PALESTINIAN CRIMES AGAINST CHRISTIAN ARABS
By Manfred Gerstenfeld
FrontPage magazine.com
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Thursday, September 25, 2008
CA
Under the Palestinian regime Christian Arabs have been victims of
frequent human rights abuses by Muslims. There are many examples
of intimidation, beatings, land theft, firebombing of churches
and other Christian institutions, denial of employment, economic
boycotts, torture, kidnapping, forced marriage, sexual harassment,
and extortion. Palestinian Authority (PA) officials are directly
responsible for many of the human rights violations. Muslims who have
converted to Christianity are in the greatest danger. They are often
left defenseless against cruelty by Muslim fundamentalists. Some have
been murdered.
Christian Arabs also fall victim to the chaos and anarchy typical of PA
rule. This situation is fostered by societal rigidity, criminal gangs,
lack of education, absence of due process, incitement, unreliable
courts, and the denial of these problems-all running counter to
Israel’s desire for a prosperous and stable neighbor.
Muslim attitudes toward Christians and Jews are influenced by the
concepts and prejudices about their inferiority that the practice of
dhimmitude has spawned in Islamic society. As dhimmis, Christians
living in Palestinian-controlled territories are not treated as
equals of Muslims and are subjected to debilitating legal, political,
cultural, and religious restrictions.
The human rights violations against the Christian Arabs in the
disputed territories are committed by Muslims. Yet for political and
economic reasons many Palestinian Christian leaders blame Israel for
these crimes rather than the actual perpetrators. This motif of the
transference of blame has been adopted by several Christian leaders
in the Western world. Others there who are aware of the PA’s human
rights abuses choose to remain silent.
"The disputed territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have been
administered by the Palestinian Authority (PA)-and recently, in part,
by Hamas. As a result of the Oslo peace process, the Palestinians were
able to establish their own quasi-government. Under this regime the
Christian Arabs in these territories have been victims of frequent
human rights abuses including intimidation, beatings, land theft,
firebombing of churches and other Christian institutions, denial of
employment, economic boycott, torture, kidnapping, forced marriage,
sexual harassment, and extortion.
"Muslims who have converted to Christianity are the ones most in
danger. They are often left defenseless against cruelty by Muslim
fundamentalists. PA and Hamas officials are directly responsible for
many of the human rights violations. Christian Arabs also fall victim
to the chaos and anarchy that typifies PA rule."
Justus Reid Weiner* is an international human rights lawyer and a
member of the Israel and New York bar associations. His professional
publications have appeared in leading law journals and intellectual
magazines. Weiner lectures widely abroad and in Israel and teaches
international law and business courses at the Hebrew University
of Jerusalem.
He remarks: "The human rights crimes against the Christian Arabs in
the disputed territories are committed by Muslims. Yet many Palestinian
Christian leaders accuse Israel of these crimes rather than the actual
perpetrators. This motif has been adopted by a variety of Christian
leaders in the Western world. Others who are aware of the human rights
crimes choose to remain silent about them."
Dhimmitude and Persecution In Weiner’s view the crimes committed
against Christian Arabs result from a way of thinking that dates
back to the earliest days of Islam. "Traditionally, Christians and
Jews were given an inferior social status known as dhimmitude in
Islam. The dhimma is a legal contract of submission that was imposed
upon the indigenous non-Muslim populations in regions conquered by
the spread of Islam. Although Jews and Christians were not forced to
convert to Islam, they were not treated as the equals of Muslims.
"As dhimmis, Jews and Christians were subjected to both legal and
cultural restrictions under Islamic law.[1] For example, Muslims could
ride horses whereas Christians and Jews were limited to donkeys. Or,
Muslims were permitted to wear garments of fine cloth while Christians
and Jews were only allowed to wear clothing made from coarse fabric.
"To this day, Muslim attitudes toward Christians and Jews are
influenced by the concepts and prejudices that dhimmitude has spawned
in Islamic society. In Iraq, for example, the ancestral community
of Chaldean Christians has recently become a target of vandalism,
property theft, infringement of privacy, harassment, arbitrary and
prolonged detention, kidnapping, rape, beatings, car bombings, torture,
and even murder.
"There are many examples of Christian suffering in Islamic
countries. In November 2006, six Molotov cocktails damaged a Protestant
place of worship in western Turkey, breaking windows and scorching the
exterior of the building. This attack followed months of harassment of
Christians in the town of Odemis, sixty-five miles east of Izmir. In
a town near Mosul (in Iraq) in October 2006, a fifty-nine-year-old
Syrian Orthodox priest named Father Boulos Iskander was beheaded. His
kidnappers had demanded $40,000 USD and required that the priest’s
church publicly repudiate Pope Benedict XVI’s remarks on Islam.[2] It
is interesting that this demand was directed at an Orthodox Christian
priest, who would have had nothing to do with any statement by the
Catholic Pope.
