WATCH: Israeli, Christian, and an IDF officer. This is Hadeel's story!

Meet Haddeel, an Israeli Christian from northern Israel who is proud to serve in the IDF.

German-Israeli Reconciliation... in Yad Vashem and Auschwitz

Recently I covered for Travelujah in collaboration with Catholics for Israel the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Wannsee Conference, organized by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem.  Following the moving wreath-laying ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, I interviewed a unique pair of friends just outside the Hall of Remembrance.

Maren Steege is a young Christian woman from Stuttgart in Germany, and Eliel Fos is a young Israeli Messianic believer from Haifa. As leaders of the "Yad b’Yad" program, they regularly take teams of German and Israeli youth on reconciliation missions to Auschwitz.

"Yad b’Yad," which means "Hand in Hand" in Hebrew, expresses the organization’s goal to lead Israeli, German and Polish youth to walk hand in hand through Auschwitz, overcoming their pain and shame with the love of God. By guiding young people on a cultural, social, spiritual and historical journey to God’s grace, forgiveness, and power of reconciliation, Yad b’Yad teaches them to overcome the dark history of the past and create hope for future generations.

In the midst of the sober ceremony remembering Wannsee’s “Final Solution,” the smiling faces of Maren and Eliel in the brisk January wind were in themselves a living testimony that their commitment for reconciliation is working.

Maren, what brings you here today?

Maren: I came here from Germany with a delegation of 70 people representing Christian organizations. We have a heart not just for Israel in general but also for the individual persons here.

Eliel, how does it feel to see all these German and Austrian pastors here?

Eliel: It's very special to be with this group because they represent such a major part of Germany. They are making a strong statement in saying: "we will stand with Israel." This is something that is really encouraging to see as an Israeli and as a Jew. It’s also very special to be here together with Maren because we went to Auschwitz together as part of the “Yad b’Yad” program.

How did it feel to go and lay a wreath together, as a German and an Israeli?

Maren: For me, it was a real honor. In my heart, there are two sides beating together: on the one hand, even though I don't look like it, I have Jewish blood in my ancestry line. On the other hand, I also have a great-grandmother who had quite a high position in the Nazi regime. It took us a long time - many years - for us as a family to overcome that.

I just met her once, when I was 1 1/2 year old. When she saw that my brother and I were the only ones in the family who were blonde with blue eyes, somehow we had the feeling that she wanted to pick us out in a sort of idolatrous furthering of the ancestry line. Somehow I was a "chosen one" for her. But I decided to do the opposite in my own life, and to really stand with Israel. And so I'm very honored to stand here… it's something that words cannot express.

It’s also a privilege to be able to organize these youth exchanges, because it's not just with words but also with deeds that we can really change something.

What do you think is the most important thing for young people in the future, and how is all of this connected to your faith?

Eliel: I think there’s an important lesson to be learned in this place – and the young people really have to learn it. It’s our history, our past, but these kinds of things can also happen today. The problem is that people don't learn... they forget. And it's hard for young people to relate to what happened because your mind cannot contain it.

For Israel, the Holocaust is a national wound, and it’s a wound for every Israeli. I think there is no way out of it apart from the cross and Jesus. He is the one who can take this burden from us and bring healing into our heart, with true reconciliation based on true love between our two nations.

Can you tell us more about the trips you lead to Auschwitz?

Eliel: We first took the Israeli kids – all believers in Yeshua – to Maren's church in Stuttgart.  Then we went together to Auschwitz, and it was a very deep time.

Maren: When we go there, every Jewish teenager has a German partner. So the Israelis don't go there saying in a general way "these are the Germans who did this" because you cannot deal with such a large mass of people. But at that moment you have your German partner with you, one person who is an individual. In the first week of the program, they already build good friendships, and then finally they come to Auschwitz.

When we talk with the youth and ask them: "what is your biggest fear, what are you most afraid of?" they often answer: "that the experience in Auschwitz changes our friendship, that it breaks something."  And the Germans kids say: "maybe my Israeli friend will not be able to look at me anymore."

I remember a situation last time, when we were standing there in the gas chamber. There was a boy - he was about 16 years old… at that very moment, he took a picture out of his pocket. It was a picture of his grandmother, and he said: "it was here where she took her last breath."

Then we had a ceremony, and I must admit that seeing the young teenagers, my mind could not really grasp what happened there. But I know that it's really worth it to invest in friendships with Israel – not just superficial friendships but deep ones, because friendships will be like a bridge between us.

Patriarch's New Year Message: Elephants Still in the Room

On the morning of January 1st, also traditionally known as the World Day of Peace, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Msgr. Foual Twal presided over the Mass of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God in the concathedral of the Latin Patriarchate in the Holy City.

In his homily, the Patriarch shared his wishes of hope and peace for all. Echoing recent statements made by the Holy Father, Msgr. Twal expressed the need of "educating young people in justice and peace."  He mentioned the recent interreligious dialogue in Assisi, the "Arab Spring," the situation in the Holy Land, as well as some upcoming Church events, congresses and synods that will take place in 2012.

Despite its generally positive, irenic and friendly tone, the substance of the Patriarch's message was disappointing and disturbing. A few months ago, Catholics for Israel published an open letter to the leaders of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land entitled Elephants in the Room? The Hidden Roots of the Crisis of the Church in the Holy Land. As the title indicates, the piece pointed out some issues of serious concern which, despite having a debilitating effect on the work of the Church in the Holy Land, remain virtually ignored and unaddressed by its  leaders.

Sadly, the Patriarch's New Year message is an indication that these "Elephants" are still roaming about freely in the Church in the Holy Land - still ignored and unadressed by the leadership.  Evidence for each one of the ten "elephants" was manifest in the homily. Obviously, it would not be fair to expect that the Patriarch should have addressed each one of these issues in one homily.  But that fact all of them were ignored is a characteristic illustration of the theological malaise that continues to afflict the local Church.

1. Neo-Marcionism, Replacement Theology and the “Great Disconnect” between Israel and the Church

The homily was characterized by the usual silence regarding the Jewish origins and roots of the Gospel. Despite the occasion of the Solemnity of the Mother of God, there was no mention that Mary was and remains forever a Jewish woman, daughter of Israel and daughter of Zion. No word was said about the vital connection and bond between Israel and the Church, about the role of Jesus and Mary as bridges between Judaism and Christianity, about the debt of gratitude that the Church owes to Judaism, or even about the first reading of the Mass, from the Book of Numbers, on the Aaronic blessing.

2. Anti-Zionism and Anti-Israel Bias

The Patriarch also said that "a generation of young Israelis and Palestinians were born and grew up under occupation and in an atmosphere of violence. They experience the checkpoints and the walls that separate people." As usual, the only problem mentioned by name is the Israeli "occupation," as if it were the only culprit behind the "atmosphere of violence."  No word was said about the ongoing Palestinian refusal to negotiate with Israel, let alone accept the existence of the Jewish State. As usual, "checkpoints," "barbed wires" and "towering concrete walls" just exist for no other reason than to "separate people," with no word said about the constant threat of terrorist and rocket attacks that has made these checkpoints and walls necessary for the sake of saving both Israeli and Palestinian lives.

Moreover, no word of gratitude or appreciation was said about the freedom of religion and worship, and the full security that Christians enjoy in Israel, a privilege that is rather rare in the Middle East.

Of course, there was also no mention of the biblical and theological bond and attachment of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel - and this, despite the increasingly aggressive and strident delegitimization and hatred of Israel, not only from hostile neighboring countries but also from the world at large. The name "Israel" was barely mentioned in the message, as usual replaced by the more politically correct expressions "Holy Land" or "Land of Jesus."

3. Palestinian Liberation Theology

The theme of the homily was justice, reconciliation and peace. While this is indeed an important topic, it has become almost a mantra in the Church of the Holy Land, ceaselessly repeated with a marked accent on socio-political aims rather than on solid biblical and doctrinal catechesis. There was the usual call for the creation of a Palestinian State, and the usual silence about the culture of anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish hatred and incitement in Palestinian society (including, for example the recent praise of Hitler in a PLO youth magazine because he murdered Jews), the Palestinian Authority's rapprochement with Hamas despite the latter's continued avowed goal to work towards the total destruction of Israel, or the PA's praise and glorification of terrorists (illustrated, for example, by  President  Mahmoud Abbas openly meeting with convicted terrorists and appointing them as advisors in his government).

4. Dhimmitude: the Surrender to Islam

The Patriarch called the so-called "Arab Spring" a "reawakening of consciences for democracy, peace and social justice" where "Muslims and Christians took to the street side by side," generating "real enthusiasm and great expectation." His only caviat was a strikingly weak reservation that "doubts arise on the form of government that will be implemented."  It is hard to grasp how an educated spiritual leader can arrive as such delusional conclusions about the violent revolutions that have already claimed thousands of lives (and counting) in numerous countries, causing the rapid rise of radical islamist forces and a widespread increase in Muslim persecution of Christians throughout the Middle East.

Despite his complete silence on the problems generated by the "Arab Spring,"  the Patriarch recalled that "the Pope asked the young and old to stay away from extreme nationalism or exacerbated fundamentalism" - as if the violence and killings in the Middle East were but the fruit of random and generic "fundamentalism" to which everyone is prone - certainly not related to any particular religion at all.

