Bibi: "The Land of Our Common Heritage"

Former Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks on the erosion in Britain (he could be writing of plenty of places elsewhere) of the Judeo-Christian moral code:

'You cannot have a society without a shared moral code....

We have begun a journey down to the road to moral relativism and individualism, which no society in history has survived for long. It was the road taken in Greece in the third pre-Christian century and Rome in the first century CE: two great civilizations that shortly thereafter declined and died. Britain has begun along the same trajectory, and it is bad news for our children, and for our grandchildren worse still.

Some elements of morality are universal: justice-as-fairness and the avoidance of inflicting harm. But others are particular. They are what give a country and culture its colour, its distinctive handwriting in the book of life. The Britain I grew up in had extraordinary values and virtues. It honoured tradition but was open to innovation. It valued family and community but also left space for eccentricity and individuality....

I was a Jew and Britain was a Christian country, but it wore its religion lightly and its embrace was inclusive and warm. Generations of Jews who came here fleeing persecution elsewhere saw these virtues as wondrous, as something deeper and stronger than mere abstract tolerance, and wanted us, their children, to acquire them. For them and for us Britain was not just where we were but a vital part of who we were....'

Here's something the Israel-haters and Chrislam propagandists would rather ignore.

"To understand the severity of the situation, let us recall that in the 1950s about 86 per cent of the population of the Bethlehem area was Christian. Today, we are only 12 per cent. In Israel, by contrast, we have 133,000 Christians and the figure is stable. Of course, I am worried about the future of Christians here.... I fear the day will come when our churches will become museums.  Is my nightmare."

The speaker is Palestinian Christian Samir Qumsieh, quoted in a must-read article on the plight of Palestinian Christians by Khaled Abu Toameh here.

Bibi Netanyahu:

"To all of our Christian friends around the world, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!I send you these greetings from Jerusalem. I'm standing in the courtyard of this magnificent International Christian Embassy. I'm so proud of our relations with our Christian brothers and sisters. I wonder for many of you if you remember the experience you had when you first visited Israel, when you saw the Church of the Holy Sepulchre or the Via Dolorosa or the Sea of Galilee or Nazareth. I'm sure it moved you deeply.

And it moves us deeply to have this bond with you because we all know that this land of Israel is the land of our common heritage. It changed the story of humanity, it changed civilization. What a magnificent heritage it is. Yet, we also know that it is under attack these days, that the forces of intolerance, of barbarism that attack all religions attack Christians with particular vehemence. We stand with you and I'm proud of the fact that in Israel, this is the one place in the Middle East that the Christian community not only survives but thrives and it's no accident. It’s because of our commitment to religious freedom; it's because of our embrace of our heritage; it's because of our embrace of our common future.So please come to Israel. Come and visit me, I'm waiting for you. It will be a great experience for you.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year!"

Bibi says:

"Israelis deeply appreciate one of the great pillars of the US-Israel alliance: the willingness over many years of the US to stand up in the UN and veto anti-Israel resolutions.

I hope the US won't abandon this policy; I hope it will abide by the principles set by President Obama himself in his speech in the UN in 2011: That peace will come not through UN resolutions, but only through direct negotiations between the parties.

And that's why this proposed resolution is bad. It's bad for Israel; it's bad for the United States; and it's bad for peace."

"Violence, Persecution & Fear Has Become The Daily Staple Of Christian Communities Throughout The Middle East. Not So Here In Israel"

In his Christmas message to Christians around the world, Bibi contrasts the freedom of religion inherent in Israel to the countries of the Middle East in which Christians are suffering for their faith:

"I wish Christians in Israel and all over the world a very Merry Christmas.

Christmas is a special opportunity to spend time with loved ones and to celebrate this most festive of holidays.

 And as you gather with your families and your friends to celebrate this Christmas and as you enjoy the blessings of the New Year, I am sure you will remember those who are less fortunate because Christian communities across the Middle East are experiencing a particularly difficult time.