"In Egypt, in October 2006, a Christian teenager escaped her Muslim
kidnappers hours after they had drugged her on a public bus. They
threatened to rape her and convert her to Islam if her family didn’t
leave their Nile Delta city of El-Mahala el-Kobra. In a similar story,
a fifteen-year-old escaped from being held captive in Cairo’s southern
suburb of Helwan while her captors were away breaking their Ramadan
fast.[3]
"Such attacks have evolved into an imminent crisis for the Christian
minority in every Muslim-ruled country of the Middle East, North
Africa, and Asia. Their Christian populations are in major decline,
they are constantly under threat of violence, and there is a general
feeling that they have no future. Some examples concern the Copts
in Egypt and the Maronites in Lebanon. The scholarship of Nina Shea
and Paul Marshall on the persecution of Christians in Islamic lands
brings many proofs of this.[4]
"Israel is the only exception in the Middle East where the Christian
population since 1948 has increased. It has risen by more than 400
percent. This also includes non-Arab Christians, such as Russian
Christians who have come here as spouses of Jews and otherwise."
Weiner adds: "Similar troubles as for the Christians have emerged for
a whole range of nonconformists in the Islamic world. For example, in
July 2005, two alleged homosexual teenage boys were publicly executed
in Iran.[5] The threats are affecting many throughout the region,
including owners of internet cafes, of restaurants or stores selling
alcohol, land dealers, independent journalists, and even authors such
as Salman Rushdie. The international human rights community has thus
far done virtually nothing to protect such nonconformists."
A Culture of Intolerance Weiner observes: "As dhimmis, Christians
living in Palestinian-controlled territories are not treated as
the equals of Muslims. They are subjected to debilitating legal,
political, cultural, and religious restrictions. This has become a
critical problem for the Palestinian Christians in the West Bank and
Gaza. Muslim groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad have built a culture
of hatred upon the age-old foundations of Islamic society. Moreover,
the PA has adopted Islamic law into its draft constitution.
"In 2006, Hassan El-Masalmeh, a member of the Bethlehem City
Council and local Hamas leader, publicly advocated implementing a
discriminatory tax on non-Muslim residents, known as al-jeziya. The
Koran requires the imposition of this tax on all dhimmis. It legalizes
the second-class status of such residents. El-Masalmeh stated that,
‘We in Hamas intend to implement this tax someday. We say it openly
and we welcome everyone to Palestine, but only if they agree to live
under our rules.’ One example occurred in late 2007 when an evangelical
pastor was forced to leave Ramallah under threats from Tanzim gunmen;
soon after, his congregation dispersed. Clergy under threat by gunmen
should at least make a good-faith effort to use their media connections
to publicize their plight and thereby garner a degree of protection
for themselves and their followers.
"In such an environment, Christian Arabs have found themselves victims
of prejudice and hate crimes. Tens of thousands of Palestinian
Christians have left their ancestral homes and emigrated to North
America, Central America, South America, Europe, and Australia. They
flee to almost any country that will issue them a visa.
"A majority of the Christians living under PA and Hamas rule are Greek
Catholic or Greek Melkite. Others are Lutherans, Roman Catholics,
Anglicans, Syriacs, Armenians, Copts, Maronites, Ethiopian Orthodox
Christians, as well as several other denominations. The Palestinian
Christian population has always been concentrated in and around the
cities of Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Bethlehem."
Developments in Bethlehem "The demographics in these areas have
changed drastically. Bethlehem is a prime example. Estimates show a
sharp demographic Christian-Muslim shift. The Christian population
went from an 80 percent majority in 1950, to a 60 percent majority
in 1990, to approximately a 40 percent minority in 2000. Today the
population of Christian Arabs in Bethlehem is hovering at about 15
percent of the city’s total population. It is estimated that for the
past seven years over one thousand Christians have been emigrating
from the Bethlehem area annually. At present an estimated ten to
thirteen thousand Christians remain in the city.
"Neither the Palestinian Christian leaders nor the PA want to reveal
accurate statistics. That would mean the extent of the emigration
would become publicly known. They would then have to face questions
about the reasons for this decline."
Weiner points out that Yasser Arafat determined the policy that led to
this demographic shift. "After the PA gained control of Bethlehem it
redistricted the municipal boundaries of the city. Arafat’s motivation
for the change was to ensure a Muslim majority in any elections to be
held in the area. By doing so, he annexed an additional thirty thousand
Muslims and a few thousand Muslim Bedouins in adjacent areas. This,
combined with substantial Muslim immigration from the nearby city of
Hebron, dramatically transformed the demographic reality.
