Ryan Jones ably dissects this Reuters farrago for Jerusalem Newswire (via Israel Insider):
Reuters on Monday reported matter-of-factly that Israeli oppression is fueling a Christian exodus from Palestinian Authority-controlled areas, when in fact the evidence points to Muslim intimidation as the primary culprit.Reporting from Bethlehem, special correspondent Alistair Lyon wasted no time in setting the anti-Israel tone of his piece, starting it thus:
"Despairing of life under Israeli occupation, many Palestinian Christians are moving abroad, threatening their ancient links to Bethlehem and the land where Jesus was born."
Though very few of the Christians who spoke to Lyon explicitly blamed Israel for their situation, the reporter left his readers with no option but to view Israel as guilty by:
1. Painting Israel's security fence, which surrounds much of Bethlehem, as an arbitrary measure aimed primarily at oppressing and humiliating the Palestinians; and
2. Stating, again in a matter-of-fact manner, that no one he spoke to indicated that there is any Muslim intimidation of local Christians.
In so doing, Lyon completely and brazenly ignored reams of reports over the past few years regarding Muslim intimidation of local Palestinian Christians and the shrinking effect it is having on that community.
Just in the past three months there have been numerous reports in the mainstream media citing Palestinian Christians under attack from the Muslim majority.
To list just a few examples:
-- Jerusalem Post correspondent Khaled Abu Toameh interviewed several families in January in a shocking revelation of the conditions under which Christians live in the Bethlehem suburb of Beit Sahur.
Said one elderly Christian woman after Palestinian Muslims forcefully took over her land and then beat her husband for asking for it back:
"We are very concerned because we're not the only ones suffering from this phenomenon. Most Christians are afraid to speak, but I don't care because we have nothing more to lose."
Added a neighbor:
"When I see what's happening to Christians here, I worry a lot for our future. They are targeting Christians, because we are seen as weak."
-- George Rabie, a Christian taxi driver from another Bethlehem suburb, had this to say to Britain's Daily Mail this past December:
"Every day, I experience discrimination. It is a type of racism. We are a minority so we are an easier target. Many extremists from the villages are coming into Bethlehem."
-- Also in December, a Bethlehem businessman had this to say in response to reports that the PA was going to bring back a group exiled Muslim gunmen:
"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. 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."
-- In one of the more serious spates of Muslim persecution of Palestinian Christians, at least five churches were attacked and burned last September in response Pope Benedict XVI's condemnation of Muslim fanaticism.
Somehow, all of these examples and the hundreds more that are not listed here escaped the attention of Reuter's Alistair Lyon, leaving him free to conclude that "Israeli oppression" is behind the dwindling number of Christians living in the Holy Land.
Yes, most of the media invariably cast Israel in the role of the villain no matter what.
Yesterday, a colleague told me about an article in the Globe & Mail describing the situation of an Israeli Arab woman (presumably Druse or Muslim) who was going to marry a cousin who lived somewhere on the other side of "the barrier" and would never be able to return to visit family living inside Israel's borders. She could not remember where this woman was going to live with her betrothed, but I pointed out that the problem probably has nothing to do with Israel denying her the right to enter or leave, but rather that her new home would bar her from returning if her new passport carried stamping by "the Zionist Enterprize".
Reuters...What a joke....same organizations that published the fake/doctored photographs in the recent Lebanon/Israeli engagement....
...no doubt, Reuters is on the Islamic payroll...
Speaking of the obvious- if they do open their mouths and impugn the arabs, islam, the PA, what do you think happens to them, or their extended families...? Hmmm, let's see. They don't exactly get the welcome wagon at their doors in the so-called PA towns. They don't get to call the aclu and complain that they are forced to recite a muslim tune unfairly in their schools- they get to be dragged thru the town if they piss off the local thugocracy
and homicidist leadership. And worse.... they know that thinking anything bad, anything, about the arab, muslim thugocracy is of course never taught, and it's always always someone else's fault why they came to your store in the PA and had to take your jizya and tell you how to believe, or else....
And reuters is part of that sickness, which refuses to address anything in the world with that leftist sickness which defines the world into the have's and the have nots. Israel should build a fence- between Jordan, lebanon, syria, the sinai and stop pretending they can talk peace with the people who are sworn to destroy that nation and submit those people.