Why the silence on these persecutions? Why, if mentioned at all by Christian clergy, are the persecutions always carried out by nameless perpetrators? And why continue to use the ludicrous term "Arab Spring" when the reality on the ground does not even remotely resemble a "spring" but rather an "Islamic Winter"?

Surely such a combination of misguided statements and conspicuous silence cannot be the result of ignorance or malice. So what is left? Wishful thinking? Or perhaps a fear of openly saying the truth, lest this make things worse? Here we have again the spirit of dhimmitude, the fear of saying anything against Islam lest this causes yet greater violent anti-Christian backlashes on the part of Muslims.

5. Dialogomania and Practical Relativism

Another ever-recurring catch word, supported by the ever-popular "Spirit of Assisi," is "dialogue." The Patriarch invited the faithful to follow St. Francis in engaging in "peaceful dialogue between believers" and creating "bonds of friendship and solidarity."  Although this is a good and noble ideal, almost nothing was said about the Church's mission of evangelization and about the urgent need that Christians pray and work for the conversion of sinners and those who do not know Christ.

Msgr. Twal did say that "peace has its basis in the heart of man, in his conversion and reconciliation with God and family," but there was no word on how to practically arrive at this conversion and reconciliation. He gave the impression that anyone, from any religious tradition, can reach this conversion and reconciliation, with no need at all to believe in Christ or be baptized.

The result is that Christians, once again, are inoculated against giving a clear witness of their faith in words and deeds to non-Christians. They are given the impression that being a Christian essentially consists in being a "nice person" who gets along with everyone - including the Muslims who are persecuting them and driving them out of their homes and countries.  And so, with this underlying practical relativism, the Lord's commission and the Church's mission of making disciples of all nations is given a crippling blow and effectively neutralized.

6. Blurring the Doctrine: The Catechetical Crisis

In his homily, the Patriarch did not talk - even briefly - about the readings from the Word of God that were read during the Liturgy of the Word - not from the first reading, not from the Psalm, not from the second reading, nor from the Gospel. The homily was largely devoid of catechetical or doctrinal content, apart a few sentences exhorting the faithful to look to Mary who in her humility was "peaceful, pure and gentle" and at the same time "strong, vigorous, and full of hope."

Moreover, Jesus was almost entirely absent from the homily.  He was mentioned only three times, and two of these were indirect, passing mentions of the "land of Jesus" and "mother of Jesus." Only in his very last sentence did Msgr. Twal wish that Mary's son, "Jesus, the Prince of Peace give us His peace."

7. Battling Evil: Spiritual Warfare and Dormant Soldiers

With the homily focused on peace, dialogue, and social justice, and with no call or encouragement to share the Gospel with others for the purpose of their conversion and salvation, all appeals to prayer were calls to a generic and amorphous "prayer for peace." The element of prayer as spiritual battle and warfare for the salvation of souls was wholly absent from the message.

8. Lack of Prophetic and Eschatological Vision

The homily was also uninspiring in its complete lack of prophetic and eschatological perspective. Its stated aims and goals were mostly horizontal and humanistic - calling for peace and co-existence here on earth, now in this life. Nothing was said about the risks and dangers of a humanly orchestrated peace that is not based on Jesus Christ. Nothing was said about the eschatological vision of the Scriptures (confirmed by recent prophetic locutions) speaking of the rise of evil in the world, manifested by an increasing hostility of the nations against Israel.

9. The Eery Silence of Political Correctness

All of the above issues demonstrate once again that political correctness reigns supreme in the Church in the Holy Land: silence on the Church's theological and biblical roots and foundations in Israel and Judaism; silence on the anti-Israel bias of the clergy; silence on the Palestinian culture of incitement and shared Palestinian responsibility in the perpetuation of the conflict; silence on the growing Islamic oppression and persecution of Christians; silence on the Lord's commandment and Church's mission to lead all people to Christ; silence on the Church's biblical and doctrinal catechesis; silence on the need to pray for the salvation of the world and against spiritual forces of evil; and silence on the prophetic and eschatological vision of the Bible and of the Church.

10. Ignoring the Messianic and Evangelical Communities

Finally, there was also no mention in the Patriarch's New Year message of the growing impact of the Messianic Jewish communities in Israel - a prophetic movement that deserves not only the attention but also the support, help and encouragement of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land.

Conclusion

For 2012, let us pray that the Lord may grant our leaders and all Christians in the Holy Land the grace, strength and courage to be more faithful to the Lord's calling as expressed in the Sacred Scriptures and in the Church's teachings!  As we pointed out in Elephants in the Room, we suggest that this should include the following:

1. decisively rejecting neo-Marcionism, replacement theology, and rediscovering the Jewish roots of Catholicism and of the Christian faith;
2. decisively rejecting anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism, and fostering among Catholics a true appreciation and love for Israel;
3. decisively rejecting anti-Israel Palestinian Liberation Theology, and supporting the Palestinian people in a way that is more respectful of Israel’s prophetic calling;
4. decisively rejecting the dhimmi mentality and stop being silent or in denial about the increasingly aggressive threat of radical Islam;
5. decisively rejecting religious relativism, and returning the role of dialogue to its proper place as a subset of the Church’s mission of evangelization;
6. establishing vigorous programs of catechesis and doctrinal formation for the faithful;
7. raising the awareness of the need for spiritual warfare, and train and equip the clergy to pass on this awareness to the faithful;
8. restoring the prophetic and eschatological vision in the Church, and translating this vision into action;
9. decisively rejecting political correctness and describing the reality in the Holy Land as it truly is.
10. restoring a genuine ecumenical openness in the Church, with a welcoming outreach to Messianic and Evangelical believers.

Christmas at the Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem

Fr. Elias is the Benedictine Monk responsible for the Church at the Dormition Abbey on Mount Zion.  On the first Saturday of Advent, he shared his thoughts about how his community is preparing for the coming feast of the Nativity of Christ.

“During Advent, we light four candles on the Advent crown, symbolizing the four weeks before Christmas.  Every week, we light one more candle.  We have special songs, special prayers, and special readings, especially from the prophet Isaiah because he expresses a message of comfort and hope.”

Fr. Elias explains that the Benedictine community cherishes a particular German tradition: a special liturgy, every Friday evening of Advent, when they use no electric lights but only candle light to experience the darkness characteristic of the longing for the Messiah.

“Advent is not Christmas” says the Benedictine monk, “it’s a time of longing, of hope, of expectation, of desire.”  For this reason, the community doesn’t sing Christmas songs until Christmas itself.  Before that, only Advent songs are sung.”

“Then, on Christmas Eve, we have a party with all our volunteers and all our guests.  At midnight we have our solemn liturgy with Christmas decorations and typical German songs such as “Silent Night, Holy Night.”

After the liturgy, at about 2:30am, the whole community, including the volunteers and students, walk to Bethlehem.

“So I guess you don’t sleep much that night?” I ask him.

Fr. Elias smiles: “We sleep in the morning.  We go to the grotto in Bethlehem to pray there, then we go home, sleep a bit, and then we have the solemn Mass at 11 am on Christmas day.”

The Dormition Abbey is known to attract hundreds of curious Israeli visitors every year on Christmas Eve, so I asked Fr. Elias about them.  His first comment was that they have so many visitors that they really need a bigger church on that evening, as space is very limited.

But why so many Israeli guests, especially considering that the liturgy is celebrated in German? Why is it so attractive to them?

Fr. Elias shrugs with a smile:

“Don’t ask me. It’s the same thing in the Lutheran church.  We have the same liturgy in this form every day throughout the year, but this night is really a particular night because we sing the typical Christmas songs that everyone knows and loves.  People like our style of liturgy, and we have an organ, a choir, singers.  We also speak a bit in Hebrew, but the people really want to see and experience how we celebrate a German Christmas.”

The Benedictine monk then underlines the universal attraction of Christmas:

“Also in Germany the Masses are full, because there is a special atmosphere during this period.  Christmas time is touching: it’s a time of longing, a time for the family, with deep, universal symbols that everyone can understand.  The story of Mary and Joseph finding no room at the inn, giving birth to a baby in poverty… this is a touching story that speaks to everyone.

Fr. Elias has been 13 years in the Holy Land.  Has he seen any change in the celebration of Christmas over the years?

“It’s more or less the same.  In the last years it has become more commercial.  People have started to come with red and white caps, but this is not German: it comes from the United States and from Coca Cola.  We try to preserve the Christmas traditions and focus on the real story of the Bible, and not what is done with Santa Claus, or in advertizing and commercials. People here in Israel have some ideas of Christmas that they get from TV, but it’s not the true picture of Christmas.”

I asked Fr. Elias whether Israelis might be more open to the Gospel on Christmas or whether they just come out of curiosity.

“It’s mostly curiosity,” he replies.  “We also, our volunteers and students, are also interested in how Jews celebrate.  Sometimes we go to the synagogue, we pray the psalms every day, and we try to understand their customs.  We welcome the people, but we know that they are not Christians, and some things in our liturgy are only for Christians.  We don’t have papers where they can apply for baptism, and they are free to come and go without any obligations.”

