
afflicted the Christians of Ramallah, now down to 20,000.
Aware
of what was likely to happen under Arafat, Christian leaders had sought
to prevent the transfer of Bethlehem to the Palestinian Authority.
Between the 1993 signing of the Oslo Accords and the 1995 transfer of
Bethlehem to the PA, Palestinian Christians lobbied Israel against the
transfer. The late Christian mayor, Elias Freij, warned that it would
result in Bethlehem becoming a town with churches but no Christians. He
urged Israel to include Bethlehem in the boundaries of Greater
Jerusalem, which had been the Jordanian practice until 1967. On July 17,
2000, upon realizing that then Prime Minister Barak recklessly proposed
to repartition Jerusalem, the leaders of the Greek-Orthodox, Latin, and
Armenian Churches sent a letter to Clinton, Barak, and Arafat,
demanding to be consulted before such action was undertaken. Barak's
proposal triggered a flood of requests for Israeli I.D. cards by East
Jerusalem Arabs, who dreaded PA rule with its oppressive track record.
Setting
out to "religiously cleanse" Bethlehem, in 1995 Arafat, defying
tradition, slapped Christians in the face by appointing a Muslim from
Hebron, Muhammed Rashad A-Jabari, as its governor. Arafat fired the
Bethlehem city council (nine Christians and two Muslims) replacing them
with a council equally balanced between Christians and Muslims. The
entire top level of bureaucratic, security and political officials have
been cleansed of Christians. The area is run by the local Muslim Fatah
leader and his thugs, along with Tanzim gunmen, mostly Ta'amrah
Bedouins. The PA has seized control of the Church of the Nativity, and
has tightened the pressure on the Greek-Orthodox, Armenian, Latin,, and
Franciscan Order in East Jerusalem. The Abraham's Oak Russian Holy
Trinity Monastery in Hebron was seized by the PA on July 5, 1997, which
then violently evicted its monks and nuns.
In addition, Arafat
and the PA embarked on a campaign of physical and psychological
intimidation of Christians. During anti-Israel PA rallies the chant is
heard: "After we do away with the Saturday People, we shall take care of
the Sunday People." Mosques have mushroomed adjacent to--and usually
taller than--churches, implementing the tradition of Saladin, who
constructed two taller mosques, Al Khanqa and Abdul Malek, contiguous to
the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The curriculum at church schools has
been altered, adding Islamic--and reducing Christian--studies. Loudly
magnified Muslim sermons have been aired during Christian services,
including the April 2000 address by the Pope in Bethlehem, which had to
be recessed until the purposely-loud Muslim sermon was concluded.
Abusing Church tradition, the PA has transformed a Greek Orthodox
monastery, located next to the Church of Nativity, into Arafat's
official residence in Bethlehem.
...
There has been
congressional testimony on Arafat's oppression of Christians. According
to former Senator Connie Mack (R-FL), "[The Palestinian Christian] was
arrested and detained [by the PA] on charges of selling land to Jews. He
denied the charge, since he owned no land. He was beaten and hung from
the ceiling by his hands for many hours. After two weeks, he was
transferred to a larger prison where he was held for eight months
without trial... These Christians conveyed to me a message of fear and
desperation." (Senate speech, March 3, 2000,
www.senate.gov/~mack/issue/statement.htm).
The PA has imported to
Gaza, Judea and Samaria in general, and most especially to Bethlehem,
its oppressive legacy of Lebanonization. The Christians of Bethlehem,
Beit Jallah, Beit Sahour and Ramallah are now undergoing the experiences
of Lebanese Christians from 1970 to 1982. They are perceived by the
PA--as were Lebanon's Christians--as a potential Fifth Column. Accused
of wearing "permissive" Western clothing, Bethlehem Christian women have
been intimidated by PA personnel. Rape of Christian women has occurred
frequently (especially in Beit Sahour) as was the case in Lebanon.
Islamic hostility, disregard for civil liberties and economic jealousy
have been harnessed by Arafat and his 20,000 terrorists imported from
Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Tunisia, Jordan, and Lebanon in their campaign
against the Christian infidel. Christians who dare oppose PLO oppression
are accused of "collaboration" with Israel and face execution.
I think those numbers speak for themselves.
But then, we've come to expect out and out lies from al-Beeb, haven't we?
The economy may be lousy in much of the world - the stock markets in New York tanked again today - but there is one place here in Israel where business is booming: Christmas in Bethlehem. (The picture is from last year's celebration at the Church of the Nativity).
"Jingle Bells" rang out over Manger Square on Sunday as Bethlehem opened a Christmas market that the Palestinian city hopes will help cap a boom year for tourism with a profitable festive season.
"It has been an excellent year," Bethlehem's mayor Victor Batarseh said, forecasting 1.25 million visitors by the end of 2008 and noting a halving in local unemployment.
"We don't have any empty beds. Two years ago, all the hotels were empty."
Trade in the biblical birthplace of Jesus was devastated when a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation began in 2000 -- months after a papal visit and millennium celebrations had seemed to lock in a rosy future for Bethlehem as a magnet for tourists and pilgrims in a region aglow with hopes for peace.
Eight years on, hopes for a final settlement with Israel have faded, like the patched up bullet holes in the Nativity Church which bear witness to a five-week siege in 2002. But a decline in violence has tempted back tourists who no longer fear suicide bombers and gunbattles erupting in the streets.
"We have witnessed a rebound in tourism," said Khouloud Daibes-Abu Dayyeh, the Palestinian Authority's tourism minister as she toured the handicrafts and festive decorations on sale from wooden booths in the German-style Christmas market.
"We have put Palestine back on the map as a destination," she added, noting hotel occupancy rates were now typically above 70 percent, compared to 10 percent a few years ago.
Israelis attribute some of that calm on the streets of nearby Jerusalem to the construction of hundreds of kilometers (miles) of walls and fencing around the West Bank. People in Bethlehem blame the barrier for discouraging visitors, who must pass through Israeli military checkpoints to reach the city.
Truth be told, much of the rest of the article goes on to complain how terrible things are for the 'Palestinians' because of 'the wall' and Israeli control. But the Christian population of Bethlehem has declined drastically since the 'Palestinian Authority' arrived in 1995, and perhaps this is a hint of how things would be for Christians in Bethlehem if Israel were not exercising security control.
Even with more time, Bethelehem can be a confusing place -- a mainly Muslim city where the call to prayer from the mosque on Manger Square drowned out the Christmas carols playing for the tourists and where palm trees and warm sunshine contrasted with the snow-capped Santa Claus figures on sale at the market.
But for many Christians it remains a moving experience.
Yes, were Israel not in control, Christianity would likely be drowned out (or worse) in Bethlehem. And that would be a shame.
With all of the attempts to vilify Israel over its attempts to protect itself against suicide bombers, al-Reuters reports that Christmas in Bethlehem is actually going quite well this year - except that Israel is arming the 'Palestinian police' again:
Thousands of pilgrims gathered in Bethlehem on Monday for a Christmas mass promoted by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Western powers as a chance to highlight the benefits of peacemaking.