I am the original author of the story, Ryan Jones. I want to encourage you all to dig further into this issue by reading the in-depth reports of Professor Justus Weiner that he writes for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA). Weiner's latest survey of this terrible situation can be found here:
Christians Flee Growing Islamic Fundamentalism in the Holy Land
This is a despicable violation of these Christians' rights, and it has been going on for many, many years. And the international community almost completely ignores it since acknowledging it would call into question the idea that the "Palestinians" are a civilized, peace-loving society.
Alistair Lyon begins with "Despairing of life under Israeli occupation." How about, "Despairing of life under insufficient Israeli protection."
My thoughts exactly, mgoldberg. The Christians of PAL lands are dhimmis who must never disagree with the prevailing PAL muslim views. Unless they have a death wish. It's like asking a slave who is led on a leash by his master , his opinions of the master. You will get nothing but glowing praises. the pa dhimmis have to live with these masters 24/7 while the reuters reporter can go back home to infidal land.
The Muslim infiltration of both the AP and Reuters is getting beyond a joke, this report should be flagged up and directly attacked like Mr Jones has done.
This sort of blatant lie and propoganda highlights everything that is wrong with the MSM.
Beside christian exodus, round earth and other injustices of the world, is there any other thing that jews are not to be blame?
The idea that people under terrorist rule will speak freely to reporters is laughable. When I was studying Chinese at Columbia I had a course in modern (20th Cent) Chinese history in which we briefly touched on a report by sociologists who visited peasants in the Communist-controlled countryside. The sociologists, westerners, interviewed the peasants who all reported how wonderful life was. This was presented as fact in class. But I raised the point that just because they were peasants didn't mean they were stupid. What was in it for them to be "honest" to outsiders? They knew intimately what life was like under the Communists; of course their answers could not be taken seriously.
Same for the Christians under terrorist Hamas rule. What does one expect them to say?
When will we ever learn. The "we" includes Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists etc, that allowing Muslims in, will inevitably will lead to the persecution of the native population. SJD in the West is just one symptom of that.
Bethlehem was once a majority Christian town. The Christians there, through their own history extending over a millenia, must have known of the behaviour of Muslims, and yet they did not resist. In fact like Infidels everywhere, Christians in Bethlehem, Christians in the West, Hindus in India after partition, belieiving that charity to Muslims will have a reward, allow large scale immigration of Muslims into their territory. And then they are surprised at the result.
There is no point in moaning about this now. Christians in Bethlehem should not have allowed their Bishops and that Christian Palestinian Hanan Ashrawi to lead them to disaster.
I like to profess to the old Indian proverb -
"the only good injun is a dead injun"
when I think about "moderate" or whatever the fuck that means - muslims - we here at JW all know this to be true and one day soon the rest of the great western civilisation - the greatest civilisation the world has ever known - WILL know it too.
Israel does deserve to be loudy criticized concerning one aspect of the security fence around Bethlehem... They put it on the WRONG side of the city! The fence SHOULD separate Bethlehem from the PA and NOT from Jerusalem. Speaking for the vast majority of Palestinian Christians, the late mayor of Bethlehem Elias Friej repeatedly petitioned Israel to annex Bethlehem and the othe Christian areas into Israel but under pressure from the US State Department, the Christian request was refused. Now we see the end results.
Like Bethlehem, Ramallah was also a Christian city. Now there are very few Christians left. In fact, there are now more Ramallah Christians living in Birmingham, Alabama or Lexington, Kentucky than remain in Ramallah.
Another, far more legitimate criticism of Israeli policy relates to Nazareth which is part of Israel. Previous Israeli governments, (especially recent Labour governments and well as the current dhimmified Kadima regime) have favoured the Muslims over the Christians. This is not only destructive to the Christian population but is suicidal to Israel.
Israel must change its policy and recognize the Palestinian Christians as a unique people with their own historical rights to Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Nazareth. They should never have been wrongly classified as Arabs since their origins are from those ancient Jews (Nazranis) who converted to Christianity at the time of the apostles and supplimented by ancient Greek, Idumean and Nabatean converts.
In fact, if one looks at history, these Christians are the real Palestinians and not the Arab Muslim invaders who have stolen their identity.
Having criticized failed Israeli policy in this regard, it is also the duty of the remaining Christians to follow the lead of Friej and abandon forever any notions of being part of the Arab world. While people like Ashrawi speak for no one, too many Christians felt pushed by Israel into an Arab identity which was alien to them. They must go back to their original roots. Perhaps establishing a Palestinian Christian school system that will revive the Aramaic language of their great-grandparents, finally breaking them free of the Arabization that they've been forced to live under for centuries.