Because of the wide cultural differences between Jewish and Christian forms of worship, between the Synagogue and the Church, the Benedictines need to instruct their Israeli guests on the basics of church etiquette:

“At the beginning of the celebration, we have to explain to them how to behave, because many people don’t know what to do in this setting.  And so we have to tell them: ‘please do this, and do this…’ Usually it works.  We have a different style of prayer, yet our liturgy is very close to the Jewish liturgy.”

Palestinian Christians: Cutting the Branch on which They are Sitting?

Recently I stumbled upon a Facebook page called "Palestinian Christians." It drew my attention because it posted a shocking eulogy glorifying arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat. Arafat is considered by many to be the father of modern terrorism. The legacy he left behind at the time of his death in 2004 was decades of brutal terror attacks against innocent civilians. As CAMERA reports:

groups under Arafat's direct or indirect command – including Fatah, Black September, Tanzim and Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade – were responsible for hundreds of bombings, hijackings, assassinations and other attacks, including the 1972 murder of 11 of Israel's Olympic athletes in Munich, the 1973 murder of the American ambassador to Sudan, Cleo Noel, and the 1985 hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruiseship (resulting in the murder of wheelchair-bound Leon Klinghoffer).

For a complete overview of Arafat's bloody legacy, see CAMERA's compilation of Yasir Arafat's Timeline of Terror.

Nevertheless, this horrific murderous legacy did not prevent our group of Palestinian Christians from eulogizing Arafat as the true hero of the Palestinian people in the following words:

Palestinian Christians: Yasser Arafat 1929 – 2004, the Freedom Fighter, the Man, the Father, the Hero, the Legend, the Nobel Peace Prize Winner, RIP. We Miss You! We Love You! We Need You! God Bless Your Soul!

The following conversation ensued in the comment thread of that initial post, which we thought was interesting enough to reprint here. At this time you may find the original thread here, though there is no guarantee that the group will not delete part or all of it at some point.

Catholics for Israel: Why do you honor the father of modern terrorism, a man with so much blood on his hands? It is hard to understand how Christians can praise a man with such a tainted legacy. You bring shame on the Palestinian Christians. If you want God to bless and keep the Palestinians Christians, you should dissociate yourself from such terrorists, not praise them. It's really sad to see how Palestinian Christians, despite all their hardships, have lost their moral compass and integrity and stooped down to honoring one of the greatest instigators of violence of the past generation.

Jacko: why do you honor the state of terrorism that was founded over the blood of my Christian family and people? a state that ethnic cleansed more than 750,000 innocent civilians thousands of them were Christians and Catholics... a state that bombed and destroyed dozens of Christian and catholic churches... a state that stole and confiscated our land and is right now stealing and confiscating more land from Christian and Catholic families in Beit Jala including a Catholic monastery and winery... a state that has murdered, inured and jailed hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians including thousands of Christians and Catholics including many clergy and nuns... a state that is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gods name?

How dare you to call urself Catholics or even Christians when you go against the teaching of the Catholic church that recognize Zionism is an anti-Christ heresy.

You have lost all you immorality [sic] and you are no better than any other terrorists and terrorists sympathizers who murder others in God's name and claiming to be doing God a favor and helping Him reaching Hid plans, as if He is unable to do it Himself!

You need also to take some classes in humanity and history to learn to distinguish between terrorism and the right to defend and protect your family and your nation. Yasser Arafat is a Freedom Fighter and he, just like all of us, has every single right to resist the zionist satanic occupation of Jesus Land!

it's our duty as Palestinians to defend and protect ourselves and our families, and our duty as Christians to resist the evil

Palestinian Christians: Catholics for Israel: you are a shame on Christians in general and especially on Catholics. You are not real Catholics or even Christians anyways.

What's your position on stealing and confiscation Christian properties and Catholic monastery in Beit Jala to build a new Zionist colony for the newly non-Semite Zionists?

Catholics for Israel: wow, so many cliches, lies, distortions and exaggerations. Jacko, would you be so kind to list precisely the names and locations of the "dozens of Christian and catholic churches" that Israel has bombed? The tragedy of the Palestinian Christians is undeniable, and Israel is certainly not always without fault, but to ignore or whitewash the constant Arab aggression and denial of Israel's right to exist, to support the falsification of history, conveniently rewriting it by erasing the Jewish connection to the land and inventing a mythical "Palestinian narrative", to glorify Arafat the father of modern terrorism, responsible for the death of not only thousands of Jews but also tens of thousands of Arabs - those things are certainly not "Christian".

We are certainly against Israel's confiscation of Christian properties in Beit Jalla if this is truly happening (unfortunately, very often Palestinian claims tend to be false or largely exaggerated). For example, the claim that the Catholic Church teaches that Zionism is an "anti-christ heresy" is of course completely false. See the statement of Cardinal Schoenborn for example.

And by the way, we are "for Israel" but we are also "for" the Palestinians. We pray for God's blessing and peace upon you and wish you well. We know you have suffered much from the conflict. But we wish to encourage you to stop committing spiritual suicide with your anti-Israel attitude. Israel is the root and foundation of our faith. Do you not read the Bible? Israel appears nearly 3,000 times in the Holy Scriptures, and "Palestine" does not appear even once.

Look at what Muslims are doing to Christians all over the Middle East. Christians are being massacred all over the Muslim countries, yet you persist in blaming the only country in the Middle East where Christians have full freedom of religion and where the number of Christians are growing! (we know, we are Christians living in Israel).

Dear Palestinian Christians, stop bringing this curse upon yourselves by praising terrorists and blaming Israel. Remember that the Word of God itself says "Blessed is he who blesses you [Israel], and cursed is he who curses you" (Gen 12:3, Num 24:9). Remember that St. Paul said "as regards election [the Jews] are beloved for the sake of their forefathers, for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable" (Rom 11:28-29). And the most important of these irrevocable gifts to the Jewish people is the land of Israel.

So let's pray together that peace, justice and blessing may come to you, the Palestinian Christians. But this blessing must begin with your own conversion from your anti-Israel hatred that is bringing a curse upon you according to the word of God. We know that Israel has made lots of mistakes and we pray also for their own conversion, and that God would give you the strength not only to forgive the Israelis but also to love them like Jesus loves His own people.

May the blessing of the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, come upon you dear Palestinian Christians.

Jacko: wow... so many lies, fabrications, hatred and ignorance in ur response which makes us real doubt ur loyalty and if u really a Catholic or even a Christian as most likely u r a mossad paid agent to spew Zionist propaganda to misinform and mislead naive catholic and to support the racist colonial secular Zionist terrorist anti-Christ state that was founded by terror and over the blood of my Christian family and my people.

as for a list of the churches bombed; it's a well known fact and proven by many international wel-known and credible historians including Jewish & Israeli ones that Israel has ethnic cleansed more than 2/3 of the Palestinian people in 1948, around 750,000 innocent civilians, dozens of thousands of them were Christians. Moreover, Israel has wiped off the map more 550 Palestinian villages and towns, and also many of them were purely Christians like Mujaidel, Ma'loula, Hasake, Iqreth, Ber'im... not to forget the burning and bombing of Christian churches such as the Annunciation Basilica in Nazareth, 2 Baptist Churches in Jerusalem, a Christian Alliance church in Jerusalem, the Nativity church, Saint Anthony Catholic church in Jaffa/Yaffa that was fire bombed and shooted at by a Zionist terrorist militant, Saint Barbara church, a 4th century church in the Christian village of Aboud near Ramallah... not to forget that in the last Zionist war and terror against Gaza in 2008-2009, Israel has murdered 3 innocent Christians, bombed and destroyed many Christian homes and businesses... and also all Gaza's Christians churches and schools were bombed by the Zionists

You also need to spend more time to read the Bible to know that the source of our faith was NEVER Israel... and also to learn the difference between Biblical/Spiritual Israel aka Jacob and Zionist Colonial anti-Christ Israel....Biblical Zion is NOT the same as political terrorist Zionism.

Here are just a small example of the Zionist terror against the Christians and Churches in Palestine:

Christians Discriminated Against by Israel

Orthodox Jewish youths burn New Testaments in Or Yehuda

Israeli settlers burn church in Jerusalem

Gaza Baptist Church Destroyed by Israeli Strikes

Jewish extremists burn Narkis Street Baptist Church in Jerusalem

Church Building in Israel Set Ablaze

Who is the Terrorist: Hamas or Israel?

Greek Orthodox Church in Lebanon bombed by Israel

Enjoy what ur Zionist masters are doing to ur "fellow" Christians & Catholics:

Jerusalem Christians Denied Access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Catholics for Israel: It's sad to see that you prefer to continue in your anti-Israel hatred that is bringing a curse upon yourself and upon your people rather than choosing a better path. If you hate Israel so much and you think you will be much better off with the Muslims, why don't you go live in Gaza under Hamas? You know the Muslim saying "First Sabbath, then Sunday" - meaning that first the Muslims will kill the Jews, and then the Christians. What will you do then, still blame Israel?

You conveniently omit the fact that the ARABS launched the 1948 war and committed their own share of massacres (every day I go by the memorial stone of the Hadassah convoy massacre when 79 civilians, mostly doctors and nurses, were ruthlessly gunned down by Arabs). You also conveniently "forget" the 8,000 rockets launched by Hamas against Israeli cities that caused the tragic 2009 Gaza war.