 They experience violence, persecution and fear. This has become the daily staple of Christian communities throughout the Middle East. Not so in here in Israel, the one exception. Because here in Israel, religious freedom is a sacred principle. Israel's Christian citizens enjoy the full blessings of freedom and democracy, their equal rights enshrined in Israeli law.

So on this most important day in the Christian calendar, let us remember the common heritage and values that unite us in the face of extremism and hatred, which we will never accept.

From Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish People, the city of peace, I join Christians everywhere, and especially those in the Middle East, in a common prayer for a more peaceful and tolerant world.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!"

"Stop Those Who Want To Destroy The Only Free Jewish State In The [Middle East] Region": A Christian priest 's plea (video)

No prizes for guessing that the speaker in this newly uploaded video is not our old mate Reverend Stephen Sizer, who's just taken leave of Bethlehem where he has been participating in the groundwork of the next "Christ at the Checkpoint" Conference (scheduled for March 2016).

This priest is Father Gabriel Naddaf of Nazareth, who told the UN Human Rights Council last month
what the Israel-demonisers don't want to acknowledge: that there is only one country in the Middle East where Christians are not being persecuted, and that country is Israel,

 

He says, inter alia:  

'While I stand before you today, the earth of the Middle East is soaked with the blood of Christians being killed daily.

Do you know that at the start of the 20th century, Christians comprised 20 per cent of the population of the Middle East?

Today they comprise only 4 per cent.

Do you know that over the past years some 100,000 Christians have been killed annually? And why? Not for a crime they’ve committed, but only for believing in Christ.

In Iraq alone, more than 77 per cent of the Christians have fled during the year 2000, in addition to thousands killed and expelled.

Some two million Christians lived in Syria, but today, they are less than 250,000.

Christians in these countries are treated as second-class citizens; facing racial, religious, economic and social discrimination.

Why is this happening? Only due to their religion, a religion that advocates love and peace between mankind.

Christians in the Middle East are marginalized; their rights denied, their property stolen, their honor violated, their men killed, and their children displaced.

Where will they go? Who will defend them? And who will guard their property?

If we look at the Middle East ... we realize there’s only one safe place where Christians are not persecuted.

One place where they are protected, enjoying freedom of worship and expression, living in peace and not subjected to killing and genocide.

It is Israel, the country I live in....

Christians and Jews live in Israel not only because Christ was originally Jewish, born in Jewish Bethlehem, but because they share a common destiny, and a true hope to coexist in peace.

Does the world acknowledge Israel for protecting its Christians? Many in the international community have chosen to criticize Israel.

This, in my mind, is a double crime: because by doing so, the international community helps those striving to annihilate the Jews, the Christians, the Druze and the Yazidis for political ends.

By doing so, the international community unfortunately contributes to exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East.

It causes Christians to leave the land of Christ searching for a safe haven across the world.

It is time for the world to awaken and realize the truth of those striving to destroy the Jewish State.

They are hastening the death sentence of Christians in the Middle East.and the Holy Land ...

 O world leaders and supporters of peace, stop those who want to destroy the only free Jewish state in the region.

It is the only refuge welcoming and protecting all of its citizens. It is the only place that does not attempt to push out Christians, forcing them to leave their land in search of security.

I implore you from the bottom of my heart to hear the cry of the Christians of the Middle East before it is too late, and you may read about them only in the history books..."

Full transcript here

Deploring Islam's "Religious Equivalent of Ethnic Cleansing," British MPs Praise Israel

http://frontpagemag.com/2011/the-anti-jihadist/islamic-persecution-of-christians-in-malaysia/

Unlike many Western partisans of the Palestinians, Welsh Lib Dem MP Mark Williams is evidently principled enough to acknowledge the faults of Islamic regimes:

"Christian men and women in Iran are treated as foreigners in their own land, particularly converts from Islam, who are considered more than simply foreigners or second-class citizens; they are considered traitors and are routinely sentenced to death or face trumped-up charges for converting. It is no small wonder that so many have been forced to flee Iran. One of the greatest exoduses of people across the modern world has been people fleeing Iran.