The sound of church bells, drums and bagpipes filled Manger Square as religious and political leaders arrived in the town where Christians believe Jesus was born.
Ahead of the festivities, Palestinian security forces, many carrying newly issued rifles, took up positions on the streets of Bethlehem in numbers not seen in years.
It was the third major deployment of Palestinian forces in a West Bank city under a Western-backed security push launched after Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in June.
...
Israel allowed dozens of Christians from Gaza to travel to Bethlehem to take part in the festivities. [They had to pass through Israel to do that. CiJ]
...
But this year store owners say they are celebrating their most peaceful -- and profitable -- Christmas in seven years.
"We are more satisfied. The economic situation is getting a little better," said Khaled Msalam, a 42-year-old Bethlehem shop owner. "Still, people have financial trouble and can't afford a lot of our products."
Tourism, the lifeblood of Bethlehem's economy, has improved as Western powers have sought to bolster Abbas in his power struggle with Hamas Islamists.
After struggling for years to fill rooms, many Bethlehem hotels are fully booked for Christmas.
Middle East envoy Tony Blair has been trying to improve tourist access and facilities in Bethlehem. The former British prime minister recently stayed overnight in one of the city's best hotels to send a message it is safe.
But local leaders remain cautious; tourism numbers still hover at just 60-70 percent of pre-Intifada levels, and many Western governments still warn against non-essential travel.
That includes the US government, by the way, which for years has told its citizens not to cross the 'green line' (the pre-1967 border).
At Commentary Magazine, David Billet tears apart Kenneth L. Woodward's Christmas Eve Wall Street Journal article about the 'plight' of Bethlehem (Hat Tip: Memeorandum):
It is remarkable that a veteran religion writer can be so ignorant of his subject as to write that East Jerusalem is not part of Israel. In fact, Israel annexed East Jerusalem after the 1967 Six-Day war. East Jerusalem’s Arab residents are full-fledged citizens of Israel or eligible to be so. By contrast, Bethlehem is part of the territory in the West Bank designated as "Area A" --that is, under the control of the Palestinian Authority--and one does indeed require a permit to pass from it into Israel proper. This is Israel’s prerogative, and a quite sensible one for the protection of Israel’s borders from terrorist infiltration.
Nevertheless, contrary to what Woodward claims, permission is routinely granted to Palestinian Christians (and Muslims) to enter Israel to worship. This past holiday season, thousands of such travel permits were issued to Christians in Bethlehem. Similar permits were even granted to Christians in Gaza--at a time when the Israeli government has no official contact with the Hamas government there.
Also false is Woodward's claim that travel in the opposite direction is "banned" by Israel. Israelis are indeed discouraged from entering hostile Palestinian areas--the day after Christmas, an Israeli driver who took a wrong turn narrowly escaped being lynched in Ramallah--and Israeli Jews require a special permit from the military to enter Area A. But Israeli Arabs, Christian and Muslim alike, can for the most part pass through freely. Thousands of Israeli Christians traveled to Bethlehem over Christmas without incident.
As for the "whims" of Israeli soldiers, this is another slander. Border policies are made by the government and passed down the chain of command. Soldiers on duty at checkpoints are under stringent orders, enjoying a measure of discretion only when it comes to halting suspicious cargo and the like. They may no more restrict passage on a whim than nap or play cards.
...
A final insult, writes Woodward, is that “urban Bethlehem finds itself encircled by Israeli settlements.” “From the Church of the Nativity, Christians can . . . look out on Har Homa (‘WallMountain’), a verdant Jewish settlement on a hillside that was formerly Christian land."
Jewish settlements near Bethlehem are neither new nor "encircling." The territory south and east of the city is overwhelmingly Area A--i.e., Palestinian. Jerusalem lies several kilometers to the north; to the west is the Etzion Bloc, which contains a number of Jewish villages as well as Arab ones. The Jewish population in the bloc, resettled shortly after the Six Day war, has grown over the years, but title to the land on which Jewish villages are built is not disputed. Nor does the bloc flank Bethlehem: the terrain is hilly and open, and urban Bethlehem is barely visible from most points.
As for Har Homa: though the subject of much artificial controversy, it is part of the Jerusalem municipality, it is not "verdant," and the hilltop on which it is situated was acquired by the Israeli government through eminent domain, upheld by Israel’s Supreme Court. Most of the acreage belonged not to Christians but to Jews, and none of it was farmland or dwellings. The owners were all compensated.
According to Woodward, Israel's security wall "is being completed around Beit Jala, separating this Christian village from 70 percent of its lands, which are mostly owned by Christian families. Some of the families are attempting to contest the confiscations in court, but construction--and the confiscation--goes on." Likewise, "the Franciscans, the Sisters of Charity, and other religious groups both Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox have had property confiscated and Christian housing destroyed."
The reason Beit Jala is being walled off from Israel is that it has been the source of repeated mortar attacks against the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo. The requisitioning of land for the security fence is no different from what happens in any country when a road or a railway is built, and the owners, who retain title, are being compensated by the government. Israel's civil administration also ensures that landowners have daily access to land on the opposite side of the fence, and has not received complaints on this score.
By manipulating traditional Christmas songs, images, and messages, NGOs such as Sabeel, War on Want (UK), Amos Trust, and Adalah-NY continue to demonize Israel with crude, antisemitic rhetoric.
"These NGOs have hijacked Christmas to promote their extremely divisive boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) and demonization campaigns," says Prof. Gerald Steinberg, president of NGO Monitor. "Manipulating religious symbols and images in this manner is deeply offensive, and clearly does not foster an environment of coexistence among Israelis and Palestinians. These NGOs are pursuing hate-filled agendas."
Friends of Sabeel - Detroit is selling Christmas cards as a "fundraiser in support of Friend of Sabeel - North America," one of which implies the destruction of the Jewish state by depicting a map of Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza as one territory filled in with the phrase "The Empire will not last!"
Adalah-NY held its annual "Anti-Apartheid Holiday Caroling" on December 17, 2011 in front of a New York jewelry store owned by Israeli businessman Lev Leviev. The protest is part of Adalah-NY's campaign targeting Leviev because he is an Israeli, and they invited activists to sing awkward and offensive versions of traditional holiday songs. This year, the event was held in conjunction with Code Pink, whose Stolen Beauty campaign targets the Israeli company Ahava. In their lyrics, the NGOs use the "Ethnic cleansing and apartheid" blood libels, and chanted "Selling beauty creams, / Blood mixed in with mud"; other inflammatory lyrics include "That beauty cream you bought her / Makes her soul disappear."
UK-based Amos Trust is advertising its annual Bethlehem Pack, "a resource to help churches talk about the current situation in Bethlehem at carol services and Christmas events." Exploiting charged theological images to attack Israel, this text proclaims: "If Jesus was born today in Bethlehem, the Wise Men would spend several hours queuing to enter the town" and "If Jesus was born today in Bethlehem, much of the shepherds' fields would have been confiscated for illegal Israeli settlements."
"Linking the suffering of Palestinians to Christian themes revives traditional and deep seated antisemitic theology," Steinberg adds. "By employing these tactics, and grossly misrepresenting a complicated conflict, these NGOs are making peace more difficult to achieve."