A final proposal, and this will require Israeli assistance, would be the politcal organizing of Christians willing to defend the interests of their community. Perhaps a specifically Palestinian Christian political party or even a militia. The "Kataeb Filistin" would empower the Christians to resist the ongoing Muslim genocide of Christianity in the land of its birth.
Bethlehem was once a majority Christian town. The Christians there, through their own history extending over a millenia, must have known of the behaviour of Muslims, and yet they did not resist. In fact like Infidels everywhere, Christians in Bethlehem, Christians in the West, Hindus in India after partition, belieiving that charity to Muslims will have a reward, allow large scale immigration of Muslims into their territory. And then they are surprised at the result.
There is no point in moaning about this now. Christians in Bethlehem should not have allowed their Bishops and that Christian Palestinian Hanan Ashrawi to lead them to disaster.
by dp111
I strongly disagree that christians of m.e. are to be blame for present status. Its a same for me as it would someone say to mid 20th century jews: 'you know, some europians exterminate you from the time of roman emperors. You should know that before you end up in aushwitz.There is no point in moaning about this now.' Decent people from various decent cultures try to make some decent life with undecent unculture of islam. Some destroy itself in that process, some other realise the impossibility of that task and start to deal with islam on proper way. Jews deal with arabs, and get label of modern racists. Serbs deal with bosnians and albanians and get a label of genocide. Russians deal with avganis and chechens and get label of tyrants. Now USA deal with iraq (and hopefully with iran soon), and get label of bully. So, if you dont resist (like m.e. christians), you get dead. If you resist you get labeled and malign. I think that worst thing is in the western culture toward 'god' money. If infidels spent at least a half amount of wealth dealing with islam in the next, say, half century, jihad would be most probably a term from dictionary of forgotten words. But unlikely than west, muslims spent large amounts of (recycled western) money in their war with dar al harib. And if western elite don stop to think only on economy issues, and start to use muslim 'bribe me' tactic to curb islam, christians on m.e., balkans, western timor, africa etc, as well as hindus and budists of india and all other infidels on the planet Earth will continue to sunk to oblivion.
p.s. under those 'bribe me' tactic I wasnt meant mountains of money which west already pour as economical help from west to east. just on local tyrants and totalitarian governments.
"If infidels spent at least a half amount of wealth dealing with islam "
...not one more dime....the only thing that should be spent should be shell casings....
Provoslavni, in many ways you are correct. Israel does tend to favor the Muslim pals over the dhimmi Christian pals, but I ask you does Israel have any choice? Do you for a moment think that if Israel was to favor the Christians pals in any way that the Muslim pals will sit back and do nothing? No, that will give them an excellent excuse to declare the Christians as Zionist agents and thus give them more reasons to deprive them of the lands and rights. The dhimmi Christians are classic example of being between a rock and a hard place.
Reuters has been exposed as a non-objective news gathering and reporting organization. Anyone with any common sense knows they have no credibility on anything.
Again with the Jews, always the Jews. Oy vey, what evil thing haven't they caused in this world, given what the media spews out almost every day?
Meanwhile, the true oppressor of many and the cause of much misery throughout the world-Islam- continues to be ignored or glorified by that same media, allowing it to further destroy civilization from one end of the world to the other.
Everyone should listen to Brigitte Gabriel's story if you haven't already. I've heard too many Lebanese Christians (especially that God awful Marwan Chamoun), and for that matter other Arab Christians, put the blame on those nasty joooos that I was so glad that I heard a victim of the terrorist Palestinians tell the awful truth.
Desidude,
Unfortunately you're probably right on this. The Christians also see how their brothers in Lebanon (the original Kataeb) fought back but were eventually betrayed by the Israelis and sold out by the West. Now Hezbollah dominates Lebanon. They sowed the wind and are reaping the worldwind. The only hope is that a future government of Israel will change this suicidal policy of appeasement and and realize that the Christians are their only potential allies.
The first step would be to reroute the wall so that Christians are on the Israeli side, or better yet, expel the Muslims and invite the Christians back. Israel could also gain a lot of good will from Christians if they'd undo the injustice that was done to the villages of Kafr Bir'im and Iqrit in Upper Galilee. These two completely Christian towns were forcibly depopulated and then destroyed by the IDF in 1948. It was this act that turned most Christians against Israel. If Israel were to restore these towns and support the Christians it would be not only a moral victory for Israel but also would gain them strong allies throughout the region.
Israel does deserve to be loudy criticized concerning one aspect of the security fence around Bethlehem... They put it on the WRONG side of the city!