The Iranian regime has long sought viciously to repress anyone who espouses views different from its own, whether those views come from political opponents or the Baha’i community, which has been ferociously persecuted. Mr Ataollah Rezvani was shot in the back of the head, and his body was abandoned by a railway near Bandar Abbas, in August simply for being a member of the Baha’i community. Such persecution has led our Government to condemn Iran’s human rights reputation as “appalling” and to note that Iran’s treatment of religious minorities is “shocking.” We have heard that 80 per cent of acts of religious discrimination across the world are directed at Christians.

Mr Williams was speaking in the House of Commons debate on "Persecution of Christians (Middle East)" held last Tuesday (5 November).

Introducing the debate, Conservative MP Fiona Bruce quoted Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief; and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”

She went on to observe:

"Freedom of religion is a fundamental human right. When citizens are prevented from enjoying that right, the social, political and cultural implications can be serious, as the debate will show. The loss of other human rights can swiftly follow. The debate is therefore important not only for Christians, but for all religious groups and minorities, and indeed for everyone seeking to live out the dictates of their conscience in worship, teaching, practice and observance, respectful of others’ right to do likewise, and under the protection of a state striving to achieve that positive vision under the rule of law. That is a far cry from the reality for many Christians in the Middle East....

Christianity is the most persecuted faith worldwide, so the problem exists not only in the Middle east, but globally.

 The former Chief Rabbi, Lord Sacks, in his outgoing interview with The Daily Telegraph, discussed the persecution of Christians in the middle east with the deepest concern of any current issue, saying that

“this is a human tragedy that is going almost unremarked… it is the religious equivalent of ethnic cleansing. We are seeing Christians in Syria in great danger; we are seeing the burning of Coptic churches in Egypt. There is a large Coptic population in Egypt, and for some years now it has been living in fear. Two years ago the last church in Afghanistan was destroyed, certainly closed. There are no churches left in Afghanistan. Between 500,000 and 1 million Christians have left Iraq. At the beginning of the 19th century, Christians represented 20% of the population of the Arab world, today 2%. This is a story that is crying out for a public voice”.

Let us be that voice today.

.... We should be crying out with the same abhorrence and horror that we feel about the terrible atrocities towards Jews on Kristallnacht and on other occasions in Germany during the Second World War ....

I am very concerned about that and the problem has global implications. I hope that, as a result, we will have many more debates in the House on the persecution of Christians in other regions of the world.

The ACN report discusses how, in virtually every country in and around the Middle East region, Christians report suffering either high, high to extreme or extreme persecution. That includes Egypt, Yemen, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan. In virtually every one, the situation has worsened since ACN’s last report in 2011, except in Iraq, but only because the attacks in 2009-10 were so large in scale."

Observed fellow-Conservative Mark Field

"In this context, it is important to recognise that there is one state in the Middle East with a proud record of allowing a large degree of religious freedom, irrespective of other elements of the problems that it faces within its borders: Israel. I hope that my hon. Friend will say a few words about how religious freedom, at least, is protected in Israel, not just for the 20 per cent of its population who are Christian, but for the 16 per cent who are Muslim."  [Emphasis added here and below]

(Fiona Bruce then appeared to damn Israel with feint praise:

 My hon. Friend is quite right, which is why I did not include Israel in the list that I read out. The report does not include it among the areas of extreme persecution. I respect what is being done in Israel, although I must say that concerns are now being expressed in Palestine about increasing persecution there.

The report says:

“Christianity may yet remain the largest world religion, but its claims to universality—a truly global presence on all five continents—may soon be lost as it becomes the prime victim in the emergence of theocratic states where minority faith groups—most especially Christians—have no place, except perhaps as third-class citizens.”)

David Burrowes,another Conservative, reminded the House that 

"eleven Christians are killed around the world every hour, seven days a week, 365 days a year, for reasons related to their faith. And increasing numbers of Christians are being killed in the Middle East, which is why it is right to focus on the region."

Having spoken heart wrenchingly and authoritatively about the persecution of Iran (that's the same Iran which runs Press TV, upon which Western Israel-baiters including Christian minister the Reverend Stephen Sizer do not flinch to appear) he subsequently remarked:

"Today, we can complain on their behalf. In fact, we can properly take the words of the Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, and I will finish by quoting him.