Here's a roundup of the Christmas celebrations (or lack thereof) in Israel and the administered territories.
In Gaza, according to al-AP, midnight mass was cancelled in the Roman Catholic church, as were today's celebrations.
The head of Gaza's tiny Roman Catholic community on Sunday canceled Christmas eve's Midnight Mass celebration, citing recent Palestinian infighting between the rival Fatah and Hamas movements.
Father Manuel Musallem said Christian children in Gaza are scared, especially after the three young sons of a Palestinian security officer were gunned down in broad daylight as they went to school two weeks ago.
"The children told me Santa Claus won't come this year because it's too dangerous," he said.
Musallem celebrated evening Mass but called off Midnight Mass and Christmas day celebrations.
Only about 40 people attended the evening service, held at the community's church in a poor Gaza City neighborhood. A lone tree inside the building was modestly decorated with lights.
"The church used to be more full. It is empty this year because of the economic situation and the inside fighting," said Mehir Suweilam, a worshipper.
Musallem said the community was protesting the infighting, which has claimed 17 lives since the young children were killed, as well as the international boycott of the Hamas-led government. [Take the second half of that sentence with a grain of salt - this was probably written by a 'Palestinian' stringer. I highly doubt that any Christians support Hamas. CiJ] The sanctions have caused widespread hardship in Gaza.
But Gaza's Christians also have been on edge since Pope Benedict XVI offended many Muslims with a speech widely deemed as insulting to the Prophet Muhammed.
About 3,000 Christians live in Gaza, a conservative Muslim society of roughly 1.4 million people where the radical Hamas group enjoys wide popularity. The Roman Catholic community has roughly 300 people; most of the area's Christians are Greek Orthodox.
Now that they're done with the 'Saturday people' in Gaza, can the 'Sunday people' be far behind? In Bethlehem, Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah, the top Roamn Catholic official in Israel, appealed for 'Palestinians' to halt their recent infighting and called for an end to Israeli-'Palestinian' bloodshed during Christmas Eve celebrations.
"Shooting between brothers is not the road to freedom," he said.
News agencies report that 'moderate' 'Palestinian President' Mahmoud AbbasAbu Mazen attended the ceremony, where Sabbah spoke of the "fratricidal struggles" plaguing the 'Palestinians.'
"The conflict here has lasted too long," Sabbah said in his homily at midnight Mass. "It is high time that the leaders who have our destinies in their hands in this land - specifically, the Palestinian and Israeli leaders as well as those of the international community - it is time for all of them to take new measures that will bring an end to the long phase of death in our history and lead us into a new phase in the history of this Holy Land."
Sabbah asked all political leaders and military adversaries, including those "who are classified as extremists and terrorists " to "examine their conscience in order to enter a new path that puts an end to bloodshed, death, and, in these days, to new internal quarrels."
Sabbah also lamented the shrinking of the Christian population in the Holy Land. He said the exodus of Christians stems not from difficulties with the larger Jewish and Muslim communities, but first and foremost due to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. [I must disagree. The exodus of Christians from the administered territories - particularly Bethlehem itself - can be specifically traced to the beginning of the 'Palestinian Authority' in 1994. Every study I have seen shows a drastic decline in the Christian population starting from that date. That has nothing to do with Israel. It has to do with the Islamist and violent nature of the 'Palestinian Authority. CiJ]
"Helping the two peoples to begin a new era of peace, justice, and reconciliation in the region will assure the future of Christians in this land," he said.
In Nazareth, which is controlled by Israel and not by the 'Palestinian Authority,' thousands of people marched yesterday in celebration of Christmas. As you read this article, compare the description with Christmas just about anyplace in the Arab world today....
Thousands of Christian Arabs marched through the streets of Nazareth on Sunday to celebrate Christmas Eve in the boyhood town of Jesus.
The early-evening celebrants who meandered through the town's narrow streets to a major Christian shrine on a crisp wintry day included hundreds of teenage scouts dressed in uniform, children dressed as Santa Claus, and a marching band playing drums and bagpipes.
"Nazareth is one of the most important tourists sites in the country, and in the entire world," said Nazareth Mayor Ramez Jaraisah during a two-day tourism conference being held in the town intended to boost tourism to the northern town.
"We want to see Nazareth on the tourist map," concurred Tourism Minister Isaac Herzog during a holiday-eve reception with the city's religious leaders at the Basilica of the Annunciation, which was held under a huge stage banner that read 'Visit Nazareth Now.' The Basilica is built on the site where Christians believe that the Angel Gabriel appeared before the Virgin Mary and foretold the birth of Jesus two millennia ago. [Some of you may recall that a few years ago, Israel prevented the Muslims from building a mosque atop the Basilica of the Annunciation. CiJ]
Nazareth, which used to be heavily frequented by Israeli Jews on the weekends, has been hardhit by the Palestinian violence over the last six years, with many shops in the Old City forced to close their doors as both Israelis and foreigners stayed away.
With a respite in violence, locals and Tourism Ministry officials are hoping that the coming year will see a resurgence.
Still, only a sprinkling of foreign tourists could be seen walking the streets of Nazareth on Sunday evening as festivities got started.
The article goes on to report that Nazareth is now two thirds Muslim.
But Latin Patriarch Sabbah, who has to live with the 'Palestinian Authority,' is not the only one who has chosen to blame Israel for the Christian situation in our area. The Archbishop of Canterbury also is blaming the Jews because Muslims are harassing Christians into leaving the area. Al-AP has excerpts from what the Anglican leader intends to say today, Christmas Day in London. While some of it is true (I think it's fair to say that most people here don't believe a political solution is possible), the seemingly 'even handed' treatment of 'Palestinian' terror and Israeli reactions to it ignores the reality that one side wants peace and the other side rejects it:
Fresh from a visit to the Holy Land, Anglican spiritual leader Rowan Williams will say in a speech to be aired Monday that he found it chilling how many people in the region had given up hope in a negotiated peace settlement and urged the rest of the world not to turn its backs on the region.
Both Israeli and Palestinian communities feared a future in which they were allowed to disappear "while the world looks elsewhere," Williams said, according to the excerpts.
"Go and see, go and listen; let them know, Israelis and Palestinians alike, that they will be heard and not forgotten.
"Both communities in their different ways dread - with good reason - a future in which they will be allowed to disappear while the world looks elsewhere.
"The beginning of some confidence in the possibility of a future is the assurance that there are enough people in the world committed to not looking away and pretending it isn't happening.
"It may not sound like a great deal, but it is open to all of us to do; and without friendship, it isn't possible to ask of both communities the hard questions that have to be asked, the questions about the killing of the innocent and the brutal rejection of each other's dignity and liberty."
During his visit to Bethlehem, where Christians believe Jesus was born, Williams said Israel's security barrier, which cut through it, symbolized what was "deeply wrong in the human heart."
Williams misunderstood. While the 'barrier' (which is mostly a fence and not a wall as it is depicted in the mainstream media) symbolizes what's wrong in the human heart, it's not because Israel put up the barrier. What's wrong is that Israel needed to put up the barrier in the first place as an effective way to prevent terror.