"Arafat also defied tradition by appointing a Muslim governor of the
city. The Bethlehem City Council, which by Palestinian law must have
a Christian majority, has been taken over by Muslims. Eight of the
fifteen seats on the council are still reserved for Christians, but
in the latest municipal elections of May 2005 a coalition with crucial
support from Hamas emerged victorious.[6] Hamas today holds six of the
fifteen council seats and their Christian allies hold four.[7] Arafat
crowned his efforts when he converted the Greek Orthodox monastery next
to the Church of Nativity into his official Bethlehem residence.[8]
"The problems for Christians in Bethlehem are typical throughout
the Middle East. The Lebanese Christian community faced similar
problems during the 1980s. The assassinated Christian prime minister
of Lebanon, Bashir Gemayel summed up the situation: ‘A Christian,
like a Jew . . . is not a full citizen and cannot exercise political
rights in any of the countries which were once conquered by Islam.'[9]
"In Palestinian society Christian Arabs have no voice and no
protection. It is no wonder they have been leaving. Because of
emigration-some of it dating back two or three generations-seventy
percent of Christian Arabs who originally resided in the West Bank
and Gaza now live abroad. Tens of thousands live in Sydney, Berlin,
Santiago, Detroit, and Toronto. The emigration of Christian Arabs
has multiplied over the last decade, with no end in sight.
"It is currently estimated that the number of Christians living in
Gaza totals only 1,500-3,000 amid 1.2 million Muslims.[10] Probably
less than fifty thousand Christians remain in all of East Jerusalem,
the West Bank, and Gaza together.
"Taybeh, a village located deep in the West Bank, is the only
all-Christian village left in the PA. As a result of the perpetual
violence, many residents of Taybeh have gone abroad and only 1,300
remain.[11] The situation of these Christians has become grim."
The Abuse of Human Rights Before giving examples of human rights
abuses against Christians in the PA, Weiner remarks: "Over this
ten-year period, my research assistants and I have interviewed scores
of Christian victims. Many of those interviewed were too terrified
to tell their stories. In an effort to reassure them, I promised to
conceal their real names, professions, and places of residence.
"My first example concerns the routine extortion of Christian
businessmen by PA officials and street thugs. It involves an Armenian
Christian jewelry- store owner from Jerusalem. During a business trip
to Gaza he was taken into custody and extorted by the Palestinian
police. He showed the officers the necessary licenses and permits to
sell his gold jewelry. Nevertheless, he was forced to hand over all
his money and gold jewelry and was subsequently beaten for more than
six hours.
"After refusing the offer of the police to leave with half his gold,
he was beaten for another two hours in the police station. His watch,
his rings, half his gold jewelry, and the $6,000 USD he was carrying
were taken from him before he was allowed to leave.
"The Armenian complained to the PA’s minister of industry and
commerce. He was then told he had no recourse but to speak with
Arafat. Further efforts were futile. As a Christian he didn’t have
the necessary connections to get back what was stolen from him in
the police station. Nor were the perpetrators charged or punished."
Kidnapping and Seduction of Christian Women "Incidents of Muslim men
‘seducing’ or kidnapping Christian girls have caused growing anxiety
among the Christian population. In May 2004, a sixteen-year-old
Christian girl from Bethlehem, who was a U.S. citizen, went missing
for five days. She was kidnapped by a twenty-three-year-old Muslim
man. When the family lodged a complaint with the PA police, little
was done to help them. The police accepted the testimony of the Muslim
kidnapper at face value. He claimed that they wanted to get married.
"The girl’s family knew that the Muslim man had a brother who was a
high-ranking officer in the PA security services. They feared that
the PA police’s unwillingness to act on the family’s complaint was
due to this officer’s connections.
"The kidnapper sought refuge in Hebron where he had an extended
family. Because their families are large, it is easy for Muslims to get
away with crimes against Christians who lack strength in numbers. In
desperation the girl’s family contacted the American Consulate in
Jerusalem. Thanks to their intervention, the girl was rescued and
left for the United States with her family.
"When a crowd of Christian men tried to stage a demonstration outside
the kidnapper’s house, the Palestinian police-all of them Muslims-used
excessive force against the demonstrators. They fired into the air
in an attempt to disperse the crowd. At least thirty-five Christian
men were injured. The episode received virtually no international
media coverage."