We have already heard that Israel is very much set apart from concerns about freedom of religion, by contrast to the countries that neighbour it. In 2011, Fouad Twal said:

“Does anybody hear our cry? How many atrocities must we endure before somebody, somewhere, comes to our aid?”

.... We must ensure that we use all the channels that we can to stand up for persecuted Christians in Iran."

Welsh Conservative Guto Bebb referred to the situation in Syria before telling the House:

"The other issue I want to touch on was raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford [Jeremy Lefroy], who shares a Huguenot ancestry with me. He said that it was to a country’s detriment to persecute its religious minorities. The example I would give, which numerous Members have mentioned, is Israel—a country in the Middle East that is often vilified, not least in this place. When it comes to religious freedom, however, it is important to highlight the difference between the way in which Israel and neighbouring countries behave towards their religious minorities.

The key point is that the Christian population in Israel has increased a thousandfold since the country was established. Christians serve in the Supreme Court, the Knesset and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and they are contributing to a stronger country. The situation of Christians in Israel can be contrasted with that of Christians in the west bank, where the Christian population has fallen quite dramatically. In 1948, about 15 per cent of Palestinians identified themselves as Christian; today, that figure has fallen to about 2 per cent. In many ways, the strongest, most economically prosperous country in the Middle East is also the most welcoming of religious minorities. When we discuss this issue, it is important to place on record the fact that there is, in the Middle East, a country that shows us how things can be done differently, and that is leading to a more prosperous situation for all the citizens of that country, regardless of their religion."

Labour MP Ian Lucas pointed out in his speech:

"The hon. Member for Aberconwy [Guto Bebb] mentioned Israel, and it is no coincidence that that country, with its tolerance for religious minorities, is a democracy. For that reason, we need to commit to supporting the progress of democracy in the region, even though, as recent events in Egypt, for example, have shown, that is a difficult course, which often leads us to take one step forward and two steps back, making the political situation difficult to manage."

(Conservative Hugo Swire, Minister of State for the Foreign Office acted somewhat as a damp squib:".... Some interesting points were made about the Middle East as the birthplace of Christianity, Islam and Judaism, which makes the religious persecution there all the more poignant. My hon. Friends the Members for Cities of London and Westminster (Mark Field) and for Aberconwy (Guto Bebb) mentioned Israel and Palestine. It is true that less than 2 per cent of the population of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is Christian today, compared with 22 per cent at the end of the British mandate in 1948. I heard what my hon. Friends said, but we continue to be concerned about access to holy sites for all, including Christians and Muslims....")

Read the entire debate here

Israel's Thriving Christians Affirm Their Closeness To The Jewish People

"In terms of the sheer scale of the hatreds and sectarian rivalries, we are witnessing something on the scale of horror of the European Thirty Years War.  It is the climax of a process grinding its way through the twentieth century – the effective extinction of Christianity from its birthplace."
Thus says historian Tom Holland.

"Copts are the new Jews," argues Lela Gilbert regarding the persecution of "the Sunday People" after "the Saturday People" in Egypt.



 "The global persecution of Christians is the unreported catastrophe of our time," asserts John L. Allen in a powerful new article in The Spectator (hat tip: reader and blogger Ian G)

And although Allen, who describes the horror facing Christians not only in the Middle East but in North Korea, for example, is no doubt right to point out that "anti-Christian violence is hardly limited to a ‘clash of civilisations’ between Christianity and Islam" it is undeniable that most of the persecution of and violence against Christians is perpetrated in the name of Islam.


Israel's enemies, of course, insist on laying the blame for the steady decline in Palestinian Christian numbers on the Israelis, and not on the true culprit, the intimidatory tactics of Islamic supremacists.


(See, for instance, here)

In Israel, by contrast, Christian numbers are rising, up from 154,000 in 2011 to 158,000 lat year. 