I don't know why you see "hatred" in our response. We love the Palestinian people and wish them well. Everyone knows that there are Jewish extremists and some serious problems in Israeli society - and it's fine to condemn them. But to condemn the various *incidents* is not the same as just hating Israel like you do.

As for your rejection of Israel as the foundation of our faith, this is like cutting off the branch of the tree upon which you are sitting. Remember what St. Paul writes in the NEW Testament: "They are Israelites, and to them belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ." (Rom 9:4)

 What is "Christian" about your FB page? It's just a forum of anti-Israel hatred and venom. There is very little about it that is edifying or positive. Don't you see that you are cursing yourself and your own people by attacking and hating the Jews who are "beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable" (Romans 11:28-29)

As for the Israelis "denying access to the Holy Sepulchre" - this is a complete joke. I was there. The reason why they set up roadblocks is because there are so many people trying to get to the church that they would get crushed to death if there were no restrictions. If this farcical accusation is an indication of the other articles you cite, I would have a hard time believing any of them!

 You are very good at hurling insults, but not very good at replying to the facts. What exactly are the "lies" and "fabrications" or expressions of "hatred" in our previous posts? And how do you explain that the cardinal responsible for the Catechism of the Catholic Church agrees that the return of the Jews to their land is a fulfillment of biblical prophecy?

Once again, we plead with you to stop bringing a curse upon your own people and upon the Palestinian Christians. Repent from your anti-Israel hatred! Choose LIFE and BLESSING for the Palestinians by blessing and loving the people of Israel. As hard as this might be, this will do infinitely more for your people than all the anger and hatred that you are expressing now. You know the Lord is calling you to forgive and to love your enemy. DO IT! Renounce your way of hatred and choose life and blessing for the sake of your people and your children!

Jacko: Bla Bla Bla... typical Zionist propaganda that no one believes in anymore, even Israelis and Jews do not buy it as we all know better... you asked for a list of Zionist crimes against Christianity, and I see that u did not even comment on them or even condemned such satanic terrorist acts or showed sympathy to the victims of the Zionist crimes and terror... which proves that u r not a catholic or even a Christian; but as I said it before you are a mossad paid agent that is using naive Catholics to misinform and mislead them and have them to support the anti-Catholic and anti-Christ state that was founded by atheists, Christ-deniers and terrorists over the poor of the poor indigenous Palestinians and Christians of Jesus Land

it's sad that u r going against the teachings of the Catholic church! u r a hypocrite and a Zionist who follows the heretical teachings of the anti-Catholic Dispensational Theology that was founded last century by anti-catholic heretics!

James: Zionism is anti-Judaism and anti-Christ! it's heresy

Mansur: The jews of Jesus's time are not the same Jews of today. The israel of 2000 years ago is not today's israel. The name was stolen and used to get people to support the modern state. "God's Chosen people" who are they? What is Israel of the bible? these are two very important questions to answer. God's chosen people are people who believe in God and not a religious group or an ethnic group. Israel of the bible refers to the people of God in the entire world and not a state that was build on the blood of palestinians. The modern state of Israel does not follow the word of God. Many of its citizens are secular jews and do not believe in the God of Abraham. We the palestinian christians are the first people to receive the message of the lord and we have been faithful to that message through ages. Why do we not support the modern state of Israel "if the bible says so"? because the modern state of israel is not the israel of God. The Israel of the lord is his church and people all over the world and not a state that was build against the very basic fundamentals of both Judaism and Christianity.

Christian Zionism differs from church doctrine, due in part to its being developed by anti-state church clergymen and theologians in England. Today its views find significant support among the charismatic, Pentecostal and independent Bible churches in Protestant fundamentalism. Christian Zionists often view mainline Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic denominations with hostility and have at times considered the World Council of Churches and related bodies to be tools of the Antichrist. In the Holy Land, Christian Zionists have been hostile toward Palestinian Christians and generally detest Muslims as evil forces worshipping another God. Recent comments by Christian Zionists such as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and Franklin Graham (the son of evangelist Billy Graham) have added to the suspicion with which many Muslims view the Christian West.

Catholics for Israel: Jacko prefers cheap insults to rational discourse, so there is not really anything more worth saying to him, except that of course we condemn the incidents he mentions - at least those that are true. Some are isolated incidents that were condemned by the Israeli government and the majority of Israelis (burning of NT in Or Yehuda, shooting in church in Jaffa, attack on Baptist church); others are tragic accidents of wars provoked by Hezbullah and Hamas (Lebanon, Gaza), and others are complete bogus (Israel blocking access to Holy Sepulchre). We can only hope for Jacko to repent from his hatred so that he may stop being a curse to his own people, and choose instead forgiveness and reconciliation so that he may instead be a blessing to the Palestinians.

Mansur's position is the classic idea of 'replacement theology', the idea that the Church has replaced Israel as God's chosen people.  The Catholic Church now clearly rejects this false teaching, as clearly expressed in Nostra Aetate 4. Affirming God's eternal election of the Jewish people is not a idea that is limited to dispensationalism, it is also the clear teaching of Scripture and of the Catholic Church.

Many Palestinian Christians, including many of the clergy, still embrace the heresy of replacement theology because they think that supporting Israel means to support injustice against them, or to approve of every single action carried out by Israel, or to be generally against the Palestinians.  These claims are completely false - at least in our case: as "Catholics for Israel", we love the Palestinian people and wish the best for them. We also think that some actions of the Israeli government, army or individuals are wrong, and have no problem in criticizing them in some cases.

Unfortunately, many Palestinian Christians are completely fixated on their own agenda of Palestinian liberation theology. They hijack the Gospel to achieve political aims, while at the same time constantly spewing anti-Israel venom and hatred (like Jacko). In other words, they are Palestinian first, and Christians second.

Mansur's position that "Israel" is in fact the Church cannot be substantiated in any way by Scripture.  The NT uses the word "Israel" over 70 times, and in all cases (except one or two which are ambiguous), "Israel" always means the Jewish people - never the Church.  God's election of Israel never depended on whether Israel was faithful to God or not: the prophets constantly condemn Israel for their sins, but NEVER do they say that God has definitely rejected them.  The Church is grafted into the root of Israel, as St. Paul writes (Romans 11), and he warns us not to become arrogant against our root, Israel, because if we do, God can cut us off from grace.

This is in continuity with Gen 12:3 and Num 24:9: He who blesses Israel will be blessed; he who curses Israel will be cursed. Jacko is a sad example of the latter: full of hatred and anger against Israel and hardly reflecting the love of Christ at all, unable to engage in rational discourse and only capable of hurling insults.

Mansur continues with some bizarre claims that are unfortunately quite common among Palestinian Christians. Although false and quite unprovable, they find it necessary to constantly repeat them in order to substantiate their delegitimization of Israel:

"The jews of Jesus's time are not the same Jews of today" - how should this be proven? Apart from a trickle of conversions throughout history, it is clear to any serious historian that the Jewish people have been extremely strict in keeping and protecting their identity throughout the ages. And once again, the fact that they have tragically rejected Jesus does not cancel out God's election or his purposes for His people. The Jewish people remain the Jewish people.

Mansur also claims that "we the palestinian christians are the first people to receive the message of the lord" - with all respect, this claim is nonsense. The first Christians were all Jews - JEWS!  Just read the Acts of the Apostles. There was no such thing as "Palestinian Arab Christians" in the first century in the land of Israel - but rather Jews, Samaritans, Romans... and then later Byzantine (Greek) Christians. Arabs came much later.

Enough said. Again, we wish the best to our Palestinian Christian brothers, but find it very sad that they continue to sabotage their own cause by disrespecting and undermining God's eternal covenant with Israel, the root upon which their own faith is grounded.

Christian Celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem

By Nicole Jansezian

Article courtesy of Travelujah

As Jews in Israel take their meals in sukkahs, temporary structures that have been erected all around the country during the Feast of Tabernacles this week, many Christians continue their own celebration of the biblical holiday with the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem.

After a rousing message at Ein Gedi, a resort on the Dead Sea, Friday night and a restful Sabbath on Saturday, the Feast meetings returned to Jerusalem on Saturday evening and continue this week with events in additions to meetings.

Werner Oder, the son of a ranking and convicted Nazi official in Austria, who is now an Israel supporter spoke at the Feast recounting the testimony of his conversion from anti-Semitism to faith in God and love for the Jews and support for Israel.

The Feast this year includes a tour to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and a trip to Haifa to visit the home for Holocaust survivors that the ICEJ supports.

On Monday, the ICEJ is sponsoring bus tours designed to acquaint Feast pilgrims with various locations and situations around the country. One of the tours, which will be led by ICEJ spokesman David Parsons, is the flash points of Jerusalem including neighborhoods such as Ramat Shlmo, Sheikh Jarrah, Silwan to Gilo and Har Homa.

“We are trying to make them familiar with the issues surrounding some of these flash points they hear about in the media all the time,” Parsons said. “When (world leaders says that) new homes in Gilo constitute a settlement, that is ridiculous.”

