Muslim Arabs in this country have for some time been trying to exploit the presence of descendants of Lebanese Christians who arrived in this country, between roughly 1890-1950, prospered, and who now make up about 80% of those who are called, by some,as "Arab-Americans." But these people are not "Arab-Americans" but rather "Lebanese" -- a word that means, really, we are Christians, and usually, though not always Maronite Christians, and our ancestors came from both Lebanon and Syria, and their Ottoman passports sometimes called them "Syrians" or even "Turks" but those terms were misnomers. They are, they were, Christians fleeing the ratcheting up of pressure on them, signaled by such things as the pogrom in Damascus in 1860, or the other evidence of steadily rising anti-Christian sentiment, which perhaps reflected the resentment in the Ottoman Empire at the pressure of Western Christain powers for the better treatment of Christian subjects of the Padishah, or Sublime Porte, or whatever phrase you wish to use in the vain attempt to avoid saying, straightforwardly, the Ottoman rulers. Think I'll stick with "Ottoman rulers."

Now come the late arrivals, the Muslims, and look for protective coloration. And so they hit on that weasel phrase "Arab-American" and pretend that they, the past and present and would-be future contemners and persecutors of all non-Muslims, have some phony identity of interest with Christians from the Middle East. They don't. It would be as if the grandchildren of refugees (Jewish and non-Jewish) from HItler were told by children or grandchildren of Nazis, themselves apparently unrepentant about their ancestors's deeds, and even willing to explain them away, that they all "had so much in common" as speakers of German.

Nonsense of course. And one suspects that even the Arab-speaking populations that have exhibited the most pronounced islamochristian pathology - the "Palestinian" Arabs -- will, when they finally realize what is going on, no longer do the work of the Muslim Arabs whom they know so well.

Even now there is probably some refugee from Bethlehem, having received news of what is going on there, who is heading to the American embassy in Belize to tell them a little something about the Muslim Arabs in Belize.

And one hopes that new owning-up to the mistreatment of Christians, even if it will never be exhibited by the brigade of quisling islamochristians -- Hanan Ashrawi, Naim Ateek, Michel Sabbagh, and others -- will be a useful addition, a new source of recruits, of agents to monitor Muslim Arabs, just as Berbers, Kurds, and others with resentments and grievances of their own have proven, here and there, to be.

Posted by: Hugh at January 19, 2006 2:55 PM

I loved the phrase "A lot of the attacks on Christians are not ideological." Of course, they are not. Except for the facts that Islam obliges its followers to attack and humiliate Christians and that daily attacks and humiliations of dhimmis were a staple in the life of Muslim states. Muslims are doing to Christians what they always did, except for a brief period of European colonialism.

Posted by: Liggett at January 19, 2006 5:07 PM

"...sitting on their suitcases..."

Have Islamic Jihad, will travel...

Posted by: jsla at January 19, 2006 5:09 PM

You liked Paladin too?

Posted by: Hugh at January 19, 2006 5:19 PM

Hugh

It's hard to share your hopes. "Islamochristian pathology" has persisted despite all odds and shows no signs of abating. Those were the Christans, by the way, who coined the phrase "Arab-Americans" and are proudly carrying that banner. The founders and leaders of the American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee (ADC) were Christians, including the late Alex Odeh, who famously whitewashed Palestinian hijackers of Achille Lauro and murderers of Leon Klinghoffer. Alex Odeh is no longer with us, but his cause lives on; just take a look at ADC's website at www.adc.org.

Posted by: Liggett at January 19, 2006 5:24 PM

You betcha...

Posted by: jsla at January 19, 2006 5:31 PM

There are more Maronites who have arrived from Lebanon, during and after the Civil War, who are less inclined to pull their punches. Copts are emboldened as well. Let's see if Weiner's views are reflected in changes in what "Palestinian"
Christians dare to express up; they now split into two camps: those wedded to islamochristian hostility to Israel, those no longer quite so sure, and beginning to see the light. Who wants, in a new country, knowing there is no future for relatives who may still be left behind in the "Palestinian"-controlled territories, and keenly aware, even if not admitting, just how Islamic the whole "Palestinian" business has become, and openly (as long as those islamochristians were useful, the Muslim Jihad theme was muted), and now, in the Infidel West, no longer finding it quite so clever to be identified with Muslim causes (not exactly the way to endear yourself in America or anywhere in the Infidel lands today, not a way to ensure you will win friends and influence people), it may turn out that some or many or almost all of these Christian "Palestinian" refugees will get their revenge on the Muslims who drove them out, rather than continuing to harp on those wicked Israelis who did them no harm.

We'll see.

Posted by: Hugh at January 19, 2006 6:25 PM

Which is the country with no prospects for those very few that you are referring to above? The dangling participle makes me wonder if the Maronites or the nation in question is to exhibit new attitudes... I would hope it's the Maronites! I'm still waiting to hear an honest appraisal from those who are the first line victims of Muslim rage in the world... But lest we discourage them from 'shouting out' as the modern parlance would have it, let us not leave them dangling in ambiguity, as the post above may do, nor they us...

Posted by: jsla at January 19, 2006 6:58 PM

This piece was very interesting. Christians . . . the remnent left in 'the occupied territories' are no longer safe even in Bethleham. It's sad. Our own state department has nothing at all to say about persecution of Christians in the Palestinian territories. Nothing about the copts, the marionites, just silence. Just we want to understand you. We're good americans and we want you good people to like us. let's go on a listening tour of the Muslim world? How bout an entry to the Dubai film festival showing the ugly, stupid American. Wait Israel just killed three Islamists in a car! Major news story. Israel isolates Arafat in the Muqtada! How Hitlerian. Wait, worse than Hitler. Much worse, those Jews. Whats that, hundreds of thousands of Christians raped and killed in the Sudan? Move along folks . . nothing to see here at all.

Posted by: biorabbi at January 20, 2006 12:19 AM

It is amazing how fear shapes the media.

Of course stories about Christians being harassed or beaten by the Palestinian leadership are not getting out. If it was your family being threatened by your community, would you speak up?

We also have to remember that Gaza does not have a free press. Sure reporters can speak out, but not if they ever wish to report from that region again. If fear does not shape a reporter's opinion, their career ambitions certainly do.

But I also think Israel deserves some of the blame for this. The mission to keep Israel a Jewish state, which I support in general, has prevented Israel from reaching out and supporting our natural allies.

Israel must do more to build nationalism in its Christian, Druze, and especially Muslim population. This may include "positive discrimination", more recognition of minorities holidays, and other goodwill gestures.

As well, everybody knows that creating wealth is the best way to prevent families from having a dozen kids. If Israel wishes to continue to be a Jewish majority, then it should focus its efforts on promoting entrepreneurs in its minority communities.

Israel should play more to its strengths... democracy, innovation, and most importantly, diversity.

Posted by: JordanR at January 20, 2006 6:23 AM

Liggett and Hugh:

When discussing the strange alliance between some middle eastern Christians and Muslims where it concerns Israel and Jews, never overlook the fact that the ancestors of those middle eastern Christians were probably the first to hate the Jews for the role attributed to the Jews in the crucifiction of Jesus of Nazareth. I hope I don't offend Christians here, but just as surely as Mohammed needed to demonize Jews to entrench his own beliefs, I would have to imagine that early Christian politics required that the Jews be held blameworthy for more than merely rejecting Christianity.

Posted by: waterdragon52 at January 20, 2006 8:41 AM