Weiner explains that this is far from being an isolated case:
"A Muslim family appeared uninvited on the doorstep of a wealthy
Christian family in the West Bank. They brought along a sheikh and
demanded that the Christian family’s daughter, known for her beauty,
marry their son. The father of the Christian family asked for a
two-day reprieve to think things over. The Muslim family agreed,
but then apparently reconsidered. They reappeared-again uninvited-the
following day. Their son was dressed up for his wedding, accompanied by
the sheikh and fifteen Muslim men. To protect his family the Christian
girl’s father opened fire on the Muslim entourage, killing three and
wounding ten. The girl’s family immediately abandoned their home and
fled abroad."
Persecuting Converts to Christianity "In compliance with the sayings
(Hadith) of the Prophet Muhammed, Muslim converts to Christianity
are ruthlessly persecuted for changing their faith.[12] It is a
common tactic to try to force Christians-by-choice to repudiate their
beliefs.[13] One example involves two brothers whom I will call Saliba
and Najib, both converts to Christianity from the northern West Bank.
"After taking part in a Christian prayer session with German tourists,
Najib received a summons to appear before the Palestinian secret
police. During questioning he was accused of collaborating with Israeli
and American intelligence. After the interrogation the Palestinian
police placed a cardboard sign on his back upon which was written,
‘Najib the Christian.’ Then he was told to ‘curse Jesus.’
"Najib was told by the secret police that from then on his life would
be nothing but suffering. He was released at the end of the day and
fled when Palestinian police came to his house to detain him for
more questioning. As a fugitive from the PA, Najib made contact with
Israelis who arranged for him to hide in a bomb shelter in a Jewish
settlement. He ended up staying there for three years until he was
granted asylum in Norway, where he lives today.
"Najib’s brother Saliba spent twenty-one months in a PA prison-from
August 2000 to May 2002-after being arrested on fabricated charges. He
was held for seven months in underground solitary confinement. Saliba
testified to me and my assistants about his suffering in that jail:
I was beaten with sticks; they stripped me naked and made me sit on
bottles, and on the legs of chairs that they turned upside down, and
many, many other sadistic things that I am even ashamed to say. Many
times they allowed lynch mobs like the Al-Aksa Brigades to come in
and pull prisoners out of the cells. They were taken out and shot on
the spot, their bodies then dragged through the streets for all to see.
Although complaints of Israeli misconduct are loudly voiced, Weiner
is not aware of any such complaints about these examples of Muslim
misconduct.
"The PA had sentenced Saliba to be executed. However, before they could
carry this out he and others were liberated from prison by the Israel
Defense Forces, which entered the disputed territories in response
to a wave of suicide bombings that had killed hundreds of Israelis.
"After Saliba’s liberation he was able to secure a temporary permit
to live in Israel. However, he was unable to obtain similar permits
for his wife and eight children. They remained behind in the disputed
territories under constant threat of harassment. Today Saliba lives
in the town of Ramle in Israel, unable to safely return to his family
and hoping to find asylum in Norway to join his brother."
The Murder of a Convert "Of another Christian convert, Ahmad El-Achwal,
the real name can be given because he was murdered. He was married,
a father of eight, and lived in the Askar refugee camp near the West
Bank city of Nablus. The PA set out to make Ahmad’s life unbearable
after he became a Christian.
"Ahmad was initially arrested on fabricated charges of stealing
gold. The only gold in the entire family was his daughter’s delicate
necklace, which had been given to her for her birthday by her
grandfather. The family still had the receipt from the store where
it was purchased. Ahmad was kept in a tiny cell and regularly left
without food or water for days on end. The torture he sustained during
the interrogation required lengthy hospitalization.
"When I interviewed Ahmad, he gave me photos of his injuries taken
while he was recuperating in a hospital. It was clear that he had been
tortured. Ahmad had suffered extensive and serious burns on his back,
buttocks, and legs. The heated torture implement that was applied to
his skin reminded me of similar medieval instruments.
"After he was released from prison, Ahmad began to use his apartment
as an informal church. He distributed booklets on Christianity and
spoke to Palestinian Muslims about his newfound faith. Ahmad did this
despite his fears of harassment and persecution.
"Over a seven-year period, Palestinian security forces repeatedly
arrested him and searched his home. Sometimes they confiscated his
Bibles and other religious books. Ahmad was again imprisoned for
various periods that, together, totaled over a year. Promises were
made that if he reverted to Islam he would be freed from prison and
given a senior job in the PA with a large office.
"Not all his suffering emanated directly from the PA. Ahmad operated
a falafel stand in Nablus. His Muslim landlord refused to continue
renting it to him because of his conversion to Christianity. He
then moved to Jerusalem to find work because of the ongoing
harassment. However, when Ahmad went back to visit his family in
Askar, he was beaten by a group of masked men. Palestinians affiliated
with the PA security services also torched his car. His residence
was firebombed. On 21 January 2004, Ahmad was shot dead by masked
gunmen. His murderers have not been brought to justice."