The ICEJ Feast of Tabernacles Celebration

Another tour will travel along the lines of the 1967 borders, frequently mentioned by Palestinians as their desired lines for a state. The travelers will visit a community from where you can look right into Tel Aviv, thereby showing the strategic location of Jewish communities in the West Bank to Israel's defense should there be rocket attacks from there as there are from Gaza.

A third tour will take pilgrims to the Gaza border area, specifically the city of Sderot, which has takent he brunt of rocket attacks in the last decade. Feast participants will have the opportunity to deliver more bomb shelters donated by the ICEJ.

On Tuesday, a minimum of 2,500 Feast pilgrims will join in the Jerusalem march with colorful flags and outfits representing their countries. The ICEJ always comprises the largest delegation in the march.

While most of the Feast pilgrims are from Brazil, more worshippers from Asian nations have come to the Feast this year including a delegation of 150 from China, Taiwan, Japan and Thailand. The Christian pilgrims hail from more than 80 countries.

The theme of the Feast this year is “Israel – A light to the nations.” Parsons explained that this phrase, mentioned twice in Isaiah, has a specific application to the person of the Messiah and a broader application to Israel's spiritual character not just its leadership in scientific and economic fields.

“Israel may be a high-tech country, but the context of the promise was about its redemptive purposes and not just technological advances,” he said.

Parsons said that the global constituency of Israel-supporting Christians is starting to show and many are having an influence on their nations' voting patterns. The theme is a timely one as Israel grapples with anti-Semitism and anti-Israel resolutions at the United Nations.

“This year’s gathering is again underlining our message that Israel is not isolated, but has millions of Christian advocates and admirers worldwide… and we all look forward to celebrating the joyous festival of Sukkot with our Jewish friends,” ICEJ Executive Director Juergen Buehler said at the opening of the ICEJ celebrations on Thursday night.

By Nicole Jansezian, Travelujah

Photos courtesy of the ICEJ

Jerusalem Old City Arabs on the Palestinian State, Conflict and Peace

Just a few days away from the dramatic events that will occur this week in New York, when PA President Mahmoud Abbas will make a formal request at the UN to recognize a Palestinian state, I went out onto the streets of the old city of Jerusalem to hear from some of the local Arab population how they viewed the upcoming events.

I went out not really knowing what to expect. Would they be enthusiastic and hopeful? Would they see this as a step towards a resolution of the conflict and finally attaining peace? Or would they view it, rather, as a hostile action aimed at undermining Israel?

I interviewed a little more than a dozen shopkeepers and bystanders. Even though I spent most of my time in the Christian quarter, most of them turned out to be Muslims, which in itself says a lot about the demographics of the old city.

I first spoke to a young, mild-mannered Muslim shopkeeper named Esmat, sitting in front of his t-shirt and oriental clothing shop.

"Are you for the creation of a state of Palestine," I asked him.

"Yes, of course," he answered. "This will make things better for us. Hopefully there won't be any violence afterwards. Now, business is not so bad, but if there are problems afterwards, business will drop."

And what about Jerusalem? Esmat said he was in favor of dividing Jerusalem so that it would be the capital of both Israel and Palestine, seemingly unconcerned about the impracticability of having some kind of international border with passport control dividing the old city.

Further down the street on Christian Quarter Road, between the various souvenir shops, I had a brief exchange with an elderly Muslim man called Abed.  He also pronounced himself in favor of a Palestinian state, personally preferring the internationalization of Jerusalem rather than its division. Abed said that he often prays for peace. As I thanked him and began to walk away, he called me back and pointed to another man sitting across the alley, saying: "go speak to him, he has lots to say about this." And indeed he did.

The gentleman called Muhammad spoke to me for several minutes in impeccable English (he had lived in England for some time), sitting in his chair in front of a fruit juice stand, with his son sitting next to him, occasionally interjecting some uncalled for comments (such as "Jews are Hitler"). Muhammad believes that the whole business of going to the UN is one big show, and that Abu Mazen (Abbas) is only trying to appear as a strong leader and "hero." He saw nothing positive in the creation of a Palestinian state now because this will create greater obstacles to solving concrete problems such as the refugees: "with a Palestinian state," he said, we will lose the right of return for the refugees, and we will lose East Jerusalem."

So, I said, if all these Palestinian refugees should go back to Israel to live there, what about the Jewish settlers in Palestine? Can they stay there, or must they get out? Muhammad said that they should either get out or accept to live in Palestine, with no weapons and no privileges such as those that they enjoy now, like having their own roads which allows them total freedom of movement and upon which Palestinians are not allowed.

"But what about Hamas and the other terrorist groups?" I asked. Muhammad claimed that Hamas was actually Israel's creation. I found this hard to follow, but I think that his logic went something like this: since Israel doesn't want a Palestinian state, it allowed and even somehow favored the rise of Hamas so that their terrorist attacks against civilians would give Israel a pretext not to move forward with the peace process. I think I was too taken aback by this bizarre claim to come up with an intelligent reply. In addition, said Muhammad, the current Palestinian Authority is actually working for Israel, They have no backbone and really only want to make an impression on the international politics scene. In short, they are the “worst rulers that the Palestinians have ever had.”

I thanked him for his time and walked away, slightly confused, jotting down in my notebook the jist of what he had said.

My next stop was in a shop that I knew was owned by a kind Christian woman that I will call Sandy. When I asked her what she thought about the situation, she sighed and raised her eyes towards heaven, saying that she had no hope that things would improve. Sandy didn't think there would ever be peace in Jerusalem - as long as the Muslims and the Jews are around, because the positions of the two sides are irreconcilable. She then lowered her voice, even though we were alone in the shop at this point, and said that she had overheard her Muslim neighbor say "first, we will kill the Jews, and then we will kill the Christians." It was not the first time that I heard this saying. Sandy had also lived abroad, and she repeated several times how she wished she could leave again. I could not help but feel very sad at her hopelessness. I then asked her if there were any other Christians who I could talk to. She hesitated, and then said "people can't really talk freely here, they are afraid. Christians will not openly tell the truth."

I kept these words in mind as I walked into another Christian shop of archaeological artifacts and souvenirs held by an evangelical Christian. He was standing there chatting with two other young Christian friends in their 20s, one of them nonchalantly playing "Angry Birds" on his iPhone. The shop owner seemed to be the most serious of all, so I asked him for his opinion on things, but I noticed that at almost every question he deferred to his two friends. I immediately thought of the lady in the last shop: "people can't talk freely here." Perhaps I should be interviewing people only when they are alone, I thought, so that they are not under any peer pressure to parrot the things that they are expected to say?

His two friends did not come across to me as being the most devout Christians. "What do you think is the solution to the conflict?" I asked. "Suicide bombings" said the guy playing "Angry Birds," in Arabic, with a sarcastic sneer. Looking uncomfortable, the shop owner translated into English for me, quickly adding that he was only kidding. To my relief, the Angry Birds guy confirmed that he was indeed joking, but that there was no difference between suicide bombings and Israeli F-16s bombing civilians in Gaza. I was tempted to ask if he did not see a moral difference between a suicide bomber who intentionally murders civilians, and a targeted airstrike against known terrorist cells resulting in tragic but unintended civilian casualties - but I didn't feel that the debate would be very fruitful, so I kept my tongue. There followed a long litany of grievances: checkpoints, humiliations, being asked for their I.D. cards by the *expletive* Israeli police 4-5 times a day, and so on. I couldn't help but think to myself how their attitude ironically matched rather well the name of their iPhone game.

At this point it also struck me how little difference there was between the opinions of these guys and their Muslim neighbors, so I asked: "what difference does it make that you are Christian? How does your faith in Christ help you to deal with the conflict?" - wondering whether they actually had any such faith beyond being Christian by name. One of them said: "We are not violent, we don't hurt anyone, and we hope that there will be peace." I thanked them and moved on, walking towards the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, beginning to feel exhausted at hearing so many expressions of frustration and anger, cynicism and pessimism.

Just before I reached the Church, I stopped to talk to another young Muslim man who looked very bored sitting in front of his shop. It was again the similar language: "Palestinians want peace but Israelis don't. We are fed up." In the back of the shop was his father, sitting on a chair, who quickly joined in: "where there is justice, there is peace" he said, inviting me to come in. I stepped in and pursued the conversation with the father. He continued: "we want equal opportunities, there is constant discrimination against us, Israelis destroy the homes of Palestinians; true they are often built without a permit, but then they wait for the homes to be completely built and the furniture moved in and then they destroy everything, economically ruining the families that have built them." I thought that this was indeed a horrible thing to do, and it is no wonder that there is so much frustration if such things happen regularly... but do they?

The conversation with the Muslim gentleman somehow moved towards the issue of 9/11 and global terror. "Bush is so stupid, he just wanted to rule the whole world... what are the Americans doing in Iraq and Afghanistan?" But, I replied, wasn't there as a matter of fact a real problem of global Islamic terrorism? The 9/11 attacks preceded and provoked the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, didn't they? And what about the London, Madrid, Bali bombings, etc...? How do you think the US should have responded after 9/11? Should they have done nothing? He was not able to give me a coherent answer and kept going on his anti-American rant, saying that acts of terror were a distortion of Islam that he did not approve, but that America's politics of power will never bring peace.