But the Al-AP report was relatively mild. Londonistan author Melanie Phillips has been watching the Archbishop closely and is very critical of his treatment of Israel:
Ruth Gledhill, the religion correspondent of the Times and a Christian, takes a characteristically decent, moral and courageous position in criticizing the appalling misrepresentation of the Church of England of the plight of Bethlehem’s Christians and the scapegoating of Israel for their situation by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Ruth also draws attention to another grotesque development in churches around the country, as a direct result of the hatred of Israel that has now been whipped up by the church through its campaign of lies and distortion about Israel and the Arabs:
But just before anyone thinks I’m making a fuss out of nothing, and putting an unnecessarily negative slant on what is, I agree, a mission undertaken in hope and faith, just look at a few of the things happening in the UK around this area. In St Ives, the well-know Live Crib event has been abandoned by the local Roman Catholic church. Instead, they have erected their own ‘wall’. This protest exemplifies the views of so many Christian communities outside Israel.
This is not just happening in CofE churches. A reader sent me this article from the Catholic Herald, followed by her own remarks:
‘…this year, instead of the spectacular [Christmas] tableau, visitors will be staring up at an imposing grey replica portion of the wall built by the Israeli government to keep Palestinian suicide bombers at bay. In place of the crib will be a grim 30ft by 6ft assemblage of painted polystyrene floor insulation materials. This will be flanked by protest banners and ’stark photographs’ to drive home how ‘desperate and ugly the situation is in the Holy Land’. The piece continued that Father Paul Maddison, the parish priest ‘wants to highlight the plight of the Palestinian people’ and a description followed of the ‘Israeli wall’ that ‘will eventually become a 400-mile-long barrier of concrete slabs and barbed wire fences separating Israel from the West Bank.’ Reportedly, “Fr Maddison believes it has ‘devastated’ the lives of ordinary Palestinians. ‘Friends and family are separated, earning a living becomes more and more difficult, access to health care is severely restricted all in the town of Bethlehem that we sing about at this time of the year’”. However he ‘added that he could understand Israel’s need for security but argued that it was wrong to build the wall on Palestinian land. ‘”Israel has the right to live within safe and secure borders…No one can dispute that.’” The ‘replica’ wall will be erected on 15 December and taken down on 27 December. An Israeli Embassy spokesman was quoted at the end of the report, saying the ‘wall’ was a ‘cheap stunt’, that ‘over half of the Israelis’ killed by terrorists in 2005 “were killed by terrorists who came from or through Bethlehem. Today the town is ruled by the terrorist Hamas government. The Security Fence, which is less than four per cent of the total wall, has meant a 93 per cent decrease in terrorist attacks.’
Thus the report was presented with an attempt at balance, but what disturbed me was that, reportedly, the announcement of the ‘replica’ barrier was ‘announced to ’spontaneous applause’” at Sunday Masses at the church in question. I think this is a political rather than a religious stance - many Catholics are left wingish - and seems to reflect the stance of groups like CND and Campaign Against the Arms Trade. I’ve dropped out of both because of their anti-Israel campaigns. There are some who like me respond to items in the Catholic press but we are not organized; perhaps it is time we were. A couple of years ago there was a letter in one of the papers on Jewish responsibility for the crucifixion; a couple of us trounced the person concerned with Church teachings, especially from Vatican II - it turned out he was a member of that part of the Church that broke away in protest at Vatican II, so I don’t think he was typical in terms of theological opinion, especially as the issue didn’t resurface. As I say, I believe the ‘barrier’ story is indicative of a political rather than religious stance, exacerbated by ignorance encouraged by our biased media; it seems this ‘left-right’ split also applies to Jewish opinion, from what I can gather from the Jewish papers? I started to read them when I was studying for a degree in Jewish Christian relations and confess to being baffled by the stances on Israel - however it does go to show what rubbish the ‘Jewish Conspiracy’ is - one would have expected a greater degree of unanimity for a decent conspiracy, after all.
Quite apart from the lies and distortions embodied by these displays, what also comes across is a distressing echo of the most ancient prejudice of all against the Jews. For the replacement of the traditional nativity by Israel’s security fence carries the unmistakeable message that the Palestinians are the modern version of the suffering Christ, being persecuted by the Jews. It’s the crucifixion libel all over again.
Later in the post, Ms. Phillips follows with a letter to Rowan Williams from Tony Pearce, pastor of The Bridge Christian Fellowship.’ That letter is a must read (but I want you to go to Melanie's site to read it) and it includes the following:
"the Christian Arab population within the pre 1967 borders of Israel has grown from approximately 34,000 in 1948 to nearly 130,000 in 2005. Ironically this is the only part of the Middle East where the Christian population is growing."
Christmas is going political here in the Holy Land. A group calling itself the Amos Trust is selling nativity scenes with a wall down the middle (pictured, top left). The wall is meant to symbolize Israel's 'separation wall' that much of the world believes has kept most terror attacks out of Israel's main urban areas since 2004. (The truth, of course, is otherwise. Without the IDF in place throughout Judea and Samaria, the wall would be largely useless). The 'wall' in the nativity scene is set up so that the wise men won't reach the stable this year. Of course, that's not true. The wallfence does not run through the church or anywhere near it. Here's the story on the 'updated' nativity scene (Hat Tip: Crimes and Corruption of the New World Order News via Gidon in Maaleh Adumim).
Note to anyone who follows the link to the blog above: The picture in the blog is of a guard tower posted next to a grave in a cemetery and not at the Church of the Nativity. It is probably, although I cannot be certain, next to the cemetery at Rachel's tomb which was built next to the tomb in a bid by Muslims to keep Jews out!
A British charity is giving the traditional nativity scene a political twist this year by dividing it with a wall symbolizing Israel's controversial security barrier.
The Amos Trust, a Christian group that works with needy communities around the world, is selling what it calls a nativity set with a difference -- one where "the wise men won't get to the stable."
Organizers say the purpose of the sets -- made by Palestinian carpenters with olive wood from Bethlehem -- is to draw attention to the security measures put in place by the Israeli government.
The network of walls and fences being built between Israeli and Palestinian Authority-controlled areas of the West Bank runs along the perimeter of Bethlehem, dividing it from nearby Jerusalem. Travel in and out of the town is heavily restricted.
The nativity scenes are available in a small version, for around $30, and a larger set -- "perfect for a church" -- goes for around $115. The wall in the larger version is detachable, the Amos Trust says, to allow for the possibility the situation may change in the future.
...
Critics of Israel frequently blame the Israeli government for the exodus of Christian Arabs from the PA areas. Some scholars attribute the shrinking Christian population to harassment and intimidation by Islamists, however.
Two pro-Israel Christian groups criticized the nativity sets.
"We are saddened by attempts to make one-sided political capital out of the Bethlehem story," Geoffrey Smith, director of the U.K. branch of Christian Friends of Israel, said Wednesday.
"Nobody wants a security barrier but so long as terrorists continue to threaten the lives of Jews and of Arabs in Israel, the people there have to defend themselves in ways that will stop the bombers."