Unfortunately the World considers Bethlehem as Palestinian territory.
If the the Italian media could present the standoff the Israelis had with Palestinian terrorists at the Church of the Nativity as the "second" killing of Christ what would have been the World's reaction if Israel had placed the fence so that Bethlehem, Abu Dis and other Christian places were cut off from the PLO for security reasons?
Don't forget that Dugard under UN Human Rights Council is constantly accusing Israel of Human Rights violations for the Fence as it is and the Council now has a permanent feature of every council session to review alleged human rights abuses by Israel.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1150885889961&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
I see the spirit of Lucien Rebatet is alive and well in the shape of Ryan Jones.
Who cares what the UN thinks? They're irrelevant. They did not do anything during the Rwanda crisis, and they are not doing anything about Darfur. It has been shown time and time again that it is nothing more than a corrupt beaurocracy and currently the UN Human Rights Council is populated by pots calling the Israeli kettle black, or more accurately making stuff up to hammer against Israel.
Speaking of the Bethlehem Christians. In 1831 or 1832, Muhammad Ali of Egypt conquered Israel and Syria. In 1834, the Muslims living on the north-south, Judea-Samaria mountain ridge made an uprising against Muhammad Ali. For one thing, they considered the Ottoman Empire of the Caliph-Sultan to be the legitimate government. Secondly, Muhammad Ali was too good to dhimmis like Jews and Christians. Thirdly, he wanted to draft their sons into his army.
The Muslim forces wanted to get the Bethlehem Christians to join their uprising, this was after they had made a pogrom against Jews [first], then Christians, in Jerusalem. The Bethlehem Christians refused to join their revolt. After Muhammad Ali and his son, Ibrahim Pasha, had put down the revolt, they asked the Bethlehem Christians what reward they wanted for not joining the revolt. They asked as a reward that Muhammad Ali drive the Muslims out of Bethlehem who were living there and regularly harassed them and lorded it over them. And so it was done.
My point is, that if we do not physically resist, then the outcome of Muslim immigration to the West is going to be the same as what has happened to ME Christians.
My point is, that if we do not physically resist, then the outcome of Muslim immigration to the West is going to be the same as what has happened to ME Christians.
Posted by: DP111
Amen to that.
We should be grateful to the Jews for affording Reuter an excuse to actually mention persecuted Christians somewhere. If they did not have the Jew-bashing angle, they would not mention them at all. Murdered Christians, whether in the Muslim world or in North Korea or in India, aren't news. As a matter of fact, I suspect the media of regarding their murder as a progressive enterprise that should be imitated in Europe and America.
Paolo posted: Murdered Christians, whether in the Muslim world or in North Korea or in India, aren't news.
Exactly. The large scale murder of Christians since WWII has been the least reported, no, not reported at all by Western media. The liberal elites consider this ongoing murder as not a bad thing. Their hatred of Christianity comes about as it is the only religion they actually know. So they do not consider Islam as a threat and equate it with Christianity. To find equivalence between Christianity and Islam is just an indication of ignorance and intellectual laziness.
I'm so tired with these liberal intellectual morons whose knowledge of Islam and Christianity is exceeded only be their ignorance and arrogance. The same liberals are also great believers in man-made Global warming. It is in the last that I find great fun in exposing their ignorance.
I strongly disagree that christians of m.e. are to be blame for present status. Its a same for me as it would someone say to mid 20th century jews: 'you know, some europians exterminate you from the time of roman emperors. You should know that before you end up in aushwitz.
[...]
Posted by: svemirko at March 14, 2007 10:31 AM
What a very sorry analogy svermirko. The truth of the matter is that the majority of m.e. Christians are extremely hostile to Jews to this day because their theology has, for so long, blamed Christ's martyrdom exclusively on the Jews of ancient Israel, although it is an absurdity to believe that the Romans crucified Christ at the behest of a people they had conquered.
In fairness though, the Christian minorities, having suffered many generations of dhimmitude, cannot be held totally blameworthy for their myopia. It's human nature to be psychologically predisposed to stick with the familiar. Pair that phenom with the "Christ killer" libel, and, well, you get the likes of Hanan Ashrawi, Michael Saba, Ed Said and Naim Attick.
Fight back?