Yet Another Murder "Rami Khader Ayyad is another victim of murder
motivated by religion. He lived in Gaza City with his two children and
his wife, who was pregnant with their third. His Teachers Bookshop
sold Bibles and Christian literature. Ayyad was associated with
the Palestinian Bible Society, which promotes Christian presence in
Muslim areas.
"In April 2007, Ayyad’s store was firebombed by a Muslim ‘vice
squad’ that was attacking targets they connected with Western
influence. According to Ayyad’s family and neighbors, he had regularly
received anonymous death threats from people angered by his missionary
work.
"Ayyad was abducted on the evening of 6 October 2007 after closing his
store. He called his family to let them know he would be returning
late in the evening.[14] Ayyad’s lifeless body was found early the
next morning with visible signs of torture, including a gunshot wound
in the head and numerous stab wounds. Witnesses and security officials
stated that they watched three armed men, two of them wearing masks,
beat Ayyad repeatedly with clubs and the butts of their guns while
accusing him of spreading Christianity in Gaza. These witnesses said
that after the three men beat Ayyad, each of them shot him.
"Sheikh Abu Saqer, leader of Gaza’s Jihadia Salafiya Islamic program,
asserted that while his group did not carry out the Ayyad murder,
‘Christians engaging in missionary activity in Gaza would be dealt
with harshly.’"[15]
Extortion Attempts "Pastor Isa Bajalia contacted me in autumn 2007. I
had interviewed him four different times over the past eight or
ten years. The pastor called me because of death threats he was
receiving. If something were to happen to him, he wanted me to have
a video testament explaining the true source of his demise. He is
an understated individual who never before had revealed to me this
sense of urgency concerning danger to his own life or anyone else’s
from his congregation.
"Bajalia served for sixteen years in Ramallah and is primarily
involved with counseling and humanitarian efforts in the area. Over
two months before he called me Bajalia had been receiving threats to
pay extortion money in the amount of $30,000 USD. They also demanded
that he sign over a portion of his family land to their ownership.
"The men threatening Bajalia intimidated him on a daily basis. Their
harassment has made it impossible for Bajalia to function in his
normal pastoral capacity in Ramallah. He was threatened as follows:
‘If you don’t do what we want, we can get you no matter whether you
are in the States or here.’ They threatened to break his arms and legs
and said to him, ‘We will do to you what was done to Rami in Gaza.’
"Pastor Bajalia was forced to disconnect his cell-phone line because
of the relentless threatening calls. He knew that the men making
the threats were capable of violence, so as a U.S. citizen he
sought assistance from the American Consulate. Thereafter he also
asked for help from three PA officials. They, however, demanded
thousands of dollars to protect him. One of them offered, ‘I’ll be
your bodyguard. Our group will back you up. We’ll get this resolved
for you; just give me $5,000.’
"Pastor Bajalia explained to me how a few weeks before he was forced
to leave Ramallah, one of those threatening him was closing in on his
trail. About fifteen minutes after Bajalia departed a friend’s house
in Ramallah, a green-uniformed militiaman of the Tanzim-a violent,
aggressive faction of the Fatah movement-showed up at the friend’s
house bearing a pistol.
"Following continued and intensified threats of violence, Pastor
Bajalia fled to the United States in fear for his life.[16] He stayed
in Alabama for more than a month, thereafter returning in January
2008 to Jerusalem. Bajalia is still extremely concerned that these
men might locate him."
More Harassment "Harassment of Christian Arabs is widespread under
the Palestinian regime. On an ever-increasing scale, they have been
losing their jobs, have had their land taken over by criminal gangs
in cooperation with the PA Land Registration Office, and Christian
women have resorted to wearing conservative Muslim women’s garb so
as not to be harassed.
"Palestinian gunmen set fire to the YMCA in the West Bank city of
Qalqilya. A seventy-six-year-old Greek Orthodox monk was beaten up
in Bethlehem by Muslim villagers, his olive trees uprooted, and his
monastery was defaced with graffiti depicting nuns being raped.
"In February 2006, an explosive device blew off the doors of the
Bible Society in Gaza. The attackers then moved on to the nearby Greek
Orthodox Church, which they then shot up. Pamphlets were left at the
bookshop threatening the landlord for dealing with ‘infidels.’ This
was followed by the bombing of the bookshop in April 2007 along with
three other Christian targets.[17]
"In protest against the remarks by Pope Benedict XVI about Islam
and the Prophet Muhammad in 2006, seven churches were attacked in
the West Bank and Gaza by Palestinians carrying guns, firebombs, and
lighter fluid. This included a shooting attack on a church facade in
the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City as well as the firebombing of
an Anglican church in the West Bank city of Nablus.