After six or seven such conversations, I was beginning to feel dizzy. So Israel and America are at fault for all of the world’s problems, and the Palestinians have been nothing but innocent victims all along. And they really believe this. Trying to listen sympathetically, I could understand how their long list of grievances and sufferings, mixed along with a constant feed of anti-Israeli and anti-American propaganda, and a good dose of Middle Eastern pride rendered them completely incapable of admitting that perhaps the Arabs and Palestinians have also done a few things wrong (such as launching numerous wars of extermination and murderous terrorism campaigns against the Jewish State).

Still, I kept wondering: how true is what they are saying? How much of it is the result of suffering true injustices at the hands of the Israelis, and how much of it is ideological?

The next conversation came almost as an answer to my question, leaving no room for ambiguity. This encounter was now in the Muslim quarter, just on the edge of the Jewish quarter. I began speaking with an elderly man, but because his English was poor, the conversation soon shifted to a young, well built lad sitting across the alley from him, still in his 20s, with intense eyes and speaking fluent English. When I asked him my opening question about what he thought about the possibility of a Palestinian state, he said that he didn't like the way things were going.  Why, I asked?

- "Because I don't like the fact that Abu Mazen will leave half of the land to Israel," he said. "For you see, it is written in the Qur'an that jihad must continue until we have brought the entire land under the dominion of Islam... in fact, not only Palestine but the whole world."

"You see," he continued articulately and quietly, "I have to obey the Qur'an. The whole world must be ruled and judged by Islamic rule. This is not an idea of man but it is Allah's command. Islam is Allah’s system, intended for the whole world"

- "The whole world?" I exclaimed. "Even America and Europe?"

- "Yes," he said.

- "But is this not a recipe for perpetual war?" I replied, acting cool, detached, and mildly interested.

- "Oh no" he reassured me. "Jihad doesn’t mean war all the time. This will only be for a certain time. For when Islam takes over, non-Muslims just have to pay the jizziyeh tax to the Islamic authorities, and then they can live peacefully under Islamic rule.

I thanked him for his candidness and walked away, thinking how he had matter-of-factly confirmed in an instant everything I had read about Islam and jihad as being an absolutely normal and integral part of his religion.

On the way back home, I stopped and had a chat with one last shopkeeper who was more pragmatic and less religiously oriented than the previous one. He summarized well everything that I heard before: he hates the present situation; the Palestinians want peace; Abbas is sold to the US and for Israel; the Israelis are constantly destroying Palestinian houses; Jewish settlers are burning Palestinian trees; Israel is deceiving the Palestinians by constantly speaking about peace but never actually doing anything about it; the Jewish Temple never existed; the separation wall was built as a pretext to grab Palestinian land; he is against suicide bombings, but they are a natural response to Israeli aggression; Palestinians lose their citizenship if they leave the country for two years; they paid huge taxes to the Israeli government but get no services in return, etc, etc…

At this point, a French-Israeli you tour guide who was passing by with his group and had overheard the conversation politely intervened: "well," he said, "at least we are in a country where we are allowed to criticize our government, which might not be the case under another (Palestinian) rule... And remember the pitiful condition of the old city back under Jordanian rule when you didn't even have sewers, and how the Old City and your own condition has improved and developed under Israeli rule..."

I wrapped up my conversation with the shopkeeper who concluded with a thinly-veiled threat: "The Israelis had better give us our state, or we will get it by other means..."  I then caught up with the French-Israeli tour guide and asked if there was anything else he wanted to add. He said: "every time the Palestinians make strategic mistakes, and every time they are the ones who end up losing the most. It seems like this is what they are doing it again. Let's just hope that this will not lead to another regional war, and especially not one involving Iran..."

Mentally and emotionally exhausted, I headed back home, sadly thinking about Sandy's words: "as long as the Jews and Muslims are here there will never be peace..."  In the face of such cynicism and hopelessness, I thought that the most important thing we as Christians can do is to pray and work that the wounded inhabitants of this city and land may encounter Jesus, Messiah and Prince of Peace. Only He may renew their minds and hearts and turn a seemingly hopeless situation into one where true forgiveness, reconciliation and hope become again possible.

Conflict and Peace: Between Myth and Reality

On the Arab "Spring", Nakba, Hamas, Dhimmitude... and Sleeping Christians

In the last few months, it seems like the temperature has been steadily rising in the Middle East - and not only because of the nearing summer. The so-called "Arab Spring," initially carrying the hope that the fall of dictators in the Middle East would bring a blossoming of democracy and freedom in the Arab world, has already turned sour with bloodbaths in Egypt, Libya, Syria and Yemen. The death toll at this point of some 13,000 and counting - with no sign of true democracy on the horizon - raises serious questions as to whether we are witnessing a "spring" at all.  As Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu noted in his recent speech to the U.S. Congress, other revolutions that had raised similar hopes in the not too distant past ended up disastrously:

This historic moment holds the promise of a new dawn of freedom and opportunity. Millions of young people are determined to change their future. We all look at them. They muster courage. They risk their lives. They demand dignity. They desire liberty... Yet as we share their hopes, we also must also remember that those hopes could be snuffed out as they were in Tehran in 1979. You remember what happened then.  The brief democratic spring in Iran was cut short by a ferocious and unforgiving tyranny.  This same tyranny smothered Lebanon’s democratic Cedar Revolution, and inflicted on that long-suffering country, the [dark] rule of Hezbollah. 

In Israel, so far largely untouched by the nearby revolutions and uprisings, the developments are nevertheless worrisome.  On May 4, the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority signed a reconciliation agreement with the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas, which has been ruling the Gaza strip since the bloody conflict between them in 2007. Just a few days later, on May 9, Israelis tried to put their worries to rest for 24 hours as they celebrated the 63rd anniversary of their independence.

But what is a cause of celebration for some is a disaster for others: On May 15, Palestinians remembered "Nakba day" - the "day of the catastrophe" commemorating the displacement of Palestinian people that followed Israeli independence and the subsequent war launched by the Arab nations in 1948 (the discrepancy in the date is due to the fact that Independence Day is celebrated according to the Hebrew calendar, and "Nakba Day" according to the Gregorian calendar).  In addition to clashes and riots in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, in an unprecedented development, thousands of Palestinians and other Arabs marched towards the Israeli borders, and over one hundred protestors from Syria managed to breach the fence and entered Israeli territory - at the cost of more human life.

While the massive calls for a third intifada fortunately did not materialize and the violence quickly subsided, many challenges lie ahead in the coming months, with the interim Egyptian government flirting with the idea of cancelling the peace agreement with Israel, and with Palestinians expected to unilaterally declare statehood in September, causing Israeli police to prepare for wide-scale rioting.

With the ever-growing threats and attempts at delegitimizing the existence of Israel, what is perhaps most worrisome is the attitude of many Christians towards the conflict, ranging from misguided activism to naive passivity. I have recently been watching videos and visiting websites and Facebook pages of some Christian pro-Palestinian and "peace activist" groups, even engaging in conversation with some of them to try to better understand their point of view. These discussions, to be frank, were troubling.  I have found that the essential kernel of truth that they are supposed to stand for - which all Christians can agree with in principle - namely, the desire for peace, justice and dignity for the Palestinian people, becomes largely or even completely eclipsed by a number of nonsensical aberrations.  Some of these myths and lies are repeated ad nauseum until even sensible people start believing in them.  Here are some of the most prominent ones that come to mind:

1. The disproportionate amount of time, resources and energy spent in delegitimizing and attacking Israel rather than in proposing concrete solutions for the Palestinians (such as, for example, the anti-Israel campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions).
2. The disproportionate focus on Palestinian victimization and on Israeli injustices (some of which are true and certainly deserving of criticism, while others are greatly exaggerated), matched with a nearly total inability to see the "other side", namely the existential threat and fear of terror faced by Israelis almost on a daily basis.
3. The Palestinian inability to take responsibility for or even acknowledge the horrific acts of terrorism committed year after year against Israeli civilians.
4. The selective reading of history or even rewriting of historical facts.  Examples include the fixation on the Palestinian refugee problem while deliberately ignoring the story of the 800,000+ Jewish refugees who fled Arab lands in the years following the founding of the State of Israel, or more generally the myth of the vanishing Christian population in the Holy Land.
5. The Palestinian culture of incitement and hatred against Jews, and the public glorification of terrorists by the Palestinian Authority.
6. The propagandic use and wrenching out of context of hard realities such as the security fence/wall, originally built by Israel to stop relentless waves of terror bombings, but now used by Palestinian propagandists to symbolize an alleged "Israeli apartheid" - regardless of the fact that Israel is one of the most multi-cultural countries in the world.
7. The systematic demonization of Christian Zionists and supporters of Israel, who are commonly falsely portrayed as Arab-haters, avid supporters of injustice, or apocalyptic doomsayers.
8. The dhimmi mentality whereby out of fear for their safety, Christians oppressed under Islamic regimes prefer to remain silent or even claim that all is well with their Muslim neighbors to avoid further aggression, and instead blame Israel for everything.  