Utrecht: Ethnic Riots after Dutchman is Killed by Police(Muslim police officer)
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/1976
The truth of the matter is that the majority of m.e. Christians are extremely hostile to Jews to this day because their theology has, for so long, blamed Christ's martyrdom exclusively on the Jews of ancient Israel, although it is an absurdity to believe that the Romans crucified Christ at the behest of a people they had conquered.
waterdragon52
There is no need to extend to majority of m.e. christians. Why not than dump all christians of the world in the same basket, since majority of non m.e. christians, or at least large portions of it, are also in the blame the jews wagon (and I mean on blaming for crucifiction of their own kin).I am not familiar with particular names You have mentioned, but I guess that m.e. christian hostility toward jews is just like their condemnation of recent pope remarks; something which you must as dhimmi individual to do to stay alive. Or put it more simply, blaming jews for majority of m.e. christians is also one part of jizya.
btw. comparation I have made with aushwitz is not intented to be sorry, but to point,among other things, the simmilarity with antijewish sentimets cherished thorough europian history wich culminated there, with antijewish and antichristian sentiments cherished in last 14 cent. by muslims on m.e. (and abroad).
There was one 'apocriphal?' story: at the end of ww2, some catholic bishop asked hitler privately:realy fuhrer, why you have hated jews so strong?why have you exterminated them? hitler calmly replied: well, I have done exactly the same thing you have did in the last 17 centuries, only much more efficient.
Or to put it most simply I dont see dear waterdragon big difference between attitude in that last 17 c. and reuters one more blame for 'Christ killers'.
svemirko: you are so pathetically ignorant of European history that it is hardly worth answering you by pointing out that the most ancient continuously existing Jewish community in the world is that of Rome, which is so ancient that it does not regard itself as either Ashkenazi or Sephardi, since it was there before either. Some Jewish families in Rome have pedigrees going back to the Roman Empire, 18 centuries ago. And who was it who ruled Rome for most of its history, from 570 to 1870? The Popes. The Jews were actually the only religious minority to be continuously protectec, for thirteen centuries, in the royal capital of the Popes. As for the reason why, I give you a few words and invite you to do your own research: Pope Gregory I the Great, decree Sicut Iudaeis.
@ Paolo
Yes, they were so protected mostly because they were so only one nation in europe allowed at that time to do exorbitant, banking and loundry busyness which church condemned as a sin. It was a perfect way for constant plunder not only jews but enitire populations, and not only by church but mostly by feudal governments.And than came in a front of own subjects and tell tham:'look it was not us who are taking your money, its the jews'. If you want to see how real life for average jew look like in europe those days, go and read Simon Wiesental book 'Sail of hope' (book is actualy about Columbus and Simon claim that he was perhaps a jew himself, but I guess by Your nickname that You are Italian so that book may be wery insulting to You).
Extracting the names of some popes among hundreds of tham who have normal relations with jewish community..., well I admit my knowledge of that is pateticaly ignorant. But at least, Iam not so ignorant to claim that most oldest europian jewish comunity was in Rome. You are wrong buddy, it was in southern Spain. Read jewish writters, who happens to be a prophets also, and perhapse You get stumbled on the name like Tharshish (Tarthessos). It wasnt Biblical name for ethernal city.
swevmirko:
I don't put all Christians in the same basket because they don't belong in the same basket, and the m.e. Christians I named are all, or was, in the case of Ed Said, Palestinians, who treat Israel with the greatest hostility and smear Israel's reputation at every opportunity. Naim Attik, an Anglican, in particular, has a travelling roadshow that he brings to the US for the purpose of raising money and spreading the "apartheid" libel, and Hanan Ashrawi was one of Arafat's accomplices.
and what part of "continuous" don't you understand? What's left of Spain's Jewish community -- the few who may have ventured back after the Spanish Inquisition?
I think some Jews have an irrational fear of Christianity, because Jews crucified Jesus (at least from the Bible’s perspective); although, it is not an unjustified fear because Jews were persecuted by Christians in the past, and were persecuted by many others even before Christianity. The fact of the matter is Jews are bestowed with a great amount of respect in the New Testament, and Christians don’t give much consideration as to who crucified Jesus. After all, Jesus was a rabbi. In fact, hating Jews for what they did to Jesus is a no-no by the Bible.
As for the Spanish Inquisition, let’s not pretend we don’t know what caused it, and where we would all be if it didn’t occur. Only 3,000 were killed by it, so let’s not make it into the greatest crime against humanity that it is not.