"Since the election of the Hamas government in 2006, and the coup by
which Hamas took over Gaza in June 2007, religious tension has only
intensified. Hamas has enacted policies that are turning the PA into
an Islamic theocracy, and the Christian religion and its followers
are consistently discriminated against. The situation erupted on
15 February 2008 when Muslim militants bombed the Gaza City YMCA
library[18] and on 16 May when a bomb went off in a Christian
school."[19]
Hiding the Problems Weiner says he became aware of the many crimes
against Christian Arabs under the Palestinian regime when, ten years
ago, a Christian lay pastor said to him, "You’re a human rights
lawyer, what are you doing for the Christian Arabs?" Weiner replied
that he was not doing anything for them as he was not aware they had
any problems. The pastor then said: "Let me send you some people to
interview and once you’ve done that make up your own mind."
Weiner remarks: "That began my education process on this subject. The
problem I had the most difficulty understanding was why the large,
powerful, populous Christian world has permitted this to go on for
so long. This is the more surprising as the PA is in such need of
funds and political support. Ten years down the road I can only say
that it is a sad testimony for contemporary Christianity.
"I discovered a wide gap between the Palestinian Christian leadership
and their flock. The former tended, for many years, to put on their
nice robes and hats to meet Arafat for religious occasions. They are
the same people who keep touring around the United States and being
feted in different locations where they repeat the false story that
everything is fine.
"These patriarchs and archbishops of Christian Arab denominations who
are currently deceiving the international community are self-interested
people. They collaborate with the Muslim perpetrators of intimidation
and violence. Against all evidence they claim that the Christians
Arabs are living comfortable and prosperous lives. In fact the present
situation is growing worse by the day."
Putting Their People in Danger "These Christian leaders obfuscate the
truth and put their own people in danger. This is often for personal
benefit or due to intimidation. In the Palestinian areas the Anglican,
Lutheran, Catholic, and many other leaders will all sing the tune
of the Palestinian Authority-at least publicly. Others who are not
senior will describe the reality in private because they live it."
Weiner observes that a number of Palestinian Christian leaders deny
the human rights crimes perpetrated against their flock. "Often
in cooperation with the Palestinian leadership they claim that the
situation is not bad for the Christian Arabs. In response to Rami
Khader Ayyad’s death, Monsignor Manual Masallam, head of Gaza’s Roman
Catholic community, asserted-against all the evidence-that the attack
was not religiously motivated.
"When asked if Christians in Gaza feel oppressed in their own cities,
Musallam answered that, ‘Palestinian Christians are not a religious
community set apart…. Our relationship with Hamas is as people of
one nation.’ He also explicitly stated that Christian emigration has
nothing to do with the Muslim population and that the Christians in
Gaza still enjoy all the same rights as their Muslim neighbors.[20]
"The dilemma is how to get the world to listen to and respect the
experience and the warnings of the ordinary Christian, the ordinary
priest and reverend, and to disregard the endorsements of the PA that
are mouthed by their religious leaders.
"In private a variety of Christians will tell you that they are
suffering from the pressures by Muslims. In public these same people
will berate Israel for the security fence and the occupation. It
has become an old game and Israelis understand it. One wonders when
foreign journalists and NGOs will finally start to understand it."
The Verification Process As to the veracity of his information, Weiner
explains: "I am often asked how I verify what I am told. The answer is
that I began this work ten years ago. I now look at cases over time,
having learned that witnesses usually become more candid as you get
to know them better. One of the last questions in any interview is
who else can confirm, reinforce, or explain further what the witness
provided. The result is a fairly good perspective of the iceberg
effect. In these cases one is seeing only a little bit of the crimes
that go on under the Palestinian regime. People usually are afraid
or intimidated and aren’t willing to describe everything that happened.
"Pretty much across the board the Christian Arabs that I interviewed
were reticent to tell their story. I had to track them down and
prove that I was a reliable person they could talk to. I also had to
promise them to use a pseudonym and to change their city/town/village
of residence.
"There is a huge difference as compared to the human rights situation
in Israel. When I worked at the Israeli Justice Ministry (1981-1994,
as director of the Department of American Law and External Relations)
we heard many human rights allegations against the government,
the army, and the prison service. Often the people making these
complaints, or the organizations representing them rushed to call
press conferences. They were looking for an instant headline. With
the Palestinian Christians everything that concerns human rights is
hushed up."