He said more than 2,000 lives have been saved by the security barrier in the last five years.
Pamela Thomas, national director of the British branch of Bridges for Peace, agreed. "The wall is there to protect people from the suicide bombers that were coming in," she said.
That there are still Christians who blame Israel for the dwindling Christian community in this area is nothing short of outrageous. Bethlehem was a 90% Christian town and the Bethlehem region was 60% Christian when Yasser Arafat and his gang of criminals from Tunis rode in there in 1995 (when Israel turned the city over to them). Today, less than 15% of Bethlehem is Christian. What is happening to Christians in the 'Palestinian Authority'? Here is one very recent example:
Muslim gunmen in the Gaza Strip tried to kill another Palestinian Christian over the weekend, sources in Gaza City told The Jerusalem Post.
They said four masked gunmen tried to kidnap Nabil Fuad Ayad, who works as a guard at a local church. Nabil's cousin, Rami, was kidnapped and murdered two months ago by the same group, the sources said.
The sources identified the gunmen as members of the radical Islamic Salafi movement.
"They were dressed in the traditional Salafi clothes," said an eyewitness. "They were also carrying guns."
The gunmen tried to force Ayad into their car as he was walking in the street, but he managed to escape to a nearby shop. Shopkeepers who began shouting drove the gunmen away.
As they fled the scene, the assailants fired several shots into the air.
...
Hamas denied any involvement in the attack, saying its security forces had launched an investigation after receiving a complaint from the victim.
Christians living in the Gaza Strip told the Post that they were very worried about the increased attacks on members of their community and religious institutions. "The latest incident is aimed at sending a message to all the Christians here that we must leave," said a Christian leader. "Radical Islamic groups are waging a campaign to get rid of us and no one seems to care."
And it's not just in Israel or the 'Palestinian Authority.' Christian populations are being eviscerated throughout the Middle East by Muslims, and Christian shrines are being taken over and converted into Muslim 'holy places' just as was done to Jewish sites in Israel and Hindu sites in India, among other places.
Previous examples of Muslim harassment (and worse) of Christians in the 'Palestinian Authority' at Israel Matzav:
Israel is in no way responsible for the dwindling Christian population in Israel or in the 'Palestinian' territories. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.
Christmas in Bethlehem is upbeat this year. Although this report doesn't really talk a whole lot about why Christmas in Bethlehem is upbeat (because Israel has restored security to the Christian community there by keeping the Islamic terrorists out), it's important to see that Bethlehem is functioning as well as can be expected under the circumstances. If any of my Christian readers are considering going to Bethlehem for Christmas, it seems to be relatively safe this year.
Olmert's 'Christmas present' to Bethlehem: Deportees may be allowed back
The Jerusalem Post is reporting that the Olmert-Peretz-Livni government is considering allowing some of the thirteen 'Palestinian' terrorists who were deported in May 2002 after the siege of the Church of the Nativity to return to Bethlehem. For those who have forgotten, here is recap of what happened four and a half years ago from Wikipedia:
On April 2, 2002, approximately 200 Palestinians fled the advancing Israeli forces into the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. During the siege, the Church bellringer and 9 Palestinians inside the Church were killed and many more wounded. While the Israelis were preforming a psychlogical attack on the millitants, a fire broke out. According to a PBS doccumentary, an IDF flare was responsible. Following extensive negotiations, the Isreali forces laid siege to the Church for a total of 39 days, during which many civilians and Palestinian policemen left, some of whom were taken into temporary Israeli custody according to Frontline. Among the people still present in the Church in early May 2002 were 39 Palestinian men wanted by the Israeli army, as well as various civilians, clerics, policemen, the Governor of Bethlehem Muhammad al-Madani, and 11 people who caught the Isrealis by suprise and ran into the Church with needed supplies on 2 May - ten foreign activists of the International Solidarity Movement and Carolyn Cole, a photographer of the Los Angeles Times.
Negotiations over how to end the siege were arduous and broke down several times. Besides the Palestinian and Israeli negotiation teams, those involved included Greek Orthodox clerics from the Church of the Nativity and officials from the USA, the European Union and the Vatican. Finally, an agreement was reached to end the siege. Under this Agreement, 26 Palestinians from the Church of the Nativity were to be exiled in the Gaza Strip. Thirteen others were to be deported abroad.
On 9 May, 26 men, emerged from the Church into Manger Square, were taken on two buses to Gaza, under US escort, and passed through the checkpoint into Gaza on foot, after having been questioned at an Israeli army base. The following day, 10 May, the remaining 13 Palestinians left the Church. The 13 men were then taken on a bus to Ben Gurion Airport (outside Tel Aviv), from where a British military aircraft carried them to Cyprus. The remaining Palestinian policemen and civilians were released. Later the same day, the ten International Solidarity Movement activists were removed from the Church.
The 13 deportees arrived in Cyprus where they were to remain temporarily until the European Union, which had undertaken the will to receive them, would decide to which specific member states they would go....
On 21 May, The European Union finally decided on the host countries for 12 of the 13 deportees. Italy and Spain would each take three, Greece and Ireland would each take two and Belgium and Portugal would each take one. On 22 May, the 12 Palestinians were taken under police escort to Larnaca airport. In the following days, they reached their destinations. No agreement was found with respect to the 13th man, Abdallah Daoud, described by Israel as “the most wanted of the wanted”. He was eventually received by Mauritania on 25 November 2002.
The 'deportees' were all senior terrorists. Let's take Abdallah Daoud as an example:
Daoud was born in 1962. He is originally from the Balata refugee camp, in Nablus. Today, he resides in Bethlehem, and serves as the Head of the Palestinian Authority's General Intelligence apparatus in the city. He had previously served as the Head of the General Intelligence apparatus in Tulkarm and Kalkilya.
It has emerged that Daoud provided assistance and instructions to senior Fatah Tanzim operatives, such as Raed Karmi - a senior Tanzim operative responsible for fatal terrorist attacks in the Samaria region, Mohammed Naafa - a Tanzim terrorist operative and Abbas Alsaid - a Hamas terrorist operative.
Daoud provided courses and training to Tanzim operatives, and provided weapons and ammunition to Tanzim operatives. He encouraged them to carry out attacks, and chided them for not doing enough for the Palestinian struggle. He recruited operatives, and encouraged them to carry out attacks.
It emerged that he was personally involved in shooting attacks, together with Tanzim terrorist operatives. Daoud was personally responsible for operating a terrorist cell, for the execution of shooting attacks and the liquidation of collaborators.
Daoud was also involved along with others in the production of high explosives, for the use of Tanzim operatives. He also instructed his operatives in the preparation of bombs and high explosives.
He coordinated the transfer of weapons from one town to another, for the use of Tanzim operatives. He purchased and transferred mortar bombs and landmines. He encouraged the recruitment of terrorist operatives into the ranks of the PA General Intelligence apparatus, in order to grant them protection, following their terrorist operations.
Daoud assisted in the handling of the terrorists responsible for the assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rechavam Zeevi. During the questioning of Said Hassan Khalil Rabia of Abu Dis, it emerged that Daoud had contacted him by phone to clarify the whereabouts of his terrorist accomplice Hamdi Qoran.