While one can appreciate the need to speak prudently in a situation of conflict with Islam, the absurd and disastrous result of dhimmitude is at least twofold: first, the one country that is most often singled out for criticism in the Middle East is ironically the one where Christians are entirely safe and enjoy full religious freedom, namely Israel.  Second, and carrying much graver consequences, the stories and reports that are told by many local Christians, increasingly tainted by fear, political correctness and dhimmitude, are forming a world opinion about the Middle East conflict that has more to do with caricature, fantasy and myth than with reality: this is the caricature of Israel the evil occupier, ruthlessly oppressing and dispossessing the poor Palestinians, and the fantasy that if only Israel would dismantle all settlements and grant the Palestinians their state, it would be the end of the Middle East conflict. Of course, as past Israeli withdrawals and concessions have demonstrated, nothing could be further from the truth.

Let's illustrate the problem with one small example. A few weeks ago, the Franciscan Media Center in Jerusalem interviewed Auxiliary Bishop of Jerusalem William Shomali on the Fatah-Hamas agreement. The news report claimed that the agreement between the two Palestinian factions could "mark a [positive] turning point in the Arab-Israeli conflict," and would somehow increase the Palestinian Authority's credentials to ask the UN for the recognition of a Palestinian state.  Msgr. Shomali claimed that the agreement would be an opportunity to "revive the [peace] negotiations," and that the freedom of local Christians (under a potential Hamas regime) would be guaranteed because "Hamas respects the freedom to build churches [and] to worship freely."

Over-zealous optimism, wishful thinking, or disconnect from reality?  It is hard to comprehend how Abu Mazen's agreement with the unrepentant terrorist organization, responsible for dozens of suicide bombings and the deaths of hundreds of civilians, could "mark a turning point" in the conflict or increase the PA's credentials. This is the same Hamas that has called for the killing of Christians and Jews "to the last one" and condemned the death of Bin Laden as the the murder of a heroic "Arab and Muslim holy warrior." Ironically, just two days before the bishop's interview was published, a Hamas MP and cleric said on Al-Aqsa TV in Gaza that the Jews were brought to Palestine for "the great massacre" whereby the Arabs will "have the honor of annihilating the evil of this gang," more dangerous than reptiles and lethal bacteria, so that "the land of Palestine will become the capital of the Islamic Caliphate."

An interesting basis for "reviving peace negotiations."

If this is not convincing enough, you can also read for yourself the Hamas Charter which openly proclaims that "Israel will rise and will remain erect until Islam eliminates it as it had eliminated its predecessors."  The charter also rejects all peace initiatives and praises Jihad and death for the cause of Allah as the Muslim's highest duty. As for Hamas guaranteeing the Christians' freedom of worship, this is the same Hamas that has relentlessly persecuted Christians in Gaza and is looking forward to the day when Rome and the rest of Europe will be conquered by Islam just like Constantinople was.

In this light, the "religious freedom" guaranteed by Hamas might of a rather peculiar type.

How the good bishop's rosy optimism can be reconciled with these basic facts on Hamas is a mystery. But this dichotomy between mythical opinion and sober reality demonstrates one thing: Christians around the world should be wary of passively swallowing any narrative or story coming from the Holy Land and Middle East - even when told by well-meaning Christians - without throwing in a good dose of critical thinking and fact finding. Things are not always as they seem. How many more bombings of churches will it take for the world to finally wake up and realize that Israel is not the problem?

Ariel Ben Ami

Intra-Catholic Tension on the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

This is the record of an impromptu discussion between Catholics for Israel and Fr. Jamal Khader, Professor of Dogmatic Theology at Bethlehem University and one of the authors of the Kairos Palestine document. It took place recently on this website, in the discussion forum under the article on Replacement Theology. We repost it here because it illustrates well the wide gap that exists between positions held by Catholics, and how, sadly, politics in the Holy Land too often overshadow theological discussion. Comments are welcome to continue the debate!

21/11/2010 Fr. Jamal Khader

What is Displacement Theology? It is a "theology" that uses the Word of God to justify the occupation of Palestinian land and the displacement of Palestinians from their land in the name of the prophecies and the promises of the Old Testament. In the name of fighting Replacement theology and Anti-Semitism, Christians try to amend for what they did to Jews (the horrible massacres of the Holocaust) at the expense of the Palestinians, and in their land. The Word of God is Good News to all, including to me, a Palestinian Christian. Remember that!

21/11/2010 Ariel

dear Fr. Khader,

thank you for your comment. You are right that the Word of God is good news for all, including Palestinian Christians like yourself. As we state often, Catholics for Israel is against every form of injustice. We know that our Palestinian brothers and sisters have suffered much, and we pray that you may live in peace, justice and dignity. Although the Scriptures are clear that there is an inseparable bond between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel, we agree that this should never be used to justify the unjust displacement of Palestinians or other injustices.

However, many Palestinian Christians tragically sabotage their own cause by embracing replacement theology and rejecting their biblical connection to the Jewish people and God's promises to them. One example is the disastrous 'Kairos Palestine' document which has brought shame on the Christians of the Holy Land by its extremist political views, whitewashing of terrorism and minimizing the islamic threat to Christians, and unjustly blaming Israel for all problems in the Holy Land. We pray that Palestinian Christians will stop cutting themselves off from their own roots. By acknowledging God's promises to His people Israel you will not harm your cause; on the contrary, it will be the source of abundant blessings, for God is faithful to His Word, and He blesses those who bless His people Israel!

22/11/2010 Fr. Jamal Khader

I am one of the authors of the Kairos document. I don't see any "extremist political views" or any other accusations you state. You are uprooting us from our land in the name of the Bible. "By acknowledging God's promises to His people", your way, does not only harm our cause, but justifies occupation, humiliation and denying our rights; it is distorting the Word of God and is exactly what I meant by the Replacement Theology. How do you explain the Jesus is the fulfillment of the Scriptures? the Yes of God to His promises? how does Jesus explain the notions of "land", "promises"... Our Christian reading of the Old Testament should be through our faith in the New, according to Catholic teaching. If you see the Kairos as embracing the replacement theology, read it again, if you read it in the first place. How can see what is not there ?!

22/11/2010 Ariel

dear fr. Khader,

you are ignoring what I just wrote above. We are against every form of injustice, humiliations, and abuses of your rights. But the Kairos document has been severely criticized by many Christians - including those sympathetic to your plight - for being biased, unbalanced, unfair, and very political. The fact that the leaders of the local Church have not officially endorsed it should tell you something: even they think that it is extreme, political, and very imbalanced. By continuing to support this very bad document you undermine your own credibility and alienate many Christians who would otherwise like to help you.

As you know, the promise of the land of Israel to the Jewish people, very often repeated in the OT, is never revoked in the NT. God does not cancel his promises to His people or change His mind, for His gifts and calling to Israel are irrevocable (cf. Rom 11:29). To claim that God went back on His promise would be to attack His very character and covenant faithfulness. Yes, His promises are fulfilled in Christ, extending His blessings to all Christians, but they are a fulfillment and not a cancellation of His promises to Israel. One can support God's promises to the Jewish people, and at the same time support justice and dignity for the Palestinians. Why should the two be opposed?

We have published a critique of the Kairos document, and we encourage you to read also our address to our Arab Christian brothers. Perhaps it is time for a new approach, Fr. Khader. If perhaps instead of just angrily blaming Israel for everything, you and the other authors would reflect on God's covenant with Israel (as difficult as this may be), affirm His faithfulness to His people instead of denying it, humbly and clearly acknowledge the evils of Islamic Palestinian terrorism which caused the construction of the dreadful security wall, condemn the Hamas rockets as loudly as you condemn Israeli injustices, publicly ask our Jewish brothers for forgiveness for decades of Palestinian hatred and violence against them - now THAT would be a courageous and admirable approach in the true Spirit of Christ that would win you so many more supporters for your cause than your present anti-Israel approach. Remember that those who bless Israel will be blessed and those who curse them will be cursed. Choose blessings and let uswork together in upholding both God's covenant promises to Israel and in working for peace, justice and dignity for your own people!

22/11/2010 Fr. Jamal Khader

Simple questions: Do you support the occupation of the Palestinian Territories (what you will call Judea and Samaria)? Is that a Palestinian land or an Israeli land?

If God promised this land to His people, is His plan to displace the Palestinians from their land and make them refugees? Is affirming the faithfulness of God to His people means denying the Palestinians their national rights? Is the modern State of Israel, with its occupation, a fulfillment of God's promises?

If you see the Kairos document as "very bad", you are unable to understand what justice means. you can repeat ad nauseam that you want justice, but what you do is supporting injustice, in the name of God! and please, do not pretend that you care about the Palestinians, because you don't.

"Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth" (Jn 9, 41)

P.S. you can continue to blame the victims for their suffering, but this will not bring justice and reconciliation. just remember that the (Christian) West committed the Holocaust, not the Muslims; the (Catholic) west spread the "teaching of contempt", not the Palestinians. and now you pretend to teach us how to deal with the Jewish people?

22/11/2010 Ariel

Dear fr. Khader,

These are good questions but not necessarily “simple.” If they were that simple, then surely someone would have solved them by now. We do not claim to have definitive answers to them. We don’t support the difficult situation of the Palestinian Territories, but we also don’t think the term “occupation” is appropriate, for then why didn’t the Palestinians speak of previous “Jordanian occupation” (1948-67), “British occupation” (1917-48.), or even “Turkish occupation”? Since there was never a Palestinian state, we believe that the road to peace has to be based on correct facts on not on artificial revisions of history that falsely claim that Israel just “occupied Palestine” for no reason, ignoring the fact that every time territory has changed hands in the last 100 years it was a response to violence or acts of aggression from Arab countries against Israel. As you know, Arab violence and terrorism against Jews (already a problem from the 1920s through the 60s) came long before the “occupation” – so to find a just solution this too needs to be acknowledged and repented of.