The Israeli Security Situation "Part of the Christian Palestinian
emigration also stems from problems relating to Israel. There are two
primary issues. The first is that the Israeli Interior Ministry has not
been forthcoming enough in issuing visas to foreign Christian clergy
wanting to come and work in Israel. It has become quite difficult for
individuals to obtain visas to work in schools, embassies, or churches
here in Israel, a point that has poisoned some clergy attitudes.
"As a result of a new single-entry visa rule, Christian church workers
currently in the country are also finding it difficult to travel
between their parishes and their churches’ offices in Jerusalem. Father
Jack Abed, a parish priest of the Melkite Catholic community near
Ramallah, claimed that these new rules violate understandings between
Israel and the Vatican. He stated that: ‘One of the agreements is the
freedom of movement and worship. There is no freedom of movement if
Israel wants to limit visas to a single entry.'[21]
"These visa restrictions have resulted from the major security threats
to Israel, some of which come from the Christian community itself. For
example, Archimandrite Atallah Hanna, an Israeli Arab serving as the
official spokesman of the Greek Orthodox Church in the Holy Land,
is reported to have praised Palestinian suicide bombers as heroes in
a closed-door meeting in Haifa. Hanna is quoted as stating, ‘These
martyrdom freedom fighters are the heroes of the people and we are
proud of them.’ According to the report, Hanna urged Christian Arabs
to ‘join the resistance against the Israeli occupation in all forms
and methods.'[22] Hanna later denied having made these remarks.
"A second issue that has increased the emigration of Palestinian
Christians involves a combination of the building of the security fence
and the political anarchy that plagues the Palestinian-controlled
areas. Many Palestinian Christians point out that besides the
disruptions from internal Palestinian instability and lawlessness,
the economic hardship and unemployment is caused by the cutoff from
outside aid due to Israeli security measures that bar most Palestinians
from working inside Israel.[23] Villagers are allowed to cross the
separation barriers only if they hold special permits."
The International Christian Community Weiner states: "Many in the
international Christian leaderships knowingly remain silent about the
suffering of the Palestinian Christians. Others, rather than identify
the true Palestinian perpetrators of crimes against their people,
take the politically correct path by blaming Israel. All unrest
and suffering in the region is routinely attributed to actions-or
omissions-by Israel without acknowledging or condemning Muslim
violence. In particular, church officials often criticize Israel
for the decline in Christian populations in the West Bank and Gaza
as well as for the hardships the Christian Arabs endure under Fatah
and Hamas rule.
"The Western Christian leaders who spread this message include leaders
of American Episcopalians and Presbyterians. Thus the former leader
of the Episcopal Church (USA), the Reverend Edmond L. Browning,
frequently oversimplified the very intricate reality in the Middle
East by implying that the conflict can be resolved by a few simple
concessions by Israel. Meanwhile he and his church remained silent
about the unique evil of suicide bombing and have yet to demand that
Hamas recognize Israel or dismantle its terrorist infrastructure.[24]
"Supplementing its well-known anti-Israel agenda, the Episcopal Church
maintains strong ties with Friends of Sabeel-North America.[25] For
example, Browning donated $10,000 to the organization. In addition,
the Episcopal Church has passed resolutions pressing Motorola to
prohibit sale of its products or the provision of services to persons
living in the disputed territories. There was no parallel demand that
Palestinians cease their terrorist violence. Nor were U.S. companies
urged to ensure that what they sold to the Palestinians was not used
in violent attacks on Israelis.
"Among the other one-sided resolutions of the Episcopal Church was a
condemnation of Israel’s security barrier that was not accompanied
by any parallel demand on the Palestinians to stop the terrorist
attacks that prompted the construction of what is more accurately
known as a fence. Leaders of other North American churches including
the Methodists, the United Church of Christ, and the Lutherans have
also gone to great lengths to offer up one-sided condemnations of
Israeli policies.[26] Most of these perennial critics are linked to
the Sabeel Center."
*Justus Reid Weiner is an international human rights lawyer, a member
of the Israel and New York bar associations, and a fellow of the
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. He received his Juris Doctor
degree from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California,
Berkeley. Weiner’s professional publications have appeared in leading
law journals and intellectual magazines. He is currently a fellow in
residence at the JCPA and an adjunct lecturer at the Hebrew University
of Jerusalem. Weiner was formerly a visiting assistant professor at
the School of Law, Boston University.
Notes [1] Bat Ye’or, Islam and Dhimmitude (Teaneck, NJ: Fairleigh
Dickinson University Press, 2001), 50. Dhimmis were treated as
second-class citizens and were often discriminated against. Muhammad
ordered and practiced ethnic cleansing by removing all Jews,
Christians, and pagans from the Arabian Peninsula. Walid Shoebat, Why
I Left Jihad: The Root of Terrorism and the Return of Radical Islam
(Top Executive Media, 2005).