Recently, he orchestrated the Tanzim operatives in Bethlehem in the execution of shooting attacks against Israelis, including attacks on the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo.
He took part in directing the 25 February 2002 shooting attack at the Tekoa junction. In the attack, two people were killed, and one person was severely wounded.
And for those who have forgotten, while the terrorists hid in the Church of the Nativity, the Church's Christian owners and the church itself suffered. This is from a recent interview with one of the siege's leaders, Jihad Jaara, who is now in exile in Ireland:
Over 200 nuns and priests were trapped in the church after Israeli hostage negotiators failed to secure their release.
...
WND: Again, the church siege took place in front of the world media. There is plenty of video footage of the condition the church was in when the ordeal finally ended. It was a big mess. And the priests afterwards told reporters your group seized church stockpiles of food and "ate like greedy monsters" until the food ran out while civilians inside went hungry. They say you also guzzled beer, wine, and Johnny Walker scotch that your group found in the priests' quarters. Israel says it even found over 40 explosive devices inside.
JAARA: It is not a secret that inside the church there was a very serious lack of food. I don't remember that there were such problems as you describe. Still, we were 250 persons inside the church who suffered from the fact that the Israeli army prevented any food supply and we were obliged to eat the weeds of the gardens in the church. We did not blackmail the religious to give us their food. They kindly and with much generosity offered us to share their food with us.
As for the conditions in which we left the church, it is true there was a lot of dirt but it is normal to the conditions in which we were living. Thirty-nine days without any water and any possibility to move because of the snipers who were placed all around the church.
...
WND: Israel says it found documents after the siege that imply your group attempted to extort Church officials for money in exchange for their assured safety. Is this accurate?
JAARA: This argument is very funny. The officials of the church whom you say we tried to extort were the only ones who gave us money before our exile to Gaza and Europe. This is a very noble position that we will not forget. Secondly, why should we have needed this money during the siege? Were there malls inside the church [for us to shop in]? We did not know if we were going to survive the whole operation or not. So why should we need this money?
...
WND: Explain why Christians accounted for upwards of 90 percent of Bethlehem for years until the Palestinian Authority took control of the city in 1995. Immediately Christians started fleeing the city. Now the population is about 20 to 25 percent Christian. Just what caused the vast majority of Bethlehem's Christians to flee right after the Palestinians took control?
JAARA: This is the responsibility of the Israeli occupation and the Israeli cruelty. The Israeli occupation defaced Christian monuments and sites and this was part of the reasons that incited Christians to leave. The Christian emigration is not a new phenomenon. Muslims leave places too. I reject your attitude that makes a separation between Muslims and Christians.
WND: I am not referring to Israeli reports. I have personally talked to scores of Christians in Bethlehem who say they feel threatened by the Muslim population. Many were afraid to even give me their names for fear of Muslim retaliation. Should Christians in Bethlehem be afraid?
JAARA: I say that all these things are rumors and arguments that Israel brings in order to separate between the two communities hoping that these thoughts will infiltrate our society. Problems can take place between a Muslim family and a Christian one, yet this happens between neighbors all over the world. It is not in any way a planned aggression against Christians. It is true also that when there is a case of a Christian girl who gets married with a young Muslim it is a very sensitive affair that may create some tension but it is very natural now all over the world that couples from different religions get married. It is the occupation that feeds this tension.
Back to the Jerusalem Post. The Post is reporting that there are a lot of Christians in Bethlehem who would rather these people stay abroad:
On Saturday, Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat announced that the deportees would soon be allowed to return to Bethlehem. The announcement was made following the summit between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Jerusalem.
While most Muslim residents here welcomed the news about the impending return of the gunmen, some Christian families expressed fear that the deportees would once again impose a reign of intimidation and terror in the city.
"What a wonderful Christmas gift from Father Christmas, Ehud Olmert," commented a local businessman. "These men were responsible for a spate of attacks on Christians, including extortion and confiscation of property." [/sarcasm CiJ]
He said the biggest threat came from those gunmen belonging to Fatah's armed wing, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, whose members often targeted "peaceful" Christians.
"I'm aware that most Christians living here are afraid to speak publicly about the issue, but the overwhelming majority was not unhappy when these thugs were deported from the city," he added. "Now some people here are once again worried because of the reports that they will return. They remember all the bad things that happened to the Christians when these gunmen were roaming the streets. People also remember how the gunmen mistreated the monks and nuns who were held hostage during the raid."
The families of the Bethlehem deportees have been campaigning for the past four years to allow their sons to return home. The issue has been raised several times during meetings between Israeli and PA officials, but no solution was ever found.
...
Mary, who works in a local tourist agency, said not all the deportees were involved in anti-Christian actions.
"Some of them were good boys, but there were a few who used their guns and rifles for criminal purposes," said the 44-year-old woman. "Some residents are now worried that these guys will return to the streets of Bethlehem. We heard that one of them, who is now in Europe, was involved in the murder of two Christian sisters in Beit Jala."
Tony [not his real name], who owns a small souvenir shop near Manger Square, said he and many of his fellow Christians used to live in fear when the gunmen were around.
"They used to take cigarettes and other goods for free from my neighbors," he recalled. "When they were deported from the city, there was a sigh of relief not only among Christians, but some Muslims as well. Let's hope that when they come back, they will return to normal life."
The few Christians who agreed to go on the record had only words of praise for the gunmen.
"They are heroes," said Bishara Hazboun, a 22-year-old university student. "There's no difference between Christians and Muslims and we are all one people. Some people have been trying to defame the fighters by spreading all kinds of lies against them. I never saw them do any harm."
To my Christian friends abroad: How do you think Bethlehem's Christians really feel about having these terrorists back in their midst? And to all of you, why would any Israeli government willingly take back these criminals? Those who are kind to the cruel are eventually cruel to the kind. Allowing this gang of terrorists to return to Israel will only bring more terror and violence. Let's keep them away.
Al-AP has a report on Christmas in Gaza that makes the situation sound quite bleak. Although the 'Palestinian' writer makes a couple of plugs for blaming Israel, I think it's clear from the article that it's fear of Islamist violence that is making people leave and not the 'blockade.' There are two things that puzzle me about this.
First, the people who are leaving seem to be aiming to go to the 'West Bank'Judea and Samaria. In fact, Bethlehem is specifically mentioned. Given what I have reported previously on this blog about Christian life in Judea and Samaria, if I were a 'Palestinian' Christian, I'd be looking to get out of this area altogether. Surely there must some country in the West to which they can emigrate.
Second, the silence of nearly all the churches about what's happening to Christians in Gaza and throughout the Arab world is incomprehensible. It seems to me that Christians could use the equivalent of a Bergson Group and instead are getting the likes of Rabbi Steven Wise and Nachum Goldman (see the story at the same link).
At the Baptist Church on Sunday, just 10 people attended the regular weekly prayer service, down from an average of 70. There was no Christmas tree in sight.