It's encouraging to learn from this report that at a conference in Jerusalem entitled “Israeli Christians: Breaking Free? The advent of an independent Christian voice in Israel” prominent Israeli Christians voiced support affirmed "their own identity apart from Arab Muslims, and their support for Israel, described themselves as "not Arabs" but "Christians who speak Arabic," and explained that "their history, culture, and heritage have been hijacked by Muslim Arabs in the region. They said they feel a closer affinity to Israel and the Jewish people, which their culture and religion originally derived from."
The report continues:

'“The Christian public wants to integrate into Israeli society, against the wishes of its old leadership. There are those who keep pushing us to the margins, keeping us the victims nationalism that is not our own, and of a conflict that has nothing to do with us,” said Father Gabriel Nadaf, a Greek Orthodox Priest and advocate for Christian enlistment in the Israel Defense Forces through the Israeli Christian Recruitment Forum, Israel Hayom reported.

Another theme at the conference was a reassertion of Christian identity in the region. Speakers blamed the Arab Invasions of the 7th century for gradually erasing their identity. A former Israeli Christian paratrooper, Lt. (ret) Shaadi Khalloul, said he has lobbied the Israeli government to recognize his community as Aramaic Christians, referring to the majority language spoken by Christians and Jews prior to the 7th century Arab invasion. Aramaic is still spoken by isolated communities today. Khalloul calls his group “B’nei Keyama,” which means “allies” in Aramaic.

“The typical Christian student thinks that he belongs to the Arab people and the Islamic nation, instead of speaking to the people with whom he truly shares his roots—the Jewish people, whose origins are in the Land of Israel,” Khalloul said.'

Amen to that.

"There Is No Other Country Here That Is Worth Fighting For": Onward Israel's Christian Arab Soldiers

Getty Images: see http://www.zionism-israel.com/log/archives/00000520.html

 
"We don’t live in Syria, where Christians are not allowed to speak...or in Iraq, where churches are bombed. We live in a Jewish state, which is democratic and free. As Israeli Christians we see ourselves as part of this state and not as part of those who oppose it." 

That's the clear message from Israeli Arab Moran Khaloul, a Christian resident of Nazareth, explaining to the Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv why he and a number of like-minded Nazareth Christians, who (to the wrath of many Muslim Arabs, including members of the Knesset who've been trying to get a young Greek Orthodox priest who's been encouraging the trend sacked by his superiors) are joining the IDF in increasing numbers,  keen to defend Israel.

"That’s why more and more of us are realizing that there is no other country here that is worth fighting for," observes another, also mindful of the persecution of Christians elsewhere in the region.

"Ultimately, from a religious point of view, we are one. Jesus was a Jew, his mother was a Jew, and his 12 disciples were Jews," reasons an Arab Christian teenager who intends to join the IDF following his imminent leaving of school.
 
 Read more here
(And also here )
Hat tip: reader and blogger Ian G

"I Became A Free Man In Israel": Muslim Convert To Christianity (video)

Here's a video that was uploaded to YouTube in October, but has not had as many hits as it deserves.  It features an Arab Christian human rights activist, Majed El Shafie,  now resident in Canada, who converted from Islam in his teens.  In the course of a discussion about the hardship facing Christians in Gaza and the West Bank (particularly in the former, owing to fierce persection by Hamas of that minority of about 3,500 people there) Mr El Shafie notes that as soon as he fled from his native Egypt into Israel he "became a free man".

And here is a report, dating to 2007, regarding the seemingly inexorable dwindling of the Christian population on the West Bank.  The video has a fleeting glimpse of a shepherd, so I recommend it particularly to the BBC's Jon Donnison and Yolande Knell, both of whom proved so fascinated by Palestinian shepherds this Christmas.

Of course, now that the Jewish Jesus is being so conveniently recast as a Palestinian by elements within the PA and their allies, and now that the presence of Palestinian Christians is proving an invaluable propaganda tool to the PA, their situation may have improved since the latter video was made.  But, to quote from the original uploader's preface on YouTube to the first video (read it all!), citing Mr El Shafie:

'Bethlehem has become a "tourist zone" for the PA, he said. "Basically they don't want the Christians there but they want the Christian tourists to come and to take their money."'