It is difficult to feel sympathy for Palestinian Christians, because they have in the past allied with the fascist ideology and mass murderer Arafat, just like the Syrian Christians. In Lebanon, both were complicit and actively participated in committing the most heinous acts against Lebanese Christians. The Palestinian Christians were bitter for being driven out of their land, and they partnered with the evil ideology, maybe thinking for their own protection, or maybe thinking Israel would ultimately lose. However, in the last two decades the Palestinian Christians have suffered to the point of being devastated by those they took as friends and allies. We as Christians, we forgive them. Others must forgive them for the terror and torture they went and are still going through. It will be against all our principles if we don’t. Now is the time to save them from their crisis that threatens their existence. After all, Christians are naturally peaceful people.
As for those Palestinian Christians who are still siding with the evil ideology, I think you can dismiss them as traitors to their own kind.
Svemirko,Waterdragon52, and Paolo,
There is no denying that there have been egregious cases of anti-Semitism in history but they are no more typical of Christianity than Queen Dhu Niwas' massacres of Christians who refused to convert to Judaism was typical of Jews. Sadly, there have been way too many incidents between Christianity and Judaism and all that can be done now is to correct the mistakes of the past.
As for Palestinian Christians, most welcomed Jews throughout the time both lived under the Ottomans. What caused most of the bad blood by these Christians was the early Zionists' failure to distinguish between them and the Muslims. They were all lumped togetheras "Arabs" even though the Christians had never considered themselves as such. Most defined themselves by their religious community or by thier town. Orthodox and Melkites even continued to call themselves "Rum" (Byzantines) while others used the term "Suryani" (Aramaic speakers). Even the two Christian Beduin tribes rarely called themselves Arabs. This change did not occur until after 1948.
The key element in this change of identity was when so many Christians lost their homes in the 1948 war. As I said above , Israel could go a long way to end this bad blood if they'd undo the injustice that was done to Christian villages like Kafr Bir'im and Iqrit in Upper Galilee. This injustice is also an issue that bothers many Jews.
The late Archbishop Joseph Raya (who was my friend) on October 20, 1968 led a peaceful demonstration of thousands of Christian and Jewish Israelis seeking justice for these villages that had been depopulated and destroyed in 1948. Archbishop Raya sought justice through non-violent means and called upon all Palestinian Christians to be good citizens of Israel. In August, 1972 he ordered all churches in his eparchy closed one Sunday to mourn for "the death of justice in Israel" as the two villages remained dispossessed. When Raya resigned as Archbishop, his friend Golda Meir begged him to reconsider.
In 1972 the government rescinded all "closed regions" laws in the country, but then reinstated these laws for the two villages Kafr Bir'im and Ikrit. This was met with criticism by the right-wing opposition parties. In the 1977 election campaign Menachem Begin, then leader of the Likud party, specifically promised the villagers that they could return home if he was elected. This promise became apolitical hot-potato after he had won, and Begin was forced to postopone a decision on the issue. It was left to his agriculture minister to reveal to the public that a special cabinet committee had decided that the villagers of Kafr Bir'im and Ikrit would not be allowed to return. Kafr Bir'im is the home place of Raya's second successor, the current Archbishop Elias Chaccour (whom I also know personally). On March 24, 2000, Pope John Paul II asked Prime Minister Ehud Barak to do justice for the uprooted of Kafr Bir'im but as usual Labour did little for Christians.
Today, many of these Christians who remain in Israel are looking carefully at Avigdor Liberman in the hope that his plan for a transfer of Muslims may finally bring them justice. Others are leaning toward Netanyahu but remember being severely disappointed by his previous administration. At this point, the Christians are desperate, especially considering how Olmert and Kadhimma party favour appeasing the Muslims.
Ammendment: "Syrian Christians in the Syrian army". It is important to note a lot of ME Christians are helpless and usually play "follow the leader."
@ Pravoslavni
Thank You for this eloqent explanation. Knowledge from first hand is always more valuable than those from books and tv. Personaly, I am not a jew, but I share grate simpathy for them cos they have something incommon with us orthodox christians: we are both misunderstunded by westerners who are, by my opinion, lulled in their comfort and ignorance and very easy to condemned everyone from east with a little dosage of arogance. I dont have any personal reason to side with jews (they side with my enemies-albanians), but in a global struggle, they are a bone in jihadist jaws and their enemyes are also our (christian) enemyes. If there is no any other reason, we should support them.
Also, maybe I am wrong, but I strongly belive that m.e. christians will never honestly side with muslims against jews as, for exemple, jewish kneset didnt honestly denied turhish genocide over Armenians few days before. Surrounded by mortal enemyes, jews somethimes must accept harsh compromissess as well as m.e. christians. Let us understand them both and gave them support.After all, we all cherish belive in same God and in same enemy.