Farah said the church's full-time pastor, along with his family and 12 employees of Ayyad's store, have relocated to the West Bank, where President Mahmoud Abbas heads a pro-Western government. Farah said he prayed for forgiveness and love among Muslims and Christians.
Community leaders say an unprecedented number of Christian families are already migrating from Gaza — rattled by the religious tensions and tough economic sanctions Israel imposed on the area after the Hamas takeover.
While no official statistics were available, the signs of the flight are evident. Rev. Manuel Musallem, head of Gaza's Roman Catholic church, said he alone knows of seven families that sold their properties and left the area, and 15 more are preparing to do the same.
Musallem blamed Israeli sanctions and excessive violence in Gaza for the flight.
"In previous years we didn't see this rate of migration," Musallem said. "Now, exit is not on individual basis. Whole families are leaving, selling their cars, homes and all their properties."
The signs of despair are evident at Ayyad's home. Posters declaring him a "martyr of Jesus" hang on the walls. There is no Christmas tree this year.
Ayyad's older brother, 35-year old Ibrahim, said his 6-year old son, Khedr, was nagged in school about his uncle's murder. Muslim schoolmates call him "infidel."
Ayyad's wife, Pauline, 29, left for Bethlehem a month ago with her two children. She said their 3-year-old son, George, has been shattered by his father's death.
"I tell him Papa Noel (Santa Claus) is coming to see you, and he tells me he wants Papa Rami," she said tearfully during a telephone interview.
Pauline, who is seven months pregnant, said she plans to come back to Gaza for the birth.
But many Christians privately said they would use their travel permits to leave Gaza for good, even if that means remaining in the West Bank as illegal residents. Israeli security officials said they were permitting 400 Gaza Christians to travel through Israel to Bethlehem for Christmas.
A family of four, refusing to be identified for fear their permits would be revoked, have sold their house and car and packed their bags. The wife has transferred her job to the West Bank and enrolled her son and daughter in school there. "We fear what is to come," said the husband.
Fouad, a distant relative of Ayyad, said he also is packing up. He said his father, a guard at a local church, was stopped recently by unknown bearded men who put a gun to his head before he was rescued by passers-by.
"We don't know why it happened," the 20-year-old police officer said. "We can't be sure how they (Muslims) think anymore."
Those who are staying are trying to limit the risks. Nazek Surri, a Roman Catholic, walked out from Sunday's service with a Muslim-style scarf covering her head.
"We have to respect the atmosphere we are living in. We have to go with the trend," she said.
London's Saint James Church promotes Christian torment in 'Palestine'
London's Saint James Church is running something called the 'Bethlehem Unwrapped' festival in the heart of London. As I have noted previously, the festival includes what claims to be a replica of Israel's 'security fence,' on which visitors are invited to scrawl graffiti.
The decision by a Christian church to cooperate with Muslim
Palestinians in an anti-Israel Christmas exhibit focusing on Bethlehem
will be seen as incongruous by some, given the record of oppression of
Christians by Palestinian Muslims in that city and elsewhere.
Under the Fatah and Hamas regimes in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, the
resident Christian Arabs have been victims of frequent human rights
abuses including “intimidation, beatings, land theft, firebombing of
churches and other Christian institutions, denial of employment,
economic boycott, torture, kidnapping, forced marriage, sexual
harassment, and extortion,” notes writer Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld.
As a result of this persecution, the Christian population of
Bethlehem went from a 60 percent majority in 1990 to a 40 percent
minority in 2000, to about 15 percent of the city's total population
five years ago.
It was estimated that in 2000-2007, more than one thousand Christians
emigrated from the Bethlehem area annually and that only 10,000 to
13,000 Christians remained in the city by 2008.
...
According to international human rights lawyer Justus Reid
Weiner, the crimes committed against Christian Arabs reflects their
inferior social status in Islam, known as dhimmitude.
"As dhimmis, Christians living in Palestinian-controlled territories
are subjected to debilitating legal, political, cultural, and religious
restrictions. Muslim groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad have built a
culture of hatred upon the age-old foundations of Islamic society.
Moreover, the PA has adopted Islamic law into its draft constitution.
"In such an environment, Christian Arabs have found themselves
victims of prejudice and hate crimes," he explains. "Tens of thousands
of Palestinian Christians have left their ancestral homes and emigrated.
They flee to almost any country that will issue them a visa."
Weiner points out that the first Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman,
Yasser Arafat, determined the policy that led to this demographic
shift. "After the PA gained control of Bethlehem, it redistricted the
municipal boundaries of the city. Arafat also defied tradition by
appointing a Muslim governor of the city. The Bethlehem City Council,
which by Palestinian law must have a Christian majority, has been taken
over by Muslims. Eight of the fifteen seats on the Council are still
reserved for Christians, but Hamas controls the City Council with some
Christian allies. Arafat crowned his efforts when he converted the Greek
Orthodox monastery next to the Church of Nativity into his official
Bethlehem residence.
The church's behavior is completely in keeping with the spirit in London. Here's a letter that our ambassador, Daniel Taub, recently had published in the Times of London (the paper is behind a paywall and all I have is the letter, which someone sent me by email).
‘Jack
Straw refuses to countenance the possibility that anyone other than
Israel might have a part to play in the plight of the Palestinians’
Sir, Jack Straw (Opinion, Dec 26)
asserts that Palestinian shacks in the South Hebron hills are being
gratuitously demolished by Israel while their residents are charged
exorbitant sums for
water.
In
fact, although these structures were built without regard to planning
permission, the Israeli authorities, which under the Israeli-Palestinian
agreements are charged with responsibility for planning regulations in
the area, invited the residents to submit a master plan to regularise
the situation.
The
proposed master plan which was submitted was rejected. Not, as Straw
suggests, because of gratuitous harassment, but because the planning
committee found that it did not provide adequately for welfare services
for the residents, and in particular would deprive Palestinian women
of access to educational and professional opportunities. The committee
has invited the residents to make an amended application.
The
price of water is determined by the Palestinian Water Authority, not by
Israel. Jack Straw refuses to countenance the possibility that anyone
other than Israel might have a part to play in the plight of the
Palestinians. Far more damaging than the castigation of Israel, however,
is the effect of such condescension and low expectations on the
Palestinian side.
Ultimately,
the most effective way of dealing with the issue of the South Hebron
hills is for
the two sides to reach a final status agreement. But ignoring the fact
that the Palestinians too have responsibilities will not help bring that
agreement closer.
On Tuesday, the Palestinian Authority,
which controls the historic Biblical town of Bethlehem, barred Israeli
journalists from covering Christmas festivities. Palestinian journalists
asked for the Israeli journalists to be expelled from Manger Square;
the Israeli journalists thrown out of Bethlehem include reporters from
Ha’aretz, i-24 News, Channel One and Arutz Sheva.
This move follows a long campaign from Palestinian journalists to stop
Israeli reporters from entering Palestinian-controlled territories in
the West Bank at all. Israeli reporters have even been beaten by
Palestinians in attempting to cover events in the West Bank. The purpose
of such exclusivity: “isolating the Israeli media, which is
contributing to misinformation and relaying a false and harmful image of
the Palestinian reality.”