[2] Jerusalem Post Christian Edition,
.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Paul Marshall and Lela Gilbert, Their Blood Cries Out (Nashville,
TN: Thomas Nelson, 2007); Nina Shea, In the Lion’s Den: A Shocking
Account of Persecuted and Martyrdom of Christians Today and How We
Should Respond (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2007).
[5] "2006 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices," U.S. Department
of State, released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor,
6 March 2007,
[6] Sandro Magister, "The Mayor of Bethlehem Is
Christian, but It’s Hamas That’s in Charge," 21 May 2007,
io.jsp?id=44202&eng=y.
[7] "Bethlehem Belongs to Hamas," Israel Today, 20 July 2005.
[8] Aaron Klein, "Media’s Two-Faced Christmas Coverage:
Muslims Driving Christians out of Bethlehem, but Media
Outlets Choose to Blame Israel," Ynetnews, 24 December 2007,
,7340,L-3486144,0 0.html.
[9] Bat Ye’or, Islam and Dhimmitude, 247-48, cited in Jerusalem Post
Christian Edition,
[10] Julie Stahl, "Gaza Bible Society Surprised by
Bomb Attack," Cybercast News Service, 16 April 2007,
/ForeignBureaus/archive/200704/INT20070416e.html.
[11] Isabel Kershner, "Palestinian Christians Look Back
on a Year of Troubles," New York Times, 11 March 2007,
11christians.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&oref=sl ogin&oref=slogin.
[12] The highest of Islamic sources unequivocally calls for
the killing of converts. This came from the Hadith (sayings)
of the Prophet Muhammad. Ruth Gledhill, "Whoever Changes
His Islamic Religion-Kill Him," Times Online, 21 March 2006,
743382.ece.
[13] In the case of a Christian Arab named Aiman, such incentives
(release from custody, a job, an office) were offered. He recalled:
"The jailors demanded that I revert back to Islam…go to a religious
Islamic school in Saudi Arabia or Gaza…and then go up to the minaret
and say: ‘Allah is great and God has no son’ over the loudspeaker…and
to confess the names and addresses of the people that I had converted,
or were involved in evangelism."
[14] "Palestinian Christian Activist Killed in Gaza," Kuwaiti Times, 8
October 2007, Dc5MQ.
[15] Eric Young, "Witnesses: Slain Palestinian Was Tortured for
Spreading Christianity," Christian Post, 11 October 2007,
2_Witnesses:_Slain_Palestinian_was_Tortured_for_Sp reading_Christianity.htm.
[16] He was also visiting a seriously ill relative there.
[17] Stahl, "Gaza Bible Society."
[18] "Militants Bomb Gaza YMCA Library," BBC News, 15 February 2008,
54.stm;
[19] Associated Press, "Bomb Explodes at
Christian School," JPost.com, 17 May 2008,
st%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1210668651761.
[20] Mohammad Omer, "Coexistence in Gaza," The Electronic Intifada,
28 November 2007, .
[21] Associated Press, "Israel Rescinds Arab Christian Clergy
Travel Rights in West Bank," Haaretz, 27 October 2007 (last update),
file:///A:/ 17437.html.
[22] Khaled Abu Toameh, "Greek Orthodox Church Spokesman Says Suicide
Bombers Are ‘Heroes,’" Jerusalem Post, 12 January 2003.
[23] Kershner, "Palestinian Christians."
[24] Brian J. Grieves, No Outcasts: The Public Witness of Edmond
L. Browning (Cincinnati: Forward Movement, 1997).
[25] According to their website, Friends of Sabeel-North America
(FOSNA) works in the United States and Canada to support the
vision of Jerusalem-based Sabeel, a Christian liberation-theology
organization. FOSNA cultivates the support of American churches
through cosponsored regional educational conferences, alternative
pilgrimage, witness trips, and international gatherings in the Holy
Land ().
[26] Daniel Pipes, "Christianity Dying in Its Birthplace," New York
Sun, 13 September 2005," www.daniel pipes.org/article/2937.
Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld is Chairman of the Board of Fellows of the
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. He is an international business
strategist who has been a consultant to governments, international
agencies, and boards of some of the world’s largest corporations. Among
the fourteen books he has published are Europe’s Crumbling Myths: The
Post-Holocaust Origins of Today’s Anti-Semitism (JCPA, Yad Vashem,
WJC, 2003), Academics against Israel and the Jews (JCPA, 2007), as
well as the just published Behind the Humanitarian Mask: The Nordic
Countries, Israel and the Jews (JCPA and Friends of Simon Wiesenthal
Center for Holocaust Studies, 2008).