A Brave pro-Israel Jewish Voice is Raised on Behalf of Christians Persecuted in Islamic Lands, of Israel’s Treatment of Christians, and of European Civilisation

Florentine-born Italian journalist and parliamentarian Fiamma Nirenstein, Vice-President of Italy’s Foreign Affairs Committee, is one of the public figures who earlier this year joined former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar in launching the admirable and long overdue Friends of Israel Initiative. Ms Nirenstein, who is Jewish, takes more than a passing interest in the Middle East and antisemitism. She has participated in several conferences on antisemitism, contributed articles to a number of English-language magazines including Commentary, and written such books as Terror, the new anti-Semitism and the war against the West (2005) and Israel is us - a personal odyssey to a journalist's understanding of the Middle East (2009).

Just this month she organised a mass rally in Rome on the theme “For the truth, for Israel”, during which over sixty pro-Israel speeches were made by renowned individuals from across Europe drawn from a range of fields. This great and noble rally, which attracted some 3000 people, was billed as "the first European, bipartisan event aimed at restoring the truth regarding Israel, putting an end to the barrage of lies that are hurled at Israel every day and to the double standard used by the media and international organizations."

But Ms Nirenstein is not only concerned for the well-being of her co-religionists and of Israel. She has now spoken up on a topic which, shamefully, is apparently regarded as taboo in left-liberal Western circles – the appalling treatment of Christians by some Islamic regimes. “Islam does not like Eastern Christians: it has forced them to flee and now they account for only 6 percent of the population in the Mideast”, she said this week. She pointed out that, in contrast, the Christian population of Israel has increased – at present, Israel is home to 163,000 Christians, and it’s predicted that in fifteen years’ time this number will have risen to 187,000. “In Muslim countries, on the other hand, Christians are on the wane, but the 50 churches present in the Holy Land seem not to notice. They prefer to dump on Israel, where they enjoy full freedom of worship and expression”, she observed, in an obvious reference to Sabeel.

Ms Nirenstein also turned her attention to the Vatican Synod on the Middle East. She characterised a document – which speaks in the name of "us Christian Palestinians" and avers that “the military occupation is a sin against God and against man” - as “written in a tone of theological excommunication towards the State of Israel”. The document excommunicates Christians who support Israel, compares to South African apartheid the defensive barrier that has virtually halted terrorist attacks on Israel, appears to justify terrorism in speaking of the “thousands of prisoners who languish in Israeli jails” who are “part of the society around us”, describes “resistance to the evil of occupation as a Christian’s right and duty”, excoriates the West Bank Jewish communities, and in essence repudiates Israel’s right to exist. She pertinently asks, regarding Synod policy: “But if there are no sanctions against what Christians suffer in Islamic countries and if they continue to blame the Jews who have nothing to do with it all, how do they think they will be able—morally and practically—to sustain this?”

Nor is Ms Nirenstein reluctant to address the issue of Islam in Europe, a topic from which so many politicians and commentators resile. Referring to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s observation that Germany's “multikulti” approach to immigration “has failed, utterly failed,” Ms Nirenstein has said: “The point is that certain cultures very often have no intention of mixing in with ours, despite our actions and best intentions. Paris has become a city in which more than 200,000 people live in families where polygamy is common practice. In Italy 30,000 women have been subjected to genital mutilation and Islamic courts – ninety-odd in London alone – inflict sentences that are inconceivable.” Citing a number of worrying trends – including the fad T-shirt worn by young Muslims in Stockholm that bears the provocative legend "In 2030 we will take over" – Ms Nirenstein warned:

“When we are faced by a culture like that of Islam, there are forms of irreducibility that run up against legal and moral issues with a whole range of subtleties. For us, ‘immigration’ is a sacred term, filled of a sense of guilt, of generosity, of religion and liberal or left-wing overtones. But democracy is also a sacred term, our most important conquest: the masses of immigrants that do not share our democratic values put it in danger. And while we think that allowing immigration is a duty of democracy, we don’t understand that we are putting it at stake. Perhaps Chancellor Merkel—democratic German, pro-Europe, middle-class, complex-ridden and shy as every cultured German is—has succeeded in posing the question.”