Palestinian or Israeli land? Well, as you know, clearly according to the Scriptures God promised the land to Israel. But is it therefore God’s plan to displace Palestinians and make them refugees? No, certainly not, for He is a God of justice. We think that Israel should repair injustices when they have truly been committed. But we don’t understand why Israel has integrated hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees from Arab countries from the 1948 war and nobody talks about their “rights”, while Palestinian refugees are kept in camps as political playing cards to further a political agenda. There are two sides to the conflict. Blaming only one side and whitewashing the very wrong deeds committed by the other is not the road to peace and justice, which must be based on truth.

We are not sure about “Palestinian national rights” – Palestinian rights, certainly, but national rights… we are concerned about the danger of Islamism as a much greater threat to Christians than Israel. We also find the anti-Jewish incitement and hatred in Palestinian culture very disturbing, with all the talk one hears of “liberating all of Palestine” – including Tel Aviv and Haifa, meaning in effect the destruction of Israel. After all, Palestinians voted Hamas into power, so it makes us very reluctant to support the national rights of a people who would vote for and support an organization committed to the destruction of Israel. I have in fact personally spoken to many Palestinian Christians who prefer to live under Israeli sovereignty and democracy rather than the looming threat of an Islamic rule and Sharia law.

Is the modern state of Israel with its “occupation” a fulfillment of God’s promise? Since God promised to return the people of Israel to their land, we would certainly see God’s hand behind the modern return of the Jews. We don’t believe the modern state of Israel is strictly speaking a “fulfillment” of those promises because it is still mixed up with human sin and the messy politics of the Middle East – which has caused a lot of hurt and heartbreak on both sides. Yet Israel’s holiness is not a prerequisite for God’s faithful action, as we see in His providence over Israel in the OT.

22/11/2010 Fr. Jamal Khader

Here is what I understood from you message: there is no occupation; Palestinians have no national rights; there was never an independent Palestinian State, so why create it now?; Islam and arab terrorism is the problem; and Palestinians need to apologize from Israel; and God's hand is behind the modern state of Israel.
You have the right to think whatever you want, even that the muslims are the incarnation of devil. but to pretend to say that in the name of God, the Bible and the Catholics is not consistent with your ideology.
What you are saying is pure zionist ideology that (ab)uses the Word of God.

If you don't recognize me as part of the Palestinian PEOPLE, I don't want your pity to my sufferings.
Besides your prayers, what do you do for justice to the Palestinians?

23/11/2010 Yochanan

Can I make a few points?

1. To speak about the Jewish return en masse to the Land of their forefathers ("the gifts and the call are irrevocable", Rom 11,29) is one thing, the administration of justice for its inhabitants is another. The two issues should be kept separate. We can perfectly well uphold the second, while accepting the first.

2. The whole issue of whether or not there will be a Palestinian State (rather than an Autonomy) has been under discussion for some years. After the Palestinian leadership rejected the Israeli offers of 2000 (Camp David), 2001 (Taba), and 2007 (Annapolis), and after the splitting of the Palestinian Autonomy into two rival parts (West Bank and Gaza), it is difficult to know what exactly the Palestinians understand by their 'Palestinian National Rights'. The latest opinion polls suggest that Palestinians want all the land West of the Jordan River for themselves (cf. 60% of polled Palestinians accept a two-state solution, but only as a step to a one state solution) and, of course, they already form the majority (70%) of the population East of the Jordan River, in Jordan.

3. According to Malcolm Lowe's review on this website, Fr. Khader's Kairos Palestine document subtly aligns itself with the Palestinian desire for one state in which they will be the majority: “A naïve reader will not notice here what a more attentive reading reveals: the authors want to see a single state embracing Muslims, Jews and Christians alike. Indeed, nowhere in the document does the term “two states” occur. Likewise, the term “occupation” is freely used, but without a clear statement of what areas are considered to be “occupied.” Thus the document delivers different messages to different audiences. Well-intentioned but unwary sympathizers can imagine that the authors subscribe to “two states for two peoples,” but insiders can be sure that the ultimate aim is the old one of a unitary Palestine”. In view of the present ascendancy of Fundamentalist Islam in the region, there is no doubt that such a state would rapidly come under Islamic domination and Sharia Law, as has happened in Gaza and is about to happen in Lebanon, for example. So the whole discussion of Palestinian statehood now revolves around whether this Land should be all under the Muslims or all under the Jews. With what is happening to Christians under Islamic regimes throughout the Middle East, but especially in Pakistan, Iraq, Egypt and Gaza, it is astonishing that Fr. Khader should be promoting a situation that would bring Islamic, or more likely Islamist, rule in this country.

4. Under these circumstances what should Christians be doing? What does Jesus tell us by his own example? Are not the Palestinians in a similar position to that of the Jews of his time, when the Romans ruled their territory? Just as the Jewish people in those days were driven by nationalist Jewish zealots to rebel against the Romans and expel them totally from the land of Palestine, so now the Palestinian people are being urged by nationalist Islamic zealots to rebel against the Israelis and expel them totally from the land of Israel. Far from inciting, or in any way supporting, the nationalist rebellion against the Romans, Jesus focused on bringing the Kingdom of God close to his countrymen. The degree to which Jesus set himself apart from the nationalist aspirations of his contemporaries is revealed by his uncommonly sympathetic attitude to the Roman occupiers: for example, he admired the Roman centurion's faith and was pleased to heal his child or servant (Mt 8,5-13 et par), he counseled his people to love their enemies and pray for their persecutors (foremost among whom were the Romans, Mt 5,43-48 et par.), he advised them to go two miles with the soldier who forced them to go only one mile (Mt 5,41), he recommended paying taxes to Caesar (Mt 22,15-22), he recognized that Pilate's authority came from God (Jn 19,11), and he begged the Father to forgive the Roman soldiers who crucified him (Lk 23,34). As the Israelis today stand in a similar position to the Romans in those days, it does not take much to imagine what our Lord's attitude to them would be. This also should be the attitude of our Church. Our purpose as a Church should be to win the hearts of the Jews for Christ, just the early followers of Jesus were instructed to win over the hearts of the Romans.

5. Fr. Khader's conclusion is immensely saddening: "If you don't recognize me as part of the Palestinian PEOPLE, I don't want your pity to my sufferings. Besides your prayers, what do you do for justice to the Palestinians?" If I interpret this rightly, Fr Khader is essentially saying he is first and foremost a Palestinian, before being a Catholic or a Christian. Nationalist concerns are uppermost for him and trump fellowship in Christ. He wants no pity or help from those who do not support his irredentist Palestinian cause. If the Church decides that it is essential for the Jews to be gathered here in this Land, at this time, for God's inscrutable purposes, whatever they are, then Fr Khader wants no pity or help from the Church. His idea of justice is a Palestinian State from the river to the sea, ruled by anyone except the Jews. This could be the position of a Nationalist Church of Palestine, but it does not resonate with the post-Vatican II Catholic Church as far I understand it.

23/11/2010 Ariel

thank you Yochanan for these comments. I totally agree with you. Fr. Khader I am also very disappointed with your reply. I went through the trouble of writing a response as balanced as I could, and you respond with an oversimplified caricature of my position. Of course we do recognize you as part of the Palestinian people, how else should we? What do we do for justice for the Palestinians (with our very limited means)? Try to maintain a loving and encouraging presence to all people of the Holy Land - affirming both God's promise for Israel, and the need to restore justice and dignity to the Palestinians. Again - why should these be mutually exclusive?

In all sincerity, what do you propose we should do to make you happy? Engage in anti-Israel activism like you? Deny God's promises to His people as affirmed by St. Paul? Bash and blame Israel for everything and pretend that Palestinians have never done anything wrong? Live in the illusion that Islamic hatred of Jews and increasing oppression of Christians is just a myth?

In other words, are you saying that a good Catholic must automatically embrace the Palestinian nationalist cause, and one who has sympathies towards Israel is automatically a bad Catholic?

Yochanan has asked a sobering but serious question that is worthy of consideration: as a priest, are you first and foremost a Christian and minister of the Lord, longing and working for the Kingdom of God, or are you primarily an anti-Israel political activist striving towards Palestinian nationalist ambitions - which, if they ever become realized, are not by any means a guarantee that life will become easier for Palestinian Christians?

23/11/2010 Athol

Father Khader you do not speak for all Palestinian Christians. I met many Palestinian Christians when I lived in Jerusalem who told me that privately they prefer Israeli rule to Muslim; however in public they had to pretend they supported the Muslims out of fear. The Muslims told them. "First we will get rid of the Saturday people and then you Sunday people." Many of them disliked the approach of Michel Sabbah whom they called the "Muslim Patriarch". Many of them were so disgusted with the worldly, materialistic and political nature of many of the priests and Bishops in the Holy Land that they only went to the church infrequently for special feasts etc.