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas released a message
this week in which he stated that Jesus was “a Palestinian messenger
who would become a guiding light for millions around the world.” He
added, “As we Palestinians strive for our freedom two millennia later,
we do our best to follow his example.”
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor shot back that Abbas
“should have read the Gospel before uttering such offensive nonsense.”
Jesus, of course, was a Jew living in Talmudic-era Israel.
We wouldn't want the truth about the 'Palestinian Authority' to be too widely publicized, would we?
Since it's two days before Christmas, it's probably a good time to look at the plight of Christians in this area. In the State of Israel, Christians are free to practice their faith, and the Christian population has grown here more than threefold since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Unfortunately, this is the only country in the Middle East where that has happened. In recent years, Christians in the 'Palestinian Authority' have been as bad off or worse than anyplace else in the Arab world.
One would never have known that from listening to Latin Patriach Michel Sabbah last week, who is the highest ranking official of the Catholic Church in Israel:
"God made this land for all three of us [Muslims, Jews and Christians]," Sabbah, who was born in Nazareth, was quoted as saying.
"If it's Jewish, it's not Muslim or Christian...If there's a state of one religion, other religions are naturally discriminated against. This land cannot be exclusive for anyone," he said.
It's interesting - and enlightening - to hear such criticism from Sabbah about Israel, in which Christians live and practice their faith freely, while no such criticism is voiced about the Vatican itself (which is technically a separate country under Roman Catholic law) or about any of the fifty-seven countries in which Islam is the official state religion.
How wrong was Sabbah? This article by Lela Gilbert, who has authored or co-authored more than sixty books, primarily in the field of ecumenical Christian non-fiction, gives some indication:
IN 1948, Bethlehem was a largely Christian community, with Christians comprising an estimated 85 percent of the population. Today, that percentage has shrunk to something closer to 12 per cent. Until the Palestine Authority took over the control of the city in 1994, Bethlehem thrived alongside Jerusalem. The roads in and out of the city were lined with shops and markets, and residents came and went freely. All that began to change during the first intifada, with stone-throwing incidents gradually escalating into shootings, assaults, and torched cars.
Later, during the second intifada, security became a matter of life and death once suicide bombings were introduced. These attacks ultimately led to the construction of the controversial security barrier.
Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury and no friend of Israel, wrote in late 2006, "I have spent the last two days with fellow Christian leaders in Bethlehem…there are some signs of disturbing anti-Christian feeling among parts of the Muslim population, despite the consistent traditions of coexistence. But their plight is made still more intolerable by the tragic conditions created by the 'security fence' which almost chokes the shrinking town..." He went on to speak of dramatic poverty, soaring unemployment and practical hardships.
In actual fact, the Archbishop's carefully crafted phrase, "some signs of disturbing anti-Christian feeling" falls woefully short of telling whole story.
Gilbert tells some anecdotes that indicate what the 'whole story' is:
In an 2005 interview with the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JPCA), Steven Khoury, of Bethlehem's First Baptist Church, reported that the church had been attacked by Muslims from a nearby refugee camp "…with Molotov cocktails 14 times. Our church vans have been burned. The church was broken into and defaced with graffiti five times." Others have reported the shooting of the Baptist Church's pastor.
In 2006, the UK's Daily Mail reported on the struggle of two Christians from the Bethlehem suburb of Beit Jala who were facing continuous persecution for their faith. George Rabie, a cab driver, said that he had been beaten by a gang of Muslims visiting from nearby Hebron, angered by the crucifix hanging on his windshield, and that he experiences persecution "every day." Jeriez Moussa Amaro told the Daily Mail that his two sisters Rada, 24, and Dunya, 28, had been shot dead by Muslim gunmen. "Their crime was to be young, attractive Christian women who wore Western clothes and no veil…" A terrorist organization, al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades, claimed responsibility for Amaro's sisters' murder.
OVERT violence isn't the only difficulty faced by Christians in areas under the Palestinian Authority. In recent weeks, Ramallah pastor Isa Bajalia, an American Christian of Arab descent, stated publicly that he has been threatened by a Palestinian Authority official, who demanded he pay $30,000 in protection money to ensure his safety. On November 11, Fox News reported, "Pastor Isa Bajalia is legally blind, yet he was also told by the official he would be crippled for life. The trouble started after church members held a prayer session for several Palestinians. Bajalia says he has been under surveillance and receiving threats." Isa Bajalia has since fled Ramallah.
Among the compiled JCPA interviews of West Bank Christians are reports of extortion by Arab Muslims, demands for protection money, seized properties, vandalized homes and shops, widespread rape of Christian girls, honor killings, and murders of converts to Christianity from Islam.
In an editorial this morning, the Post takes Sabbah to task for his statement last week:
Besides the deep insult inherent in the patriarch's Christmas message, it is hypocritical, significant and damning that Sabbah did not apply his universal principle equally by demanding the de-Islamicization of his native Palestine, from which his flock continues to flee en masse.
Indeed, he excoriated only Israel: "The strong party, the one with everything in hand, the one who is imposing occupation on the other, has the obligation to see what is just for everyone and to carry it out courageously."
The first Palestinian to serve as Latin Patriarch, Sabbah was following the line of the Palestinian elite regarding the innate illegitimacy of Jewish self-determination.
According to this logic, the Jews are not a people upon which a state can be built, but rather - and despite what they may say about themselves - merely a religion. And unlike with Islam, which is present in the formal name of four states - Iran, Pakistan, Mauritania and Comoros - and enjoys an official status in 57, the Jews cannot be allowed to connect their religion with their state.
It is impossible to escape the conclusion that Sabbah was not speaking as a Catholic, but as a Palestinian, drawing not from the declared position of the Holy See in Rome but of the PA in Ramallah.
Here, in the commitment of the entirety of the Palestinian leadership to the view given by Sabbah, lies the Achilles heel of the peace process. For years, the Palestinian leadership claimed it was ready for peace, but that its people, radicalized by occupation, were not "ripe" for concessions.
But we are now being shown time and again that it is the Palestinian leadership, from the Latin patriarch to Mahmoud Abbas himself, and not just the people, who do not understand the nature of the conflict in which they are engaged.
Instead of recognizing that the deep tragedy of this conflict derives from the fact that both sides are legitimately demanding self-determination and sovereign independence, the Palestinian leadership continues to insist that there is, and will forever be, no justice to the Jewish demand.
This rejection means that the Palestinian elite is divided between the "moderates" who want a cease-fire with an evil enemy in order to rebuild a devastated Palestinian society, and the "extremists" who follow the logic of the moderates themselves in concluding that such a compromise amounts to treason, since compromise with evil is itself evil.
The question that needs to be asked - and is not asked by the Post - is what motivates the Catholic Church to allow its representative in this country to make statements like the one made last week. Sabbah's statement made headlines around the world - surely it was reported in the Vatican as well. While one might argue that Sabbah is under pressure from the 'Palestinian Authority' to toe their line, the Pope is under no such pressure. Yet the response from the Holy See has been silence. Why?
While tomorrow night may be a silent night in the Middle East - we hope it well be - all is definitely not calm or bright for the Christian community here.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
